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Milford Sound—Part 3—The Trip Back

March 21, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

After we walked everywhere we could around Milford Sound, we gathered at the back of the vans to eat our sandwiches. It was raining, so some of us stood under the open back door; others got inside and sat in the seats. Wherever we were, the sandflies were BAD! They came in clouds, attacking every inch of exposed skin. We didn’t waste any time eating, and got on the road again quickly to escape the hungry hordes.

This is what we saw as we got on the road again. The mountains were absolutely spectacular, even through the rain.

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Here we were heading up to the Homer Tunnel again, from the seaward side. Again, there were sheer rock cliffs going straight up. It’s nearly impossible to get a feel for it from a photo. I was absolutely awestruck by these mountains.251-IMG_7438252a-IMG_5088252b-IMG_5089252c-IMG_5098252-IMG_7439

There’s the tunnel! I was quite disappointed that the light had just turned green. I was hoping we would have several minutes to sit there waiting, and soak in the grandeur of the scene. 253-IMG_7440

Have you noticed the water streaming down the rocks all around?254-IMG_7441

Going down the landward side.255a-IMG_5100255-IMG_7443

We stopped at a pulloff beside a waterfall. Miss Joy was asleep, so I stayed in the van with her while the others went to the viewing platform. This kea was on top of a motorhome; it rode for a little ways, and then flew back to our vans. 256-IMG_7445259-IMG_7449

Miss Joy didn’t sleep long, so I got out of the van and went to see the waterfall, too.260a-IMG_5101260c-IMG_5105260d-IMG_5109260-IMG_7450261-IMG_7452

When we moved on, the red van went ahead. Maybe I needed to feed Miss Joy? I can’t remember for sure. That left Esther and the two little girls and I together when we stopped at another overlook where we could see this spectacular valley. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was an amazing sight.262a-IMG_5113

Our next stop was the Cascade Creek Nature Walk at Lake Gunn. Miss Joy needed some time to play, so I stayed in the gray van with the two little girls while everyone else went on the walk. These are Esther’s pictures.262b-IMG_5114262c-IMG_5116262d-IMG_5118262e-IMG_5119262f-IMG_5120262g-IMG_5121We also stopped at Mirror Lakes. A nice boardwalk led along the edge of a beautiful pond.

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We were trying to get a picture of all the children, and another tourist offered to take our family picture, so we quickly organized for this.266-IMG_7459

Then, we went back to work on the children’s picture.267a-IMG_5138

Miss Joy didn’t want to be separated from Mommy.267b-IMG_5141

Finally, Daddy had to help keep her in place while I took the picture.267c-IMG_5143

When we got back to Te Anau, we still had a few hours of daylight, so we stopped at the bird sanctuary. This is a takahe, a very rare bird. They have a couple of pairs there.267d-IMG_5147267d-IMG_5149

These are blue ducks, also very rare.267d-IMG_5159

Paradise ducks aren’t exactly rare, but we enjoyed watching them. The mother (the one closest to the camera) was very worried that we would hurt her babies, and kept trying to get us through the fence.267d-IMG_5161

This is a relative of the kea, some sort of a parrot, but I don’t remember what it’s called.267d-IMG_5164

This is another parrot.267d-IMG_5169267d-IMG_5171

A table and chairs just her size!267d-IMG_5173267e-IMG_5175

A little house for her, too!267e-IMG_20210106_174411

This is the view from our friends’ house. I would love to see it on a sunny day!267-IMG_7460268-IMG_7461Here is a video put together from several clips that various family members. The first clip was taken in the Eglinton Valley, on the way to Milford, by Mr. Imagination. Next is Esther’s clip of going through the Homer Tunnel, and then of going down the mountain from the tunnel. After that is a clip from sea level at Milford Sound, followed by one of the waterfall where we saw the kea. Then, there is one of Lake Gunn and a few from the nature walk.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Holiday Trip, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Video

South of Dunedin

February 24, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We spent two nights with our friends in Dunedin. While we were there, I didn’t take any pictures. It was pouring the entire time, and we mainly stayed inside. Our friends had built a guesthouse, which we slept in. I wish I would have gotten a picture, but every time I went to it, I was trying to carry a baby and an umbrella, and dodging around the river that was running down the path we took up to it! It was very comfortable, and we enjoyed our time with them. We left late Sunday afternoon, and headed on south to visit some friends in the Catlins. Just before we left, Esther wanted to get a picture with her two little sisters, in the new dresses she made for them all just before our trip.

