Life in the South

Sunrises from Opio.

2011-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

Apart from being totally rural and having no shops or any form of a concrete jungle anywhere near us, I like it here. Its really beautiful and one of the most beautiful things about being here is actually getting up and seeing the sun rise! So instead of telling you how amazing they are or look, here are some of the most amazing photos I think I have ever taken! Enjoy....

If your thinking I have done anything to change the image like photoshop.... the answer is no - I just put my camera on 'foliage' setting and that is how the picture was taken! Amazing are'nt they!?

Snow in the deep south

2011-09-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so being in this new beautiful house, only an hour from either west or east coast of the country is great, but I have to say - I have never seen so much snow in my whole life! To date (September) we have had (so far) 4 dumpings of snow and more due to come this weekend (according to the news weather!).

We are definately starting to be able to predict if the weather is going to 'hit' us or go around us and miss us entirely! We are quite a distance from the coast so we actually end up with a lot of sun rays (believe it or not) when the coast (like my brother and family in Riverton who are right next to the coast are getting hail and big rain falls)

We thought this wee snow fall was pretty decent .....

Until we saw this the next morning!

So the kids (big and small) decided to go and play!

and although its a pretty sad looking snowman.... we did it!

We have enjoyed the snow at this year but to be honest we are a bit over it now! Bring on summer I say!

The 'new' farm.

2011-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

So we had our second beautiful baby boy (Benjamin Roy Knight) in February and my mother and Graham came over from Aussie for 5 weeks to help us (which was fantastic).... with the help of a good friend Ang for the best part of a week (which was also fantastic.... but then we had to move house at the end of May. Not only did we move house but we moved to the center of the end of the South Island to a place called Opio. This is 7k's out of Nightcaps and about 30k's from Winton and approximately 45 mins to an hour from Invercargill (depending on how fast you drive!).

To move it took a 32 cubic meter Truck, a 4 wheel drive truck with a trailer and 3 cars.... as well as a whole day to get to the new place and unpack. It was a real mission! I think next time I will hire removal guys to do the job for us!

This is us unloading the 32 cubic meter truck at the new house. So lucky the weather was good!

Flynn and Nathan on Nathans new farm bike ready for some farm work!

One of the first sunrises at the new house! Amazing views for sunrises, just another "pro" for the new place!

The lounge from one end to another with no furniture in yet... its very spacious! (loving it!).

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what our new place is like! We love it and we love living here too! Its very rural but it works and we couldn't be happier.

Nathan is especially happy that there is a golf course 7k's down the road - Loads of pro's here to consider.... there are a couple of things I still miss though, like friends and family and then of course there is the shopping, but all in all its great here!

2011-03-24T09:16:00.001-07:00

Well time goes very quickly when you have a baby! Have been so busy I feel as though my feet have not touched the ground.

We had Mum and Graham come to stay for a few weeks (about 5 and a half to be exact). They did go away to Wanaka for a few days and down South to see my brother and his family as well. We really appreciated and needed their help for the time that they were here! What would a girl do with out her mum and her hubby eh!? Thanks so much guys we love you heaps and hope to come and see you both when we get sorted! xx

Also had a bestie come to visit for four days - premo to have a mate down to visit! Love ya Angie your fantastic - loved havin ya here and your always welcome with or without the rest of your clan too! x Cheers. Im sure Benjamin will remember you! (hehe).

Benjamin is now 6 weeks old and smiling (randomly) and becoming quite the demanding wee fella. Flynn is so good with him and just wants to help where ever he can with Ben. Although he is only 4 he seems to understand that Ben is just a baby and needs a bit more attention than he does. I thought I would have more of a battle on my hands so am relieved that I was wrong.

Nathan and I are in the throws of finding another farm to move to currently as we are approaching the end of this farming season rather rapidly and have already told this boss that we will not be staying here! So will be out of a home with no where to go... at the moment.

We have 3 interviews to go to this weekend and apparently the weather is not meant to be good which is actually a good thing when visiting a new farm as you can get to see it at its worst before you move in! All well and good when its sunny, but if it still looks good in grotty weather then you know you'll be right!

So fingers crossed that one of these interviews will be our golden ticket to another farm and a good employer. Nathan has lived in Dunedin all of his life so far - so wants a change. We will be settling down (hopefully) where we go for a few years at least as Flynn will be 5 next January and will be starting at school!

Anyways thats all for now - must go and tend to a 6 week old and get a 4 year old ready for a day at preschool.

Had a baby...

2011-03-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

10th of February at 10.26am Benjamin Roy Knight was born.

The day after my 34th birthday we had a csection booked in for our second wee man to enter the world. Pretty emotional day and have taken 5 weeks to getting around to putting this blog on about him as have been recovering and have been very busy with visitors etc... So mostly photos today. Here goes:

Proud Dad has first hold.

Our new family of four.

5 weeks on and we are all doing really well - baby Ben is growing fantastically and we are all coping really well. Until next time - cheerio.

Flynn turns 4!

2011-01-18T12:19:00.001-08:00

Its so hard to believe that my wee baby is now a Four year old and that I will soon have another wee baby to raise and watch grow before my very eyes.

On Friday the 14th Of January we had a wee party at Flynns new preschool Montessori. It was a great way to introduce him to his new preschool and new friends. He had a Spiderman cake and handed a peice to each of his classmates after they sang happy birthday to him. Im sure he felt very special - he seemed rather 'chuffed' with himself! Nathan and I both attended as well as marian and Lloyd.

On the next Morning Saturday 15th January, It was Flynns actual birthday. he got a Toy Story 3 duvet from us and loved it - now his toy story 3 toys have a home as well!

Then we took Flynn to fly the kite he got for Christmas (from Uncle James) to Kettle park where they were having a special kite event. He loved it! So much fun.

Flynns Kite is the wee triangle on the left of the big yellow stingray. So good to fly with other kites around, makes it seem more interesting.

From there we went to Portobello and had some lunch at the local pub - then 5 minutes down the road they have an aquarium where we took Flynn to see the fish and play dress up. (Its more of an educational place than a 'tourist' locatation like Kelly Tartons etc).

I don't know about Flynn but I was just exhausted after all of this (being 34 weeks pregnant and all) so we headed home from there! All in all though it was a great day and a wonderful way to celebrate such a beautiful "big" boy.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was really all about the kids this year - seeing as we are all kids we all had a fab day. It was really good having all of the kids together and just doing whatever we wanted. Of course with me being preggers - I did much of nothing, which was great!

My arab other half - he seems to enjoy playing dress up!

I was the one taking all the photos this year so will have to talk with other people about getting some of the pictures they took to get some of me!

Anyway - short and sweet today, but hope you all had a great Christmas and New years! Bring on a good 2011!. xx

2010-11-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Not much has really happened lately. We went to Mt Hutt in August for Nathans 30th and Flynn loved the snow - very cold as you can imagine and we didn't want to go skiing but was cool just to check it out!

Its now November and I am 26 weeks pregnant - we are having another boy and are very happy! I finish work on the 17th of December and can't wait. Apart from that nothing much to report.

Hopefully will have more time when I finish work to do a better blog! Thats all for now folks!

