Hi All,

So it’s 2009 already! We had a great party around here last night with some good friends; the kids had blast in the pool, playing swingball and staying up late.... So I’m sure they will be in _fine_ form today... no really! :-)

Last year had a lot of challenges for us as a family with various things going on, and this year no doubt will have its fair share, particularly with the impact of the struggling world economies, pending job losses and rising unemployment etc.

I was showing Brett a few snaps of our holiday last week from Purau and our retro camping experience with our Sprite Pop-top Caravan. If we reflect on life, the good memories that stick in our mind aren’t typically the things we purchase – it’s the time spent with friends and family. The kids had a blast at the beach, pool, playing in the creek trying to catch whitebait/eels, biking, staying up late etc and we found it very relaxing.

So for me, 2009 will be about focusing on the important things in life (family, friends, work – balance..) and enjoying the challenges that life offers to us all.

Have a great year, focus on what you can change/impact and enjoy your family moments! :-)

Nick.

Hi All,

I’ve been spending a bit more time out in the home office, and decided a TV wouldn’t be a bad thing, so after some research, I decided to buy a higher end model of the unit I use in the lounge for my office.

I picked up a Dreambox 7020si via a contact I had made on Ebay some months back for $US305.

When we moved into our current house, we had a four car garage. Within the 1st week of moving in, I had hired a concrete saw, a jack hammer and was digging a trench to drag cat 6 cabling between the house and the garage. The garage has been split into half, and an office built at the back for me to retreat to when I needed to work, as well as relax.

I managed to pickup a cheap dish with 3 LNB's, so my mate Murray and I installed it up on the garage roof on the weekend. So this box is tuned into Optus D1, D2 and C1 and works superbly!

Nick.

Hi All,

Yesterday was a busy day for the kids! Halswell School have been learning about dance and yesterday they put on a show for the parents. Vanessa and Lachie went to watch Liam perform, Lachie wasn’t too interested and found some nice dirt to play with outside.

Liam has been going to Keas now for quite a few weeks, and last night he was invested (it isn’t as painful as it sounds) – This basically means you join, say your promise and receive your scarf , woggle and shirt. In a few weeks time we’re off to his first camp at Kaikoura, where we’ll stay for a couple of nights, do whale watching, mini golf, have mass produced food, and the adults will probably enjoy a few ales – Quite looking forward to it!<a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=606b7e0a-88bd-4411-8b50-376f3f9d9c95" target="_new" title="Dance Festival @ Halswell School">Video: Dance Festival @ Halswell School</a>

Lachie attends Mainly music on Tuesday, so when the fun outside began, (It was the end of term party of Keas).. he decided to put on his dancing shoes…

<a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=d7be2ee2-f975-4d9b-8d08-708f8dc18769" target="_new" title="Jiggy!">Video: Jiggy!</a>

Hi All,

Well today started off earlier than other typical weekends. We’ve had alot of snow in the Canterbury Region, and we haven’t really had a good chance to go and have a play in it – So we headed south to Lake Coleridge in search of some snow. We stopped at Darfield and enjoyed a hot breakfast with some decent carb loading :-). It’s easy to get stuck in the routine of life, so we decided to enjoy our surroundings, and headed an hour south – the boys had a blast!

For more photos go here - http://www.thenet.gen.nz/Home/Photos.aspx?AlbumID=133

For videos of Liam and Lachie playing in the snow go here - http://www.thenet.gen.nz/Home/Movies.aspx

We had lunch out at Lincoln with Vanessa’s brother, wife and kids, then Liam and I headed off to the Canterbury vs Auckland Rugby game at AMI Stadium.

Great result with Canterbury taking it to Auckland 34 - 3 – It was our first ‘take a kid to footy’ night. (Take a kid to footy costs $25 for an Adult and Child, and they receive a ‘loot bag’ with a drink, chips, some bangers and some face paint) – Cheap night out! It was pretty cold, however Liam was keen to stay until the end.

A few more photos here - http://www.thenet.gen.nz/Home/Photos.aspx?AlbumID=134

Nick.

Hi All,

Well it’s been many years since I set foot in a Scout hall, and I survived again! :-) Liam had his first night at Keas tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed it! I loved the camping, adventures, exploring outdoors etc so we decided to introduce Liam to Keas to see if it was cup of tea carbonated fizzy. One of the challenges in moving away from a city, then returning, is that your social network becomes eroded over time. I wanted to get involved in something I enjoyed, meet some new people, as well as give something back to others in the community (looks like I’ll become a leader too) - Oh..yeah, and Liam of course needs to enjoy it. This was the first night of the term for Keas, so it kicked off with placing the kids in “Possies” (groups) and nominating leaders and seconds (deputy leaders). Next on the agenda was a bit of fun - “Battleships”. The kids were split into two teams, some tables are placed on their sides (so the kids couldn’t see each other) and the kids had sit on the floor behind the tables. Throw in a few tennis balls and play Battleships. If a ball hits you without a bounce, you’re out. The kids loved it and went nuts. Next was ‘crafts’ – create something that reminds you of “fun” was tonights theme. There were are a few talks and some education along the way and we finished up with the kids helping to clean up and an allocation of points for the teams for the night.  Here’s a few photos taken from my batfone.

Vanessa will take Liam next week as I'll be in Seattle, and all going well, we'll sign up and get into it :-)

Nick.

Hi All,

It was a shocker of a day yesterday, persisting down with rain, so the boys and I decided to head out to see some friends in Oxford. Oxford is an small farming settlement ~30 kms from Rangiora. Vanessa has been away in Wellington since Thursday, and is due back tonight, so it’s great for me to spent some solo time with Liam and Lach before heading out to Seattle this coming weekend. We visited and drove through the Waimakariri and Ashley gorges on the way to Oxford and Rangiora , it’s been years since I’ve been out that way.

We ended up arriving back into Christchurch about 7pm, grabbed some fish ‘n chips for tea. then the kids got ready for bed etc. The boys had a ball throwing stones in the river (and almost throwing themselves in a few time).The Waimak gorge is pretty cool, I’ll have to check and see if there are any caches hidden round there for next time I’m out that way – would be a great spot for some fishing and camping too!

Nick.