Unforgettable.. in every way

South Island Memories

2011-01-31T02:00:00.000-08:00

8 going on 18

2010-09-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

She's just turned 8 in August. A Leo in every way - stubborn, head strong, but a heart of gold. In addition to her closest girl friends, we were glad to have Mark & Chris with us for the celebration. Mark & Chris are our friends from church and they have a really special bond with Erica and Tim. We praise and thank God for our two beautiful miracles.

This year's cake's was lovingly decorated by Dad ... who did an excellent job!

Gym Girl

2010-09-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

Erica represented her school at the Eastern Zone Gym competition, came in 3rd in the Individual competition and went on to represent them in the Auckland School Champion of Champions competition.

We were really happy for her when she was selected to represent her school but because she had never done gym prior to her selection, we really weren't sure how she was going to do. So, the results were very pleasing. As for mum, watching her do that beam routine was a bit of a heart stopper for me.

Mt Maunganui - April 2010

2010-05-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mum's here with us in Auckland for about 10 weeks. A few days after she arrived, we took her to Mt Maunganui which is Auckland's answer to the Gold Coast. It is surfer's paradise in summer. But we were there mid Autumn and there wasn't much activity. The beach was lovely all the same and I quite liked the fact that we had most of the beach to ourselves.

On the tram ride at Kiwi 360- the only kiwifruit orchard which is open to the public. If mum had a choice, she would have filled her bags with these luscious kiwi fruits but she was under strict instructions - NO picking. Lovely shot though!

You wouldn't normally find mum at the beach but the kids wanted a dip and she agreed to come with us. We set up the umbrella for her to shield her from the glorious sun (what a waste) since that's what she preferred... The umbrella threatened to blow away because we had south westerly winds that day so that's why she was holding on to the umbrella for dear life!

Back at the bach, mum put up a good fight against the kids at Foosball! She wasn't going to lose!

Notice her sequinned evening jacket with PJs?? What a lovely combination! I've had to ban her from using that jacket to the supermarket too!

Baseball season 2010

2010-03-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is John Key, NZ Prime Minister. His son plays baseball too and we occasionally spot him at Lloyd Elsmore with security guards in tow coming to support his son. Today he apparently just came from a radio interview so was a tad over-dressed on a Saturday morning but just as well 'cos Mervin the papparazzi was ready with his Blackberry for this shot! He was really friendly and had more than a few nice encouraging words for Erica. Go National Party!

It's not often that both Tim & Erica get "Player of the Day" on the same week but this week, they did!

Some generous parent from the team donated these shirts so all the Blue Jays got personalised jerseys.

Joy of parenthood

2010-03-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is a page from the scrapbook Erica did for us last year (October 2009) for our Anniversary. Was packing my desk and found it. Children are such a blessing!

New Year's Day - Sports Day and back to Maitai Bay

2010-01-05T02:44:00.001-08:00

Never a dull moment at the campsite. Today, some regular campers got together to organise a family sports day. Everyone was encouraged to participate - from 3 year olds to 83 year olds. There were running races, potato races, wheel barrow races, tug of war and lolly scramble.
After lunch, we returned to the magical Maitai Bay, which for me, is the most beautiful beach I've ever visited. I couldn't stop photographing it but I don't think the photos could quite capture the magic of the place.

Mr Minstrel gets the kids ready for the Sports Day

Some wheel barrows buckled in the heat

Pull, pull, pull

Contemplating the world at Maitai Bay

A game of baseball at Maitai Bay

Cape Reinga trip

2010-01-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

Day 4 of our trip, we took a tour to Cape Reinga, the northern most tip of New Zealand as well as where the TasmanSea meets the Pacific Ocean. The views were absolutely breathtaking. Our singing bus driver Sunny explained that Cape Reinga has a lot of spiritual significance for the Maoris as it is where the spirits take leave of New Zealand to return to their homeland in Hawaiki. On the home stretch, we stopped at the Sand Dunes where we all had a turn at tobaganning down the 50 / 60 degrees steep sand dunes. The climb up the steep dunes completely sapped every ounce of energy from me yet Erica managed to bounce up and down the dunes 4 times. Back on the coach, we drove along very scenic Ninety Mile beach, before heading back to Kaitaia.

The meeting of the 2 seas

One for the picture wall - at the lighthouse

Another shot of lighthouse

The sand dunes - pint sized Erica at the top of the dunes making her descent

Ninety mile beach

My birthday

2009-11-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

Was s'posed to post these last month but never got to it. Had family dinner at Sura's with the Murphy's & Dominique's children. Birthday cake was home baked by Robert - thanks! The next evening, Mervin and I had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Ponsonby, Pregos.