Auckland trip 2010

2010-07-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

It was time to go home to Auckland to catch up with friends and family. I wanted to show Nathan the places I grew up and give us all some time together before calving season which means we usually miss each other during the week and can go for days without seeing each other at all!

We stayed with Uncle Clive and Aunty Judy who are awesome and to me feels like home. We arrive on Wednesday 30th of June and went home to chill out. I knew the holiday would be a good one, but go like the wind and be over in no time so wanted to make the most of it.

Thursday we went to the Zoo and met up with Ang who brought Giselle. It was an awesome day but unfortunately not many animals were out as the zoo seemed to be doing a lot of renovations!

Flynn and Giselle at the Zoo

Friday Clive and Judy took the three of us up to Judy's Aunty's farm in Waipu. It was a lovely drive and we had an awesome day venturing about and looking at old place's I used to go when I was little. Mum and Dad used to take me and my bro camping to Mangawai Heads so we went there to have a look and it hasnt changed from what I remembered it. We used to swim accross to the sand dune and run all the place like idiots and and then would swim back to camp etc..

Maungawai Heads camp with sand dune...

On the Saturday we had friends over to catch up as I knew we would run out of time to be able to go and catch up with everyone individually. So nice day at home with mates and family.

Sunday we went to the shops and had a look around Auckland, just an easy day.... Nathan was infactuated with the Sky Tower.... Being the biggest building in the Southern Hemisphere and all.

Sunday night we picked up Blair from the airport. Blair is Nathans friend who has been teaching English in Kuwait for the last year or so. We had an Awesome roast pork and some red wine. These things are not allowed in Kuwait so hopefully it was a nice treat for Blair.

The next day Nathan, Flynn, Blair and me ventured for 5 or so hours down to Taranaki where Blairs dad lives and so we dropped him off there and also where my dad lives. Nathan, Flynn and I stayed at my dads for 3 nights. The weather wasn't great but it was good to catch up.

Dad pushing Flynn on the swing at the Hawera Park.

We then ventured onto Whitianga where my Uncle Derek, Aunty Dot and Cousin Lesley live. Whitianga is a beautiful place and a place I went a lot during my childhood. I always feel like I have been to another part of the world when I have been here. There is no hustle and bustle of the city - it is all beach's, cafes and relaxation. The boat in the next photo is my Uncles. This is the view from their lounge window.

Boats name: Ahurangi.

(I have no idea what this means in English)

Cooks Beach

(Just over the water from Whitianga) You would never have known it was winter this day, it wasn't as hot as Summer gets but a cracker day to go to the beach.

We got back to Auckland on the Saturday and with me feeling a bit sick decided to go back to Clive and Judys and just relax for the rest of the day.

Over the next few days we made it to Kelly Tarltons and Ang came along this time with Michael. It was a great day and well worth it. Kelly Tarltons is a place where they have fish and sea life in tanks and a massive tunnel you can go through to view the fish, stingray, sharks etc swimming all around you. The boys loved it. It was great to spend some time with a great mate again too!

Flynn and Michael at Kelly Tarltons

Stingray and fish in the tankBack at Clive and Judys house - Aunty Judy had gone and brought some toys for Flynn to play with, lucky all of the boys were interested in them and had a ball trying them out together!

Now we are home again and back into life as normal... back to reality.

2010-06-26T01:50:00.000-07:00

The lights and lanterns night in Dunedin was a great sucess, the temprature stayed at a steady 9 degrees and wasn't too cold. The theme of the night was Creatures of the sea and flynn loved it. I got him some of those glow sticks and he was all disco looking and ready to go! The parade was great and Flynn danced to the drums when they came past. Here are some pics of the night, pretty amazing but photos never really show the true scene that you see with your own eyes.

Marian and Lloyd came along.

Flynn and I before the big show (Flynn with sauce all over his face).

Flynns cheesy grin (what a poser!).

Nathan chillin out (Literally)

People go to classes to make the lanterns and then go into the parade, its great, the kids love it.. and by kids I mean (adults and kids!).

The seahorses were my favourite.

A great night all around but happy to be home in the warmth... it is now 9pm and 2degrees outside!

2010-06-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Went for our annual poker run yesterday, cracker day for it - not a cloud in the sky! Here are some pictures to show the day.

Dunedin Harbour approx 10am.

Getting the boat ready.

At the wharf

On the boat

Flynn with his favourite toys buzz light year and Bumble bee.

Beauty day no complaints and the photos say it all!

2010-05-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

This last week has been filled with rain and floods all over the country. Oamaru itself had the roads coming in and out from either side closed due to flooding.

Our section was not as bad as that but still impressively flooded!

This park down the road is obviously not normally full of water and ducks having a good old time swimming!

Apart from the floods we haven't been up to much since Easter to be honest but I did go for a trip down to Riverton where my bro and his family live. Its a 2 hour drive from home so you kinda have to stay for the night if you go there! Here are the kids sitting on the front door step all singing "cheese" to the camera in harmony!

The kids in Jessica's bedroom - playing with the camera more than their toys! (bunch of posers!)

Back home a day helping Grandad build a sandpit!

At home with the new tyre swing we put up in the garden. Great fun!

So all in all - just regular life around here! Apart from winter arriving with a thump not much else to report - I would imagine I will have more to say when we have been to Auckland for our Mid Year get away!

Twizel - Easter 2010

2010-04-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

We went inland to Twizel for four days over Easter. Very nice wee town with loads of lakes. We went on the boat a few times. Friday we went to lake Ruataniwha, beautiful weather and the water was so blue and clean. The photo's don't show just how beautiful the lakes were but they give you an idea!

This photo was taken in the morning whilst walking around Twizel township.

Marian, Lloyd and Nathan.

Flynn wanted an ice cream, of course he had to share it with me!

We decided seen as it was such a hot sunny beautiful day we would test our luck with Flynn on the boat!

Nathan coming onto the boat after parking up the truck.

Flynn's first boat ride, it was just such a perfect day for it - just look at the water - so blue!

We went to Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo on Saturday which was really cool. Lake Tekapo has a lovely wee church called 'The church of the good shepherd' and it is just on the edge of the lake. Just awesome scenery.

Lovely being surrounded by the hills and having some water there too! Very nice atmosphere.

View of Lake Tekapo from the summit - down on the right side of the photo is where the photos from above were taken and the church is on the left hand side of the wee river you can see on the right of the photo.

I think this damn is going into Lake Benmore, in which I found fasinating and again the water is just so blue and clear because it comes from the snow that has melted off the hills over the year.

A couple of guys were fishing at the damn while the water was coming out! Crazy I thought!We enjoyed our weekend, of course it went too fast but we would definately go back. Next time we would probably stay at Lake Tekapo because we loved our day there and wanted more but had to go. I would definately recommend going there - Mount cook is not far away and also the ski feilds are right there too - so good for summer or winter!

Without posting about 300 photos that was pretty much what we did! Hope you enjoyed the photos and hope you are all well! Until next time - ciao. xx

2010-03-28T00:44:00.000-07:00

Short and sweet today! Couldn't resist these photos I think they are great!

