Monday, August 24, 2015

A Winter Weekend at Waitarere

Ha ha ha - a corny title, I know! ;)

We spent last weekend up at Waitarere Beach, because Molly had a gymnastics competition in nearby Levin on the Sunday and we thought it would be easier to be based up there rather than drive two hours on the day. So we hired a bach that we'd been to before and took the opportunity to kick back and relax...

We've been up this way countless times before.... it's a beautiful, desolate, switch-off kind of place. And a beautiful, desolate, switch-off kind of place was so very much needed for all of us at the moment. Life's been busy!


So, switch off and recharge our batteries we did! Our time at Waitarere was lazy and included lots of reading and/or drawing time on couches under blankets and duvets....


And there was lots of time spent sitting on the deck playing games with plastic animals and bits of wood...



And lots of board games by the fire...


It wasn't all laziness though! Both Jake and I got out for a couple of runs each. I have to confess to being not only a fair-weather runner, but also a flat-terrain runner. This is the reason why I have barely run since we left Auckland in 2007: the Falkland Islands were too cold, Alice Springs was too hot, and Wellington is too hilly ;) 

But Waitarere Beach is just right! You can't beat a running route like this...


And during other moments of energy, we all played on the beach. At this time of year there's usually a lot of driftwood along this part of the coastline. Molly made good use of it to practise her beam routine in time for the competition on Sunday..

She also used it for climbing and exploring...



Meanwhile Alfie and Jake made good use of it for stick fighting competitions (?) 




And Alfie and I built a driftwood teepee. We had a lot of fun doing that!


This kind of stuff is what helps Jake and I feel normal again when life gets too crazy. It's really been too crazy lately! Just playing on the beach is the most amazing remedy for stress. We should all do this every week! 

Long jump competition...



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