New Years Day 2012

When the Teen was little, we would sometimes sit outside blowing wish bubbles. Sometimes we'd make a wish for ourselves within the bubbles, sometimes we'd wish on behalf of our friends, and sometimes we'd really push bubble magic by wishing for the world as a whole. 

Fast forward to New Years Day 2012. All the elements came together this day. The Lad managed to swing the day off work, the weather was postcard perfect, Cheltenham beach was - surprisingly - not tooo packed, and the bubbles were flowing.... 

The Lily Bug revealed her wish to me as she stood at the water's edge.

To blow a really big bubble.  

And shortly after - she did. 

The girl is now a believer in the power of bubble magic. ;)

End note: This is a post dated entry. It's currently 3rd March 2013 as I write this and being that I've been completely slack about blogging this year, I figure I'll make up for lost time by uploading some of my fav pics from Jan & Feb with 'a few' accompanying sentences...

Finding Summer

Somewhere amid the gusting easterly winds, grey sky and scattered showers, it's supposed to be summer. The forecast says 'don't make beach plans this week' or words to that effect. So I say, let's get to the beach now kids before that wind picks up some more.   If there's a summer out there, we'll find it. And drag it kicking and screaming back home with us if we must.

First stop: Nan's house. The kids chased each other on hands and knees across the lawn. Gathered flowers to show me. It became a game to see who could find the best floral treasure. Then the Lily Bug discovered Nan's yellow tomatos. Yellow! Her favourite colour. Yellow is the colour of happiness she frequently tells me. Yellow is the magical colour that made her love capsicums. And scrambled eggs. And cheese. But not yet Nan's yellow tomatos. They're not quite ripe enough.

Then it was on to the beach. We love the beach when those easterly winds turn the calm flat waters of Narrow Neck into a small-scale surf beach. Exciting, without being overwhelming. The kids ran circles around each other and practiced handstands. Buried treasure. Jumped the white wash. Technically, it's summer. The wind was warm.

The journey home had me singing crazy songs at the top of my voice to stop Guy Smiley from falling asleep in the car. Don't want him to be up all night. Of course, he went into over-tired mode and was up half the night anyway. Least it gave him some bonding time with dad who has been working long hours with little time off.  They love to play *insert random car racing game here* on the X-box together. The Lad brings out the foam mattress and duvet, and Guy Smiley snuggles down with him and makes broom-broom sounds. The novelty usually wears off after five minutes, but those minutes are gorgeous.

Guy Smiley has a dimple on each cheek. Look close and you'll see. Gorgeous it is.

So that was our Tuesday. And I'm catching up with Communal Global for the first time in weeks and weeks, & Our World Tuesday for the first time, to share it. :)

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
~Anton Chekhov

Staking out my place for the summer

Auckland's Cheltenham Beach on a hot sunny day at low tide is the BEST place to be. And it's where you'll find me, as much as possible, over the next few summer months.

At low tide you can wade through crystal clear shallow water until it seems you'll reach Rangitoto island and still find the water only up to your knees. (Well, at least until you begin to reach the channel, during which time the water quickly deepens and becomes choppy and you start to wonder if one more step will drop you over your head. It's always at that point that I realise just how far from the shoreline I have waded, and turn back in fear of sharks - and of being over my head.)

There is an ankle-deep stretch of water that forms between the beach and a super low sand bar that shows itself during low tide. This water warms up nicely in the sun and is perfect for a 20 month old who wants to splash about but is still nervous of the ocean.

Cheltenham, and neighbouring Narrow Neck, are the beaches of my childhood. My happiest memories are the ones created here. From digging for pippis at Cheltenham, to wandering the rocks of Narrow Neck in search of sea snails (which in hindsight, fill me with horror to know that my mother actually made me think it was normal to eat those things!)

It may not be so easy for our family to reach the beach these days, being that we have to make a 25 minute drive as opposed to the 5 minute stroll of my childhood, but I plan to help the munchkins create as many awesome memories at this place as I can.

But maybe without the collecting and eating of sea snails.

The photo where the Lily Bug is running with her tongue sticking out? That was her "I'm about to initiate a sand fight' face. Poor girl, what was she thinking, trying to take on her dad!

Tea Party Chimps Break Free!

One good thing to come out of all the rain we've had lately, is that it makes us appreciate the sneak peeks of summer all the more. Impromptu trips to the beach are always a relief after days (and days) of being cooped inside like crazy Tea Party Chimps.

Beautiful Spring afternoons at the beach are awesome. Even if a developing north-westerly causes us to keep the long-sleeved layers firmly in place.