The Otago Museum have a dinosaur exhibition on until May and with Flynn really being into Dinosaurs lately we just had to go!

Flynn now has some dinosaurs at home that he carries around everywhere with him! He loves them nearly as much as loves transformers!

Maybe he will be an archiologist? ....

Or a zoo keeper? ..... who knows, Im sure whatever he is it will be fantastic! We had a great day at the Museum and can't wait to go again! Flynn now has some dinosaur's at home that he keeps next to his bed to keep him company at night. Nathan and I have to kiss them goodnight as well as him now! (interesting kissing a dinosaur goodnight!)

Until next time ....

Ciao!

2010-03-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well, dad came down for the weekend last weekend as he had work to do on the Monday. So after going to the markets in Dunedin on the Saturday morning Nathan, Flynn and me went and picked him up from the airport (literally a 5min drive from our house) went home for a cuppa tea then took him out to Saint Clair beach. As you can see it was a beautiful day and at least 20 degrees!

We then took him to another beach called Sandfly Bay. You have to walk about 20minutes from the car park down hill to get to the beach, the last part of the walk is down a massive sand dune which you then have to climb back up (obviously) to get back to the car. Definately something you only want to do if you are feeling fit! A big work out on the way up! The beach however is lovely and if you go right to the other end of the beach - sometimes there are seals and yellow eyed penguins, we didn't do that as the tide was coming in and didn't want to get stuck!

(Here we are walking down the sand dune to the beach)

Flynn loves giving rasberries and this is a wonderful show of how wet they are! Grandad obviously loves them! Flynn was really happy to see his grandad Preece and was full of cuddles for him!

It was good to have dad here for the weekend and we hope he comes again soon!

Thats all for now folks! Cheerio.

2010-02-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Just a few photos for today.

Took Flynn to local school mardi-gra! He got his face painted like spiderman, got a silly balloon and rode a horse (for the first time) called Patches!

My boy is growing very quickly!

Hey Ang, do you remember the photo you took of me looking like this 'come on, take the photo'!

Christmas and beyond....

2010-02-08T12:04:00.001-08:00

Looks like I have been rather slack lately with my blog but I guess it means I have been busy!! It all started when we arrived back from OZ really. Nathans sister Amanda and her partner Gemma surprised nathans parents by coming down for christmas when they didn't think they could come down! That was cool!

Nathans parents came to our house a few nights before xmas for dinner and Amanda and Gemma just walked into the room! Awesome.

It didn't take long for Christmas day to rock around, it was a nice day so we got the couch out of the garage and put it on the grass outside the lounge so we could all sit around and chat and open presents (best part!). Flynn got far too many presents for christmas! New duvet cover, toys galore, a cool fold out chair, books, a bike and a cool bob the builder blanket that his Nana Knight made for him! It was a great day! After all of the pressies where open and paper cleaned up, we got into playing cricket and eating food!

Even Santa came along, flynn really enjoyed his time with Santa! ;-)

Steve and Heidi's dog Flash came along to keep Bella happy and busy for the day! They loved chasing each other around, and tired each other out which was good!

Flynn loved the Thomas bike he got from us!

The kids love to play and play well together!! I had 4 kids in the house on Christmas night! Taylah, Jessica and Xavier sleep on matresses in the lounge and they loved having a sleep over! (Steve and heidi stayed too!).

How do you get 4 kids to sit nicely and smile for a photo? Please let me know because I couldn't do it!! There is always one that has to pull a funny face aye!!

So Christmas was nice and eventful! Nathan, Flynn, Bell and I went down to Steve's in Riverton for new years and had a blast with the kids. We took them to the beach on New years day, tried to show them how to surf cast fish off the beach (the guys caught 6 small fish and threw them back) and we saw a school of dolphins swim by which was cool. Unfortunately we all forgot to bring a camera so obviously can't post any photos from new years!

Since then its just been back to work and hangin out for the next holiday really! Easter is rolling around fast - so we will have to see what happens between now and then!

Take care all xx.

Holiday - random wedding day photos.

2009-12-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

Holiday 'The Wedding'.

2009-12-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Well it started with getting our hair done first thing in the morning...

Mine looked a bit... different until I made it right!

Then we had to get dressed ....
And to the venue.... it was a bit windy which is why mums hair looks like it is flying away!

We got to the St Kilda Venue and we were fashionably late by about 10 minutes, we walked up the stairs and there was a room full of people, some faces I knew and some I did not. Lovely ceremony. I think the photos tell a better story. Amanda (the other bridesmaide - is Grahams daughter).

Walking up the Isle

Mum and Graham doing their 'I do's.

The amazing cake and cutting it.

Nana Glen with Flynn.

The first dance.

Now that the main part with the traditional photos are here, I will publish a seperate blog with random photos from the day!

Holiday - Adelaide 23rd November to 4th December 2009.

2009-12-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Crikey! Okay, well we arrived in Adelaide airport at approx 10pm on the 23rd of November so it was about a 3 hour plane ride from Brisbane.

Mum and Graham picked us up and we went back to theirs where we had a chat and a cup of tea before turning in for the night at about 11.30pm (about 2.30am NZ time). We stayed in a caravan that mum and Graham had borrowed from a friend! Very comfortable and suited us very well! As you can see the caravan itself is in the car port which has a roof so it didn't get too hot in there.

The next day we went to Adelaide city and went through the 'markets' there. Very interesting, they had everything from fresh fruit & Veges to meat to clothes to practically anything you wanted all sorts of goodies, kinda wish we had one here really!

We got on a tram and went to a place called 'Glen Elg'. Beautiful beach and a place called the 'fun house' which had big hands as seats! Flynn loved them!

Nathan and I on the beach at Glen Elg.

We went to Barrossa Valley (of course!), wine and cheese tasting had to be done! I have put this photo in of Kev and I as he was wearing his 'sweet as' t-shirt that I love! Totally suitable!

Mum and Graham took us to Cleland park a wild life park where we feed the Kangaroos up close and had a photo with a Koala. (smelly creatures - but cute). It was a fantastic day.

Handorf was another place we went to, it is a wee German town that was very cute and personally I loved due to the vast amount of lolly and chocolate stores! Only problem was I brought some fudge and by the time we got home again it had melted.

Having a few drinkies one night on the deck at mums.

The above photo is my favourite from the whole trip! I think I will have to put Mum and Grahams wedding on a seperate blog - sometime this week when I get a chance! (enough for today already!!). All in all we had a fantastic time and loved getting away from the farm for a break together, as a family! Much needed.

Thank you to Mum and Graham who put us up and let us eat their food and use their vehicle and the list goes on! Thanks guys you rock!

That's all for now folks. xx

Holiday. Brisbane 21st - 23rd November 2009.

2009-12-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

So, we arrived in Brisbane airport at 6.50am. I was thinking cool we are here until I saw the state of customs! It was absolute mayhem. When we finally got through at 8am - my mate Angie advised us that 4 flights (including ours) arrived at the same time! (arrrgh). We were stuffed - absolutely tired out.... especially having dragged Flynn along. His ears had started playing up and with having to get up in Wellington at 3.30am, well, it was all too much really! Still we were in Brisbane and really ready to get into it!