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Our friends live on a mountain, and the road going down is slightly daunting! I have no idea what the gradient is, but it’s steep!138-IMG_7253

This is the Dunedin Train Station, which I posted pictures of the other time we were down there. You can find the pictures here and here, if you’re interested.139-IMG_7256

More interesting buildings in Dunedin.140-IMG_7258

Houses on the hillside. Dunedin is a very hilly city!141-IMG_7260

Maybe half an hour after we got on the road, the skies opened in a cloudburst. It was raining so hard that we had to slow down quite a lot. We could hardly see ahead of us. We kept moving, but slowly, and soon the rain let up—but then we started seeing flooding. 142-IMG_7262143-IMG_7264

We crossed a bridge over the Taieri River, and saw the water pouring over the stopbank on the far side. Esther was  taking a video  at  the  time,  and  caught  that.144-IMG_7266

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I don’t think anyone drove into that paddock that day!145c-IMG_4856145-IMG_7268146a-IMG_4859146b-IMG_4860146-IMG_7269

It was rather a relief to get away from the flooding as we continued farther south. I was a bit concerned that the road might end up closing, and didn’t want to be caught somewhere we didn’t want to be.147-IMG_7272148-IMG_7274

The Clutha River was high, too, but not as bad as up north.149-IMG_7276150-IMG_7278

The Catlins are beautiful! Rolling, green hills with cattle and sheep on them.151-IMG_7279152-IMG_7282

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Catlins, Dunedin, Flooding, Holiday Trip, Video

Ashburton Aviation Museum

January 31, 2021 by NZ Filbruns 1 Comment

When we were planning our trip, Esther and I decided that we wanted to go to The Book Barn, a huge used book store. We knew that the men and boys in our family, for the most part, would not be interested, and would be bored waiting for us, so she looked online for other attractions in the area. She discovered that Ashburton has an Aviation Museum, and the website made it look and sound very interesting—and it didn’t cost too much, either. So, on the third day of our trip, we split up. Esther and I and Miss Joy went in one van to the book shop, and everyone else went in the other van to Ashburton. We met them there for lunch, after they had been at the museum for a couple of hours, and then we took a quick tour through, as well.

Before we got on the road, we had a look at a project our host family’s grandfather is working on. This is the empty tomb, built into a hillside, and on a hilltop nearby, he plans to erect three crosses. Inside the tomb, facing the empty place representing where Jesus’ body would have lain, will be a bench to sit on, and Christian literature.01-053a-IMG_0800

Miss Joy fell asleep immediately after we left.20-053-IMG_4625The father of the man of the family with we had spent the night owns this church, the Church of the Open Door. It is not used for services anymore, but he maintains it as a place for people to come in and pray or meditate any time they want to. He comes every Sunday to clean it.

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A close-up of the prickly pear around the front.13-055-IMG_7175

Inside the church.16-056-IMG_7176It’s always fun to see this giant fish when we got through Rakaia.

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The museum! It is at the Ashburton airport. The museum occupies three hangers. This photo was taken from the top of the restored control tower.21-058a1-IMG_0853

Little Miss wanted to show me the hospital plane. It was what she was most fascinated with.22-058a-IMG_4632

Inside was a stretcher and a place for an attendant to sit.23-058b-IMG_4635

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Little Miss under the DC-3.

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Going inside the DC-3. This plane is fully operational, but it would cost a million dollars a day to pay for insurance to fly it.

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The DC-3 was probably the one Elijah was most fascinated with.

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Someone was amused at this sign. They didn’t think they wanted to have to be rescued!26-064a-IMG_4643

This helicopter was used during the Korean War to transport wounded soldiers away from the front. A stretcher was strapped on to each side, on the outside, with a hood to protect the wounded man from the blast of air while flying. The helicopter’s tail is in another part of the room; it was too big to leave on.27-064b-IMG_4645

A jet engine.28-064c-IMG_4649

A sprayer plane, used to spread fertilizer on hilly farms.29-064d-IMG_465330-064e-IMG_465531-064f-IMG_465832-064g-IMG_4661This may have been the first plane ever flown. It was built at the same time as the Wright Brothers’ plane, and possibly flown first, but didn’t get the publicity theirs did.

