Auckland was on fire

Wow-wee - Auckland is the place to be! Especially on Friday. As the afternoon ticked along the crowds were building in the city. I left work around 3:30pm and there were people everywhere. The atmosphere and buzz of the opening ceremony, fireworks display and first rugby match at Eden Park had everyone talking about the same thing. It was pretty exciting, even though I'm not really a follower of New Zealand's adopted national sport.

Jef went to work at 7am for a major project he was implementing on Friday, so he was able to pick Kien up early from daycare. We headed into town soon after I got home.

We crossed Victoria Park, and the moon was so prominent in the afternoon sky.

Kien found himself a stick (yet another one - you don't want to know how many sticks we just cleared out of the apartment!).

We got to the Viaduct in time to catch the Waka maneuvered on the glassy water, the chanting load and echoing around the marina.

Party central looked awesome, and with Neil and Tim Finn being transmitted throughout the downtown area the buzz was magical, and exceptionally friendly. We were lucky enough to be in line to get Kien something to snack on, and a couple who had just collected their food gave Kien a carton of fries because they got too much. How nice was that!

We stopped into The Hilton on Princes Wharf for a drink while we waited for the fireworks. Of course you can imagine how crowded the place was.

Kien was in such good spirits, giggling and jumping around. He had his milk on the floor of the Hilton, and we had ours.

Trying to dunk his biscuit into Jef's "milk".

Soon after the Auckland central sky was on fire.

We could not hear the music above all the screaming and whistling throughout the amazing fireworks and light show. I didn't know where to look to catch it all, as there were fireworks shooting from the Sky Tower and from four different spots in the harbour. It really was a spectacle of monumental proportions.

When it was all over we made our way home, and in amongst the hustle and bustle of lights and people Kien crashed out in the security of his daddy's arms.

The city skyline looked so vibrant and alive with excitement as we traced our steps back through the park.

It was a perfect Spring evening; crisp but not too cold, still and peaceful under the bright moon and street lamps that guided us home.

A day that was

Midnight, 2am. 4:30am, 6am – these times were when I had to get up to a screaming child yesterday morning, the last being the start to my day. He grumbled and lamented over everything (and nothing), and by 7am there was a Pity Party exclusive for one going on in my head when Jef went off to work particularly early. I had envisaged a whirl-wind cleaning episode of our apartment while Kien entertained himself quietly in his toy corner. I had hoped to have our mountain of laundry line dried in the sun and beautifully folded or hung up by the end of the day. I wanted to scrape and mop up the chewed-up-and-spat-out cracker deposits from the floor, with at least a once over with the vacuum. Mattresses needed to be turned, sheets needed to be changed, surfaces needed to be wiped.

With Kien up on the kitchen bench playing with water and utentials in the sink I was able to whip up a batch of muffins to take to playgroup. I also chucked some Thai Chicken curry ingredients into the slow-cooker. He had his blueberry porridge on the kitchen floor while being distracted with me reciting "Humpty Dumpty" and him doing all the sound effects. Then 2 loads of laundry were washed and chucked into the dryer (wasting all that lovely sunshine), and as the muffins were cooling for all of 5 minutes on the rack I pursuaded Kien out of his pijamas and into going out clothes.

He became reasonable when I told him we were going for a walk outside. Outside is where he wants to be all the time and he says the word constantly whilst pointing toward windows or doors. We do play out in the stairwell from time to time; with all my vegetable pots combined with our neighbour's plantings it is almost outside.

It was a pleasant stroll to Ponsonby Tce, and Kien was good and happy to be running around with other children while I had a well deserved coffee and muffin - still warm, just the way a muffin should be served if possible. Morning tea was served outside.

He fell asleep in the buggy just as we were walking down Anglesea St, so I made myself comfortable outside our back door and enjoyed my sushi in relative quietness.

With lunch over I lay on the grass outside our apartment watching the world go by. I could hear the birds chirping all around me, and looked up to see them sitting in the tree that is now budding with new growth. Lawns were being mowed, and small patches of daisy florettes were bursting through the ground with their vibrant yellow discs smiling toward the sun. Yes, indeed it must be Spring?! My child snoring in the stroller as the faint smell of Fresias waffed through the air certainly leads me to believe Winter is finally over. Not that my child snoring in the stroller has anything to do with the start of Spring…

45 minutes later he was awake and raring to go. It was only 12:15pm, and I had the entire afternoon stretched out before me. So up the stairs to the apartment for a quick change of clothes, a towel and a sunhat, and we were in the car heading for Sentinel Beach. Less than 10 minutes later (it took ≈ 5 minutes for a toddler who insisted on walking down the flight of stairs) Kien was frolicking in the sand and I was enjoying the sea breeze, high tide and lapping waves.

It was 2 hours of joy; Kien running, climbing, jumping up and down, rolling in the sand, digging, laughing and kissing his mother lots. Even if they were sloppy I didn’t care – he would run up to me or lean over, pout and make the “mmmwaa” noise.

Come 3pm we had to get going as I had arranged for a kids dinner on the lawn with my neighbours. We dashed to the supermarket for a few odds and ends, and when we got home I put a pot of rice on. Then it was kids fun time outside.

Kien and his love of bubbles was evident when Rie started blowing them.

They are sat down to share chicken curry and rice.