The first day, we get back to Angie and Shanes house from the airport. Brand new built home, Very modern and lovely! Open plan and space galore! Loved it!

We went to look around a few shops and went to a BBQ that night at a friends house of Shane and Angies. Very relaxed people and easy to get on with!

Nathan spinning Shane and Angie a yarn at the BBQ.

Unfortunately it would appear that Flynns ears didn't agree with either the plane trip or the heat as he wasn't too happy in Brisbane and also didn't seem to cope too well with how hot it was over there. (I think it was his ears more than the heat!).

Flynn having a day nap on the couch - poor wee man, we ended up going to the chemist and getting him some panadol which only helped slightly.

Angie and I have breakfast at the outside table. I can not explain how amazingly warm it was there. Most of the time I was in a singlet and shorts or a maxi dress!!

The second day we went to Harbour Town in on the Gold Coast to SHOP!! Yeahar bring it on!!
Along the way we saw a bush fire. (Shane said it was probably someone who had dropped a ciggie out their window!)

We had a great day shopping and kinda wished we had brought more now in hindsight, however we still managed to spend bucket loads of money! A good time all around!!

That night we were sitting at the outside table and saw this gekko thing eating a moth, hense the photo - simply because we don't get them at home!

The third day we had to stay inside with the aircon on all day, it was way too hot outside for us poor south islanders that can't stand the heat! We managed to get our suitcases packet and cleaned up after ourselves (hopefully ;-) ) We left Brisbane around 7pm to head off to Adelaide.

Thanks Shane and Angie for an awesome time and showing us around!

Wellington 19th to 21st November.

2009-12-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Well.... what can I say! A NICE 3 week holiday was just had and a fantastic time all around really! As I am sure you know we went to Adelaide for mums wedding and made a few stops along the way.

We left Dunedin on November the 19th and went to Wellington to stay with Nathans sister Amanda and her partner Gemma for 2 nights. I have to say we really enjoyed ourselves there and both decided we did not have enough time to see and do all of the things we wanted to whilst there! This post is the Wellington portion of the holiday as I feel the whole holiday would be just too much in one post!

We went to the 'Golf Warehouse' the first day and the girls played 9 holes with Nathan while Flynn and I ran around like idiots on the golf course. The next day we went to Mt Victoria look out to see over Wellington which was just beautiful!

From the left: Gemma, Amanda and Flynn - up at the look out.

Mt Victoria lookout over Wellington.

We also went to the Wellington Zoo on the second day where Flynn wanted to feed the Lama's some leaves off the trees! The animals where just as keen as Flynn!

On the morning of the 21st we had to get up at 3.30am to be at the airport for 4.30am to check in for the next step of our big adventure! Brisbane!!.

I have to say, Gemma and Amanda were the perfect hosts! Thanks for having us guys - hope the BBQ and new pattio area is working well for ya's!

From about March 08, Funniest video!

2009-11-14T00:38:00.000-08:00

Time flys....

2009-11-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Okay so here are my two niece's. Taylah (pushing wheelbarrow) and Jessica inside wheelbarrow with Flynn. This was a courtesy ride on Xaviers birthday. October the 16th.

Looks like he was inside opening presents and playing with his new toys! He had just turned 5 and started school! I just can not believe how quickly the time has flown considering I moved to the South when he was only about 5 MONTHS old!! (Taylah is holding her hand up to show 5 fingers for his age!). He seems to be doing really well at school and after just under a month can nearly spell his name! (Which is good considering some adults wouldn't be able to!!).

This is a picture of my brother Stephen with heidi and the kids! Lovely!!

Moving right along, poor wee man got his first black eye at daycare! He collided with another kid on a see saw! (www.ouch.com). He didn't complain though! Flynn seems to be a tough wee man!

This was funny. We purchased a Playstation 3 and with it got Tiger woods. Well apparently you can down load a photo of yourself to load up so you can be your own character in the game! This was one of the comments that the programme made when downloading Nathans photo! We were in histeric's (Until Nathan became a wee bit offended as he didn't think it was possible for him to be MORE attractive! MUWAHAHA).

Can't wait for summer!

2009-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well we have been plodding along rather nicely, just doing our jobs ad trying to save some money for our big 3 week trip to Aussie in November!

Flynn and I planted some potatoes, brocoli, corn, onions, peas and a few herbs in some tyres! (Should be interesting to see how they turn out!) However since doing this it has not stopped raining (probly a good thing for the plants). Last night the temprature got down below 2 degrees and this morning (29/10/2009) there is snow on the hills! (Nice).

Anyway here are a few photos that I thought you may be interested in seeing!

We often (as we can) take good old Bella for a bit of a run behind the car down by the river near us (she loves it). I managed to get a photo of her (while Nath was driving) jumping as running! I just think this photo is very cool!

Nathan's mum (who usually looks after Flynn during the week days) went to Aussie for a couple of weeks, so Flynn went to a different career for that time. He loved it. They had a couple of Lambs there that they were looking after for some friends and he helped to feed them with Lisa's son Casey! (Lisa is the other career and a friend of mine) Lambies are much nicer animals that calves!

Flynn wasn't shy to give them a pat on the head! He loves animals! (Good thing about growing up on a farm I guess). By the way, he was in his PJ's because it was the end of the day and he falls asleep in the car on the way home usually! (just fyi!!).

This photo I just love.... what a poser of a son I have! Whilst colouring in a bob the builder colouring book, he kindly took the time to pose for the camera!

Well that's it for now - Im sure the updates will be a lot more interesting when we get back from our trip! (If I don't sneak another post in before then).

Weekend at home on the farm.

2009-09-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well aside from the usual routine things going on at the moment, we don't seem to have much time to fit much else in!! I have had a horrid cold lately which so far has lasted over a week and Im well over it!

Flynn is on and off with different bugs and diahorear problems, due to now going to daycare and being exposed to new bugs I think is what has caused it to happen (you never know with kids!!).

Nathan is calving the cows on the farm at the moment so he is working more than 12 hours a day!

With him doing that and Flynn and I getting up, getting to Nana's for daycare by 8am, me getting to work by 8.30 then me getting back to pick Flynn up by 5.30pm and home by 6.... well by the time tea is cooked eaten and dishes done, we are all buggered and ready for bed only to start again in the morning! Ahh life, joy!!

So Saturday 19th September 2009, what a beauty! Started at 5am when Flynn decided it was time to get up! As soon as the sun was up I could see it was going to be a really nice hot day!

Flynn still loves his quad bike he got for his birthday in January (as you can see). This was the first of many bike rides today!

Then after notice from Nathan, we got ready to go out onto the farm to help out with feeding the calves. Flynn loves his wee farm outfit - I think its because he knows he gets to go out on 'the big bike'!! (like the new 52inch telly in the back ground!! Nice aye!).

Nathan and Flynn on the big bike outside the house.

Bella seems to think she is a calf and drinks the milk from the calf feeder! (worth a photo!!)

Then onto the farm to feed the 'real' baby calves.

