February EGG Hunt!

It was summertime on the North Island and school is just starting back this week. What should we do to kick off a new year at Kea Boy Scouts ? An Egg Hunt, of course!

We had a blast, with kids collecting 7-29 eggs each in our troop of 14 boys. Each kid got a mini candy bar and a sticker pack for each 5 eggs collected. Good times.

I know my mommy friends from MA and WA can appreciate my sharing of traditions and my Liz party style in full effect. :)

Ant Invasion AGAIN

The little black ants have invaded the house again, this time through a tiny crack along the wall that must lead out to a crack in the foundation.

This is ant Invasion V. You missed ant invasion IV, where they entered the house through a pipeline hole in the wall where the kids toilet is. That was crazy, as they discovered the cat bowl of dry food and proceeded to eat it all.

Ant Invasion V started with a straw from an ice cream freeze drink. Zack threw it near but not in the trash. The ant scout found the ice cream straw. Bam! Suddenly 600 ants crawling near the trash can and all over the floor.

They are out there waiting to find a way in through a small crack- the ANTS.

Raid to the rescue. 6 rounds of poison and ant traps to win the invasion this time....

Ants invade III :Raid to the Rescue

This time they came in from the ceiling and down a wooden support beam to eat my sugar cubes in the kitchen. I hate these Kiwi ants! They are everywhere inside and out.

I replaced the sugar cubes with a deliciously sticky taste of death, thanks to Raid.

Take that crazy Kiwi ants! 

Fun at Foxton Beach

Today we escaped the crazy shopping scene at the mall and left town to experience one of the local Kiwi summer haunts- the Foxton Beach.

It is 35 km from Palmy west on Route 57. Easy ride in the car past cow farms and we arrived in no time to the sandy dunes and summer surf.

A few Kiwis were there with their car stuck in the sand, and the beach Marshall had to recruit a tow to pull them out.

Ben and Mike played in the ocean and Zack chased seagulls and collected a massive amount of shells.
We had a blast, but we're all burned a bit after a mere 2 hours in the sun. That is with 65 SPF on!

Swinging into summer!

Handyman Ben W. came and installed a massive swing set , slide, tree fort for the boys today. This also coincides with Christmas and the boys' upcoming February birthdays.

Aunt Helen gifted the swing set to the boys. Now they have a nice outdoor place to play where I can see them from the kitchen/ living room. Super win for everyone.

Thanks Helen for the awesome holiday/birthday gift for my boys.

Summertime in Welly from last weekend.

The ants in the kitchen raid have been unlucky today. Yesterday they attacked my sugar cubes, but today they ate my ant poison.  Ha ha take that stupid ants

School's out...again?

Did I not just have summer in June, July, and August 2012? What is this strange double summer break that we are experiencing in December 2012 and Jan 2013? God help me! That's just too many days of straight parenting. So happy that Ameera is around to babysit the kids a few hours weekly to save my sanity....

Zack has his last day of school tomorrow for three weeks and Ben has six weeks of vacation. Sadly, Mike only has public holidays of Dec 25, Dec 26 and Jan 1,2 off.

I think the best solution is to do local field trips to the beach with the kids. Sand and surf can really burn off the kiddo's seemingly limitless energy.

Also, Lido aquatic center in town is open during summer break, do we can go there too.

Glow worms of Waitomo are the next hot ticket item on the NZ bucket list for us to go see.

Hanukkah and Summer Holiday kickoff!

Happy Hanukkah! We celebrated part of the holiday in Wellington, a 2 hr drive from home. The Welly Jews were nice, and the Sat AM services were 2 hrs long! 

Our holiday pic came out great from the local Jack  and Jill photography studio.

Kids are excited to lounge around the house in their pajamas with school out for Ben and almost done for Zack.