Our waterfront

I feel pretty lucky to live in a city where there are various lively and bustling waterfront areas to choose from. We can always have impromptu outings knowing we will find somewhere cool to hang out with our toddler, still manage to feel semi adult and not completely lost in the wilderness of never-look-back parenting routines and "child friendly" cafe cliché.

Last Saturday we were supposed to meet some friends at the Viaduct for their boat launch, but when we got there we couldn't see any launch party anywhere (which made us think we probably got the wrong date - so typical of us!). So we picked a place to have ourselves a beer.





This place was Cowboy, and on a Saturday afternoon it was a totally relaxed and easy place to be. Plus Kien was on form and couldn't stop charming all the patrons, which makes life that much easier.



Good times indeed.



~~~~~

We had stunning weather on Friday, and since I have been putting in some big hours at work I decided to finish at a relatively decent time and enjoy the lovely evening with my family.





I love living in the city! We can enjoy evenings like these walking to the waterfront. We had dinner at Pescado, enjoying sangria and tapas.



Fabulous scenery for us to appreciate, and Kien had plenty of energy to burn off too.





We did hope he would calm down for a bit.



We made our way home as the sun was setting.



But not before Kien had a chance to touch a very special airplane.





~~~~~

Kien got to see Granddad Warren and Margaret this weekend. There was a family get-together for a birthday last night, and then this morning we met up at North Wharf for lunch.



This weekend we have had extremely windy conditions, and even though it was cold outside as soon as you sit down in the sun it was very warm. So I stripped off all my layers whilst enjoying a lovely Caesar salad, and then wrapped up again to venture outside.

Kien brought his glider along, and he took great delight in throwing it in the garden over and over again.





We walked around to the waterfront side, and luckily Kien did not lose that glider into the water considering how windy it was.






Cute little dog he tried to pat on the way.

When it was time to say good-bye I tried to get a decent pic, but what with Kien refusing to be still, the grayness of the sky, and the glare - this was the best I could muster.



We had a fabulous time out today.

Rides

Sometimes he'll flat out refuse to go anywhere near one - other times he just can't get enough.

Ride #1

At John's (one of his daycare buddies) birthday party held at Lollipops indoor playground in Greenlane the other day it was the latter.



Initially when Jef put him on the ride he was a little tentative.



He quickly hopped off and decided he didn't want to play on the contraption any longer.

I think at this point Kien was having some "issues" anyway, because not long after the above photo was snapped he was having a major meltdown - I mean MAJOR - to the point where Jef went outside for some fresh air and I just had to ride it out over the noises echoing around the giant shed. We were indoors on a sunny hot afternoon, surrounded by yelling children as they merrily bounced and tumbled and slid, and my child was in the corner screaming at the top of his lungs - not that one can differentiate one scream from another in this place.

After what seemed like a really long time he finally settled down, and was happy to join in the party.





Then Kien decided he wanted to ride the carousel. He stayed on that thing for 3 whole stop/starts/change-overs.



~~~~~

Last Sunday we went for a wander after having lunch at Food Alley. At the bottom of Albert Street are some statues situated outside souvenir shops.

Rides #2 & #3

He likes that Moa.



Such a touristy thing to do taking pictures of your child riding random objects in the city.

Ride #4

What's with the road cone thing? Both my guys notice them and point them out whenever they see one. Why not ride in one?





See that long black tube they are standing in front of?



Tunneling at Queens Wharf - link if you can't see the video here.



We love Queens Wharf. Been hanging around here a lot lately.

Mosquito in the country

A legendary WWII Mosquito fighter-bomber took flight over Ardmore a couple of weeks ago, and we were among the crowd of thousands watching the maiden flight.



The sound of the twin Merlin V12 engines is really quite astounding as the pilot flew it low past the crowd a number of times for our pleasure - and no doubt his.





Good thing all three of us enjoy air shows. It wasn't so long ago that we were here for the last air show during the jubilee weekend.



Kien was pretty tired so we didn't stay for too long. We went for a drive through the country while he slept.



We ended up at lovely Maraetai.



I spotted a Kingfisher. At times like these I wish I own a giant lens. Then my pictures of the de Havilland Mosquito would not have had propeller blur, and I would have been able to catch a detailed shot of the Kingfisher.



When Kien finally woke up we went and enjoyed the sunshine on the beach.



He thinks he will find crabs (or something) in the shells like he did back in Aitutaki.



He kept on saying he could see a helicopter but I couldn't see one anywhere. Then I say way out at the end of the beach someone was actually flying an RC heli. I don't know how he spotted it so far away!



We had fun playing on the beach.





Then we crossed the road and briefly visited the playground.



Excellent weather, beautiful scenery, awesome aerial display - great combination for a Saturday.

Art and gardens

School holidays - the only impact it has on us at the moment is that traffic is heavier, cafes are busier, and playgroup is closed.

Playgroup - our happy place - our Tuesday morning ritual - our place to go and hang out with friends.



It was a quiet session last week for our last day of term 3 - lovely and intimate. Kien is now playing with other children. Not so long ago they would just play alongside one another. These days they interact and talk. It is a wonderful sight to see.





He also did a bit of art, although I think he was more delighted in peeling the label off the pastels than actually creating a masterpiece.



Then we enjoyed the sunshine that sporadically adorned outside.



We went to lunch with Rod and Grandma Gun at the Auckland Botanical Gardens, and Kien was able to have a good run around afterwards.



The poppies were in full bloom; bright colours dancing in the breeze.





The Prunus blossoms were beautiful.





Lots of fun was had by all.