We had a package of bright multi-coloured modelling clay from the two-dollar shop, and so we spent most of a delightfully rainy afternoon making a tiny menagerie.
Here is a fishy and a piggie.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
The world's best postcard
That sweet little guy made me something wonderful at school!
Allison: You are the best mummy in the whole world. I love you. Did you know 100+100=200.
I really appreciate this little glimpse into the inner workings of his mind. I dig how his thoughts go from 'gee, I love my mom' immediately over to 'let's bond over math'.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
A little bonus post today
Mom and Dad were intrigued by these cute little flowers growing on the roadside.
Ain't nature grand?
This, and the thing about hurricanes and nautilus shells, or snowflakes and honeycombs, or dendritic trees and actual trees, and how have I just spent forty minutes falling down a Wikipedia links hole...?
They named them Rain Drop Flowers, and I'm sure you can see why.
This, and the thing about hurricanes and nautilus shells, or snowflakes and honeycombs, or dendritic trees and actual trees, and how have I just spent forty minutes falling down a Wikipedia links hole...?
Two trips to Muriwai
Muriwai is one of the west-coast beaches near home, on the other side of the Waitakere Ranges. You park your car and then climb down a steep hill-- the easiest access through the cliffs-- to the beach.
'Yes, yes,' I can just hear the bored skeptics among you saying, 'I'm very happy that you're excited about the sand, Allie, that sounds sooo awesome.' But wait! It's really so cool! I had my suspicions, so I brought some of the sand home in a bag and stuck a magnet to it. Did you hear that? I stuck a magnet to the sand. The sand is made of teeny bits of iron. No, that's its name: ironsand. My Dad made a joke about using a magnet if we ever got any of it in our eyes. But then it turns out that that's actually a Done Thing too.
And, AND, there are little streams that flow down from the cliffs and then kinda percolate their water under the sand on their way to the ocean. So that's water underneath, and sand on top, right, sand which we've already established doesn't behave quite like you'd think? Why, that's a recipe for quicksand, I reckon! And yes, there are plenty of places on the beach where the sand kind of quivers under your feet when you step on it. It reminded me of walking on a waterbed when I was a little kid... that droopy, semi-solid feeling.
I did some Hazard Assessments prior to allowing the junior team members to check it out, and it turns out that sinking more than an inch or two into this quicksand actually requires active participation on the part of the victim. So this stuff isn't going to swallow you up. Which then led to much frolicking and melodramatic squealing as we dashed from rock to rock ('Safe!!') over and through the Quicksand Pits.
The beach is bounded by spectacular cliffs. The pictures don't capture the sense you get there, that very small and humbling feeling of, 'What, I'm just walking here and seeing this??' Nature has created a massive treasure at Muriwai, you guys.
OK, so finally we got tired of the beach. So we clambered back up the big hill and went and checked out the viewing platforms on the edges of the cliffs. But before we got there, the boys got sidetracked by leaping into the exuberant growth of what I'm terming 'pillow grass.' It is so deep and soft it can swallow a boy whole. THAT'S the danger at this beach, people, not that quicksand.
It turns out that Muriwai is famous not only for its surf and scenery but for being home to one of the largest NZ colonies of nesting gannets. So here are the gannets. (These photos are old, from back in February!)
And then we were tired so we went home. The boys slept the whole way back.
At the top, looking down
At the bottom, looking back up
The sand is strikingly black and has some curious qualities. It doesn't 'pack' like regular sand and when you kick at it or let it fall through your fingers, it somehow moves in an unexpected way. It's like individual grains are immediately subsumed into the whole without a trace.
'Yes, yes,' I can just hear the bored skeptics among you saying, 'I'm very happy that you're excited about the sand, Allie, that sounds sooo awesome.' But wait! It's really so cool! I had my suspicions, so I brought some of the sand home in a bag and stuck a magnet to it. Did you hear that? I stuck a magnet to the sand. The sand is made of teeny bits of iron. No, that's its name: ironsand. My Dad made a joke about using a magnet if we ever got any of it in our eyes. But then it turns out that that's actually a Done Thing too.