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The restored 1940s control tower. There was an airforce base near here during World War II.33-065a-IMG_4663

Mr. Imagination’s favorite thing at the museum was this manual typewriter! He was fascinated by it.03-065-IMG_718734-066a-IMG_4664

We really enjoyed our visit to this museum. It was definitely worth spending time at! Two days a week, one of which happened to be the day we were there, volunteers come in to work on restoring the planes, and you can talk to them. The founder of the museum was there when we were, and Gayle and some of the boys spent a lot of time talking to him.
Here are a few seconds of video footage that Mr. Diligence got inside the larger hanger.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Airplanes, Holiday Trip, Museum, Video

Devil’s Punchbowl

January 10, 2021 by NZ Filbruns 4 Comments

We arrived home a few days ago from a family road trip. Warning: There will be many posts over the next few weeks with pictures from our trip! I took over 400 pictures on my camera, and am borrowing pictures from three or four other cameras! I just spent a couple of hours sorting and organizing pictures, and have only finished the first day. This may take awhile.

Anyway, on with the story! We left here around 3:00 in the afternoon on Monday, the 28th of December. We had decided to only drive an hour and a half the first day, to allow time to pack and get everything wrapped up here. It’s a massive undertaking to get ten people ready for a 12-day trip, and organize care for all the animals, as well. Everyone worked together well, though, and we were ready earlier than I had originally hoped. We traveled in two vans, ours and Simon’s. Elijah had spent a few days taking the back seats out of both vans and building beds in them. That left four seats in our gray van, and six in Simon’s red van. We packed our luggage and food under the beds, and figured out how to fit the entire family into the two vehicles to sleep at night.

Off we go toward the mountains!

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The pohutukawa was in bloom in the mountains. This tree is often called the New Zealand Christmas tree. It is beautiful!03-001c-IMG_4517

The road up the Otira Gorge to Arthur’s Pass is always stunning. 04-001d1-DSCF0087

I don’t necessarily like driving up the 16% grade, but the Otira Viaduct is an incredible feat of engineering.05-001d-IMG_4519

The old road is up there. Can  you see why they built the viaduct?06-001e-IMG_0687

Since we had extra time, we decided to walk up to the Devil’s Punchbowl. We’ve been wanting to do that for several years. Mom, we thought of you when we went up this track!07-001f-IMG_7123This is the view from the carpark. See the train? It was the TranzAlpine passenger train, just coming out of the tunnel that goes under the pass. The tunnel is 8.5 kilometers long, with a steep grade.

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We soon set off on our tramp. Most of the children ended up way ahead of us. Here they were regrouping in a meadow.09-002a1-IMG_069310-002a1-IMG_452411-002a2-IMG_0694

This is the view downriver from the bridge.12-002a-IMG_452313-002c-IMG_0696The waterfall comes through the “V” between the mountains.

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Here are some of the 401 steps that make the track a little easier!15-005-IMG_711417-007-IMG_7116I had not done very much physically for a month, because of a health problem, and the climb up those 401 steps was quite challenging!

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The children went past the viewing platform on a track that took them to the base of the falls. I didn’t go there!21-009b-IMG_453122-009e-IMG_0712

Mr. Diligence got this view looking downstream from the base of the falls.23-009f-IMG_0714

Esther took a video of the falls. It can’t compare to actually being there, but maybe it will help give an idea of what we saw.

I like this one! Elijah is to the left, and Simon is holding Miss Joy. She was not happy up there—she didn’t like the cold, wet spray, and was calling for “Mama, Mama!”

