Last week of summer holidays

So the last week of summer holidays come and I wonder why I am so tired and the kids are at each other's throats so much.
It's because they've found out who their teachers are and are excited and nervous in anticipation about their new school year adventures you know. So they're short with each other and me and then I return it and it's crazyville. It happens every year. Now I'm glad that they don't put the class lists out until that last week.
I pretty much give up on cooking dinner, cleaning the house and just try to make it through the week without melting down or yelling at my kids.

So one day Yuki, Emiko and I were at the dollar store and we saw some Halloween decorations. So what does my mind do? It's goes into craft mode and I see a vision with all this cheap stuff. So I pay $3:18c and make myself this wreath to go on the front door over the Halloween period of a month.

Now did I plan to do this you ask? No. But it just came to me and I was determined. I get like that sometimes. Don't we all? So to help me through THIS day I decided that if I was going to have a disaster day/house I could still, at least, feel good about myself because I had created something out of nothing with my bare hands. There's something to be said about that you know. It makes you feel good. So here it is in all it's glory. I pretty sure the kids had toast that night for dinner.

Here's our irrigation for this last week as well. It was HUGE. It's the biggest I've ever seen it. It was seriously like a pond back there. I love it. Our grass isn't really doing well with it though cause the kids play in it and now they've created mud pools. So who knows how we're gonna fix that I guess. Dru has ideas but I just want him to spray our house for spiders. He has the stuff and it's been almost 2 years and no spraying. I don't wanna be a nag but I think I've been patient enough right? I'd do it myself but I'm kinda scared of spiders so here I wait in my spider infested house.................

By the time Thursday night hit I was beside myself and felt like a bad mother and found out a bunch of women were going to the purple dragon to take their kids on a final swimming play date before the next week of school. I thought to myself "bugger it' and decided to take the kids for a few hours out there, as well as a couple of my mate's kids.
Masaru and kaleb spent the time making this Tee-pee. Isn't it awesome?
I had a relaxing fun time hanging out with everyone. I'm glad I went.
I paid for it in the end though, you always do.

Proof that mother's just wanna have fun as well at the end of the day. We made the one dad that was there take our picture. He wasn't allowed in it with us because he wasn't a mother. Sorry dude. He came in handy when I needed my shade up though and couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how to get it up. I'm glad he was there.
The kids had the time of their lives hanging out with their mates and swimming and playing.
It was so fun.
Later on that night we had a mate come over for a BBQ and I was mad stressing about getting the place tidy.
Dru came home early and helped out which I appreciated.
We had a good night with his work mate and I'm glad she could come over.

Takeshi went mountain biking with Dru that week too and did great until right at the very end when he crashed down the sand.
He seems good here but don't be fooled. When he was in the shower cleaning out his wounds he was crying. It only takes one bad rash and you're considering elbow and knee pads for the next ride.

It was a hard week on all of us but I'm glad that we had the purple dragon to make  us feel warm and good inside.

Pugg's cabin trip

So Thursday we headed up to Pugg's cabin for the weekend. Every year once or twice we head up there. Pugg's sent us some dates and we figured out which weekend we could go and this one was it. It takes around 5 hours to get up there but it's worth it and we have the best time.

I took zero pictures and Dru only took pictures of the food.

The cabin is all about relaxation and food. My kinda trip.

Dru made sushi on Friday night and Puggs made surf'n'turf on Saturday night. It was craziness man.

Madness I tell you madness.

I knitted and watched baseball and read my book, played games, laughed and talked and barely saw my kids. It was awesome.

Lando is getting old and he's not doing as well as what he used to and Pugg's said something like "Maybe this is Lando's last cabin trip" Well Masaru got a little teary eyed and said "Mum if this is his last cabin trip I have to get a picture with him, I love Lando" He really does man. Poor Masaru. He's known Lando every since he was 2 years old I think. 

We had a great time with everyone and I'm grateful for the friendship of the Davis family. They're lifers for sure.

