Leigh's Coast to Coast challenge

Huge congratulations to Leigh for doing the 2010 Coast to Coast

The crew at registration

On 12 and 13 Feb Leigh took part in the two day Coast to Coast multisport event. Leigh has been training for the last 11 months with Jazz and Paul. Paul has done the c2c several times and Jazz (his wife) was supposed to do it with Leigh but a small cycle altercation resulting in a broken arm meant Jazz had to pull out :( bummer.

On Thursday 11th Megan and I flew to Greymouth to support and crew for Leigh. That Thursday was spent milling around at the registration and going to the pre-race buffet dinner.

Day one

Paul and Leigh - start day one

On 12 Feb, the race started in Kumara Beach at 7am with a 3km run to the bikes and then a 55km cycle to Aitken where they stopped at the first official transiton, refueled and them took off on a 33 km mountain run over Goat Pass.

The cycle transition

The crew enjoying some of Betty's biscuits

The moutain run took about 6 hours.

The river run up to Goat Pass

The river run - end of day one

Day one - the finish line

The end of day one was at Klondyke Corner, just out of Arthur's Pass. Total time completed was 9hrs 44 mins.

The weather was beautiful on day one and the support team were loving the beer, coffee, sunshine and people watching. Unfortunately the weather closed in and a severe weather forecast was issued which forced race organisers to alter day two of the race.

Lucky for us we had solid accommodation, but a lot of people camped at Klondyke Corner and got completely drenched in the overnight rain. This meant a lot of competitors pulled out at this point.

Due to heavy rand and strong winds, the kayak leg of day two was moved. This meant the racer's had a 150km cycle ahead of them at the start of day two in the terrible wind and rain. Any person who has been on a bike will know that wind is a cyclists worst enemy.

Day two

I didn't get much of a chance to take any photos at the beginning of day one as rain and camera equipment don't mix very well.

Many people who camped at Klondyke Corner over night decided to pull out but despite the bad weather Leigh and Paul carried on with the race. They started on day two on an altered course at 8am with a 90km cycle to the first transition where they refueled and then carried on the cycle leg for another 50-odd kms. They pretty much cycled from Klondyke Corner to Hagely Park in Christchurch.

First half transition - day two - Waddington.

Another 50km cycle to go!

This was probably the only point that the A1 support team might have come close to being fired as we arrived at the cycle/kayak transition 20 mins late. Ops!

Luckily for us "Team Dragon" had time to let the steam cool down so we all walked away with our heads still attached to our bodies. Yeah!

Unfortunately there was no way we could have gotten their any quicker and thankfully we were not the only support team late for their competitor.

They then kayaked 15km down the Avon River, through Christchurch to the Pleasant Point boat club where they cycled another 10km to Sumner Beach and then ran 100 mtrs over the finish line.

Total distance 243km.....total time to complete...somewhere around 20hrs.

A huge achievement to Leigh and Paul. The Coast to Coast is an extremely difficult event anyway but to have battled those extra elements makes crossing the finish line even all the more joyful and makes your support team that much more proud of you!

The fine print: I'll see you at the start line in 2012!

Backyard blitz

This holiday period we are doing a backyard blitz. Its been a huge task but with the technical help of people we are make slow and steady progress.

We decided to take on the challenge of putting up a retaining wall and fence to reclaim some of the sloping section so Amber (and the dogs) have a larger area to play in. The section has been in desperate need of a proper fence so we've added that to the challenge.

Brandon has been working extremely hard and under the guidance of Richard we now have a retaining wall and part fence established. Richard and Brandon have worked really well together......Richard is an excellent supervisor.......Brandon is becoming a master at digging holes!

We are very near having it completed and can't wait for the ground to be levelled out and the grass to go down. It will be sooo neat once its all completed and we spend many sunny days in our new backyard.

Photos to come soon.

pre-Christmas 2009...the pox!!

OH NO.........Amber has CHICKEN POX!!!

