Fear not...

We are still here!

The weather is miserable though, and with it being birthday season around here (among other things), blogging has fallen by the wayside.

Here is a photo to tide you over until probably the end of this month (when things are due to quiet down a little, hopefully)!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira

Adventures in Chickenland!

We eat a lot of eggs around here, so, in an effort to cut costs but also to try and live a little more sustainably - we have acquired our very own chickens, or 'chooks' as they are more commonly known around here.

The first coop we purchased was smaller than anticipated, and since we didn't want our girls to feel too confined, Handyman Roland decided to build them a bigger and better version.

Introducing Camilla (the darker one), Alina & Alana:






At the moment Camilla is our only egg producer, A & A are moulting and thus not laying - but once they are back in action we will be getting an average of 15 eggs a week (instead of just 5 or 6). We're also looking at getting two more hens eventually, and will have eggs galore then! They are hilarious to watch as we let them out to roam most days, and get fed some kitchen scraps as well as special laying pellets.

There will definitely be more chicken updates to come!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

So we were lucky enough to be able to get a family pass to the Auckland Zoo this year, thanks to some Christmas gift money sent over by Mamere / Carol - we have made good use of it already, and here are some photos from a recent visit:

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Into a new year...

And it's a good thing I didn't make it my New Year's resolution to blog more often - or I would have failed miserably!

I'll start off with photos from Christmas, which we spent away on Waiheke Island - a great break from the hustle and bustle of our city and the suburbs.



So as you can see the girls had plenty of fun, and were spoiled rotten - it was very nice to have Nana for company too :)

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

Photos as promised!

Here are some photos of the handwriting Erin has been so diligently practising:


We are so proud of her !!

The weather here has also been improving ever so slowly, and we have been able to muck around outside a bit more:


That's all for now folks !!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira
XOXO

ACK! October already!

I'll make this short and sweet, since I'm not sure how much time I have to type unhindered.

The latest in Official News is that we finally have teeth! Or rather, Keira finally has teeth - they started cutting at 13.5months old, and believe it or not three of her one year old molars decided to arrive at once. It has been a bit of a slow and bumpy process, and now almost six weeks later it looks like the next bunch are coming through - but I will confirm that at a later date since I am not 100% sure.

As for Miss Erin, she is enjoying morning kindy as much as ever, and is really into writing and practicing her letters at the moment. It has really hit home lately how quickly she is growing up, and just how soon she will be at school - only 9 months to go !!

Roland has started a new job, and it is keeping him out of trouble - although he is managing to escape the asylum once again to go back to squash on Thursdays, which is all good since what better to relieve stress than a bit of good exercise?

I'll put some photos up of us all soon, we have had various issues with both cameras / cables / chargers / batteries etc, but once that's sorted - watch this space ;)

Love to you all,
Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira XOXO

Funny Face Baby

So we started to notice that Keira has this "thing", where she makes a pretend surprised face - usually when someone drops something on the ground (either by accident or on purpose). It's funnier than it sounds in text though, so we finally caught it on video - the best bit is right at the end so keep watching ;)

Love Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

The best toy ever...

... is still a good old cardboard box!

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo

Splish Splash...

.... we have a bath !!

Just thought I'd share these cute bath pix taken a couple nights ago, it is an absolute joy to watch the girls just mucking about with each other, especially after over four years of only having a shower stall.

(Yes, that is big sister having a big meltdown in the background, she loves her baths SO much she is not usually that keen to get out!)

Love from Jacquie, Roland, Erin & Keira xoxo