Year 2 Athletics

2009-11-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

Many of you may not know this, but Mervin was a top sprinter in his school days (hard to tell now I know). Well at least the genes got passed on to one of the children. We saw it today at Erica's Athletics Day. All the children in the school had to participate in all 4 events - sprints, throws, high jump, long jump. Erica got gold in the sprints, throws and high jump making her the Overall 7 year old girls champion. We knew she had a very good chance at sprints as she won that last year as well but the win for the throws and high jump was a surprise.

The sprints finals was very exciting as you can see in the video. It was a very close fight!

Sprint finals.....

Prize Giving...

Baseball season

2009-11-13T19:06:00.000-08:00

Baseball season has begun... which for Mervin and I mean no more sleep ins on Saturday mornings. We have to be at the games by 1/2 past 8! It's fun watching the kids though. Tim is in the Blue Jays (the red shirt is the Diamond Blacks Club shirt) Under 13s team and Erica's in the Blue Jays T-ball team.

The video shows Tim batting. Looks easy? Not quite. In this age group, you have to wait a while before someone hits the ball and there is action to cheer about! Otherwise you pretty much just sit there and encourage them to keep trying. We had to do that all of last year!!!
We were thrilled today when he got it at first strike! Way to go Tim!

Winter 2009

2009-07-03T00:42:00.000-07:00

Today the kids finish Term 2 of the school year. Tim is in Year 6 which is his final year at Our Lady Star of the Sea Primary School. Next year, he moves on to Sancta Maria College for Intermediate School. Erica is in Year 2.

I think we have been through the worst of winter. We had some really cold spells these past weeks - a few days of a low of 2 degrees, which was even lower than the temperatures that were being reported for the South Island. Sunny winter days however, are really nice and today we had one of those. It was actually warm and after school, the kids and I drove to the beach to soak in the sunshine which we miss so much. I thanked God to see the kids so happy and contented. Erica picked up a branch and was playing with it in the water and jumping over a little stream that had meandered its way in from the sea onto the beach. She was happy, carefree and free as a lark.

Tim had brought along his soccer & rugby balls and was trying out his new soccer boots which we bought him last weekend. It's his first pair of soccer boots and it was "awesome" he said. When he was done kicking the ball around and showing me some of the stunts he had learnt, he came to join us by the water.

I sat on the beach with my newspaper enjoying the peace and quiet of the afternoon. It was so nice not to have some urgent piece of work on my mind for a change. It was even nicer to watch my two children laughing and having a good time together, which is not always the case. PEACE is what I often pray for and today, I felt PEACE.

The Joy of Motherhood

2009-05-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

I had my best my Mother's Day this year. It's so nice to have kids who are finally old enough to understand the significance of the day and make it extra special. Erica had planned a secret "to do list" for her father and brother. It was hilarious. She must have said "I love you" about 10 times to me during the day. I was told I must just "do nothing and relax" all day long. She wouldn't even let me carry the shopping bags. At 8.30pm, just about her bedtime, she was a bit upset and when I asked why, she said she still had something else she wanted to do. I was told to lie down and she and Tim gave me a leg and body massage. It was simply wonderful. Thank you God for such wonderful children and a fantastic husband!

Malacca/ KL 2008

2009-02-11T04:16:00.000-08:00

As far as I can remember, there's always a wedding to attend in Malacca during the Christmas season. It was no exception this year. We were in Malacca for one night to attend the wedding of Mervin's cousin then proceeded to KL. Alison & Zac generously hosted us for 3 nights at their new home in USJ. Zac was determined to feed us 5 meals a day but we were of course more interested in shopping. On our last night there, Alison arranged for Santa to visit during our dinner at Elena's house. The kids were looking forward to it but were rather suspicious of Santa. Poor Santa was prodded and poked and eventually stripped.... confirming that it was actually Uncle Jonathan under that suit. We had a fabulous time. Wonderful company!

I told you it was Uncle Jonathan!

The next generation - Mitchell, Ariel, Arlene, Raphael, Tim & Erica

Anne, Mitchell & Alison

Erica and Uncle Zac

Apparently that's how you keep your car cool - KL style

We visited Aunty Jeannie in Malacca

Singapore 2008 - Sentosa with the Stewarts

2009-02-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

We spent the day with Andre, Hui Ping and their children, Julian, Megan and my god-daughter Nadine. Tim & Erica enjoyed swimming in the warm sea as it's always too cold to swim in the sea in Auckland, even when the sun is real hot in summer. Mervin and Andre went looking for fish but found a pair of mating crayfish instead.

Singapore 2009 - Titanic poses

2009-02-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

You can't go for a cruise and not do the titanic pose so off we went one afternoon looking for the tip of the ship but were told we could not get up there until the ship was anchored. So these are the best shots we got - back in Singapore with Sentosa in the background. Sigh! Would have been so much nicer in the open sea.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Thant

2009-02-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

Thant was our Myanmese room attendant. He was attentive, friendly and made us smile (and the kids shriek with delight) when we came back to the room one evening and saw these lovely towel animals made up for us. Such talent!