And, AND, there are little streams that flow down from the cliffs and then kinda percolate their water under the sand on their way to the ocean. So that's water underneath, and sand on top, right, sand which we've already established doesn't behave quite like you'd think? Why, that's a recipe for quicksand, I reckon! And yes, there are plenty of places on the beach where the sand kind of quivers under your feet when you step on it. It reminded me of walking on a waterbed when I was a little kid... that droopy, semi-solid feeling.
I did some Hazard Assessments prior to allowing the junior team members to check it out, and it turns out that sinking more than an inch or two into this quicksand actually requires active participation on the part of the victim. So this stuff isn't going to swallow you up. Which then led to much frolicking and melodramatic squealing as we dashed from rock to rock ('Safe!!') over and through the Quicksand Pits.
Before I get too involved in my story-telling, here are the boys sitting on a log and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The beach is bounded by spectacular cliffs. The pictures don't capture the sense you get there, that very small and humbling feeling of, 'What, I'm just walking here and seeing this??' Nature has created a massive treasure at Muriwai, you guys.
OK, so finally we got tired of the beach. So we clambered back up the big hill and went and checked out the viewing platforms on the edges of the cliffs. But before we got there, the boys got sidetracked by leaping into the exuberant growth of what I'm terming 'pillow grass.' It is so deep and soft it can swallow a boy whole. THAT'S the danger at this beach, people, not that quicksand.
To allay any fears of creepy-crawlies that we'd reasonably have as Americans, NZ is free of ticks, spiders, and snakes. OK, there COULD be wetas in there and that is problematic*. But at least wetas won't bite.
It turns out that Muriwai is famous not only for its surf and scenery but for being home to one of the largest NZ colonies of nesting gannets. So here are the gannets. (These photos are old, from back in February!)
So. Right. The gannets build themselves little dirt-cup nests at wing-length intervals on the flat ledges of the cliffs. They are there for several months, the time it takes to lay and incubate the eggs and for the babies to fledge.
The video gives you a good sense for the noise associated with a big gannet colony. But what you can't appreciate here is the smell. The white streaks on the rocks are their guano. And no joke, these are some smelly birds. There must be tons of bird poo on those rocks. Which would by itself be bad enough, but gannets are sea birds, who eat only fish. And oh gosh, we were there on a hot day. And the breeze was coming in from the sea.
Aaaaaaauuuuugh! Fishy bird poo!!!
*I didn't tell you! I saw a weta! A real one, out in nature! It ran out of some tall grass, looked at me, and ran back in. It looked like a fat cricket and was not actually that terrifying. I didn't scream or anything.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
They often like toys' boxes better than the toys, too
So, we're at Lollipops, right? With an enormous inflatable slide! Cars to ride! An enormous hamster-paradise full of climbing, hopping, jumping, sliding fun! Dress up clothes! A playhouse! Foosball!
And what do my kids spend all their time on?
They found an extra tube from the hamster-paradise set aside in an empty corner. And they rolled around in that discarded bit of flotsam for hours.
And what do my kids spend all their time on?
They found an extra tube from the hamster-paradise set aside in an empty corner. And they rolled around in that discarded bit of flotsam for hours.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Since I showed you the Mouse costume...
Here's Amiri dressed as Noni the Pony. It was 'your favourite book character' day at school. Looking around his classroom, apparently a lot of kids must loooove Spiderman books.
Noni the Pony is friendly and funny. Her shimmering tail is the colour of honey.
Noni the Pony is shiny and fat. Her best friends are Dave Dog and Coco the Cat. (Bringing his cuddlies to school as props was part of the appeal of this costume.)
Black pants, brown shirt, brown hat. White felt spots on the shirt. Yarn tail. Yarn mane and felt ears on the hat. He got to wear the costume later to a birthday party too.
Noni the Pony is friendly and funny. Her shimmering tail is the colour of honey.
Noni the Pony is shiny and fat. Her best friends are Dave Dog and Coco the Cat. (Bringing his cuddlies to school as props was part of the appeal of this costume.)
