Today I am suppose to be packing up and driving to Palmerston North. I will! But a bit later. I HAVE to share these photos from our adventures in the Maize Maze.
The boys had been staying with us for the weekend, hence the reason I have to drive to Palmerston North today, I have to take them home….anyway… yesterday, we decided to go to the Maize maze. We had been passed the place a few times, in fact every time I took the boys either to their home or to our place. And because it is well sign posted and Jayden can read, it has been the most asked for location to visit….and it was worth the visit.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky! We started off with a fabulous church service, lunch at home (corn on the cobb would you believe), and then we were off to the Maize Maze.
Two very excited boys!See Nana Pam…here is a sign behind us!Yes there we are! We had so much fun 🙂Found a bit of shade to cool down a bit. Luckily Grandad brought a bottle of drink! Phew!Which way do we go?????Stop G4! photo time 🙂Looking for the signs which are hidden in the maze. We had a worksheet to fill in and we HAD to find them all!All smiles at the beginning!The entrance to the Maze…and there are 2 paddocks to exploreHaving a swing while Nana and Grandad pay to explore the MazeG4 at the tyre maze…just beside the maize maze!Mount Egmont (Taranaki) without any snow! Our view as we travelled to the Maize maze 🙂
So as you can see it was a GREAT day. We all had so much fun, and finished the fun off with a swim in our pool as soon as we got home. These kind of days are the days that we will remember forever!
You all know that I am a pretty crafty person. In fact I feel something missing in my day if I haven’t managed to be creative in some way. From my previous blog post you can see that patchwork has been a favourite hobby over this past year. In fact, scrapbooking has been put aside while my sewing machine has been a priority…and that is quite a miracle! So today I decided to share a few photos of my creations.
A duvet cover with a duvet inside for C3’s baby girl 🙂A Blanket I made for D3’s Birthday. Yet to be edged in this photo.Blanket/playmat for C1 and D1’s baby boyDuvet cover with a duvet inside for C1 and D1’s baby boyBlanket for C5 for Christmas 2013A Playmat for C2 and D2’s baby girl. I hadn’t edged it in this photo, but it was edged before I sent it off to London 🙂Made as a picnic blanket for Rebecca and Roland’s engagement present. I wrapped it up along with a salad bowl and serving spoons for their future picnics 🙂A Blanket I made for Mum for Christmas. I also made a pillow to go with it 🙂
Now my creations are actually very simple constructions. After making these I now have the utmost admiration for real quilters. You know what I mean I am sure. The people who create masterpieces! How I would love to have the patience to fiddle around with tiny scraps if material and sew them in planned order to create a quilt that would be treasured for generations. Wouldn’t that be marvelous!
We leave behind us children and grand children and then the generations of family that follow, but to have one of your creations handed down over those generations would be something special. Maybe that could be my challenge for 2014. To make a very special quilt. Stitched with hours of love and ending up looking wonderful. Something like this one that I like from ‘Instagram’
I think this quilt pattern is lovely, but imagine all the sewing involved and all the seams to iron flat!!
But who would I make it for? I could sew it with love for each and every one of my family! But which person would treasure it forever and appreciate my time and love and energy that I will put into making it?
I guess my focus should really be in the joy of creating something and blessing someone with that creation, and not be too concerned with what happens with it over the years.
Now all I need is spare time and an awful lot of patience!
Last school holidays I had the boys here to stay for a week. I met C3 and Stacie in Wanganui on a Tuesday and then a week later did the same thing again, picking the boys up the first week and dropping them off the second. We had a fabulous time at the park in Wanganui including a picnic lunch. The boys loved the playground! Each play area is based on a nursery rhyme or cartoon character and painted in bright colours. Best of all was the train ride!
G4 sliding down Dino the Dinosaurs neck 🙂The Family with Fred and BarneyOn top of Jonah’s Whale 🙂Love this! Dad and son!One happy G4Family on the train rideOn top of the MountainRiding a dolphinG4 is climbing up the dinosaur steps.whee down he goesSo much fun to be had at this park!We can do it!