Sinagapore 2009 - Cruise - Room with a view

2009-02-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

Mervin took these lovely shots of Penang as we were departing that evening. I love the ones of the Penang Bridge.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Penang

2009-02-09T03:53:00.000-08:00

In the lantern above me, the upper Chinese character is pronounced

Qiu. That's my surname Khoo

One of the stops we made in Penang was the Khoo Kongsi, the Khoo clan ancestral home. As far as I know, we are not related to this clan but hey, we do share the same surname and are probably linked further back in time. I remember studying about the Khoo Kongsi when studying Penang history in secondary school but though I have visited Penang several times, this is the first time I'm visiting this place. Quite educational I must say!

Singapore 2009 - Cruise

2009-02-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

Mum kindly booked us on the Super Star Virgo Cruise that took us to Penang and Phuket. For me the best part of the cruise was the Live Entertainment. There were live musicals and shows with amazing acrobatic performances every night. The cast and the quality of the shows were just outstanding. Food was plentiful, a bit too much actually but the shopping in Penang and Phuket was gooood. More fun than shopping in Singapore anyway.

Singapore 2008 - Wild Wild Wet

2009-02-09T03:02:00.000-08:00

This won't be repeated in our bathroom girl!

Don't worry Auntie Priscilla, we're almost there.

Gaby's new garb

The children remembered Wild Wild Wet from the previous Singapore visit and couldn't wait to go. The first time round, we went with Priscilla & Catherine who were also in town. It felt that one of our regular Auckand outings. We made a second trip after Mervin arrived with Andy and gang . The hot favourite was the U lah lah!, where 4 or 5 persons sit in a giant inflatable float and get washed down a giant water slide. The foam machine a la Siloso Beach Foam Party, a new feature at the water park, was also heaps of fluffy fun. It's a great place to spend the day and get the children all tired out.

Singapore 2009 - The Liverpool Gang

2009-02-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

We spent several lovely days in Tampines. Tim & Erica had their first taste of winning a gambling session. They were introduced to xi, gor, luck (4,5,6 in Hokkien) which they enjoyed tremendously, and kept asking for more. Tim was also converted to a Liverpoolian, it's hard not to be one when you are surrounded by them. Erica of course, preferred Dumbo.

Singapore 2009 (not a mistake) - Dinner at A&A's

2009-02-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

Dinner at Adrienne & Adrian's home is always a highlight of our trip to Singapore. Our favourite Eurasian devil curry and feng are always on menu, amongst Adrienne's other scrumptuous dishes. It's always one of those dinners where you keep eating and eating and eating then when it's time to get up from your seat, you feel umm, like you can't lift yourself up.

This is the first time we're visiting A&A's new home in Pasir Ris. It's so beautifully put together. I particularly like the full height showcase custom made for all the lovely miniature ornaments that Adrienne has collected over the years.

We were also meeting babies Caitlin, Erik and Natalie for the first time and it was most interesting watching the different personalities of the littlies. They are all so gorgeous. Wai Ling & Phil, Nick and Sus - watching you guys running after them, I'm glad mine are the age they are at... as you can tell, no more babies for me.

It was great to catch up with Marilyn again after such a long time. She's off to another new mammoth challenge. I've always admired Marilyn's drive and energy.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to come along and Adrienne and Adrian for hosting us, though for fewer hours than I expected to stay :) Till we next meet, God bless.

Singapore 2008 - Gerard

2009-02-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

Not long before we arrived, Gerard was enlisted into National Service. It's the first for our family. I got a call from Mum after she had sent Gerard off. She was quite emotional and understandably worried. With two daughters, she had never had to go through the heartache of having a son go through NS. She brought Gerard up as a child and like all grandmas doted on him. She was concerned about how he would cope with the tough training since as we all know, Gerard is overweight.

Anyway, I was glad to see when we arrived that Gerard was surviving quite well. The training only made him miss his food more so Saturday and Sundays were eating days. MEAT is what Gerard wanted and that's what he got.

Time flies..... above, see picture of Gerard when he was ring bearer at my wedding. He, and thank goodness not Mervin, got cold feet when he saw the sword bearers at the altar and refused to budge.... Thankfully he was "persuaded" to move along.

I should also put on record that with his very first pay check from the government for, as he put it, "running around and wasting my time", he bought my children soft toys for Christmas! Dumbo for Erica and Yoshi, from Super Mario for Tim. Thanks Dei! Love you and love your rendition of Hindi songs.