Black pants, brown shirt, brown hat. White felt spots on the shirt. Yarn tail. Yarn mane and felt ears on the hat. He got to wear the costume later to a birthday party too.
Saturday, September 08, 2012
A 'Boys in Coin-Operated Rides' photo montage
An Aussie bush jeep at Countdown (the grocery store) in the mall...
A merry-go-round outside the shoe store at the mall...
A Richard Scarry apple ride complete with worm buddy, outside the book store at the mall...
Good ol' Bugs in a carrotmobile at the Lollipops indoor playland...
An Army helicopter at the Chipmunkz indoor playland...
Another merry-go-round at Chipmunkz. He needed me to stay with him for this one and so I gamely trotted around and around. Those merry-go-rounds can sometimes be intimidating, I guess...
And although it's not technically coin-operated, I did pay for this ride. It's yet another merry-go-round at yet another indoor playland.
Like me, I'm sure you can see a number of themes here. I was a little surprised to see how many of these photos I'd accumulated in my files over the last few months. That's coins well-spent, though. If you could just see how a ride on these things delights these little guys!
A merry-go-round outside the shoe store at the mall...
A Richard Scarry apple ride complete with worm buddy, outside the book store at the mall...
Good ol' Bugs in a carrotmobile at the Lollipops indoor playland...
An Army helicopter at the Chipmunkz indoor playland...
Another merry-go-round at Chipmunkz. He needed me to stay with him for this one and so I gamely trotted around and around. Those merry-go-rounds can sometimes be intimidating, I guess...
And although it's not technically coin-operated, I did pay for this ride. It's yet another merry-go-round at yet another indoor playland.
Like me, I'm sure you can see a number of themes here. I was a little surprised to see how many of these photos I'd accumulated in my files over the last few months. That's coins well-spent, though. If you could just see how a ride on these things delights these little guys!
Friday, September 07, 2012
My little grey mouse
Summerland Primary put on an amazing musical production this past week. All the children had a part to play, and they practiced for weeks.
Written by a couple of teachers, the production was entitled 'Cinderella Circus' and told the story of Cindy, a down-on-her luck girl who dreams of being a circus acrobat but faces devious obstruction at the hands of her evil step-sisters. Cindy's chief allies in her bid for fame are mice. There are several ringleader mice, and hordes of helpful others. Here we meet some of the playful little scamps. Pay particular attention to the grey one doing the excellent hippity-hopping, please.
After much family-friendly drama, Cindy at last prevailed and achieved her dreams. All of the players returned to the stage for the finale. Here are the mice in their reprise; they soon became obscured by bigger children in front of them (of course including lions, clowns, dancers, Men in Black, and zombies. Of course.)
It really, truly, I'm-not-exaggerating-because-my-kid-was-in-it, was an excellent show. The kids were all so clearly enthusiastic and having fun with it. They had practiced a lot and knew what they were supposed to do. And for grade-schoolers, they sure had some good moves! A few of the older kids with lead roles even had some natural dramatic flair that sure looked good when given a chance to shine.
Arram was duly impressed as well. Here is how he spent a good portion of the evening.
Back at home, our star autographs his playbill and enjoys some mouse-cheese.
Written by a couple of teachers, the production was entitled 'Cinderella Circus' and told the story of Cindy, a down-on-her luck girl who dreams of being a circus acrobat but faces devious obstruction at the hands of her evil step-sisters. Cindy's chief allies in her bid for fame are mice. There are several ringleader mice, and hordes of helpful others. Here we meet some of the playful little scamps. Pay particular attention to the grey one doing the excellent hippity-hopping, please.
After much family-friendly drama, Cindy at last prevailed and achieved her dreams. All of the players returned to the stage for the finale. Here are the mice in their reprise; they soon became obscured by bigger children in front of them (of course including lions, clowns, dancers, Men in Black, and zombies. Of course.)
It really, truly, I'm-not-exaggerating-because-my-kid-was-in-it, was an excellent show. The kids were all so clearly enthusiastic and having fun with it. They had practiced a lot and knew what they were supposed to do. And for grade-schoolers, they sure had some good moves! A few of the older kids with lead roles even had some natural dramatic flair that sure looked good when given a chance to shine.