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Miss Joy was quite happy to be reunited with her daddy and I.26-010b-IMG_4537

She wanted to walk down the steps by herself. They let her walk a little, but a 16-month-old is rather slow! Little Miss enjoyed jumping down several steps at once for a short ways.27-010c1-IMG_072328-010c-IMG_454429-010d2-IMG_071730-010d2-IMG_0727

See Arthur’s Pass Village at the base of the mountain?31-010d-IMG_454732-010e-1IMG_0728

Everyone stopped in the little meadow again when they reached it, and waited for us slow ones to arrive. We all rested in the warm sunshine for awhile, and just enjoyed being together.33-010e-IMG_454834-010e-IMG_455035-010f-IMG_4551

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Little Miss wanted her picture taken as we were walking back to the vans.36-011-IMG_7122

We parked for the night in the driveway of some friends who live in the village. They weren’t home, but had kindly allowed us to use their driveway and the needed facilities in the house. This is the view we saw from the van, across their yard, as the sun was getting low.37-013-IMG_7125

We cooked hamburgers on a campstove in the driveway. It was getting rather chilly!39-014a-IMG_4556

After supper, and getting set up for sleeping for the night, some of us played a game of Ricochet Robots on the bed in the gray van.That was a fun, novel experience!38-014-IMG_4560

Gayle and Little Miss walked to a small waterfall behind the house. Mom, this is the one we walked to from the visitor’s center several years ago.40-015-IMG_20201228_191328Then, as it got dark, we settled in to sleep for the night. One or two people slept under the queen bed on the platform in each van, Miss Joy slept on her cot mattress on the floor in ours, and Mr. Sweetie and Mr. Imagination slept on a mattress on a plywood platform set over the front bench seat in the red van. Everyone was comfortable, and everyone slept well that night.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Arthur's Pass, Holiday Trip, Video, Waterfalls

Miss Joy in December

January 3, 2021 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

This little girl keeps herself busy, and keeps us entertained! She doesn’t like hats, but kept this old fireman’s hat on long enough for someone to grab a photo.23-IMG_7065

She was engrossed in the movie everyone else was watching! Can you see what she chose as a seat? It’s a 10-liter paint bucket on its side. She was actually sitting on it, though it’s hard to tell from this picture.26-IMG_7069Her daddy helped her walk in this empty potato bag.

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We found her one evening diligently scrubbing her foot with a cloth. I couldn’t quite capture her scrubbing on her foot, because she moves too fast, but she worked at it for about five minutes.4-IMG_7075Does she like pudding?

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Tired baby!07-IMG_442208-IMG_4423

She loves brushing her teeth. Any time she sees the toothbrushes, or someone brushing their teeth, she wants to do hers, too. That’s Mr. Imagination brushing his with Daddy and Miss Joy.09-IMG_0324

This is a “canoe” that Mr. Imagination built for her.10-IMG_4446

Miss Joy spent a long time carefully putting her blankie into this bucket, and then climbed in on top of it.11-IMG_444912-IMG_4452

One evening we went to the park across the road from us. Several of us played a game, and Daddy took the younger ones to the swings. Miss Joy loved the gravel under the swings!13-IMG_4467

She loves to feed the cats. Then, she helps herself, too. Esther caught her eating with them one day—putting her mouth down to pick pieces up just like the cats do. She’s such a mimic—but this is one thing I’d rather she not do!14-IMG_0336

She went into the milking shed one day and found the jar of salve we use on the cows’ teats. She had it spread liberally all over her face, arms and legs. She had pulled her pants up so she could get it all the way up to her knees. What a mess!

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Here’s a short video clip Esther got of her one evening when Mr. Diligence was playing with her. I laugh every time I watch it!

Filed Under: Activities at Home Tagged With: Baby, Miss Joy, Video

Pancake Rocks

September 21, 2020 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

We had visitors over the weekend, and since we noticed last week that there was to be a king tide this weekend, we thought it would be a good time to go to Pancake Rocks again! The extra-high tide, we figured, should make for a decent show at the blowholes. We were not disappointed! It wasn’t as good as a couple of other times we’ve been there, but lots better than several times. I apologize in advance if this is too many photos for you. It was a beautiful day… and three of us were taking pictures… and I only saved the best from each of the three memory cards… but there ended up being so many beautiful photos I couldn’t decide which ones to leave out!

The waves were fairly high. I love watching them roll in past the rocks!

