Timber!

The other weekend we were up at our property in Mangawhai doing general maintenance and hanging out enjoying a break from the rain. We collected pinecones, mowed some grass, and Kien chopped down some woody weeds. Here's a little video clip of him using his machete skills.

I went and sat on the corner of our property at the very top of the pine forest. The view is beautiful from up here, all the way out to the Hen and Chicken islands. This is where we want to build our dwelling, eventually.

While we were in LA...

In April we went to LA again. We love going the sunny California, and LA is like my second home, and staying with Lynette, Jeff and their boys in their house is like being with family.

American Military Museum

Jef and Jeff took the boys to the museum which isn't far from the house. On their website it says "The American Society of Military History is dedicated to preserving the rich history provided by the vehicles that the military has used."

Easter Carnival

Held at Smith Park just up the road from home, we walked there for the annual event. Oh my, it was crazy busy. We had pancakes and sausages for breakfast, and there were easter egg hunts for the kids in various age groups. The local fire brigade and law enforcement officers were there too. It was a good community event.

Discovery Cube Orange County

This is such an amazing place for kids and adults alike.





We were here for the Mega Bubblefest Laser Show performed by Deni Yang, world-famous bubble artist and Guinness record holder, and the general admission area was great entertainment before and after the show.




Here's a short clip of Kien playing on one of the many interactive exhibits.



There was a giant outside area where the kids ran around looking for fossils. They were given wands that they wave around at the fossil when they find it, which tracks their progress.











The kids were also able to build Mars rovers and launch rockets using iPads.





They did science experiments too.



Of course the main event was amazing, and there was no photography allowed. Afterwards however we were able to take a couple of pics.





That was the first 4 days of our trip. Then we went on a roadtrip - destination - Las Vegas.

Tooth fairy is waiting

Kien's first tooth has finally come out - its only been wiggling for the last 3 weeks and we haven't stopped hearing about the tooth fairy since. However, it came out at school yesterday, and hopefully his teacher is holding on to that tooth. Kien tells you all about it here on this youtube clip. (If you are receiving this post via email click on the link to take you to my youtube channel.)

*Have you taken the picture already?*

The day I jumped out of a plane

"The highest tandem skydive in New Zealand’s North Island. Jump from a massive 16,500 feet. Skydiving with no limits. You’ll be skydiving 5029.2 metres with an insane 75 seconds of freefall. It’s the Ultimate Rush." That's straight off Skydive Auckland's website for the Ultimate Rush jump that I did on Saturday 21 February. Wow, it was an experience! I want to do it again!

It wasn't scary, honestly. If I compared it to my bungy jump last year I would say that plummeting off a bridge was scarier. Doing a skydive is just downright fun.

My dare devil friend Lynette and I were booked for a 2pm session, but due to the weather they asked if we could come earlier. So we arrived, and after showing us a short video trying to sell us their video and photo packages at exorbitant prices, we suited up.










Then we met our guides whom we would be strapped to and made our way to the plane across the road.







We had a short briefing before we clambered into the very cosy plane. Meanwhile our family and friends were close by and probably bored out of their brains with the waiting game.



Then it was take off time.





The view of the Kaipara Harbour was amazing from up there; the river formations snaking inland, the water that usually looks murky was blue from the reflection of the sky with the sun shining on it. Then the plane slowed down at 12,000ft to let the first lot of jumpers out, after which time we took our oxygen masks off and slid forward in preparation for the door to open.

Looking up at the plane as you tumble out of it is amazing. 75 seconds of free-falling is astounding (and very cold).







Once the chute popped open it was a gentle ride back to the ground. It was so peaceful up there. I felt like a bird gliding through the wind with an unencumbered view of the beautiful Auckland. The landing area loomed quickly, and then we touched down.







Here's a video Jef took from the ground. For those reading this via e-mail the embedded video may not show, so you can click on this link here to view my parachute landing.



Woohoo, another tick added to my list of to-do adventures .

Translating questions that may not need answers

Isn't it interesting that when faced with what appears to be 'tough times' you propel yourself down a path where you are actually trying to translate questions you hold rather than answering them. Yeah, it's been a bit quiet on the blogging front lately because I've been concentrating on a few different facets of my life, and I've simply depleted my energy reserves. It's hard trying to juggle work, family, exercise, couple time, alone time, social time, being sociable, general interest/hobbies, mindful parenting, and sleep. What's more all that takes precedence over the other stuff you do in order to keep your life in order! Plus, it doesn't help that I've been slightly obsessed with Ingress (although a very pleasant distraction) since last Sunday.

If you haven't heard of Ingress here's a sentence straight from wikipedia describing what it is: "The gameplay consists of establishing "portals" at places of public art, landmarks, cenotaphs, etc., and linking them to create virtual triangular fields over geographic areas." Essentially if you've ever played "capture the flag" in real life, and enjoy finding interesting art work, plagues or places of interest in the area (that you may not have known even existed) then you'd understand why the game is compelling. It makes you want to get out and about and walk around looking for these things using your GPS enabled smartphone. It's also strategic and tactical depending on how you want to play the game. You are building these virtual triangles between different locations, but at the same time there are real people out there who are doing the same thing, but on the opposite team. So you try and outsmart each other by anticipating what they will do and then block them, or try and take back the place they captured. There are hundreds of people playing this in Auckland, and multiple thousands of players around the world - and you don't even know who they are except by their online name. I know it sounds weird. I read what I've just typed and it sounds in some ways like "The Matrix" movie.

Anyway, enough nonsense talk.

Besides everything else that's going on we've also kinda sorta shifted house - maybe 80ish percent done. All that needs to happen now is to sort out what we keep and what we throw out/give away from the stuff we still have at the apartment, and then we get contractors in to finish up with the renovations. I need to motivate myself to do said tasks...which is easier said then done. But I will try hard this week (and/or next week).

It is nice that I can send Kien outside to play without having to be out there myself.



School holidays are over - the only impact with school break is that Kien's swimming lessons cease until the new term starts again, which was this last week just been. So back at swimming lessons last Tuesday.

Start of Term 3 swim lessons from Lien on Vimeo.

It's amazing how fast these kids learn. As you can see in the video he can get from A to B by himself now. The pool depth there is above his head, so it's pretty cool he has the confidence to swim to the platform on his own.

The other day/week I took Kien to one of our favourite haunts, the Auckland War Memorial Museum.









Ok, that's all I've got. I've got a tonne of things in my head I want to type, but Dreamland is beckoning, and that place is way too enticing to ignore.