Singapore 2008 - Mum

2009-02-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

It was good to see Mum again! 2 1/2 years is a long time. We had been planning for the past few weeks - sleeping arrangements, our cruise, food etc etc and it was nice to finally be here, right here in Singapore, in Mum's brand new flat which I was seeing for the first time. Block 32, TP was our home for 38 years and it had aged. So glad that mum has a nice new place now right in the heart of TP Central. It made getting around real convenient as the MRT was just round the corner and the bus network was just amazing.

Mum has mellowed considerably. I am glad to say that throughout the whole 5 weeks, we got on wonderfully. We've had our differences in the past but this time was different. We talked, went out together, had fun with the kids, and of course, she had the opportunity to feed us, both with her home cooked meals and the yummiest local delicacies from around TP. Breakfast was always a 4-course meal - tau hwey, chai tao kweh, vegetarian fried mee hoon, chwee kwey,soon kwey....... can't remember the rest.

The kids enjoyed mama. She brought them to the library, pasar malam every day for a whole week, 2 movies and TP central for shopping.

Our trip also coincided with Mum's 74 birthday which was nice!

Singapore 2008 - Erica's godparents

2009-02-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Erica was very excited to see her godparents and their family again. She was convinced they would not recognise her (although I tried to tell her they had seen recent photos of her)

This is Erica's recount:

I went to my Godparent's house and I did Wii at their house. We had lots of fun playing Wii. We played Wii tennis, Wii bowling and Wii baseball.

My godparents have glasses, they are always happy and they were very kind.

My godsister Rachael is tall. I made beads with Rachael. We had her birthday in Singapore.

Singapore 2008 - Swim at Sabina's

2009-02-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

The trip the whole family had been looking forward to finally arrived. We spent 5 wonderful weeks in Singapore, caught up with some of our bestest friends on what had been happening for the past 2 1/2 years. Us grown up folks (I first typed older then deleted) hadn't changed much physically but boy oh boy have the next generation grown. Our little girls have all blossomed (some bountifully too!) into gorgeous young ladies and the scruffy little boys are all well groomed, well mannered & confident and very good looking young men. We are SO proud of you all!

One of the first friends I caught up with on the trip was Sab and Moira. We had a lovely afternoon at Season's Park where the kids had their first swim in Singapore. We had chicken rice of course, NZ strawberries and chocolate dip , swam, talked, kids did the sauna (in the hot sun, crazy), played the memory game which I lost as expected and took photos on Sab's new couch! We had heaps of fun that afternoon. Thanks Sab and Moira for having us.

Erica turns 6

2008-08-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

We had to battle a really tough bout of flu to get there but we did! An all girl party of five - Catherine, Maia. Nicole, Sabine and Erica herself, of course, celebrated Erica's 6th birthday at the Teddy Factory in Sylvia Park, one of the largest mega malls in Auckland.

The girls got to pick their own bears, then got them filled up, christened them and made them birth certificates. They also got a surprise visit from Freddy the Bear who was asleep at that time, and to be awakened by the 5 screaming girls. To go with the bear theme, the cake was a Care Bear cake, lovingly made by mum. The lunch and cake was cut at MacDonald's at the Sylvia Park Food Mall, giving the girls time for a play at the playground

Celebrating with the Tans

2008-05-25T16:28:00.001-07:00

We were in Melbourne just recently to celebrate with Justin and Mary their 20th Wedding Anniversary. The celebration began at their home with a beautiful mass where Mary & Justin renewed their marriage vows. All the 5 older children had a part to play in the mass - doing readings and sharing. I especially enjoyed the music accompaniment provided by the violion, piano and guitar trio. After mass, the Tan children sang "Stand by me", which I thought was very appropriate for the occasion. No Singaporean celebration would be complete without food & gambling so we dug into a sumptuous Chinese dinner at a restaurant closeby and then ended the night with Poker. It was fun to catch up with not just the Tans but also Cath and Tony's family as well as get acquainted with June and Henry.

We were totally pampered by the Tans the whole 10 days we were there. No cooking for me - yeah! No nagging the kids - they hardly fought because they had other distractions. Ming & Tim hit it off right away, and Erica had Isabel, Connie and Cassie to dote on her. Alphonsus and Ian got Mervin pretty hooked on poker. Justin has trained his kids well, actually ALL his kids play poker including Ming!I'm sure Ren won't be far away. I didn't have to decide what to eat and where to go - Mary had it all planned and under control.

We spent a wonderful weekend at Inverloch with the Tans and the Chongs, and whilst we were there, headed to Philips Island to see the fairy penguins. The children loved it!

We spent a day at the Weribee Open Range Zoo and saw some wild cats way up close.

Had tea at a pretty and quaint tea house called Mrs Marples at Sassafras and then caught the Puffing Billy.