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The first blowhole we reach is the Chimney Pot. It is spectacular—just like I would imagine a geyser looks! This time, there was a rainbow formed in the mist, when you stood at the right place.

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Esther carried Miss Joy for a good part of the way. 50-IMG_6764

51-IMG_6765This is the largest blowhole. We stood here for a long time, watching the water spurting up into a fantastic fountain!

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17-IMG_678635-IMG_6787I love watching the water in the Surge Pool, too! It’s so wild.

40-IMG_679044-IMG_6791The waves hitting these rocks are spectacular, too!

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See the seagulls nesting on top of the rocks?

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Notice the people on the bridge in the background, just in front of the Chimney Pot blowhole? That might help you get a feel for the scale of this place.52-IMG_6796

By the time we reached this viewing platform, Miss Joy wanted to get down and walk around by herself.

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26-IMG_679964-IMG_4215Simon took her, but she wanted to pick things up.

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A bunch of the boys broke off flax stalks and had a mock sword fight with them.56-IMG_6802

They gave one stick to Miss Joy. 57-IMG_6803

She was delighted with, and ran around brandishing it, until…

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…she suddenly spotted some flowers! She recognized them; I often pick a few in our yard and give them to her. The stick was instantly discarded, and she got down to pick them.

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Simon picked her up again, and held the stick behind her back. She reached around and got it, then started whacking him on the head with it.

59-IMG_6805This was a wonderful day to be outside! It’s the rainy time of year here, and in the week before this day, we had had 1 1/2 sunny days. It was great to be outside, enjoying such a beautiful part of God’s creation.

Here is a five minute video I put together from a lot of shorter clips, to give you a little bit of our experience. One clip, which starts at about 3:22, doesn’t have much action, but I loved the happy baby noises that can be heard.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Pancake Rocks, Video

Videos for Grandma

July 18, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Back in May, Mr. Imagination and Little Miss decided they wanted to put on a show for us. They practiced and prepared all day, holed up behind a box or two at the end of the hallway, and I wasn’t supposed to look. They presented the show to us in the evening, while their older brothers were all outside working on some project. I was instructed to take a video of the whole thing for them. My camera doesn’t work the best anymore, and drained a couple of sets of batteries during this show, but you can enjoy at least part of what they did! If the singing doesn’t sound quite on tune, just remember that this is the boy who never even attempted to sing until he was about five years old. He didn’t quite inherit his father’s talent with music, like all the other children did, but he’s making a joyful noise! As far as the skit, they had watched a video of someone reading Stone Soup aloud.

Also back in May, Miss Joy discovered the picture window. We set her up on the window seat one morning, and she was delighted to be able to look outside–and then she discovered that the glass squeaked when she rubbed her head on it! We were in stitches as she squeaked her head over and over again! She had also just learned how to wave. The other two clips are from last week, when she learned to climb up into the windowsill. She was thrilled to figure out how to open the window.

Filed Under: Activities at Home Tagged With: Miss Joy, Video

Five Thousand Sheep! (includes video)

June 21, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

A week ago, we went to visit some friends in North Canterbury. It was a beautiful day for traveling, with clear skies all the way over the mountains. This was about half an hour from home. The mist rising from the river, in front of the mountain, was stunningly beautiful!

09-IMG_646517-IMG_6466The tops of the mountains, around the pass, were covered with snow.

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We reached the other side of the divide, and as we left the highway and traveled up to our friends’ farm, we saw more snow-capped mountains in the distance.02-IMG_6469

Then, we arrived on their road, and saw this mob of sheep coming toward us! They move their 5,000+ sheep from the hills to their flat farm every winter for grazing, and this was the day of the big move. We’ve heard about this move for years, but I never expected to get to see it. What a nice surprise that it happened the day we went to visit! Our three oldest boys joined the ones who were walking behind the sheep, and helped them get the rest of the way to their destination.

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The scenery continued to be stunning as we drove on up the road into the hills to their house. What a beautiful country!

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I took a video of the mob of sheep as we drove through. Enjoy a tiny bit of our experience!