The week before Christmas approaches and we are gearing up for another amazing holiday period with Amber only to be halted in our tracks because Amber got Chicken Pox.

It is amazing how quickly the pox spots came up! We got up in the morning, Amber was a little grumpy but we certainly didn't think she was sick. After a little while she started to tell me she was hot, but no sign of any sickness. So it was off to day care for her and work for us. As soon as we had arrived at work the day care phoned to say she had some pox spots and to come get her.

When I picked her up she had a total of 25 spots over her body, by the afternoon she had 25 on her chest alone. It was amazing how quickly the spots came up!!! So we were in quarantine for a week. Brandon and I played tag team looking after her and going to work for the week. We bathed her in Pinotarsel and put a natural gel on the spots and a week later she was allowed back at day care. She loved the Pinotarsel baths as it made the water yellow which was a huge novelty!

Luckily she cleared up in time for Christmas day and was no longer in quarantine.

Delay in posts

Hi folks,

So its been since October 2009 that I last put up a post. For several reasons, some more obvious than others, I haven't updated my website but now I'm on a mission to put some things up so you can all see what we've been up to.

Its really hard to find the time to keep up with the website being a part-time working mum and running a business from home. Sometimes things have to take a lower priority but with the feedback I've had from several of you looking at my site I figure I better pull finger and do some posts.

So here goes. I'll start with the text and then (if I have time) upload some images.

Take care and love to hear from you all

Nenagh

The pink girls

PRECIOUS COUSIN TIME


Amber got to spend some time with her cousins, Sophie and Abby. They had a lovely time playing together and feeding Maggie the lamb.


Sophie was very cute and would happily feed Maggie the milk but when Maggie was finished Sophie would run inside. Amber was happy to spend a little more time with Maggie (we showed Sophie how the city kids do it - he he).


Afterwards the girls all played together. Funnily enough they were all dressed in pink.

When it came time to play outside Sophie and Amber even had the same gumboots on!!

I know the girls loved playing with each other. Sophie was very good at taking care of little Amber. Hopefully next time they are together Abby will be walking and can join in too.

Amber loved playing with Sophie and all she says now is fee fee. We have a picture of Sophie on the fridge and Amber will stand at the fridge and point to the picture and say fee fee, fee fee until we pick her up so she can see the picture better.

We look forward to the next time the cousins can play together.

Amber at the Zoo

OUR DAY OUT TRIP TO WELLINGTON ZOO

A little while back we went for a trip to the Zoo. It was a typical windy Wellington day but Amber loved to see the Zoo animals. The Giraffe and the monkeys were her favourite. I can't remember the last time I was at the zoo so it was a nice day out for me too.

The Playcentre had organised a day out for the kids so it was great to see many other kids there all enjoying the animals.


As you can see from the pictures Amber has a stunning red jersey on. This was my first knitting attempt and I'm pleased to say that it fits her perfectly well after I finally finished it. Since this was my first attempt at knitting it took me a while but it kept her toasty warm when we were at the zoo.

Welcome Ben Bryan

A huge welcome to Ben Bryan, baby boy to Jo and Rick Bryan. Born 8 Oct 2009.

Amber has a new cousin.


Here are some pictures of brand new Ben, uncle Brandon and cousin Amber.

Amber and her dogs

Amber just loves playing with Austin and Bruno. They play really well together and the dogs are just so gentle around her. Its really great to see. This has given Amber so much confidence around other dogs and animals and she just loves to be around other animals.

She also loves to make the dogs howl and she has got this down to a fine art. Check out the video.

Amber at Playcentre

Amber on the slide

Amber climbing


When I am at home and not working Amber and I go to Playcentre. Its great as Amber and I can spend some precious time together that I have missed out on when at work and we can really bond together. I would never go to that much trouble at home with the paints and the messy play so Playcentre is the perfect place for Amber and I to get some real playtime together.






