3/4/26
It was so lovely to be back together again and we enjoyed a relaxing morning around the cottage, Arthur did very well limiting his walking which we could tell was difficult at times. Granny and Grandad were great at helping the boys create some very cute easter baskets then we got some more crafting done with tie dying t-shirts. In the afternoon the weather was so stunning I was inspired to go for a run and I wanted to explore the area a little so I found a local trail. Granny and Rhys decided to join me so as Grandad had a little nap we put a movie on for the boys and left a note for Grandad with dinner instructions for when he woke up.
As we drove towards Arthur’s pass I released the trail was not going to be an easy 6km run….as there were no flat places. At the start of Trig M we made a plan with Granny (who was going to walk) and Rhys and I ran off up the hill…..it was so steep and did not ease off for a long time. The challenge was to see how far we could get before needing to stop and walk, far out my calves started to burn. Up, up and up we went until finally we got to the top of a hill only to find a short section of flat before we went up again. Finally we made it to Trig M summit and were rewarded with amazing views and a good sense of achievement.
The downhill was nearly worse than the up hill, but slowly, slowly we made it safely down and met Granny on the way. We all had a little giggle on the way back to the house as it was a much harder trail than we had all expected. Grandad had done well with dinner when we returned and we enjoyed a nice evening.
4/4/26
Oh my goodness Rhys and I were suffering from our hill run…..our thighs were rather stiff and took some warming up before we could walk without pain. We had a great day around the house playing games, throwing the frisbee and waiting for Nicola and Walter to join us. Unfortunately the tie dye didn’t work out very well as the washing machine washed all the die out and we ended up with rather faded t-shirts (oh well it was still fun). It was wonderful when Nicola and Walter finally drove into the driveway and Walter did very well with all the attention from Oliver, Arthur and Patrick.
The boys were very excited to leave out their easter baskets for easter bunny, each one finding a special spot for their basket. Patrick put his on the window sill, Arthur put his on the fireplace, Oliver tried to trick easter bunny by putting his up high on top of the fridge and Walter kept his easy on the table. It was hard for the boys to keep their excitement levels down enough to get to sleep but eventually they did and the house was silent.
5/4/26 – Easter Sunday
Happy Easter! and wow did we have an exciting morning. It was a very early start, especially for Oliver who woke at 1am and went out to check on his basket…..not only was it full but he also saw the Easter Bunny! Oliver was very excited to share that he saw a giant bunny behind one of the cars wearing a red had and red vest. Thankfully Oliver was able to go back to sleep after this exciting event and woke at a relatively normal time and as the job of a big brother woke everyone else. Arthur and Patrick ran out to our room very excited. The morning was full of excitement and of course chocolate eating. The egg hunt was fun to watch and all the boys did well helping Walter find eggs.
We had a few visitors today which was lovely, it was a great afternoon catching up with Josh, Leanne, Di, Brian and Jeff.
6/4/26
Surprisingly no one woke with a chocolate hangover and we drove to Sumner (Christchurch) to catch up with Rosie and Giles. When we arrived the boys had a great time with another easter egg hunt which Rosie and Giles had arranged. Eggs were hiding all over the garden and took quite a while for all the eggs to be found, the favourite find for me were the ripe feijoa’s – YUM. Once we were satisfied all the eggs were found we went down to a local cafe for a great lunch, Oliver put his magic card hat on again and amazed Rosie and Giles with his tricks.
We explored the local beach before saying our farewells and heading back to Springfield. It was wonderful spending time with Rosie and Giles again, I have so many happy memories of them from Otautau and the vet clinic they owned. I was happy to see they still have the awesome 3 wheel car which I remember having a ride in to visit Monkey Island beach.
7/7/26 – Kaikoura
The morning disappeared with us packing up the house and getting away by 10 to drive North. Greenings Cottage was the perfect little home for us over the past 10days and it was a little sad saying bye to our home away from home. Before the long car journey we enjoyed a pie from Sheffield. By the time we arrived at Hanmer Springs everyone was ready to get out and warm up in the hot pools. We all jumped into the 40oC pool first which was lovely then it was time to hit the hydroslides which were super fun. Arthur had to piggy backed up all the stairs to prevent his ankle from hurting, it was good training for me as each slide was about 6 stories high. Arthur and I got a little stuck on the Super Bowl which was quite funny. The next few hours were easily passed with warm pools, waterslides with Walter, cold plunge pools and more hydroslides, it was great fun.
It was then time to get back in the car and continue our journey north, the drive was stunning as we drove through the mountains and hit the coast of Kaikoura. We enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh fish and chips before heading to our accomodation for story time and a card game night.