After the farm expedition, we decided to go do boring groceries etc and put a roast on for dinner (it had to be cooked, only reason for a roast on a hot day). After all of the 'duties' had been done we played in the yard and took Bells for a walk.... Hense the big kiss in the photo I am about to get!! This photo made me realise she is getting on because her hair around her mouth is going grey!! She was 7 on the 15th of May (fyi). She is such a cool dog, we love her to bits, she has never hurt or scared Flynn and she does what she is told! I don't excersize her as much as I would like to and yet she is still so very loyal!! I wish I could know what she thinks some days!.

Flynn had a huge day, he was just so very good for me and I really enjoyed my day with him, he is talking a lot more now and parrots a lot of what I say to him and seems to respond knowingly at the time! Coming along nicely I think. He pats me on the head a lot and says "Mum, are you alright mum", especially if he has just stood on my foot or if I say ouch to something (I seem to be terribly accident prone these days for some reason!! Its good to know my son has my back!

What can I say! I wish I was in my happy place like Flynn seemed to be this afternoon when we had an afternoon snack after using all energy available! haha so cute!

2009-08-30T01:35:00.000-07:00

Another weekend has past and boy, it went quickly! Friday was Nathan's birthday and he planned to go and play golf in Roxburgh with his mate James. 2x games at 18holes each..... I don't think he was a sore (from chaffing) or as tired as he was when he went with his Mate Blair (who is now teaching in Kuwait for a year or so - we aren't sure how long). He enjoyed the day and that was the best thing.

Flynn however has Croope and is coughing like a seal, poor wee man. I stayed home with him on Friday as I didn't want Nathans birthday to be ruined and I would have just been worried if I was at work anyway. Flynn is currently on steriods for his poor wee inflamed pipes (its a form of broncitis apparently). He is full of green snot and keeps it running continuously at the moment.... NICE!! (NOT).

We did manage to get outside and have some fresh air and playtime, so that was nice. Took Flynn to Aramoana beach Saturday, beautiful day and Bella loved it too! (didn't take any pics sorry). Today, after living on a farm/farms for about 3 and a half years now, I saw my first calve being born!! I have to say.... its completely different to how I imagined it. Nathan needed my help and poor Flynn didn't know what to do, he looked like he was intreged but scared at the same time.... I thought he was going to loose the plot and cry but he was okay! Got a bit clingy though, I do think he was a bit unsure what was happening! err I would be too!!

I have sent off Nathan and Flynn's passport applications! That makes things feel like Australia is getting closer (November!!). I can not believe how fast this year is going!!

Lack of photos today and just a short blog, but I did manage to find this photo of me absolutely laughing my head off!! Bit random but it is ok I guess! Have a good week and be sure to let me know how it went!! xx

On the farm

2009-08-25T01:39:00.000-07:00

Well what can I say, it is definately calving season on the farm! Lots of babies and we all love them (except for Nathan). I can understand that, they are hard work and heavy to lift.

Flynn and I go and see them in the weekends, the only spare time I seem to have now, which I try not to end up doing all of the house work in two days to compensate for a weeks worth! I found when I first went back to work all I was doing was house work in the weekends, but I was missing out on time with Flynn. I try to get some done after work at nights now so it doesnt build up so much. A bit of an adjustment period!! This is our house from the other side of the section to show you the house, quite nice!

I cant complain, we have an awesome section and it is look reasonably tidy at the moment, its very flat and fully fenced with the closest neighbour about a km away from us down the road!
This last weekend just gone, Flynn and I decided mums car needed a good cleaning!! Hehe, just look at the cheeky grin he has on his face, like he knows its going to be more fun than work! What a cutie eh!! I have to admit it was a nice sunny day and we did have fun!!

He tends to get a wee bit tired after a day on the farm and then coming home to play on our huge section and cleaning mums car! I guess I would fall asleep anywhere if I used all that energy and only had a wee body as well!! (Ha, dreams are free, but I will keep trying!!).

That's all for now, Nathan's birthday on Friday so may have a new blog after the weekend!

2009-07-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have much to say really! Probably the most exciting thing that happened recently was the earthquake we had about 2 weeks ago! It was centered in around Tuatapere - 7.8 on rector scale! I was have a wee nap at about 9pm when Nathan came running into the room telling me we were having an earthquake. I heard a rumbling sound and got out of bed to feel the rock n rolling feeling of the floor! Definitely was an earthquake. You couldn't mistake it for a train going by or an aeroplane taking off! The light shades where swinging away and the boys were loving it while I was wondering weather I should go and get Flynn out of bed or stand under a door frame and wait for it to pass. It didn't last long, maybe a couple of minutes in all but was pretty scary being first experience and all!

Poor wee Flynn has not been too happy lately. He has had diarrhea for two weeks and his once perfect legs have gone from nappy rash to full on blistered skin! I have been bathing it with water and baking soda (instead of using wipes) and have had to buy a fungus cream to put on his skin. For some reason (in the midsts of finding out why) after everytime he eats he fills his nappy! Really weird considering he used to only go once a day!

Anyway, Nathan and I took him on a wee outing with us and he had a ball! We went to a school a few suburbs away (Green Island) and played on the jungle gym with him. Slides, stepping stones, rope things and rolling down hills! Great fun!

After that wee outing we decided it was time we made the effort to go and see Great Grandad Cunninghame. He is lovely! Makes a champian effort considering you can't understand Flynn anyway so someone who can hardly hear as well as with a 2year old! Well he is fantastic is all I can say!!

Work has been going along swimmingly! Still learning, although they say it takes a good 3 months to get the job 'under your belt' when you start a new job. I have certainly had brain mash from the date I started sometime in May! But the people make it worth while. Really cool bunch! They all go to the pub for 'First Friday Drinks' on the first Friday of every month! Supply Fresh fruit at the beginning of every week! Its the best job I think I have ever had! Makes your brain think, good people to work with and food supplied! Good stuff!!

Anyways, thats me at the moment... work, eat, sleep and take care of house and family in between!!

2009-06-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday 20th of June, Nathan, Flynn and myself went into town for a drive. Nathan wanted to show me where the Budda's were... Apparently its called 'Summit Hill'. There are two big Budda statue's there and the view is just amazing!

View of Dunedin Harbour from Summit Hill.

We also decided to take Flynn to the Dunedin Botanical Gardens where at the top they have a massive avory for all kinds of different birds. Of course the best ones were the ones that could talk... Cockateils.

Still pretty chilly in Dunedin after the snow last Tuesday, but at least we can get out and about now. (Bring on summer I say!!).

Snow snow snow...

2009-06-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today when I woke up and looked outside this is what I saw! SNOW... well I knew the forcast was for snow, but you know their never (hardly ever) right! So it was still a surprise to see the snow this morning!!
Actually it was so bad in town that they were saying on the radio not to drive on the motorway so I couldn't go to work! Not too happy about that actually! I am enjoying my job at the moment and was kinda bummed out.

So when it became light we decided to go outside and play, attempt a snow man etc..... mostly running around!

Started getting dark again here!

It didn't last long before the next wave of cold snow and horrible cloud came over and we went back inside! Ahhh good times.

