Family Date 10.

so you know that goal i had in january to have a family date every month where we actually go out and do something, yeh we were doing awesome until that darn october month came around.

so we were back this month keeping the goal alive.

only skipping one month isn't the end of the world, right?!

in sydney we have been blessed with amazing spring weather.

it's total beach weather.

of course, we had to take advantage of the 36 degree saturday yesterday and we headed to one of joovy and my all time favourite beach, Manly (for total sentimental reasons).

we decided to get breakfast there and then have a dip in the beach or "sea" as makai likes to call it.

i LOVE going to cafes and getting breakfast, it's one of my all time favourite dates to do.

but being a mum with boys the mornings sometimes can be ridiculous to make it out of the house without pulling my hair out so we made it a brunch date instead of an early morning breakfast.

what i love most about going to breakfast with joovy is that he is my total opposite.

he hates tomato's, mushrooms anything green and i LOVE it.

where i'm not a massive bread eater and it's in his blood to live on bread - he's a total maori.

we are complete opposites but we "compliment eachother" as joovy likes to say.

kids are easily pleased makai loves pancakes and brax loves eggs - not just any eggs they have to be fried eggs.

Family Date 9

this family date is probably one of my favourites this year.

we got to tick off some things on the boys list that they have been dying to do but we couldn't because of the price.

for as long as i can remember makai has been begging to go on a "ferry boat" like not just any ones the green and yellow ones that travel between the city and manly.

this month we based our whole day around things the boys have been really wanting to do or see or eat.

the day went as followed -

*drove to the city (we get to park at jevan's work now and it's awesome because it's FREE-yay)

*we hit up the rocks markets and scored ourselves a egg & bacon roll, i have to admit this was purely on my wish list the boys didn't care.

*we headed to wharf 3 at circular quay and caught a long awaited ferry ride straight to manly wharf.

*these boys are the biggest chip lovers (including the biggest one) and what better place to have chips than right at the beach.

* sharks, stingrays, turtles, penguins and jellyfish were a big hit with these two boys at the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary.

*to finish off any good family date we had to have ice-cream and milkshakes - braxton looks like he is a milkshake-a-holic in this photo, we really need to get him help with that problem ;).

Family Date 7

i thought i better update our family date this month before july ends.

i know family dates are all about the time that you spend with each other and you should always allow plenty of it to spend, unfortunately at this point in the year jevan really lacks time to do anything outside work or his calling, so to keep within our goal of one family date per month i decided this month would just be a simple big breakfast at home with just the four of us. 

we have never done this with just us and i LOVE when we go away and choose the package of "Buffet Breakfast Included." 

so we bought the buffet breakfast package to our own table. 

we had the lot bacon, eggs, hash browns, croissants, pastries (my FAV), toast, english muffins, pancakes, juice, chocolate milk, all the spreads and sauces you could imagine.

the kids were so excited they had no idea what was going on, and with all the choices they had they simply could not choose just one. they taste tested everything somethings even twice.

at the end of all good buffet breakfasts you feel ridiculously full - on the border of sick - you always eat far to much.

at the end of our breakfast we rolled out the door and drove jevan into work, the bonus with having a husband that works in the city is that we get to park for freeeeeee on the weekends 5 min walk away from circular quay.

the kids and i felt like extending our date a little further.

we took a stroll to observatory hill.

we counted the boats, trains and all the big buildings.

we stumbled across the best patisserie, it makes macaroons that are out of this world.

bracky danced to the buskers at the rocks markets and makai gave his approval with paying them for their services.

this day, even though we were not altogether for most of it was one of the most memorable family dates because instead of focusing on the quantity of time we had, it was more the quality of time that made this day special.

A Tad Obsessed

to thursday is my set day to take the boys on an adventure,

and i' becoming a tad obsessed with local history,

so put the two together and what did i come up with you ask?

Rouse Hill Regional Park.

it's huge.

it's beautiful.

it's full in history.

the kids park has a backdrop of the historic Rouse Home and Farm.

it's really breath-taking, well for local historian lovers, like myself ; ).

plus there are cows there which the kids went crazy over and it's 100% free.

you should see my list of local historical sites that i want to see.

it's pretty long - never ever thought i would get to this point in my life - ha.

my greatest discovery today was on the drive home, i took a different way home and i know your dying to know what i stumbled upon in between two houses.

THE ROUSE HILL CEMETERY. 

like, the original one, can you imagine my excitement because that was not on my list.

it's a little embarrassing, ok it's a WHOLE lot embarrassing to know how excited i was.

we don't hear anything about our local history and i think we should.

you can find out some amazing things, we have an amazing heritage and i can't help myself thinking about the houses, who lived in them, what were there lives like, what did they wear?

the list goes on and on.

all i have to say is, it's official i am OLD.

Kia Ora from Aotearoa

i cannot lie, 

new zealand is one of my favourite places in the world.

the untouched beauty of this county makes it that more special.

the rugged hills, the greenest grass you have ever seen that seem to just spill over the hill tops, the volcanic transformations that appear in the middle of the sea.

the list could go on and on.

we have travelled to new zealand many times this is our 3rd trip since jevan and i got hitched.

we are staying at Skye & Sarah's house at Mairangi Bay this trip.

can i just say the North Shore is AMAZING, must add it to you to see list when you visit auckland.

after travelling to america and within america, travelling with the boys internationally now is simple especially that kai-kai is a crazy as plane lover and asks me all the time "mum can i go to the airliport so go on a airliplane." (and just between me and you the iPad make it that much easier.)

we flew in thursday afternoon, the boys met their cousins with great big hugs as soon as they walked out of the last door.

we have been to browns bay where the boys and there cousins turned a skateboard park into a slide arena (literally), we discovered THE best pie bakery ever known to man (order the Chicken Camembert - divine) with THE best bakery treats your mind could ever imagine, i highly recommend the Caramel Rough for those caramel lovers, like myself, out there. We have been educated on everything you could imagine at the Auckland Museum overlooking the city and Parnell.

we got to see isaac play rugby and lini play - "dance" at netball. 

one of my absolute favourite places in new zealand is Temple View.

as we were driving to the temple you can see it up on the hill, i always get this overwhelming feeling of peace as i think i am home again.

we have attended just this afternoon the sealing of the Afoa family, it was beautiful and of course i blubbered, i tell you kids do it to me.

how rich this country is in history, culture and natural beauties.

 i love it, jevan loves it and the boys love it.

it's a winner all round.