Arram was duly impressed as well. Here is how he spent a good portion of the evening.
Back at home, our star autographs his playbill and enjoys some mouse-cheese.
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
It may as well have been Olympic gold, I was that proud
Today at Playball, Amiri was chosen as the weekly champion! He was awarded a medal and all of his teammates gave him high fives and hugs. His coach gave him this honour because he listened so well today and had such good accuracy* in throwing.
Here he is with his medal. Look at that smile. He's proud of him too.
Why the face paint, you might ask? Why, that's from his school production and is a soon-to-be-released-to-the-blog topic of much excitement of late in our home. Stay tuned to learn more!
*This accuracy? Let me tell you! I watched-- he threw the ball into the target every single time, and caught nearly every ball thrown to him. (I think he's already a better ballhandler than I am!!)
Here he is with his medal. Look at that smile. He's proud of him too.
Why the face paint, you might ask? Why, that's from his school production and is a soon-to-be-released-to-the-blog topic of much excitement of late in our home. Stay tuned to learn more!
*This accuracy? Let me tell you! I watched-- he threw the ball into the target every single time, and caught nearly every ball thrown to him. (I think he's already a better ballhandler than I am!!)
Monday, September 03, 2012
Here is something I bet you've never seen before
It's a cluster of sea snails on the wet sand at low tide, alive and all squirming around each other. As they move through the sand their shells drag little snail-trails behind them.
Monday, August 27, 2012
From their joint birthday party
In my continuing effort to catch you up, here are some photos of the boys having fun in our nearby playground. The duck pond is next door.
Arram is excellent at climbing this blue thing.
And Amiri knows how to get up high.
Arram goes down the slide...
and back up!
And Amiri is super speedy!
Arram is excellent at climbing this blue thing.
And Amiri knows how to get up high.
Arram goes down the slide...
and back up!
And Amiri is super speedy!
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Open Day
The Community Centre down the street had an open day so we went. There was a free BBQ, an ice cream truck, cooking demonstrations, dancing and exercise class demonstrations, and lots of nice fun.
But the things that mattered were the bouncy castle, and the face painting!
And this came after a wasp sting on his poor sweet cheek! He recovered well.
But the things that mattered were the bouncy castle, and the face painting!
And this came after a wasp sting on his poor sweet cheek! He recovered well.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
How we've entertained ourselves
I needed a little break to catch my breath. So, what were we doing while I reoxygenated? Well, for instance, we...
...took in the sights...
...stopped to smell the flowers...
...made honey bees...
...smacked houseflies so enthusiastically that we killed the swatters...
...visited a macadamia nut farm...
...went spelunking...
...and of course had lots of fun!
...took in the sights...
...stopped to smell the flowers...
...made honey bees...
...smacked houseflies so enthusiastically that we killed the swatters...
...visited a macadamia nut farm...
...went spelunking...
...and of course had lots of fun!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Exploring the redoubt
On our way south to the glow-worms' cave, we stopped for a little rest in the small art village of Pirongia, once named Alexandra but later re-named to avoid confusion with the larger and more well-known Alexandra on the South Island.
The boys were distinctly un-impressed with the galleries and shops that Pirongia had to offer, so after a snack we got back in the car. We were almost out of town when I noticed one of the characteristic blue 'this way to a scenic or historic landmark' signs pointing down a side street. REDOUBT, it said. What's a redoubt?, I wondered. I couldn't resist investigating.
I looked carefully for the whatever-it-was as I drove, but we just ended up dead-ended in a nondescript cul-de-sac with fenced pasture all around us. I noticed a sign on the fence and went to take a look.
Oh, so a redoubt is a fort or something? Is that it, up the hill there?
The fence had a hand-lettered sign saying, 'Please close all gates behind you'. I took that as an invitation to proceed, and hey, it's not like there's anyone around to stop us anyway. So we navigated a very cool sheep-proof (and very nearly boy-proof) stile and went to see what we've got here.
