1/8/13: Mornings before school

Cory is nearly always the first one up in the morning. He heads downstairs and watches TV. Usually it's something on Roku, unless we have DVDs from the library. These days it's often Transformers, though sometimes Mythbusters or something else that strikes his fancy.

1/7/13: Cory's first day back at school

Cory's first day back at school, and he was not terribly thrilled about it. Much sobbing last night, but this morning he was more composed. Still not happy, but at least not dissolving into tears and dwelling on all the reasons why this was a horrible thing.

Here he's perched on a little ledge by the front doors to the Little School Woods Building. When he's not practicing his ukulele skills in the 15 minutes or so after the doors open and before school starts, he sometimes sits here and watches the kids mill around, waiting for classroom doors to open.

The poster behind him is a list the classes came up with a few years ago that attempts to prevent some of the conflict over fort-building and use in the woods around the classroom building. If those rules were followed, I'm sure all would be smooth sailing!

1/6/13: Downton Abbey returns!

Finally, finally, finally. Season 3 of Downton Abbey aired tonight on PBS. Two full hours! I rarely watch broadcast TV but since we don't have TiVo or any other easy way of recording broadcasts, this one was an exception. Got Cory all tucked into bed, and tea made and channel tracked down (we have bizarre channels with our Basic cable/no settop box arrangement - like 65-275) just in the nick of time for the 9:00 start.

Niall watched with me, though he was not very interested. We usually watch a couple of sitcoms on Netflix before bed (currently one episode each of Frasier and Cheers) but last night we watched a movie from the library (the "Star Trek" movie that came out a few years ago about young Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc.). So two exceptions in a row! I'm sure he'll be glad to get back to the routine tomorrow night.

For me, I was just delighted to finally get my fix of Downtown Abbey!

1/5/13: Niall as paparazzi

After a mostly-at-home/mostly-indoors day, took the boys on a mandatory walk up to 140th and back. Niall got out his camera and iPod for some paparazzi action on the way back. Where does he get that from...

1/4/13: Fast food dinner

Subway is a favorite quick-dinner spot (for the boys), with meatball sandwiches nearly always the choice. Found this Subway just down the hill from us at the new house (next to the cheapest Arco around!) so we go there now when we're home already. If we're picking up dinner on the way home from school, we head to the one near Little School. Cory's favorite fast food is McDonald's so we trade off.

Mom's favorite fast food is no fast food, so I usually just make a sandwich for myself at home or heat up leftovers unless we're eating on the run.

1/3/13: Much joy, much sorrow

Tears tonight. A delightful new sword, just uncovered in one of the many boxes we're still going through here, broke when Cory tried to bend it straight. He'd gotten all gussied up with holsters, dagger, and other weaponry only to have this favorite piece suddenly snap. So heartbreaking.

He's hopeful that we'll find another like it at a party store, but isn't yet convinced that anything will be quite as "just right." Poor guy. Life can come apart at the seams so quickly sometimes, bouncing from unexpected joy to devastation in an instant. Perhaps adding an ancient, brittle plastic sword to the mix was tempting fate a little too much this time.

1/2/13: Frosty mornings

It's been really chilly lately (for us, anyway!). Mid-20's and lots of frost on the car and leaves. Cory was fascinated by the "frost forests" that grew in the wet dirt in the front landscaping, and loved the frosty patterns on the leaves too. I'm not thrilled about scraping and melting all the frost off the car so we can head out in the mornings, but it's sure beautiful.

1/1/13: Finished our Christmas card scrapbook page

When I stumbled across several of our Christmas cards and newsletters a few years back, I thought it'd be fun to have a collection of them for each year collected in a scrapbook album. I made very quick scrapbook pages to hold the cards and letters on the spot, and since then, I've found and added a bunch more. It's so fun to look back on the old photos and read what we were up to each year. There are still gaps, but I'm slowly tracking them all down. I know I have every single one "somewhere."

This year since I not only finished our annual mailing early (sent them before Christmas Day!) but was also off the whole week of Christmas and at home to boot, I scrapbooked our card and letter straight away. Finished them up today and added them to the album.

Day 1 (Friday, July 1, 2011)

It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk, in contrast to the many days of gray and drizzle lately. Cory rode his bike and I walked, and we found ripe salmon berries along the way! He enjoyed eating them too, somewhat to my surprise. He's not big on berries, but does like blackberries when they're in season. Little by little with this boy.

It was especially nice to get outside after spending most of the day catching up at work (from home), calling dentists, and taking Mom to an oral surgeon to get advice on her aching jaw. She's got an appointment to have a tooth pulled next week. Finally following advice her dentist gave her back in February but she ignored because she didn't want to spend the money and it didn't hurt - then.

fri, 12/31...day 365

The last day of 2010, and the last day of my Project 365 posts. I'll be doing another project of some sort to capture everyday memories in 2011 - probably a weekly or biweekly summary on my other blog. It's hard to believe I've been doing the daily photo thing for two whole years now! :-)

We spent a quiet day at the holiday park, catching up on laundry, resting, swimming, and taking it easy. The boys and I walked into town to do some shopping, and Joanna picked us and our groceries up to spare us carrying everything all the way back.

In the evening, we celebrated New Year's Eve by going to a real, sit-down restaurant, The Gothic, which used to be a church. Niall and I both ordered meals where you cook the meat at your table on a (very) hot stone. He thought that was the coolest thing! And the food was delicious.