On our final night there, we had an awesome Teppanyaki dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

I musn't forget to mention that we did a fair bit of shopping. Shopping in Melbourne was magnificent compared to Auckland so we got a bit carried away. You will soon see (in summer) the 27kg Kathmandu 6-man tent we brought home all the way from Melbourne because it was clearing at 75% discount off the normal price!

Camping in New Zealand - Back on the track

2008-04-13T04:11:00.000-07:00

After the unscheduled dip, we were back on the track and the view just kept getting more and more spectacular. Surrounded by 360 degrees unobstructured views of the mountain ranges, we really felt on top of the world!
And just when we about dried up, someone spotted another watering hole, so off went the clothes again and into the water we went.

You'd think we were soaking in a man-made spa in some Indonesian island resort until you see the moutain ranges in the backdrop....

Yeah! this is the real thing, this is LIFE!

And this time, I couldn't resist getting into the water myself.

And Priscilla followed soon after..

When we had finished, all that was left to do was to contemplate the beauty of God's wonderful creation.

Camping in New Zealand - Macho Men

2008-04-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

The walk to the Rainbow Falls was nice. The children had fun picking up stones - thanks to Priscilla's very informative geology facts. Soon their pockets were filled and guess who had to carry their stones for them????

Having walked about 3/4 an hour in the hot summer sun, the watering hole looked very enticing, but boy or boy were they wrong if they thought the water was also warm. The first few seconds was biting cold then it got better.

Whilst the guys were showing off their abs, we girls had our fun too.

After all that excitement, it was time to have the tuna & corn beef lunch we prepared at camp.

Tim is 9 (2 months ago)

2008-04-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Cake compliments of mum - it's a baseball alright!

Camping in NZ Part 2 will have to wait. I can't get the pictures out of my SD card - it doesn't seem to work which is highly annoying, so I'll post Tim's 9th birthday pictures instead.

My baby turned 9 on 15 February. Time flies. God blessed us with this little bundle of joy only 7 years into our marriange. He was the cutest little thing, and people used to just stop us at malls to admire him. For the longest time, his pacifier was his second and third finger - that was all he needed to fall asleep. Today my boy loves his Pokemon, gameboy and PS2. His new found interest is Baseball. Since he joined T-ball early this year, he's scored Player of the game twice and he's very proud of it. He'll be joining the Winter League in May. Tim plays the guitar very well too but he won't admit it. Twice he has done busking and once performed to the residents at the Metlife Resthome solo - on all occasions, he received lots of compliments. Our boy is still very much a mummy & daddy boy - loves his cuddles and kisses which we gladly shower on him.
This year's birthday we celebrated at Xtreme Bowling and then home for an Amazing Race challenge which yours truly planned and Mervin helped execute. The boys had a ball of time looking for the punga tree & hibiscus bush (what's that? we heard them saying), doing up a puzzle inside a tent, transferring marbles between bowls using chopsticks (the kiwi kids weren't too polite with their remarks at this station) and everyone's favourite - going through the water slide.

From left: Alex, Kurt,Liam, Tim, Gerardo, Connor, Erica, Justin

Camping in New Zealand - Part 1

2008-04-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

We've talked about it for ages. I've always said "No way!. No bathroom attached, I'm not going." But with Robert's "challenge" and a reasonable "compromise", we did it and it was an awesome experience - camping at the Discovery Lodge in the National Park, Whakapapa (pronounced fa-ke-papa).

Our tents were modest compared to some flash ones lined up beside ours - but still we were kept safe and warm and that's what mattered in the end.......

We went prepared with the necessities - like the lamp & mozzie repellants, as well as comfy pillows and polar fleece blankets.

In winter, the mountains in the backdrop is a ski field, the largest one in the North Island of NZ. With the summer sun, and the particularly hot summer we've had, you can only streaks of ice....

Just at the foothill of the mountains is The Chateau (with the green roof). It's one of those grand old dames - like the Raffles Hotel in S'pore - apparently owned by a S'porean (probably Ong Beng Seng or the Kwek family - I must find out). Robert's parents spent their honeymoon there too (information provided by Joan)

Sky City

2008-04-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

No visit to Auckland is complete without a visit to the Sky City, the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere. Looking down the glass bottom floor and full length windows always gives me butterflies in my tummy obviously not a problem for Ren, Erica and Tim.

And with that, we complete my records of the wonderful memories of Justin, Mary and Ren's visit to Auckland. Another visit, this time with all 6 kids in tow is planned for I think, 2009.

Kiwi Valley Farm

2008-04-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

Have lots of photos that have not been posted for Justin and Mary's trip to Auckland so better do it before we head off to Melbourne in 2 weeks time....

The Kiwi Valley Farm is in Henderson. Its a petting zoo. I love taking guests there because of the free pony rides at the end of the visit. Its always a hit with the kids.. and adults too. For this visit, we took Catherine Murphy with us.