Whenever we go to the beach, there's a comfortable kind of pattern we always follow. Guy Smiley jabbers away in super-excited tones while pointing out even the smallest of things in gushing awe, the Lily Bug decides to make sand angels after we've rinsed the sand off her for the journey home, J pulls a finger every time I try to take a photo of him - unless I can nab a pic when his hands are full of jumping wriggling children - and my attempts at a self-portrait are quickly deleted as soon as they're reviewed. Stupid camera. I don't really look that haggard do I? Oh gods...

It's a given, that all of these things will happen when we go to the beach. But there's always a slight shift in the way that they're carried out. A bit of Universal tweaking here and there.  Guy Smiley's exclaimations have changed from "oooh!" to "wow!" to "wow cool!" and "ooh dook!" and as of last week, "there-eh-zizz!" which means "there it is" and he exclaims it every time someone familiar appears, or a lost toy/remote for the TV is found, or in the case of our day at the beach; he spots a man cruising the sky on a motorised paraglider.

Once upon a time, the Lily Bug ran from the shoreline; fearful of the ocean. Then as her confidence and familiarity with the beach grew, she ran to the whitewash. Eventually she reached a point where she'd splash through the shallows at low tide. Wade in a little deeper while holding our hands. Now she lunges into the water, high tide, with only a passing concern for jelly fish and monsters of the deep. A reminder to wait for us keeps her in line a little, but she feels she's a big girl now. Just the other week she realised she's not merely three years old; she's three and a half! That's nearly four! Which is, as far as she's concerned, old enough to swim with taniwha and wrestle kraken.

Times are a changing.

          But the Lily Bug isn't one to throw all caution to the wind yet. She was the first person to spy the jellyfish in the water even as we were stretching towels across the sand. And when I went closer to have a look, she warned "don't let it sting you mum!" I didn't even realise she knew jellyfish could sting.

That's my ever-cautious girl. Always looking out for the possible dangers. I wish Guy Smiley was half as tentative. He's happy to tear off in any direction.

Oh, and before you think I've forgotten all about the Teen... She doesn't tend to go to the beach with us these days. I mean, she's a teen. And sadly this means hanging out with her family is really really not at all cool. If she is dragged with us to the beach, she sits on a towel flicking away grains of sand while she texts her friends - no doubt sending out some kind of plea for help. Although in saying that, I do have photographic evidence of her involvement in a sandfight with the Lily Bug last summer...

So, I've said this before, oh so recently, but I just have to say it again...
Roll on Summer. :)

Making the most of Global Warming's early days...

 Before it gets too hot to leave the fridge.




Impromptu trips to the beach when beautiful weather is least expected (and there's still enough petrol in the car) are always on the top of my Win My Heart Over Again For Suggesting It You Beautiful Man list. (Wait, I think I suggested this one...?)

Ignorant to the fact it's still technically winter and the west coast winds render the beach cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, J chose not to bring a single article of warm clothing, and promptly froze his balls off as soon as we stepped foot on the sand. Right there on the edge of the world, it was cold. Really damn cold. 

That near-flawless blue sky was really misleading.

(Damn it. I meant to photoshop out that person in the background. How dare they be in my photo of awesome striding? D'oh!)

Immune to the temperature, the Lily Bug began splashing through the shallow stream that fed into the sea. We hurried her along, least she slip into her mermaid form before having the chance to play on the sand.

Guy Smiley just wanted to run. Run run run. He could see that empty lifeguard tower waving it's flag at him like a matador to a bull, and he wanted to charge. So he did. As fast as his chubby little legs could carry him.

Fortunately his ever-protective little big sister was keeping a close eye (cause mum was too busy snapping pics and dad was recreating the Great Pyramid of Giza.)

"Come back! Come back!" she cried, but the little gingerbread man just kept on running.

You're fighting a losing battle Lily Bug. We may as well race out to the lifeguard tower and chase each other around and around until we collapse on the sand in exhaustion.

Around and around and around... collapse.

Sufficiently in touch with nature and frozen to the bone, it was time to head home and cross fingers that the long windy windy windy road wouldn't lull everyone in the car off to sleep.

Oh, and of course, this time that gentle little stream was far too inviting for the Lily Bug to ignore. Instead she just ignored our cries of "Stop! You're getting soaked! It's time to go! Noo....."

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.  ~Albert Camus

(Linking up with the Summer Photo Challenge.
Because here in NZ, it's kinda almost summer. Kinda.)