2009-06-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

Well I have been quite the busy wee bee lately! Started my new job on May 11th at Motor Trade Finance. In my 5th week and still have a few weeks of training to go! Enjoying getting out, meeting people and being my own person during the day again! Flynn is enjoying daycare and is falling asleep in the car on the way home at night! Quite handy for me because the new 'roster' is tirering us all out I think! Makes it much easier for me to be able to come home and put him straight to bed, then have tea and relax before hibenating for the night myself.... being winter and all!

Last weekend Flynn had a cold which very quickly turned into an ear infection, the fact that he is also getting two lots of double teeth at the same time isn't helping! Hense he has been a very tired wee boy lately! Sleeping, eating and growing! Can't be bad!!

I was told by a friend about these "ready" beds. They blow up, have a headboard and boarders! Well I wasn't prepared to pay the $75 price they have in the shops for them, so went on Trade me and got this one for $20!! Brand spankers!!

And as you can see Flynn loves it! Well worth it!

Thats all for now!

2009-05-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Okay so by 'popular' demand, another update! Not much to report!

So Nathans mates James and Blair came over a couple of weekends ago and we had a few drinkies and a catch up! Was a good night. Didn't really feel the same the next day! (Always the way when booze is involved). A good night anyway!!

The next day we went to my brothers new house in Tapanui (a loooonnnnnng way from home). Takes an hour and a half to get there but because you travel through country to get there, you feel like your driving forEVER to get there!! Here is a picture of the house with the boys all chilling out on the lawn after a hard game of golf!!

Meanwhile, Heidi and I took the kids to a park that had a mega huge slide, dodgie swings and a good 5 hour nature walk (that we only did a wee bit of with the kids!! (Photo: Heidi and Flynn on the big slide).

Last weekend Nathan and I had Xavier and Jessica come and stay (our Nephew and Neice) as Heidi (sister in law) went out for the night (bless). Her kids are very well behaved with us for some reason! They don't argue with us and go to bed when told!! Amazing really! Flynn could take a lesson or two from them with that! (haha).

On Sunday Nathan's parents came over with Marians dad (Nathans grandad). He had his 90th over Easter! I think he really enjoyed his time here. It was a cracker day so we sat outside for most of it! Because it is Marians birthday today, we gave her her birthday pressies on Sunday while her dad was there too! She got a Gordan Ramsey cook book that she was wrapped about having! (can't wait to taste the meals we get out of that hehe).

The only other news I guess I have at the moment is that I have just managed to score a job with Motor Trade Finance which starts on Monday 11 May and is full time! 9am to 5.30pm. I don't mind the sleep in to be honest! Flynn will do well being at Marians as he really needs to be around other children, so its all good!

Anyways, thats all for now folks! Take care.

Happy Easter to ya!!

2009-04-15T03:56:00.001-07:00

Okay, so first for Easter weekend we had Grandad's 90th (Nathan's grandad obviously). It was actually really sweet. His two daughters (Yvonne and Marian) got up to do a wee speech and he was a bit teary with that, so then I started getting teary and I was taking the photos... not really a great combination - being teary and trying to take a decent picture! We got there in then end. About 60 people turned up and it was really good to meet all of Nathan's family! We had to have our own little family photo. So top row: Gemma, Lloyd, Nathan, Flynn and me. Bottom row: Amanda, Grandad and Marian.

The cake was really lovely, a nice photo of Ian (grandad) with his dog (I think this was Lyn the dog - great dog, well trained). Ian was a dog trainer in his day, you know for sheep farms etc... He raised pups etc and trained them up to be sold to farmers. So the back to the cake, it was also beautiful on the inside, fruit cake, but not the horrid christmas kind that no one likes! mmm yum yum! We went out for tea that night. Pretty much most of the people I had met that day turned up, so a good 20 or so where there!

The day after the 90th we had a wee Easter hunt for the kids, I think there were about 8 of them that had travelled from Christchurch and Australia to be here for the birthday, so an Easter hunt was called for! Good old Flynn got in there and found two Easter Eggs (with dad's help of course). He didn't share though which I think Nathan was hoping he would! hehe.

It turned out that 2 eggs per kid had been planted 'somewhere' in the garden.... can you believe that every kid ended up with 2 eggs..... except for one! So this got the adults going didn't it! It really did end up being a Easter hunt! I don't think we found the missing egg, but I know that another sneaky egg was planted for the poor kid who only got one! (no it wasn't me!! haha).

Then there were the adults that thought they didn't have to help looking because they seemed to think they had super human powers that would help them see the missing egg from the balcony! Haha, I don't blame them really, they weren't going to get an egg out of it!!

All in all a really good Easter weekend and happy to have the house back to how it normally is with its normal level of boring excitement and mundane routine!!

March/ April treats

2009-04-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Well after a dry spell of a whole lot of nothing but going to work, coming home, sleeping and repeating that routine, we had a few visitors and have really enjoyed ourselves lately!

Aunty Judy and Uncle Clive decided it was time to 'go south' for a few days and see us lot and how the kids are getting on etc.... It was great to see them and gave me a good excuse to go and see Steve (brother) and Heidi's new place in Tapanui (where the 'blue mountains' are). As you can see Xavier and Flynn get on really quite well and enjoy getting up to no good, which I guess is what boys are best at! Good that they are 'good mates' though!

And wee Jessica, well she is just a wee cutie. She loves attention, a real 'people' person! She gets on really well with the boys and luckily no one ever seems to get left out when they play together! (big bonus!!).

So anyway, we went to Steves and had a bbq, which was really nice.... just hung out for the day. It takes me an hour and a half to get to Steve's now, so Im guessing we won't see them as much as we have been lately. It doesn't sound like a long way but when your working, it seems to take up most of the day just travelling! We'll see what happens anyway.

So thought I would just pop in a photo of myself there... not too sure what I was doing when the photo was taken, probably talking or just pulling a face!! Pretty damn gawjus if I do say so myself! haha.
So there we go, that was another weekend just gone by! Clive and Judy only visited for a few days and they really flew by rather quickly actually, but I am just thankful they came to see us at all! I always miss my family and friends living in the south... so far away and all.... and it is somehow a wee bit reassuring to know the feelings are reciprecated!!

Feb update!

2009-02-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Turns out my wee man is turning into a farmer.... just like his dad! We went to the annual 'theives alley' market. When we were there we got Flynn his first farm overalls! Water proof too!
He just loves them, I think because they are like his dad's!!

Then there was my birthday, among the many presents I received I got this cool card (that wasn't soo cool after a while!) It sings happy birthday, but after a certain 2 year old got his hands on it and kept opening and closing the card about 100 times, well we all got pretty sick of it really! But funny at the time! Flynn seemed to enjoy himself!

Then we had to make a decision about what to do with Flynn on my weekends! Because I don't see him as much during the week now, I thought it would be a good idea to have a 'routine' thing that we do together. So we decided swimming would be a good start. Every saturday morning! He loves it so far, but we haven't been able to take him this week as he has a cold and wouldn't want him to get worse or for the others to get sick! A wet weekend at home this time! (I imagine there will be a few of these in the winter when its snowing etc...)

I had to include this photo of Nathan and Flynn! Seems to be there most favourite past time lately! haha.