It was such a pleasant way to finish the day.

The mountain of dirty washing is now a mound of floppy but clean laundry (as opposed to crisp and fresh from the line). Mattresses unturned, sheets unchanged, surfaces unwiped, floors unvacuumed. But do you know what? It doesn't really matter, because the day that was supposed to have chores done ended up being a day that happiness and fond memories were achieved instead.

Our 4 quarters

First quarter of the weekend: breakfast at Mission Bay.

I arranged for us to meet bright and early at Mecca Stonehouse in Mission Bay at 08:00. The sun was shining brightly when Kien and I arrived, and all 4 children had a nice sociable session on the swings.

After breakfast the kids enjoyed the warmth of the sun out on the beach.

While Naadia's son, Josh, got wet from wading in the sea and the fountain, her daughter decided to give cuddles instead. A child's embrace is so lovely!

The weather turned from bright and sunny to cloudy and grey within a matter of minutes, and the rain started descending from the sky heavily. Kien however did not care! He was too interested in sliding to leave.

Second quarter of the weekend: brief visit to the shop.

It was very brief. It has become increasingly harder to get Kien to nap, and on Saturday it took almost 1 ½ hours of me going in and out with promises of books, milk, more books, more milk etc. before he finally slept. He woke up grumpy, so it was no surprise that he wasn't particularly friendly toward any of his relatives. We called it quits pretty quickly and our way home was via Wynyard Quarter playground. It was cold when we got there; so cold in fact that I wrapped myself up in the picnic blanket, and Jef also joined me in there for a bit as well. When it started to rain we promptly went home.

Third quarter of the weekend: BMX track to see Flynn ride.

It seems something was in the air as Flynn apparently woke up in a foul mood on Sunday. I woke up early, baked some muffins to take along for morning tea and see Flynn ride his brand new bike.

No, this isn't Flynn on the brand new bike!

I had hoped for at least one picture of Flynn on the track, but no - he barely did ½ a lap and wanted to play with Kien instead.

Despite Flynn's morose petulance he did not show it toward Kien in the slightest. Instead he was cheerful and considerate, helping and guiding Kien around the perimeter of the track.

Fourth quarter of the weekend: Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kien napped in the car on the way there after he refused to sleep at home. He had an absolute meltdown though prior to falling asleep. It was hard on mine and Jef's ears, let me tell you!

Highlights of the zoo visit?

A giant happy bunny rabbit. It hopped around, dug, burrowed - and its ears were floppy and coat was shiny.

Peacocks flying on roofs - they just look too big to fly!

Doves playing with pigeons.

Best of all?

Duck sitting under a Camellia bush. It let me get so close to take this picture.

Not sure why they called this place a sanctuary. It wasn't. We were there for less than 40 minutes and Jef found it depressing. So we left.

Michelle and Thomas had a bunch of visitors in the caravan, and we joined them. The caravan is perched on a giant rock overlooking a vast plain in the wilderness. You can see the base of a lovely mountain way off in the distance, and wild cattle often roam these parts. Kien actually spotted a herd as he was admiring the view outside.

The camera never lies!

Reality is so far from my description, but when I found the shot on my camera and made a colour and contrast adjustment, what sprung to mind when I saw the result was the movie "Into the Wild".

Pitter patter of tiny feet...

The sound is unmistakable. He kind of does the shuffle-thump-shuffle-thump-thump thing, and the thumps are definitely purposeful! He likes the sound his "new" shoes make - "new" meaning they are not the soft soled leather variety that he is accustomed to. These are the grown up type, only made for little people. But his thumps are now not only reserved for when he is wearing shoes, as he has discovered he can actually make quite a bit of noise without shoes on. When he is running from one room to the next we definitely know about it. Lets face it, children are noisy, and my little guy is no exception.

Toys are noisy too, especially when they are heavy and hard, and when hitting wooden floors from the top storey of an apartment I'm sure the sound reverberates all the way through to the next level down (or perhaps even further). No complaints from our neighbours yet, but I'm making doubly sure I'm nice to them all so they may have some sympathy when they are peacefully sitting in their lounge whilst listening to buffalos traipsing above them.

So what does Kien choose as his favourite toy(s) of the week?

There is the robot dog that plays a barking, chiming and sort of musical track at a volume that is uncomfortable, and did I mention the sound loops? The dog also walks and scampers, with feet lighting up and flashing like a Christmas tree. All well and good if you are into that sort of thing, and Kien is, but when that dog has been on for 5 minutes I really just want for it to have an accident off our balcony.

Then there's the electric organ, which sounds like it is dying since the battery has depleted from him playing with it so much, and we just happen not to have any of those types of batteries in the house...sorry Kien, it means no more stamping on it to make lots of weird an funky tunes anymore. What a shame!

His bee, good old fashioned Mr Buzzy Bee. Let me tell you that wood on wooden floors dropped from 840 millimeters makes a really loud bang, not to mention wooden wheels pulled along on wooden floors has a nice instrumental tone when combined with it being lifted off the floor and dropped every few steps. We rolled out the mat again for this very reason. But he likes to buzz it around the furniture and other surfaces.

So when he's done with that he'll find something else amusing to do, and what's better than the ball to bounce on.

You wouldn't think it but he can actually get quite a good distance in the air, and when his feet hit the ground...well, you get the picture.