Wonderful to ring in the new year here in New Zealand with our friends!

thu, 12/30...day 364

Today featured an incredible trip to the Abel Tasman coastline, taking a boat from Kaiteriteri Beach all the way up the coast, and then getting off at a beach partway back to hike through the bush to Tasman Bay where the boat picked us up again in the afternoon.

The beaches and bays are just gorgeous. The water is an incredible color of green, and clear, with beautiful craggy rocks and little islands sprinkled about. Stunning.

On the walk, we had to cross a long suspension bridge that would only support "five people maximum." It was quite an experience!

The walk was up and down, in places quite steep, so I was happy that Cory handled it pretty well, though he did keep asking if we were there yet. Two hours of hiking is a lot when you're not used to doing any at all and you really don't care much about the scenery. He had a great time playing at the beach when we got there, though, so not a total loss. :P

wed, 12/29...day 363

Today's outing was to Kina Beach, located between Motueka and Nelson, the town we went to yesterday.

It was very windy, so Joanna and I set up our towels in a sheltered spot on the grass just back of the driftwood line.

The boys found a driftwood fort and enjoyed adding onto it and playing sparring games.

We also found really big shells on this beach - mussels and other kinds. Adding to our collection...not sure how we'll get them home without breaking!

tue, 12/28...day 362

The Holiday Park where we're staying has great kid-friendly features, like this jumping pillow (wish we had them back in the States), giant chess board, playgrounds, and (our favorite) swimming pool.

Today was cool and a little drizzly, so we headed off to explore the town of Nelson, about 30 minutes from Motueka.

We started at the cathedral, above the main street of town, and then walked down to stroll around looking at the shops. Cory got a silver ring he loved from a street vendor, and Niall got a necklace with a carved bone pendant from the same place.

We stopped for tea at a sweets shop, and then headed back up the hill to the cathedral.

mon, 12/27...day 361

Our first full day in Motueka!

We drove about ten minutes to Kaiteriteri Beach, which is a beautiful orangey beach full of shells. Niall, Cory and I enjoyed collecting a number of them.

Later Niall and I went swimming in the ocean (Alice had already been in for a swim first thing). It was COLD. Took me forever to get used to it, and even then, I didn't last long.

Niall stuck it out much longer. He's not nearly as sensitive to cold as I am, and was thrilled to swimming in the actual ocean.

sun, 12/26...day 360

We got up early this morning to finish packing, load the car, and get to the Interislander ferry in time for 7:20 boarding. The ferry didn't leave until an hour later, but cars had to be there early. We managed to fit all six of us and all our gear into Joanna's little minivan, which is nearly identical to the small Odyssey I had before the newer big one. Remarkable!

On the ferry, a magician performed part of the time in the "family lounge" where we were. Cory got called on to come "help" for one of the parts! He was delighted. Unfortunately, I missed that part because I was up on deck getting some fresh air to help with a bit of queasiness, but Joanna took pictures and Cory got this special balloon six-legged, red-backed spider as a prize.

Niall came out on deck with me several times and enjoyed the view despite the wind.

sat, 12/25...day 359

Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely Christmas morning at Joanna's. I brought some gifts, and she also had little gifts for the boys and me, and filled complete stockings for them as well! They were delighted.

Late morning, we headed around the bay to Joanna's aunt's house where we spent the afternoon visiting and eating, perched up above the harbor with beautiful gardens and views all around.

fri, 12/24...day 358

A record-breaking windy day in Wellington!

We walked down through the city center and by the waterfront, and nearly got blown over!

We also went up to Mount Victoria to see the view, but it was hard to even hold onto my camera, it was blowing so hard. Gale-force winds - amazing!

thu, 12/23...day 357

Today is Niall's 10th birthday! We celebrated before our daily outing with breakfast-time gifts, and afterwards with "candy for dinner," including fairy bread. Quite a hit with the kids! (Also had party sausages and chips, so a *very* well-rounded meal. LOL)

We visited Zealandia today, a bird and other wildlife sanctuary right in Wellington. Saw amazing presentations and interactive displays about New Zealand's history and the devastation of its native population of birds, animals, and plants. Zealandia provides a pest-free environment where some of these populations can (and have) be safe to blossom again.

There are two dams at Zealandia, and this is Cory checking out the binoculars in the middle of the upper dam's walkway. The wind was really whipping across the bridge!

wed, 12/22...day 356

We arrived at Joanna's safe and sound yesterday!
Here's Cory, opening the gate to her house.

We spent today touring the fabulous Te Papa museum, that has lots of hands-on, interactive exhibits and features NZ history and culture of all sorts.

Here are the three boys on a rock in an outdoor play area that included a big sandbox with "dinosaur bones" you could clear sand away from.

A famous statue that seems to lean out over the bay, just below the museum.

tue, 12/21...day 355

Since we headed back to Matamata yesterday for our tour, we didn't have a chance to see any of the thermals that Rotorua is famous for.

So today, on our way south, we stopped at Wai-o-Tapu, a "thermal wonderland" that includes a geyser (we got there just in time to see it go off) and paths that take you past all kinds of colorful, boiling, glopping, craggy thermal lakes, rivers, and formations. Very cool!