Kind Acts of Randomness

Christchurch - Kaikoura. Finally we are on the road! The camper is HUGE and really is like driving a bus. I started driving from Christchurch, but once Carla got behind the wheel she was having so much fun I was passenger for the rest of the trip. I think we are going to be fighting for the drivers seat. Roads are pretty good in NZ, they aren't massive highways but everyone is pretty safe. [Read More]

Christchurch Day 3 (Still). Ok - all holidays seem to be a bumpy road for us - and here is our first roadblock. The previous people that had our campervan had a big smash (and didn't tell the hire place when it happened... naughty naughty). This means we have a delay getting a new van and have to stay in Christchurch another day. However, every cloud has a silver lining - it gave us a chance to have a punt ride on the Avon, which was actually a very nice experience and not as cheesy as I expected. [Read More]

Christchurch Day 1.  Christchurch is lovely.... I really really like it actually. Kind of like Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon (it even has a river Avon - with Punting!!!) but on the opposite side of the globe. Very friendly people - this tram driver Vern (and his conductor George) were particularly nice to Jaron and I and let us ride up front in the 100 year old tram - Jaron was a little in awe, but loved it. [Read More]

Christchurch Day 2 Another fun packed day in Christchurch with the Dalton Family - weather was so much hotter than yesterday, hard to believe such a rapid change. For those that care, our action packed day was roughly: Ron Muick exhibition that we missed in Brisbane. We loved it, but Keira rather freaked out by the massive baby so had to take her out for a bit. [Read More]

Flying with Kids It's been a while, but we are flying with kids again... this time 2! The last time we flew was when my eldest was about 9 months to the UK and it was a complete nightmare to say this least. This time we were determined to have a better time of it. We arrived early - we had the little trunki ride-on suitcases which the kids absolutely loved and we seemed to attract the attention of the whole airport. [Read More]

Ever since about 2005 I've only worked 4 days (or less) a week. It's only in the last year I’ve had to go back to 5. When I worked 4 - I LOVED my 5th day off... it's great being able to get all those odd jobs done. You know - those things that either spoil your weekend (waiting in queues) or you end up trying to squeeze them in during your lunch hour or the working day as they are only weekday things. [Read More]

Has the internet made our lives better? I pondered this question yesterday as I sat at Glen's Espresso having coffee with a friend. Glen has a little chalk board that he puts something funny on every day. On this particular day he had put up a tally along the lines of "What couldn't you live without? Sex or The Internet". I noticed a few young girls were marking the " [Read More]

Leave em to it! I was recently inspired to pull out the XOs again - they had been sitting on my shelf doing nothing and I thought I should make use of them. Anyway - I've given one to @aspinall for his daughter and one to my son Jaron (5).  I've pretty much just left him to it, and he's steadily working it out. Anyway, tonight I find him in his room playing around with the speech application. [Read More]