Even Mary decided in the end to take a ride........

Kauri Forest and Kauri Museum

2008-02-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

On the way home to Auckland, we took the western coast and paid a visit to Tane Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest- a 2000 year old Kauri Tree which is about 50 metres tall . Its huge, really majestic.

It was difficult to photograph the whole tree and still be in the picture so if you look really really hard, you can see a pin-size Ren at the bottom of the next picture.

Our final stop was the Kauri Museum in Matakohe where we saw some fascinating kauri exhibits.

A cross section of a kauri tree......

Bath tubs were once made of kauri......

Inside a kauri tree trunk...

Boarding house of the 1900s...

Kauri art pieces.....

Kauri home deco and furniture......

and Kauri gum...

oops, Erica almost lost her finger to kauri fish!

Pictures from the Moana Lodge, Paihia

2008-02-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

Thought we should do the posy thing before we left this lovely place. Excellent accommodation! Clean, neat, good location, and great outlook!

Russell/ Pompallier Mission - Part 3 of Tan's visit

2008-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

On the 2nd day of our visit to the Bay of Islands, we dropped by the quaint little seaside village of Russell. We lunched there then went a little tour of the island. Pompallier Mission, NZ's oldest surviving Roman Catholic building was one of the stops. It was originally used as the headquarters of the Catholic mission to Western Oceania. The building is built of rammed earth within a kauri framework. The part of the building we visited was the printery, tannery and storehouse for the Marist mission of Bishop Pompallier. The visit was most interesting for Tim since Bishop Pompallier is often mentioned in school, and the ship on which Bishop Pompallier sailed on appears on his school badge.

There was a school visit on so the guide kept us well entertained with her commentaries and demonstrations. She showed us how cow hide was made into leather in the tannery, a tedious process of soaking the skin in urine and drying and repeating that process many many times.

On the 2nd level was the printery - we saw how a plate was made to print a single page of a book- each alphabet had to hand picked to form a word, sentence and page, run the black ink on the plate and let to dry for a day before you get one printed page. No wonder books were so expensive at that time. Apparently the Marist helped the Maorists print their books for free.

We then lent the lovely lady a hand to print a picture of the Mission.

Paihia - Bay of Islands Cruise

2007-12-01T03:39:00.001-08:00

We took the Tans to the resort town of Paihia (Bay of Islands), about 4 hours drive, north of Auckland. On the way there, we stopped at Whangarei for a picnic lunch we had packed that morning. This three hour cruise, for both the Tans and us as well, was one of the best cruises we had ever been on. Not only was it very scenic as you can see in the photos, the highlight of the cruise was spotting the wild dolphins, who swam with and around us for a good ten minutes. Some of the dolphins were even having a race with the cataraman we were on. It was absolutely awesome! The kids were so thrilled! The catamaran also had to manuovre its way through the Hole in the Rock, a 15m wide hole. Pretty spectacular too.
Take note of Mary's very affectionate cuddle for Justin in one of the photos - don't they look lovely there? That didn't come without a price. Justin had to agree to bringing the whole family back to Auckland in 2009.

Tim's First Holy Communion

2007-12-01T01:32:00.001-08:00

Tim celebrated his First Holy Communion on 25 November 2007 at St Mark's Parish in Pakuranga, Auckland. We were honoured to have Tim's godparents, Mary and Justin and their 2 1/2 year old son, Ren (Julian) come from Melbourne to join us for the ceremony and to spend a week with us. The ceremony started at noon, celebrated by Parish priest Fr Barry Scannell. It was a beautiful mass - most parts of the mass involved the children - sorry prayers, readings, intentions, offertory and a liturgical dance. Every single child had something special to do. After mass, everyone was invited to the Holy Communion breakfast (actually lunch). The room was beautifully set up - with colour-coordinated balloons, plates, sprinkles, table cloth and individual seatings and name cards for each child. Very impressive! The children had also made posters about their themselves and these were placed on the walls for everyone's viewing pleasure. Very speical and very meaningful as each child wrote or drew about his interests and his family.
I could tell Tim relished all the attention. Asked how it felt, he said "Good but the wine was bitter." My boy is growing up so quickly.

Launch of Blessings

2007-12-01T00:45:00.001-08:00

Blessings NZ Ltd was officially launched on 6 October 2007. From the moment the seed of interest was sowed to the picking of the name of our company and the inception of the company, Adelyn and I have seen and felt the Lord's hands guiding us through this partnership. Blessings operates out of St Mark's Parish in Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand. We sell Catholic and Christian religious items and gifts - rosaries, bibles, books, holy pictures, medals, statues and other such items. It has been an extremely rewarding experience running this business and we are thoroughly enjoying it. Just as the Lord has blessed us, we pray that each and every one who purchases something from our store will also be blessed! Thank you everyone for your love and support - especially our husbands, Mervin and Vincent and our children, Tim, Erica, Jonathan, Kevin, Nicholas and Alex.