Here are some of the latest pics from Playcentre. Amber playing with her friends
Amber in the sandpit

Amber in day care

I have to first apologise for being slack and not updating my blog. Bad me! I have a good excuse though....I have gone back to work for just two days at this stage but will look to increase my hours in a month or so. I am really enjoying being back at work and getting dressed up and having adult conversations. I think for my own sanity the time was right for me to return to work.

So while I'm at work Amber is in day care. We have her in a brand new day care in Tawa and its on 16 acres of farm land so there is heaps of space for the kids to run around and there are loads of animals that the kids can interact with.

Initially she was the first child there so she had the care of two teachers and a chef! It was great as they were catering to Amber's needs. Slowly as the months have gone by more and more kids have joined the day care which is great. There are about 10 kids there now so Amber has plenty of friends to play with. She has buddied up with Sophia who is 4 years old. I think the friendship is mutual as Sophia must think Amber is a bit of a doll and Amber must think Sophia is a bit like a mini mum. Amber has really been enjoying day care which makes it soooo much easier to go back to work.





There is so much that the kids get up to, they paint, make playdoh, dancing, play inside and outside in the massive outdoor play area. The farm animals are just through the fence so they can pat the sheep, dogs, horses and other animals. Having been brought up on a farm this is exactly the environment I would like Amber to experience.

Amber has grown up so much lately and its probaby because she has been in day care and picked things up from the older children. She's got walking and running totally sussed now and its amazing how much speed she can get up, especially when I'm chasing after her. She is also a real chatter box and says so many words at the moment. Its really great because you can have a real conversation with her. Her latest word is "Oh o", its just sooo cute.

Amber's 1st birthday...and another milestone!

Amber has finally turned one!



We had to celebrate our little girl's first birthday so we put on a party and invited some of Amber's friends over, and of course some of our friends for a few celebratory drinks later in the afternoon.

She was soooo spoilt for her birthday as the gifts were piled high and she loved every minute of the attention.

We had a small table and chairs for her friends so they could eat party food and share the birthday experience with Amber. As you can see Amber loved it!



The cake was made especially for the big party and it was very very very delicious chocolate cake!




Later in the afternoon some (non-parent) friends came over to help us celebrate Amber's birthday and us all surviving the first year. We had a great party, b-b-q and loads of laughs! A good way to end the night.


It is amazing to think that a whole year has passed already. Gosh! Amber has grown up so much in one year and its so great.

The big news is the day after Amber's official birthday she reached another milestone and started WALKING!!! It's crazy to believe she is walking already so I had to quickly adjust to the new situation.


This mummy business sure keeps you busy!!!

Our Rotovegas trip

After sitting on the couch for a couple of weeks Brandon was getting frustrated and needed a change of scenery. So we packed up the car and headed to Rotorua to visit Megan, James, Sophie and brand new baby Abby.

We had a great break away and although Brandon pretty much went from one couch to another he got a break from being at home and could talk to some other people (yeah a break from me!)


Amber and Sophie played really well. I was amazed at how much Amber thrived while we were there and how much she picked up from Sophie. The girls spent their days riding around the house on their bikes, doing the circuit I don't know how many times!The girls on their bikes

We went to the beach (lake front) one afternoon which was really nice. Sophie and Amber played in the waves together, loving every minute of it.

Megan and baby Abby

Sophie and Amber playing in the lake.










We decided to go for a ride up the gondola to the top of the big hill in Rotorua. It was a fun ride for Amber and she wasn't scared by the height at all. When we got to the top we had lunch and watched the luge riders hoon down the hill. I think Brandon was a little peeved that he could not take part.

Amber and I in the gondola

Amber and dad at the top eating lunch

Unfortunately our visit was over too soon and before we knew it was time to go home. We had a great time in Rotorua visiting the relies and meeting baby Abby for the first time. She is such a sweetie and so looks like her dad.

Me, Sophie and Amber - good bye photo