Until next time - cheerio! xx

2009-01-31T12:26:00.001-08:00

January the 23rd we went to the A&P show which turned out to be 37degrees! Much too hot but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Marian and Lloyd came and we also brought Nathans grandad with us for a day out! It was loads of fun, they had stalls to walk around, ferris wheels, dirt track bikers, horse shows, dancing shows..... just a great variety really!

We went and had lunch there and Flynn enjoyed entertaining people with a wee dance and going and smiling and talking to them (even if they didn't know what he was saying!!)

My favourite T-shirt for Flynn at the moment! He is such a wee cutie! (If I do say so myself!!). Here is Flynn and another wee boy having a chat.Bikers - they were the best part of the day in my opinion, even flynn's eyes were stuck to them when they were doing there thing!!

Hense a fantastic last weekend before starting my new job with ACC on Monday the 26th January. Great job so far and really neat people! Flynn is enjoying time at nana's playing with other kids during the day as Nana has a home based day care. It has worked out really well so far!

2009-01-17T00:19:00.000-08:00

Okay so you know it was Flynns second birthday on January 15th!? Well Nathan and I (on the actual day) took him to the pools in Dunedin and McDonalds for lunch, he was pretty exhaused after all that so we came home and gave him his present we got him. A four wheeler quad bike and man does it rock! He loves it. It is battery operated and goes about 2.5k per hr, so its not fast enough for him to hurt himself but its good fun!! Im sure he feels like his dad does when hes on the big bike!! Such a cool dude! Bella seems to be a bit protective of him when he is on it and follows him, she doesn't normally follow him around!? He has also been practicing his golf techniques with his dad so we are thinking of getting him a mini golf set! Another cool out door thing for him to do I think!! He doesn't like being inside now and turns off the telly when I turn it on for him! (good or bad thing??).

A few people have mentioned to me that he is just all of a sudden looking like a big boy rather than a baby or even toddler now! Funny how others notice these things and I don't!! I guess its because I see him all of the time! (Still my baby.)

Today we had family over for his birthday lunch. Just a BBQ, didn't even have a cake for the poor wee man! Slack aye! The wee girl sitting next to Flynn is his cousin Jessica! 2 months older than Flynn. A great day had by all, once again far too spoil with presents, but thats what its all about when your just a wee person!!

I start my new job one week on Monday, how exciting!!

2009-01-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

So not much has happened since new years! We are just relaxing and taking things as they come! Nathan is back at work but as you can see he isn't too stressed about it! The boys have been watching movies at night (evening) and chilling out with a blanket, (not that they need it with the heat we have had here recently!) The week after new years the tempratures where up in the mid 30 ties and yesterday was 30.1 according to my temp thingie!! Pretty hot!

Flynn's latest favourite thing to do is kissing! I was laughing when this photo was taken because I was asking him what he wanted to eat, then he came at me to kiss me! so cute and so funny!!

For xmas Flynn got this cool black bike from his Aunties, Amanda and Gemma. He just loves it and he rides it at every opportunity! He was outside last night at 7pm riding it!! This blue trike was from his nana, she found it at the sally army, so good bargain really! Two bikes and he hasn't even had his birthday yet!!

I can hardly believe how fast time has flown! Flynn will be two on Thursday the 15th of Jan and it just seems like last week he was turning 1! He is sleeping in his own bed now too, which is just so cool and he thinks he is just the bees knees! (Of course he is, but Im just bias!).

I am waiting to see if I have scored a full time job, waiting seems to be what I am doing a lot this year! Although I hope to find out today (fingers crossed). The job only goes until July but by then I guess I will be ready for a wee break (hehe), so we will see what happens. A lot depends on what happens. If I get the job we will be able to save to go to Aussie for a friends wedding at the end of may! That would be cool.

Next entry will probably be after Flynn birthday, so until next week, take care xx.

2009-01-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

New years eve Nathan and I took Amanda and Gemma (Nathans sister with the dreads and her girlfriend) to play golf. Of course Nathan won, then Amanda, then me then Gemma. (Gemma and I need practice). We had a bbq with Nathans parents for tea. They had Flynn for the night so we could have a few drinks and not worry about wee man! They are so great!

Flynn has had a great xmas and is in high spirits so far for the new year! He will be two on 15 Jan, its so hard to believe! Kids grow so quickly and its kinda made me realise that life does just pass us by unless we do something to help it actually all mean something! My new years philosophy I guess!! Anyway, wee sweetie isn't he!

The night got a bit messy, but it was good. Darts, Yatzee, drinking and dancing! I think I would have preferred to go to a pub for a few hours and get that whole 'countdown' atmosphere thing going on but it was okay! considering we were at home!

Just a quick blog for now, will be back soon to tell more!

2008-12-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas day was awesome! Nathan dressed up as Santa and passed out all of the presents! The whole family was there. Nathans parents and sisters with their partners, my brother and his crew, Nathans grandad and also others that came along during the day!

Nathans mum Marian brought a bubble machine which was a great hit on Christmas day! Flynn kept following the bubbles to the other end of the section because they didn't pop and then got confused when he couldn't catch them! He soon figured out where they came from! Flynn got so many pressies it was just unbelievable! Anyone would think Santa really does exsist! He loves the bike he got from his Aunty Amanada and Gemma the most I think! Although it is hard to tell because he has so many presents I don't think he knows which one to play with! (He is coping though!!)

2008-12-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

My cousin and Aunty turned up last Tuesday afternoon and left on Friday morning! It was really cool to see them! They have been doing a road trip from the North Island - Whitianga to be exact and have taken about 2 and a half weeks to do it! This is them, Aunty Dot holding Jessica (my neice) and Lesley looking pissed of or something with her arms folded!! Not very good photos, never the less, you can kinda see them!
Lesley and I get on really well, she had planned to come down anyway but it was a bonus that my Aunty came as well! When you move to a place that you haven't lived all your life and you have little or no family there, its just great when they make an effort to come and see you!! This is a photo of Lesley trying to figure out my brothers camera!!

Moving on, I had an interview with ACC on Thursday and I am waiting to hear if I have been succesful for the role or not! I find out Monday!! I don't want to go on about that too much just yet incase I haven't got it - but I hae my fingers crossed!! I will tell you a little joke I made in my interview though (I know your probably not suppose to joke in interviews).

They asked me how much I know about ACC and what they do... my reply was ' I have never made a claim myself, however, my brother is the most accident prone person I have ever met so I do know a fair bit about what you do". My bro Steve a few weeks ago now fell off his motorbike at work and had to have 3 or 4 stitches in his bottom eye lid and was concussed! Hense this photo!

Granted not a good photo, but I had to take a photo of this photo off his camera so - you get the idea of how bad it was anyway!! He has had so many more injuries that the average 'jo blog' you would not believe! (It would take a novel to tell all!!).

So please keep your fingers crossed for me and I will be sure to keep you up to date with the results on Monday re: the job!

2008-11-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

Life in the South has been quite unpredictable lately! (weather wise). We had snow at the beginning of November, which was unreal really considering summer is suppose to start in December!!

Here she is standing in the falling snow when it started!