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Mountains, Sheep, Video

Miss Joy

April 18, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Miss Joy is growing fast! At nearly 8 months, she crawls anywhere she wants to go. She stands up against anything that will support her—or not; she’s always experimenting to see what is solid and what is not. Nearly everything goes in her mouth; you have to find out if it’s edible or not! She has learned to leave the cat alone. That tail is so tempting—but the cat has made sure that Miss Joy knows she is off limits! No scratches, but there were definitely some warning slaps and growls. We’re also treated to a fast-growing repertoire of sounds, as she practices with various syllables. She has the funniest growling cackle that makes us laugh every time she does it. She was sick the last two days with a mysterious fever, which made her quite lethargic. We enjoyed the extra cuddling time, but we’re all thankful today that she’s well again, after a solid night’s sleep. I think I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: We thoroughly enjoy this baby!

I think this first picture was from early March. She was thrilled to find a window she could see out of! She likes being outside better than in the house.

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The dishwasher is such fun to explore! I have to take the cutlery basket out and put it out of reach when dishes are drying, or spoons and forks end up strewn all over the floor.1-IMG_369802-IMG_3631

She was tickled one day to find the pea vines in the bathtub planter. Peas are so yummy!06-IMG_365107-IMG_365808-IMG_3660She crawled into Esther and Little Miss’s bedroom one day and gave Esther this beautiful grin. See those two little teeth?

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Tomatoes are so delicious.29-IMG_3812

Little Miss asked Esther, “Is it all right if we share germs?”30-IMG_3822

Mr. Imagination got out the box of games and puzzles one day. It was such fun to climb over and through, and then sit up in!

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She found an apple under the table. Mr. Imagination took this first picture. I love it even though it’s blurry. Esther got two more, which are clearer, but I don’t think they’re quite so cute. The poor baby ends up stuck under the table sometimes because she can’t crawl under the benches.

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Here are a few video clips we made of her laughing. I love how she laughs so hard sometimes that she loses her balance!

Filed Under: Activities at Home Tagged With: Baby, Miss Joy, Video

Picnics During Lockdown

April 5, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

We decided, to make Sundays a bit more special while we’re on lockdown, to have a picnic by the creek down the hill from our town. We built a small fire and roasted sausages and marshmallows, and then played in the creek with Simon’s kayak and a couple of boats the boys built. When everyone had their fill of the water, we went across the creek and did target practice with Simon’s air rifle, aiming toward a sand dune. We really enjoy having this safe, private place to be outside! It’s within walking distance of our house, and the water is shallow enough there is no danger even if a boat flips.

Miss Joy loves boat rides! I apologize for so many pictures, but I couldn’t decide which of these to leave out.

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Mr. Sweetie and Mr. Imagination wading in the creek. That’s the Paparoa Mountains in the background.10-IMG_3752

Esther wanted the water drained out of the kayak before she got in. It took too long—she gave up waiting!11-IMG_3755

This is the boat Mr. Intellectual built. It’s nearly unsinkable, at least on this kind of water.12-IMG_3756

The willow trees near the creek were covered with these big aphids!13-IMG_3758

The trees were also swarming with bumblebees and wasps. I found out how hard it is to get a picture of an insect. Esther did better, though.14-IMG_3767

I tried out the kayak—fun!15-IMG_377016-IMG_3776

These boys rocked the boat…17-IMG_3779

…and these two rode the waves from it!18-IMG_3781

When we went across to shoot the air rifle, Miss Joy discovered something new—sand! She was thrilled to have something new to investigate.19-IMG_3782

Simon really wanted me to try shooting. It turns out that I’m a pretty good aim when I can lean on something like this…but not when I have to hold the air rifle up myself!20-IMG_378821-IMG_378922-IMG_3790

Simon likes to give everyone a turn shooting.23-IMG_3791

24-IMG_3795

The previous pictures were all from last week, when it was cloudy and cool. This week, it was sunny and warm. This was the view up the river as we walked down to the creek.31-IMG_383332-IMG_383433-IMG_383534-IMG_383635-IMG_383836-IMG_3839

We pass this row of trees on our way up. It was such a beautiful day today!37-IMG_3846

Here are a few video clips I put together from our afternoon at the creek.

Filed Under: Activities at Home Tagged With: Boats, Creek, Lockdown, Picnic, Video

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