Friday, January 27, 2012

Nous Visitons nos amis et famille

We've had a great few days tripping around the Waikato/Tauranga visiting friends and family. Louis has recovered from his shots (apparently, though a rash can take longer to appear) and his teeth seem to be niggly but not a constant misery. Whew.

Luuk with friends, picnicking.


On Tuesday we had a picnic lunch at Memorial Park in Tauranga - delish food, good (and rarely seen) friends, happy kids and huge playground! Louis was off on one adventure after another...


Sign on the fountain: This is not a paddling pool. All children must be supervised by adults. Council takes no responsibility blah blah blah. Should be a Tui ad.

Louis in the foreground, splashing in the puddles, and in the background are our friends, circumnavigating the fountain.


 Thirsty? 


We spent the evening with other friends in Tauranga, where we got spoilt with fresh snapper for dinner and a gorgeous bbq-ed brunch the next day. Then visited cousins, aunt and uncle. Caught up, played rummikub, then went out for pizza the size of a tractor tire!

Lunch with cousins in Tauranga

 Happy munching on pizza crust and playing with the take-away menu... until his ears started bothering him, just before we left.  Either that or he is sick of us talking...

We returned to Hamilton, doing our audio french lesson as we traversed the Kaimai ranges, and spent the next two nights with our friends in Hamilton. It was a gorgeous, and steamy, day so we happily spent the remainder of the afternoon lazing around in the backyard, nibbling on strawberries and plums, while the kids played in the sprinkler and paddling pool. 

 Louis and Eli, splashing about!

Louis enjoying a cupcake for dessert, sitting in a 'bumbo' (I want to get one when we get to Paris!)

The first night with the Hamilton friends we stayed up late playing 'Tetris Link' a new game to us, but very quickly a favourite. The second night we were up late watching 'The Help' and eating dairy-free (read: tofu) cheesecake - which I was thoroughly impressed by! Not that I'd pick it over actual (dairy-full) cheesecake, but it was eminently edible.

Yesterday we went to Nana's for lunch (in Te Awamutu) and then on to my cousins' farm, where Louis spent a joyful afternoon playing with his second cousins, and having a nice long nap. We ate lots of yummy cheese scones and caught up with the cousins, and played with the kids. What a lot of cuties!


Probably stayed a bit late in the end... according to the wee man at least. It was a bit of a drive to get back to Hamilton, from out in the wops of the Waikato, but he kept entertained with the stereo remote...

Look who's talking (on the remote 'phone')

Now we're back with Luuk's family, getting our packing sorted. The plan: to pack and weigh the suitcases, and then for all 3 of us to live out of just one case until we get to Paris. We'll need 3 or 4 days of summer clothes, all the stuff for the plane/layover, and at least one winter outfit for arrival in Paris. Hopefully we then don't have to repack the night before we leave in Auckland. If we only open one suitcase, and everything that comes out of it goes back into it, then the weight shouldn't change right?

Well, that's the plan. Might be blogging from Paris next! Au Revoir!

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