The second week in Wanganui we had a big family get together celebrating Keelas 16th Birthday. Keela is my brothers grand daughter, daughter of Melissa. I haven’t seen Keela for years so it was a great opportunity to catch up with her….and what a beautiful young lady she is 🙂 It was also a chance to meet up with the newest addition to the family, baby Nash, Melissa’s baby…and Keela and Alex’s half brother.
Rodney, Joy and their familyVery proud great grand parents.16 Candles!!!Keela about to blow out her candlesA Happy momentHappy 16th Birthday KeelaDad with his son Rodney, and with Rodney’s son Jarrod, and with Melissa’s son Nash. 4 generations.Judy, Kerry and G2Mum and Dad with C3, Stacie and G4
Stacie with G2 and G4
I love trying to spend as much quality time with the boys while they are staying. This time we went to the beach, down to the river and walked along the walkway. Robin did something even more adventureous with them while I was at work. They climbed Paritutu! I don’t think I would have been game enough to do that with G4. His listening skills are not the best….and it is a very high and dangerous place to be if you don’t follow the rules! But….what an experience for them 🙂
The park at East End BeachThe Park at East EndIf there’s rocks….G4 has to climb themBuilding a big castle with woodYay for sand and waterG2 busy buildingDown at the river by Nana Pam’s and Grandad Robin’sThrowing stones into the riverThe river was flowing faster than we thought it would beTaking Maisy for a walkUnder the bridge on the walkwayWalk along Te Henui walkwayG2 enjoying the sandYes….G4 gets wet!East end beach after teaAt the entrance to Paritutu Rock (Mountain…nearly)G4 on the merry go round! A celebration for being such a good boy 🙂Look behind!Happy chappies…at the top!It’s getting very high now!Holding on to the inside bankStarting the climb. G4 trying to tell Robin that he is the boss. Now Grandad Robin says ‘Get down G4!’
While the boys were staying I found some cool T Shirts for them to wear to church on the Sunday. I am amazed at the neat clothing out there for boys nowdays. There was nothing like them when my boys were young! I love them! What do you reckon? Do you think they are pretty cool?
Playing together so nicely!Concentration!!!So busy buildingDo you think Batman can go down the slide?How much fun to roll the ball down the slide…just need to get it up first!Down G2 goesG2 first and G4 followsSo much fun on the trampolineJust hanging Nana!I can hang too Nana!
Just a quick 8 day trip to Sydney this time…Matthew is in Las Vegas at IBM’s Information on Demand Conference, so I popped over to Sydney to keep the girls company 🙂
Matthew went to the conference as Cortell Australia (Matthew’s Company) won Worldwide Partner of the Year!
THE ANNOUNCEMENT:
LAS VEGAS, November 3, 2013 – Today, Cortell Australia, has been recognized as IBM’s leading Worldwide Advanced Analytics and Business Intelligence Partner. The Worldwide Overall Business Analytics Business Partner Excellence Award was presented to Cortell Australia during IBM’s Information on Demand Conference held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
IBM extends this award to a single IBM Partner globally based on a broad range of strategically important criteria that collectively drive value for the IBM Business Analytics brand. These include total resale revenue, number of resale transactions, very high customer satisfaction, Advanced Analytics & Business Intelligence solution expertise, investments in the IBM Business Analytics brand, and consistency over may years of service.
Matthews response: This is truly a significant award and Cortell Australia is honored to receive this world wide recognition from IBM. Our Sales and Consulting Teams share a passion for delivering the best possible business analytics solutions for customers. They work hard every day to solve customer business problems and this award is a result of their consistent delivery of high value and better outcomes for customers. We could not have done this without the fantastic IBM Business Analytics solutions, and we thank IBM for its continued investment in our success.
Matthew is one very smart man, very highly motivated and successful..and on top of that, he loves his family with passion! His desire is to provide them with the best life possible.
I won’t be visiting Ben and Chloe on this trip either. They are also in Las Vegas at the same conference as Matthew. Ben is speaking at one of the conference lectures??? Not sure what you would call it. He has designed a product which IBM uses and Ben will be sharing about the benefits / uses of the product. Actually…I don’t really understand it all completely as it is WAY beyond me….but Ben is a very talented and creative young man. He is very lucky as Mathew introduced him to the world of Business analytics, by employing him in Wellington New Zealand as a young 17 year old, and Ben hasn’t looked back since.