We headed home Sunday and stopped into McDonald's and Takeshi was upset they only gave him one pickle. So I told him to ask for more, so he did and he was pretty pleased with himself.

Then we went to Wendy's for a frosty and it was too cold in the store so we sat outside Wendy's like a homeless family and ate our frosties. I'm surprized no one tossed change at us.

Yuki tried to get some pictures of us.

Thanks Yuki

I ate way too much crap and am paying for it, but it's always worth it. I usually go for a hike but not even that this go around.

I'm getting lazier in my old age I guess.

The next week after McCall

So Masaru decided to buy himself a ukulele. He's used it a few times and was excited at the beginning and I haven't seen him play it much since. So that's good. It surprises me what these kids spend their money on and how little they use the things they spend their money on. Like Pokemon cards and that harry potter wand yuki brough herself. But whatever right?

Me taking a selfie with these kids.

Really it was one with Masaru as we had a bunch of Jr High stuff to go to together.
So we biked up there this week and discovered a sweet route to go on. The only time he's in traffic is on the hill. The rest of the time he's off the road. It's awesome. He's excited and nervous and I think he's gonna do really well with it all.

Here's my brother, Bevin with all his trophies from being the captain of the rugby team this year. I'm glad his wife and my sister in law, Dior, keeps us up to date so well on instagram with it all. Yaaaa social media.

Then here's my Uncle John on his birthday, which he shares with Dru.



Here's the happy couple Maree and John. Doesn't look windy or cold at all right?



Whitebait sandwich for lunch with a glass of wine. I'm sure Uncle John was a happy man. He was a fisherman his whole life. Some of the best fish I've tasted has been from him. 

Emiko got to see her homie Toby this week after a long while as well. It was good for them to be back together you know. I had to take a picture of them playing out in the irrigation.

Then here's Takeshi playing a piece for Ashaan. Masaru told Takeshi that this was Ashaan's favourite piece that he played when he was in NZ and so Takeshi wanted to play it for her. Pretty cute man.

McCall

So that weekend we had planned on going to a friends cabin in McCall. They offered us their place and so we weren't gonna say no that's for sure. So we invited our mates the Bleazard's. It worked out great.

This is us after staying up late and talking and eating popcorn. It's one of the great things about relaxing in McCall.

Takeshi was being a butt and so we moved him out of the room into another room and he looked kinda sweet sleeping so had to grab a pic.

We invited our neighbour and friend Aria to come with us for the weekend as well and that worked out great. She plays well with our whole family. 

We got up the next morning and had some breakfast. Dru and Masaru went mtb and the rest of us went down to the lake and had some fun together.

Here's Carter's building process.

Then we walked home and had some lunch together. Dru told me Masaru did wonderful with him. I'll try to find the video's he took and get them up here.

We then all headed back down to the lake with the canoe's this time. So much fun.



Just chilling out.





Nat and Robby took their kids out on the boat which was really nice of them.



So much fun.
We then headed home and fed the kids and got them set up with a movie and took off as adults to get some mexican food.

It was the grossest meal I've had in a long time. I'm sad I had to pay for it. But I loved the company and that we got out together.
Then the Bleazards headed out and we decided to start a Monopoly game.

It was intense but I won in the end by a lot. The kids wanted to get pictures of it all.

It was fun to play together, especially for me.



Then we put the kids to bed and Dru and I hung out for a bit and watched some mindless TV before we headed to bed ourselves.

The next morning Dru and Masaru headed to mountain bike again while the kids and I stayed back and started packing up and tidying the place up together.
I got this sweet text from one of my YW girls who was leaving the ward. It was nice of her.
After we tidied up the most we could I walked down and let the kids swim for a bit.


Takeshi worked hard to catch a fish and caught nothing. That's the way fishing goes man.

This girl didn't stray too far away from me.

Dru and Masaru came back and helped to clean up as well for a while and then we headed back down to the lake again for some last time fun together.
Here are those video's I've been promising.

Great weekend with each other and some of our favourite people.
I love summer.