Lanterns in Auckland

We headed out to the Auckland Domain well before sunset to ensure we had plenty of time to look around and get the lay of the land before it was too dark to explore anything. We parked at Jef's work and it was a pleasant stroll along Symond St for a bit and then across Grafton Bridge to get to the domain. Wow, it was crowded. With the Pride Parade and after party up on Ponsonby Rd happening at the same time we thought it would be a tad quieter here. But no. Obviously the split crowds did not make a dent to the popularity of the Lantern Festival, and the move from Albert Park to the Auckland Domain this year is certainly a welcome relief, although they could have used the grounds to the fullest advantage. They could have done better to ensure there wasn't such a concentrated area along the food aisle, where the queues blocked the traffic flow somewhat. Perhaps the organisers underestimated how deep the lines would be. Anyway, enough griping, we got to see some lanterns.

We went into the ASB lounge where Kien put a wish onto the wishing tree.

All in all it was a good evening, and Kien said he'd like to come back again tomorrow so he could explore the area in the daylight. Perhaps I shall oblige him. Let's see how I feel in the morning.

Weekending

Ha, funny how we are always looking forward to the weekend. Even the little one, who has no idea how lucky he has it being at primary school where there's zero pressure. He thinks he's being hard done by when he has to go to after school care! He asks me every day whether he is going to Fernandos - and the groan I get from him when I say yes is as outrageous as if I had said he's got to do homework for 3 hours. All he does is play at Fernandos! And he loves it too! Kid, you have no idea...

Jef and I look forward to the weekend - who doesn't? After waking up early and spending over 8-9 hours working every day for an entire week we feel pretty spent by the time Friday afternoon rolls around. Yay for the weekend. Yay for a break. Yay for some fresh air (figuratively and literally) away from offices and air conditioning.

Last Saturday we headed out to visit friends at their farm in Clevedon. I was hungry! It as my last weekend for foraging (I was on my 18th day at that point) and I was ready to eat just about anything (and everything). We got to the farm and ate plums and peaches from the orchard. It was satisfying, but we needed something else. So off we went for a walk across the paddocks to the beach opposite their farm in search of oysters. The tide was out so it was the perfect opportunity to get ourselves some protein. Kien was more than happy continue jumping on the trampoline instead of coming out on the long trek with us.

We finally got to the spit and the rocks and collected some oysters in our onion sack.

Just enough for a decent feed.

They were not big oysters, but provided us with some much needed protein.

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Sunday we went for a sail. It was windy out there and was blowing in the opposite direction from where we needed to go. After zigzagging all the way up the harbour we decided to stop at North Head and anchor up at Devonport. It was actually a pretty good spot to anchor; nice and sheltered tucked away in Torpedo Bay.

Kien wanted to take some selfies. He was being so silly it was hilarious. He could not stay still to save himself.

Finally!

It was such a fun way to spend time together on a Sunday. Now I'm looking forward to more weekending!

Rockets Day

Rockets, rockets, rockets! Big ones, small ones, build your own ones. Rocket day - it was a cracker. Held out at Taupiri in the Waikato annually, I'm pretty sure the event is growing stronger each year. We've forgotten its on every year for the last 3, so this year we were definitely not going to miss it. The weather didn't look awesome in the morning, but the Facebook update said it was going ahead, so off we went on Sunday drive to get there nice and early.

Watching the rockets taking off was awesome.

They did carry out some big rockets - bigger than I had anticipated anyway.

Kien built his own rocket (with help from Daddy).

Then he was able to launch it. The dude attached Kien's rocket to the launch pad and Kien stood at his control button waiting for the countdown.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and liftoff.

His rocket flew well, came down and was successfully retrieved.

Yay for Rocket Day. We'll definitely be here again next year. I think Jef and Kien might be keen on building a rocket at home to take out there to launch. Watch this space!