I am so spoilt as God has given me six very talented children and I love them all so much. Am I a proud Mumma??? I sure am!
On top of the business success, Matthew and Rebecca are having another baby due next March. I’m sure you know that they already have two beautiful daughters….Yes, I am a very proud nana of them too! But I have to share the results of the last Baby scan…It is a boy! And we are all celebrating that news! Such a blessing 🙂
I have also used the opportunity of coming over to Sydney to bring over some of the things I have been making for the baby. I have been making both baby girl things as well as baby boy ones as I am being blessed with three new Grand babies early next year. So Exciting! But now I know that this baby will be a boy I have selected some boy things and can save postage.
Below are photos of the creative process…and finished products
And now I am going to go enjoy my time in Sydney starting with walking Casey to School this morning and then taking Rosie for her walk around the big block.
The workmen are here doing up the pool area, so I am also enjoying watching the progress while they work away and I get to relax. Maybe I can finish knitting my little baby boys cardigan in the beautiful Sydney sunshine…..ahhhh I love life 🙂
The material squares before sewing
Sewn, cut up again and placing them for the final look
All sewn together 🙂
Playmat finished….topstitched and edged
This one is a cot duvet cover. Can be unzipped at the bottom for washing. The duvet inner is separate and enclosed.
First morning walk with Rosie in Sydney
The workmen are here today. Let’s see how much they get done. Looking left!
Looking right!
The Hills residence on a lovely hot Sydney day. Not a cloud in sight!
Beautiful Leeara and meLeeara and SamCasey and her pink ZincLeeara studying at the bathsRest and relaxation in the warmth of the sunPutting together ikea furnitureThe finished product – For baby Luke’s room
Our youngest grandchild G4 turned 4 in May. The oldest grandchild is G1 and she was 16 in February. The two in the middle are G3 and G2. The are only a week apart in age. G2 turned 7 on the 29th of January and G4 turned 7 on the 5th of February. So, for having 6 children ranging in age from 19 to 35 we only have 4 grandchildren…that is until now!!!
We have the best news ever. Stacie and C3 are having another baby due in February, and C1 and D1 are due a month later. So exciting!! Our only prayer now is that C2 and D2’s prayer will be answered. They lost little Lillianna at 4 months pregnancy and they are hoping God will bless them with another pregnancy….we are hoping and praying for them too!
Grandchildren are such a blessing!
C1 and D1’s post on Facebook…very well done 🙂yes it’s a positive….yay!!!
The school holidays are now over. I am in a mix of emotions! So happy to have had the grandsons to stay and have lots of Nana cuddles, but sad because all too soon the time was up and they have now gone back home to Palmerston North. They are fabulous little boys. G2 is quieter, very thoughtful and loving, and an absolute lover of computer/video games! He reminds me of his Uncles, C4 and C1. He gets totally into this other world. His Mum and Dad have to make sure that he is having adequate breaks away from the computer as he would play games all day. He is actually quite clever and has left me one of his games to take care of. I have been sucked into the quest, and have been feeding his little monsters and looking after his ‘earnings’ as best I can, but it is getting very close to me saying ‘no more…that’s enough!’ G2 won’t have access to my computer again until the next School holidays and I am NOT going to keep doing this for 10 weeks! Far too time consuming and very addictive I must say! Even if the look of his gorgeous pleeding eyes remains forever burned in my memory…I will stop arghhhh!
G4 is far more active than G2 but that could also be his age. He turned 4 in May and he hasn’t a care in the world. He makes the most of every environment he is in! We went to the indoor playground, the local parks and to the zoo, and he ventured off in all directions in each place. About 2 years ago he ran straight into a wall in McDonalds playground because he was running so fast and got an amazing bleeding nose! Blood everywhere! Believe it or not he did exactly the same this holidays…at McDonalds as well….same place! You just have to love him though. He has such a cute look of innocence and gives love so freely!
Both boys slept in C5 room in our old bed. Yes Robin and I have finally brought a new bed..after 23 years of marriage…and I love it. I have had longer and more refreshing sleep than I have in years. It’s not a soft bed but it has memory foam and moulds to your body shape. I haven’t had an aching hip or shoulder since sleeping on it! Yay! But…back to the boys…every morning they would come and hop into bed with me. I loved it! Even though they would have a cuddle and then one would lay with my iphone and the other with the galaxy pad…we were together and that was all that mattered! I miss them soooo much.
