Who found the best treasure?

The school holidays and it is always important to exercise the boys, the dog and me. Out on our hour long walk around the block (which goes past two sports grounds, the bmx track, the pony club, the graveyard and a good section of the Ashley river).

My sister Ruth taught us the game of "who can find treasure" whenever we are out and about. We had not played that for a while but then when we were out crossing the river, on a gravel island, Jakob found a really high quality builders hammer. So the competition began. Eli found a large manuka pole but then also three fence paling's that he could not carry home.

Morris would not be outdone and carried a huge stick on river crossings, up banks and getting stuck in trees. All I managed to get was a bag of gum bark, leaves and twigs to start the fire with.

 We came home and the boys could finally have some more screen time as they had been out being physical. My sister came for lunch and we had a delicious wholemeal bread, blue cheese and grapes off her vines.

Gingerbread castles

We are very blessed to have some amazing friends who are happy to let us use their farm to camp on, their company to tramp with, and their daughter to boy sit in the holidays.

School holidays and it was a boy sitter day. But the boys and Arial spent the entire day at her Mum's house making the most amazing gingerbread concoctions. 

When I went to pick the boys up after work their day had been a blast. A delicious gingerbread recipe and real chocolate melted to hold it all together. Do you see the Roman Chariot in the front of the photo. Lovely Tracey had not only had our boys around but lots of other teenagers too. The creations were amazing. 

Then the next week they spent the whole day out tramping with them all!! 

Turning bottles into glasses

So it is school holidays and the boys are older. Now we can try some of the more dangerous activities.

Get some beer and wine bottles and try a bit of upcycling or recycling. I remembered doing this when I was a child. First we tied string which had been dipped in methylated spirits around the bottles and set it alight. Once it burnt then the bottle went under cold water. It definitely broke but it was very jagged and will take a lot of grinding.
So then we did a bit of research. Green science were great. A good explanation and Utube video and we started again. Using a glass cutter we scratched around the bottle and then poured boiling water onto the scratch only. Then under the cold tap and the crack would appear. Then one more time and boof - off comes the top of the bottle. A much smoother cut and easier to grind down.

This was all completed over a couple of days as we had to walk the dogs into town to get a glass cutter, do research, try and try again.

Great fun
I link to these places. 

Our school holiday break away

In the second week of the school holidays we took a four day break away to our favourite place. Geraldine Farmyard Holiday Park. My sister came too with her kids and we had side by side cabins.

While we were away our bathroom was meant to be done. The shower and handbasin had been ripped out, but sigh......... nothing happened. But it is all go this week and quite good to be here to answer questions and make last minute changes (poor builder!!!) that I seem to be doing a bit of!!

Good old Tinkerbell is the boys favourite but really had enough!! She tried to bowl Eli over so that she could get to the hitching rail. Not bad for an old girl. 

Here she is starting to take things into her hoof. 

Mr show off made lots of noise but did display a lot - really rather gorgeous. 

The farmyard park is so relaxing for adults, Anna and I got a lot of little knitting sessions in. A bit of rhubarb cake and tea. The kids just took off for hours at a time. Most of the time was playing mini golf or in with the baby guinea pigs. 

The weather was great but these were essential footwear. 

The boys had great boys time. 

Great walks were had. The traditional photo of the photographer taking a photo. I had a couple of awesome walks by myself and this lovely family one. 

Jakob the tramper who can zoom up mountains - way in advance - unlike Eli who was pretty grumpy about walking today. 

What a gorgeous destination 

Some happy and some not so happy

A chicken prison and a hut

Funny title huh. But I cannot think of any other way of describing my chicken run at the moment. Today has been the fifth time in about 6 weeks that I have put more work into the chook enclosure to try and keep the sparrows out.

We have never had any problem with sparrows but somehow this winter we have flocks of them and up to 60 sparrows in the chicken run getting their food. Not only is that expensive for us but I am worried about any disease they may pass as that many sparrows make a lot of poo!!!

They are horrendous pests. But so far today after all my hammering I have only seen two sparrows in the chook run. My work is not pretty!!! I have chicken netting over large netting with ties here and there and bird netting all over the top. So I wait to see how effective this has been........

While I was busy working on the chook run the boys spent ages making a "motel" on the deck. In the motel they had an infirmary and one bear had a sore head (ha ha ha) and the other a sore leg, all fixed with the ties from dressing gowns.

Now that the outside time is over I am sitting here eating scrummy old fashioned doughnuts.

the motel

The infirmary portion of the motel

The kitchen and second bedroom

My mothers doughnut recipe

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A fantastic walk

We were lucky enough to be able to accompany Aaron on a work trip in the first week of the holidays. Destination Nelson.

One of the main reasons for going was to see my parents in Motueka. My mother has been very unwell over the last six months and it was great to see her getting better.

Eli had a cold so we did not want him going near my mother. The answer to that was to spend the day outside. So we walked around the estuary at Port Motueka. A gorgeous walk and really interesting. Just a slight deviation from the circuit is the lovely Toad Hall - a favourite eating spot for us. Fantastic for kids with all the outdoor play area.

We had a great day and nearly five hours outdoors walking, eating and exploring.

The first one up a tree.

The first find. A bird nest up the tree

Grandparents and grandchildren

My father makes amazing walking sticks

Another find on the path - a caterpillar (magpie butterfly) 

The very pregnant pigs just lay in the sun

Spoonbills

A pose from the boys.

Where there is a Schulz there is smoke

You know the saying - "Where there is smoke there is fire". Well today disproved that. Smoke does not equal fire when Aaron is building it in spite of heavy rain. We were on our way back from a night in Hanmer Springs (breaking our journey home from Motueka). It rained in Hanmer but Aaron was sure it would not rain on his fire at lunch time.

When we were with my parents my Dad made me a really awesome tool. It is for cooking things over an open flame. Instead of bread or crumpets etc falling off your fork he made a square thingy that nothing falls out of. I have not taken a photo but it is very
ingenious. Anyway we were keen to try it. So at the Balmoral reserve just out of Culverden Aaron set a fire going.

I retreated as it starting pouring with rain (as I had very rightly pointed out to Aaron that it would). Smoke was everywhere. The boys were playing in a tyre swing in the trees oblivious to the rain, but they too came to my hidyhole. So we waited out the rain quite snugly whilst Aaron got soaked insisting his fire would be fine. Eventually it all cleared up and we had a great fire, wee walk and then hot toasted bread with butter and jam for lunch over the embers.