Mum and her partner Graham came over from Adelaide for two weeks! The first weekend they were here we went to Christchurch. It was great, Graham and I helped with a surprised for mum! Her best friend Sue and her partner Kev had organised to come to Christchurch to surprise mum as they had not seen her for a year or so!

The shock on mums face when she saw Sue was priceless, well worth the surprise!

Here she is telling us all off for not letting her in on the surprise! Well she loved it really! Good times.

We all had a great time in Christchurch. We went on the Gondala's and looked over all of Chch and Littleton (etc) The views where awesome.

I had an especially good weekend as Flynn was with his Nana and Grandad in Mosgiel so I could just chill out and relax for the weekend! We also went to Akaroa - which mum and Graham had not seen before!

We acheived quite a bit over the few days we were there and had a blast! Well worth the trip! Nathan couldn't come because he was working.

The following weekend we decided that mum and Graham would like to see Wanaka (Nathan came with us this time as it was his weekend off!). I think we all enjoyed Wanaka very much. The weather was just awesome and my neice Taylah came along with us.

We went to Puzzleworld, this involved an outdoor maze which was harder than it looked! Also an indoor illusion room and this photo here is from the waiting area for the loo's! Can you see the illusion? The wall is painted to look like there are people sitting there on the loo! So we all sat down next to the wall and tried to blend in!

We also walked Mount Iron (which nearly damn killed me, but I am getting fitter - touch wood). Again the views were totally worth the effort! Mum and Graham looked after Flynn for us as there was just no way I was gonna carry him up there! Nathan, Taylah and I did that mission!!

This is Wanaka down behind me in the photo!

We took the kids to the park, drove around to see the sights and stayed in Nathans Aunty and Uncles holiday home while we where there! It was lovely to get away and have a break as a family!

Mum and Graham have gone home to Adelaide now and things are starting to return to normal! (What is that - normal?!)

Anyway over the last few days our temprature has been in the 30 degree area so very hot and hoping that we won't have anymore snow until next winter now! Looking forward to seeing Cousin Lesley and Aunty Dot who are leaving Whitianga on the 27th of November for their big road trip to 'The South'. Over and out for now - watch this space!! xx

2008-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Okay so now you know how my life in the south began, I guess I should get up to speed with the NOW and keep this thing up to date! I have just within the last months been very busy and quite the wee traveller! I went for a visit to see family and friends in auckland and enjoyed my time there but it wasn't quite long enough! (11 days). Tracey and I went to Butterfly Creek (for Flynn of course) and I am not sure if it was us or Flynn that had more fun there!! It was a great idea to take Flynn there though, very entertaining for adults and children!!

Flynn and Tracey - Great mates!!

We also went to see Ange and her new baby girl Giselle who is just so beautiful! I managed to rock her to sleep a few times, but it was my way of getting a cuddle!

She is just a beauty!!

Mean while the boys (Michael and Flynn) played together famously well! Best buds!!

Flynn and Michael playing in Honey and Lady's kennel at Anges!! (mmm fun).

We managed a trip to Whitianga which was nice and relaxing - good to get away!

View from Uncle Dereks Lounge in Whitianga!!

So my trip in Auckland was busy busy, every day something happening! Nice to be home again so I can relax and not have to rush around.... I do miss my people though. xx

Life with a baby

2008-10-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Before life with Flynn everything seemed so much easier. Independance is something taken for granted until you have a baby! No one tells you how hard it is. You think you know, but you don't really until you get there!! Flynn was in the hospital for the first 3 weeks of his life and came home on February 6th 2007 - just 3 days before my 30th birthday. I was so happy and at the same time.... scared. I wondered how I would be as a first time mother, especially considering I am not usually very good with little sleep! I ended up surprising myself, just look at this beauty of a picture!

As time went on and life goes by, our new man, well, just became a part of who we are as a family really! We (obviously) would not be with out him now. We went through all of the milestones together. Sitting, crawling, teething etc and we love every part of seeing this new person develope into a little boy with his own personality! I would have to say that having Flynn has been the best thing I have ever done as a person and the rewards are just endless.

So even though we have moved to a new house and a new Dairy job for Nathan, we seem to be getting on in the world okay! The beaches and walks around here are amazing and along with the endless opportunities we are looking forward to what will come next! We are in Dunedin at the moment but who knows where we will be next year or the year after! The world is our oyster and we are up for the challenge. Lets see where this life takes us and hope for the best along the way!

Watch this space for more updates!!

Life after Auckland

2008-10-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Okay so here I am and the story begins.... I am currently 31 years old. My name is Sarah but my mates call me Sarz.... I had spent the first 27 years of my life living in Auckland, being a regular 'J.A.F.A'... going to work, going to the gym and out to the pub with my mates in the weekends!! Then I decided that it was all getting a bit tedius and wanted something new and exciting. I decided what this 'new' start would be when I came to Dunedin to visit my brother, his partner and their new baby Xavier! I came down for the first time with my Aunt and Uncle and then again on my own.... I wanted to move to the South Island, so I had to check it out for a second time then I wrote down all the pros and cons for doing this huge move I had never done before and decided that Moving was the only thing that was going to broaden my horizons and give me that change my soul needed!

I moved to the south and started work within the week with Radio Works. It was a really great way to make friends and still feel like a part of the world! I had also met one of my brothers friends Nathan, who I took a liking to very quickly! We where together for maybe 6months and he proposed to me, then we moved in together! Nathan decided that he wanted to go Dairy Farming for a change of life style, so only one year after being in Dunedin we moved to Oamaru an hour and a half North of Dunedin!!

We called our 'home' 'The Shed', mainly because thats what it was!! Two bedrooms but no space! Nathan and I spent the first Dairy season up here. We moved up in March 2006 and in May 2006 I found out we were pregnant! The pregnancy

seemed to go well and for a change I enjoyed getting fat!!

(Even though there were uncomfortable parts of the 'getting fat' process!).

I worked part time in Oamaru, which suited us at the time. Unfortunatly at the end of the pregnancy there where complications and our baby decided he was going to come 6 and a half weeks early! Scared the living **** out of me! (He was okay when born - Thank god!).

This photo is of me at Christmas time, our baby was not due until the 1st of March 2007.

As it turned out after Christmas when we went back to Oamaru in early January, we went for a midwife visit who decided that at 33 weeks pregnant with a family history of diabetes, I should be tested for Gestational Diabetes. I had managed to catch a cold and with being heavily pregnant the midwife suggested I rest for a week or two to get over the cold and then go and get tested!

I went to get my blood test done on January 12th (which was a Friday). I was advised my results would be back on the Monday, turned out it was too late as our wee man bet them to it and decided to come .... very early!!

Flynn Lloyd Knight came into the world at 5.15pm on

Monday the 15th of January 2007.

He weighed 2.97 KGs which is 6 Pounds exactly.

He is under blue lights here as he was very jaundice for the first 48 hours.

Flynn stayed in the hospial for 3 weeks while he learned how to feed. Due to being born so early he had not learned how to suck, swollow and breath all at the same time, so we had to teach him! Then he came home, 3 days prior to my 30th birthday! Couldn't have asked for anything more!! This is the beginning and I am so happy to have had the pleasure of living it!