Erica's 5th Birthday

2007-11-30T23:06:00.001-08:00

Pauanui Part 2

2007-07-24T04:46:00.001-07:00

Read Pauanui Part 1 for the details.... this was a wonderful weekend getaway and a nice close for this cold and rainy July school holidays.

Pauanui - Part 1

2007-07-24T03:39:00.000-07:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting We were invited to join Robert, Priscilla and Catherine at their family bach (Kiwi term for holiday home) in Pauanui, east of Coromandel. Upon arrival, Robert wasted no time in telling us we would go for a "short walk". The walk turned out to be a 3 hour trek up a 700m mountain. Of course, we had done two other walks with them but this was something else. OK, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining but it certainly was the most challenging "walk" we (alright, I mean me) had ever done. As we got higher, the spectacular views made the panting& puffing and wombly knees all worth it. From up there, we could see all of Pauanui, Tairua and some of the other offshore islands. Just as we reached the peak, a family of fantails appeared from nowhere and hovered around us the whole time we were there - a lovely welcome we all enjoyed. So, now you know what Erica's going on about in the video. More pictures of what we saw in the next blog.......

Off to School in 20 days

2007-07-23T22:47:00.001-07:00

She's the happiest soon-to-be five year old at the moment! Its been an hour since we put the uniform on, and after these pictures were taken but she refuses to take them off. Our little cookie baby is off to "big" school on 13 August, 3 days after she turns 5. She's as excited as can be 'cos now she gets to go to school with Tim! Just in case you think I made her pose, I did not - these were totally candid! I shiver to think what she'll be like in 10 years time.

Tim's Confirmation

2007-06-29T05:05:00.001-07:00

Tim received the sacrament of Confirmation on 20 June 2007 together with 63 other candidates. Bishop Robin Leamy was the celebrant. Tim's sponsors were Vincent and Adelyn.

Waiuku Forest

2007-06-29T03:33:00.001-07:00

A month after the first orienteering event at Woodhill Forest, we spent another Sunday morning walking through the Waiuku Forest with Robert, Priscilla & Catherine, and Vicki. Weather wasn't good again, so we prayed, and again, we got good weather. Thank you Lord. The walk lasted about an hour and a half, and was a little more challenging than the last one. A few more tight corners and slippery slopes. The most memorable part of the walk was probably the strong perfume of the dung.....oooooo! I felt almost pukish at some points. We ploughed on because we knew there was a sumptuous reward coming up. With Vicki's house just round the corner, it was a convenient detour for much needed nourishment.

Day at Coromandel

2007-04-29T04:23:00.001-07:00

Two weeks Easter break for schools. Mervin took a day off. Headed to the Coromandel Coast for the day to visit Waiau Water Works and Driving Creek Railway. No one warned us that the 2 1/2 hour drive was going to be as harrowing as it was. Extremely windy coastal roads - many stretches had 35 km/h speed limit ( in other words - really dangerous). A few crazy hell-bound drivers whizzed past us, much to our annoyance. Waiau Water Works was great fun. Chris the owner had created all kinds of neat stuff from recycled materials. Also had lots of play activities which both adults and kids could enjoy. Brilliant guy. These photos don't do justice to his works, more was captured on the video which I'll put up sometime soon. Train ride was so-so but views from the top was nice. Maybe we were rather tired by then.

First taste of Orienteering

2007-04-29T01:44:00.001-07:00

Weather forecast was rain but with great faith and a decade of rosary, we had one of the loveliest mornings. Robert and Priscilla took us out west to Woodhill, through Kumeu for an orienteering event, organised by the Auckland Orienteering Club. We did the 1.8km route, took it nice and slow, with many stops for Robert to give Mervin and I interesting information about the flora and fauna. Priscilla took Catherine, Tim and Erica and zoomed off so the kids could clock in their times at the check points. The e-card was good for the kids as it kept them motivated to move along. 'tis our first time, 'twas great fun and we're hoping to do it at least once a month. After all that "hard work", we pigged out on Lamb Briyani at Westgate!

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

There was no rain on Good Friday(felt a bit odd)... and we've had a lovely sunny Easter Weekend. It won't be sunny and warm much longer so we took the opportunity to have another BBQ. Adelyn, Vincent & Alex, Lucy, James, Sheldon & Raewyn and Aunty (Lucy's mum who's visiting from Sarawak), Nancy and Gladys, and Kate (Adelyn's friend) , and Mary came along. There was lots to eat - I prepared Chicken wings, lamb and satay sauce for Lucy's yummy satays. Mary did a prawn salad for appetizer. Adelyn brought prawns and fish, Lucy also made potato salad and brownies for dessert. Kids were in a corner playing Eye Toy - got them really tired. It was a wonderful evening with lots of fun and laughter. It was Nancy, Gladys. Aunty and Kate's first time at our place. Comments - like Damai beach resort (Aunty), very English country (Kate), Like a kiwi home (Gladys). The kids are off school for the next two weeks..... and tomorrow, the painters are back to finish off re-staining the outside of our house.

