Week 12

Monday, Kim and Greg were about to come home around 10 pm. so I got the kids from Nanma's in the morning and we had an entire day together. Baking some chocolate muffins to surprise mum and dad, starting a new routine with shorter afternoon naps so the evenings go smoother and playing outside under the lovely sun. We had an amazing day and even bath time was fun. No more screaming (even when I washed her hair) and lots of playing. Time to put on our cute new PJ's and time for a story. Grace picked out the first one, gave a big cuddle to Jack, went straight to bed and Jack made his puzzle all by himself before he had an awesome night (no waking up, no yelling for wee's or anything else).

Tuesday, another sunny day, so time to hit the park. It was very busy because of a school sports day, but we found a more quiet corner where we ran around, played with the balls and rode on our bike.

Wednesday they predicted more winds so we left for the park in the morning. Audrey met us up there, so she could mess around with us =D Reminder for myself: don't take creamed rice on a picknick... Grace likes buckles so everything she comes across has to lock (my backpack, helmets...) and once the helmet is on and locked (she can't open it), it stays on.
As expected, the weather got slightly worse in the afternoon so we got our paint out and decided to make some more bickies (muffins were all done by then..)
Grace's experimenting continues.. The concept of size and things that fit in each other is fascinating.. The fact that the car doesn't fit in the castle, slightly irritating..

Thursday: Grace had another music class with Nanma, I went to the toy library with Jack and after we met up for a coffee date at Bedrock.. Yum =D

We installed the kitchen and in the afternoon we got a visit from Audrey. She taught us how to do a "header" and we had heaps of fun.

I treated the kids with some new toys for the bath, since they were doing so good lately and after that, it was Jack who did the reading.

In the evening it was time for me to pack all the stuff, pick up the girls (Lotti, Laura and Audrey) and head towards Arthur's Pass for our free campsite.. Putting up the tent in the dark was probably not the best of ideas, but it's an easy one so no biggy..
The night was horrible: cold, hard ground and way to little space.. But we survived.

Friday was a rainy/drizzling day, but despite all of that, we still had great views! Brunner had some nice historic views, we witnessed the odd pancake rocks and Greymouth was a lot smaller than we though. The drive along the coast was gorgeous and the vineyards around Motueka were quiet impressive.. If the weather would have been better, I might have felt like I was in Italy =D
We managed to find some extra sheets/fleece blankets and rearranged our way of sleeping (me with my head the other way) a bit so we had some more room and I did manage to get at least some sleep..

Saturday was one of the most amazing days here in New-Zealand. We went from our campsite in Motueka to the kayak company who drove us to our starting place. A long explanation later (3 other groups got in the water before we finally got in) we were ready to go on the water. Lotti and I got the hang of it pretty easily. Laura and Audrey were less experienced and you could tell =P 1,5 hours later we had our stop at the beach for some lunch and then we decided to just go at our own speed. Lotti and I took of to go seal watching and got the best surprise we could ever imagine. Not only did we get amazing views and a few seals, we got the opportunity to kayak in between dolphins! It was hard work since they were following boats that went away from us, but nonetheless we caught up on them and one of them even swam underneath our boat! The evening was very relaxing and great to get to know Audrey and Laura a lot better! After all this we were all capable of having more sleep than awake hours, so that was good!

Sunday was mostly road tripping from Motueka to Nelson via Westport. Cosy town/city and after a quick walk in the park and trough the main street we drove towards Picton and Blenheim. Our final stop was supposed to be a campsite right before Kaikoura, but it was soo small that we missed it. Our search for an other one didn't really work so we decided to drive all the way to Ashburton. At least I had a nice bed to sleep in.. I was quiet bummed though!