Whee…G2 goes down the slideG4 in the ball playface down in the ball pit!G2 learning to play table tennisStacie helping G4 play table tennisSmile for the camera G4Just look at that cute face 🙂The look of concentrationall in onesies!a favourite park to visit. Lots of boys activities!Just too cute…love him!Lovely pose G4 🙂both boys on the big swingG2 posing for the cameraG4 loved this!
I don’t know why but I am way behind in updating my blog. I’ve been back from Sydney since the 17th of June and I haven’t managed to do any more Scrapbooking! How sad is that! I did manage to do a few more pages while I was there though so I will add those photos for you to look at.
G4’s 4th Birthday partyAt St Ives community fairfavourite form of exercise over summerThe boys had fun at the free pools for children at Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth, New ZealandC5 getting ready for her Graduation ceremonyMy beautiful girl happy with bike ridingme and my girl!G3 was pulling off an annoying tag…she got it!That hill was so hard to bike up! C5 made it, Judy didn’t!
So here it is 9am and I am still in bed! I could blame it on the fact that it is a cold morning, I have a cough, and I have had about 4 nights of broken sleep because of that cough (mainly a tickly throat) but really I am just being lazy! Not normally one of my character traits but today it is the main one! And…I actually have a lot to do!
Yesterday I spent the day sewing. It was a cold, wet and thundery day so a good day to sew. I was determined to finish the quilts that I had started, and I did!
Today I start my new job. Yes…I have a new job. What an amazing answer to prayer! I had a phone call from a friend wondering if I would like some work. Like!!!! I would love it! So I am now a receptionist at Phoenix Emergency Doctors on Vivian Street, New Plymouth. I don’t officially start until the middle of June, but this afternoon I am going to learn what I will be expected to do. I am feeling really happy and can’t wait to use my skills again. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at home, but I kinda feel like I aren’t using my brain to the same extent…and I don’t want to lose the ability to work intellectually. I hope that makes sense! I want to be stretched mentally!
So today I have new job orientation, tomorrow I have friends coming over for the afternoon, Friday Joanna graduates so it is celebration time, and Saturday we travel to Palmerston North for Christians 4th Birthday.
So after our lovely late morning tea/lunch I decided to start a new sewing project. I wanted to see just how much I could achieve before bed time, and that included cooking tea (and eating it) as well.
I can’t believe how fast the last year went! Who would believe that we are now heading towards the middle of January 2013 already!
Well….life is great! I had a fabulous Christmas and even managed a week in Sydney with C1, D1, G1 and G3 (and had a night out with C4 and D3). Robin and the girls were also in Sydney for Christmas day so we had a lovely family time. C6 and I had to fly back home on Boxing Day because I had to work the next 2 days and C6 had booked to go to ‘Rhythm and Vines’ music festival.
Since being back home I have had Simon and the 2 boys staying plus C4 and D3 came to stay for about 5 nights as well. We tried to do as much as possible together for those 5 days. C3 left and went up to Hamilton where he is going to be best man for his friends wedding, and C4 and D3 flew back to Sydney. I still have my 2 grandsons staying and have been having so much fun with them.
Robin and C5 got back home on the 6th of January and both have been working again this week. Life is slowly getting back to normal and that means routine!
C5 turns 21 on the 15th so the next big event will be her birthday dinner. Luckily for me, she has booked her party at a local venue so I won’t have to be preparing food.
My crafting life has had to be put on hold during the Christmas season, but I have plenty of photos printed out ready for when time once again becomes available. I can’t wait! One thing that I have managed to fit in though is shifting a heap of my very old photos from their old unsafe photo albums, to new albums that are acid free. I purchased lots of photo life pages from ‘Simon Says’ and have found them a very quick way of getting the photos into albums and yet making them slightly more interesting than just plain photo albums. I have a long way to go before finishing them, but I am very happy with the progress so far.
I also made a few crafty things for gifts and also for selling in my sisters craft shop. I will attach some photos!
I will also add some photos of my fabulous family and of our time together celebrating our Saviours birthday 🙂