Top Pix: Sheldon, Vincent & Alex (like father like son), Raewyn (in the back) and chief cook, Mervin of course!

Bottom Pix: James (in the far back), Mary, Kate, Adelyn & Alex, Lucy & Raewyn, and Erica.

Grow your own veges

2007-04-08T21:10:00.001-07:00

Erica and the rest of the four year olds have been working on their garden project for many months now They sowed the seeds, ploughed the land, watered the gardens and have been watching them grow. On Holy Thursday, parents were invited to watch what they had done. It was a lovely experience.

It was also the last day of school for 3 of the boys who had turned 5. They'll be off to school after the Easter holls. It'll be Erica's turn to leave this wonderful place too in when she turns 5 on August 10. She'll be taking with her some wonderful memories of this place.

A Boy's Affair

2007-03-04T00:25:00.000-08:00

Today was Mervin's 43rd Birthday. We had an early start to the day with mass at 8.30am and then off to Waiuku for the Country Boys Toys Fair held at the Aka Aka School Grounds. The stopover at Vicki and Arthur's place took longer than expected as we got sidetracked by the juicy peaches, grapes and nashi pears.

After we'd had our fill, it was off to the fair. The kids headed straight for the massive playground, which was extremely lavish for a small country school. Mervin and Arthur headed off to the Vintage Tools hall whilst Vicki and I went round looking at antique cars. I'm not much of a car fan but this fair was something else, the Bentleys (my favourite), Mustangs, Cheveys etc were in such excellent condition. It was very interesting seing so many vintage cars all at one place. To have a taste of what country life is like, Tim had a go at sawing a log. Not bad, with a lot of help, a piece came off. Back at Vicki's place, Vicki had a surprise birthday cake for Mervin. Thanks Vicki!

Lilly's Locker Beach Trip

2007-03-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

About 8 of us mums and dads had to chaperone the 30 littlies to the private beach across the school. The water level was only ankle deep for about 30 metres out in the sea. It was perfect for the outing. The kids had races, swam, built castles, created sand art, picked up little beach treasures and some pirates even left some lollies buried in the sand for them.

Tim and his mates

2007-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

We brought the boys to Treasure Island Mini Golf. It was a surprise for Tim till we arrived. He was expecting a party at home. Weather was great but very hot. Lovely place for a family outing.

Tim is 8

2007-03-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Tim turned 8 on 15 Feb. The school had a Welcome Picnic so we brought a cake there together with dinner rolls and chicken nibbles. Kids played on the giant water slide put up by the PTA. More people than expected turned up in our corner - we had Justin Croudace and his family, Mei and her kids, Alicia and her kids and Priscilla and her family. Mrs Lindstrom, the VP spotted us with a birthday cake and came by to wish Tim. The candle was no match for the wind so we gave up! Tim made his wish and we dug into the home made Pokemon cake.

Chinese New Year 2007

2007-03-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

We had a Chinese New Year celebration at church this year, so we had to dress up for the occasion. It was nice for the Kiwis to suggest having a do. Of course, we had a Kiwi sausage sizzle out in the back yard but we Asians brought our Asian fare. For entertainment, there were Korean drummers, a Taiwanese dance and a tae-kwon-do demo. We couldn't get a Lion dance troupe unfortunately.

Had Robert, Priscilla and Catherine, and next-door-neighbour, Jason over for Steamboat "Reunion Dinner". Priscilla made the best satay I've had in NZ so far. Missed mum's Buah Keluak though! May the year of the Pig bring us much wealth and prosperity!!!! Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

Christmas Day 2006

2007-03-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

We had just moved into Gosford for about a month, so we had lots of visitors in the two weeks leading up to Christmas and after.

Lots of cooking for me but well worth it because everyone had fun!

The View

2007-03-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

This view we get from our deck and kitchen is quite hard to beat. It's equally gorgeous day and night.

The House

2007-03-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

This lovely bougainvilla spirals up to the wrap- around deck.

Lots of other plants and native trees in the back - also means lots of weekend work for Mervin.

New Home

2007-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

After looking for just over 2 years, we finally found our dream home in New Zealand. Its a Lockwood style home, perfect for the country style decor we love. There are 3 bedrooms, open plan living / dining and an internal access garage. Our master bedroom opens out onto a big deck - where we have our BBQs. Its a cosy place, with a wonderful outlook and lovely neighbours.