It's that week when I always think time is going to stretch on forever and we're going to enjoy lie-ins, leisurely mornings with coffee and the newspaper, the last of the present opening, day trips, endless hours at the beach, runs, swims and bush walks, playdates and barbeques, as well as productive times in the house and garden, time for completing that long "To Do" list that's been lying around all year.
The reality is always a little bit different. It's only 7 days after all!
But it's been a great week despite us not quite achieving all of the above! It's been a very sociable time and barely a day has gone past without us hosting or being hosted at a lunch and/or dinner. In fact, I can't actually remember the last time I cooked an ordinary dinner for just the 4 of us.
Jake even made a pavlova!
Although I hadn't expected this to actually happen, we also finally got a few DIY jobs completed around the house this week - although I have to say this was only because of the help of one very lovely friend who came round one day for a barbeque clutching his toolbox and got stuck into all the outstanding jobs for us - I think he knew that if he didn't do this, all our DIY jobs would probably still be there this time next year!
We've also had a couple of mammoth sessions on the garden - with our very willing little helpers joining in! We pruned, weeded, mowed, and cut down a massive Privet Tree out the front - firstly because it was starting to dominate the garden and also because it is classified as a pest/invasive species and causes bad hayfever as well, so we decided to just get rid of it.
Of course, no jobs are ever fully completed in our household, so although the tree is down, it is now laid across the front door and all visitors have to come in the back gate instead. Hopefully we will have disposed of it by next Christmas (!)
The weather's been a completely mixed bag lately, with some hot sunny days, some heavy humidity, and some cloud and rain. (Today is gorgeous, but we've been told to expect gale force winds tomorrow - no one can say the weather here is boring!).So on the cooler days we've been exploring new walking tracks.
We found a new secret pathway up Mount Kau Kau one day, and another day we walked all around the coastline to Pencarrow Lighthouse - it was about a 15kms return trip so the kids slept well that night!
Here's one of the reasons I love New Zealand: we're in the nation's capital city and we can walk around a coastline like this, sharing the beach with a few sheep!
The next day we probably should have taken it easy and given the kids a rest...
...but instead we went out biking on the Hutt River Trail in 27 degree heat and ridiculously high humidity levels.
To start with the kids just LOVED it - but by the end they looked completely shattered!
To start with the kids just LOVED it - but by the end they looked completely shattered!
The trail goes for 28kms but we "only" did about 10 or 12 kms, stopping on the way for a bit of a paddle in the river to cool off, and again for some lunch, and again for a play in the playground at Avalon Park.
For the last day of the year, we let everyone rest and recuperate by taking a trip down to Makara Beach, one of our favourite family spots and in my opinion one of the most special places in the whole world. We pottered about in the rock pools collecting crabs and water shells, had a picnic, played "tag" and generally relaxed......a great way to end 2013.
Happy New Year everyone!
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