To save me writing a thousand words, here is what the redoubt looks like from the air. Imagine inside it a church, and the last hope of hundreds of pioneers who surely all knew the shortest route for their anticipated desperate dash for safety ahead of the predicted savage invaders.
Happily, this grim attack never materialised, and so the redoubt was abandoned and is slowly returning to the earth.
It's surrounded by a moat.
It was a great place to enjoy the beautiful day and to take in some nice farmland views.
We walked all the way around the perimeter of the redoubt, on top of its walls. I reminded the boys over and over to be careful about where they were walking, so that they wouldn't take a tumble. I wish I had listened to my own advice, because in a moment of inattention I went bum over teakettle into a thornbush! Got a couple of little scratches on my arm, but the grass was so thick and soft that I was spared any real harm. Arram shrieked with alarm when he saw me fall, but when he almost immediately saw that I was OK, he laughed until he had to sit down and rest.
The boys were distinctly un-impressed with the galleries and shops that Pirongia had to offer, so after a snack we got back in the car. We were almost out of town when I noticed one of the characteristic blue 'this way to a scenic or historic landmark' signs pointing down a side street. REDOUBT, it said. What's a redoubt?, I wondered. I couldn't resist investigating.
I looked carefully for the whatever-it-was as I drove, but we just ended up dead-ended in a nondescript cul-de-sac with fenced pasture all around us. I noticed a sign on the fence and went to take a look.
Oh, so a redoubt is a fort or something? Is that it, up the hill there?
The fence had a hand-lettered sign saying, 'Please close all gates behind you'. I took that as an invitation to proceed, and hey, it's not like there's anyone around to stop us anyway. So we navigated a very cool sheep-proof (and very nearly boy-proof) stile and went to see what we've got here.
To save me writing a thousand words, here is what the redoubt looks like from the air. Imagine inside it a church, and the last hope of hundreds of pioneers who surely all knew the shortest route for their anticipated desperate dash for safety ahead of the predicted savage invaders.
Happily, this grim attack never materialised, and so the redoubt was abandoned and is slowly returning to the earth.
It's surrounded by a moat.
It was a great place to enjoy the beautiful day and to take in some nice farmland views.
We walked all the way around the perimeter of the redoubt, on top of its walls. I reminded the boys over and over to be careful about where they were walking, so that they wouldn't take a tumble. I wish I had listened to my own advice, because in a moment of inattention I went bum over teakettle into a thornbush! Got a couple of little scratches on my arm, but the grass was so thick and soft that I was spared any real harm. Arram shrieked with alarm when he saw me fall, but when he almost immediately saw that I was OK, he laughed until he had to sit down and rest.
Friday, March 09, 2012
The glow-worms' cave
We took a trip down to Waitomo, a tiny town built on top of some pretty impressive limestone caves. We visited one of the main caves, which is full of glow worms.
They warned us it would be cold inside the cave, so here are the little glow worms about to put on their sweatshirts.
It turned out to be only a little chilly, and mostly really humid, inside the cave. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the boys were awed into silence and just trotted along with their little hands in mine. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside-- but the photos in the website I linked above are probably better than what I would have taken anyway.
The last portion of the cave tour was a boat ride through a silent underground lake with the ghostly blue glow worm constellations above us. The boat was pulled hand-over-hand along a nearly-invisible wire by a woman standing on the prow. Her name was Sharon and I really enjoyed that.
Here is the cavern we exited through, and some happy little boys.
They warned us it would be cold inside the cave, so here are the little glow worms about to put on their sweatshirts.
It turned out to be only a little chilly, and mostly really humid, inside the cave. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the boys were awed into silence and just trotted along with their little hands in mine. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside-- but the photos in the website I linked above are probably better than what I would have taken anyway.
The last portion of the cave tour was a boat ride through a silent underground lake with the ghostly blue glow worm constellations above us. The boat was pulled hand-over-hand along a nearly-invisible wire by a woman standing on the prow. Her name was Sharon and I really enjoyed that.
Here is the cavern we exited through, and some happy little boys.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
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