bring on the beach

Just posting a couple of pics from our weekend. We headed off to Omaha for a little pre-baby relaxation. The first time we've stayed since Easter, and the last before our new addition. Sand ... beachy breeze ... warm spring sun ... wanders ... skylarks ... board games ... books ... crisp sheets and lazy coffee mornings PLUS Mum's cooking = bliss. We could have stayed for so much longer. Might have to next time...

We are warming up for summer and couldn't be more excited about DAYLIGHT SAVINGS! We've decided that we are going to truly make the most of the beach this year--take the full sunshade and picnic kit and spend hours soaking it up. A couple of strolls, sand castles and the odd swim won't cut it. We're going to go the full hog, baby and all, the way I remember doing when I was a kid. We were real kiwi beach babies: hours swimming, bodyboarding, building elaborate sand creations, tumbling down dunes, picnicing, spread out on beach towels devouring books, BBQs and late night bonfires. I miss it. (Not allowed the bonfires anymore but the BBQs will suffice if we stay long enough to watch the sun go down.)



















A bunch of these photos are Mum's. Ie the ones with that beautiful shallow depth of field thing happening. Like these...














One of may favourite weekend moments was a walk Sophia and I took one evening. Slight drizzle and sun going down. We wandered through the dunes across the paths, through swarms of little midges that didn't bother us. Cool evening breeze and skylarks constantly singing and swooping over head. Just about perfect.

Wish I had taken my camera.



Mum snapped these, though, of Fia and her bud Austin. Austin, wanna come too?--a phrase much used by our little this weekend. :)



















Ahh, how good is it to be a kiwi!?







X

soul food

So, yesterday morning after hoping for a father's day breakfast with daddy that couldn't happen in the end, Sophia and I got in the car and drove north. The thought of another day at home, just the two of us (after a week of no Daddy), was a bit much. We chose instead to make the most of our day: grabbed a few bottles of water, an extra cardie and a camera, jumped in the car, blasted music out of our speakers, and drove.

I just love how Sophia will sing as loudly as I will. She knows all the words to what she calls her favourite 'white-car songs'. Words could never say the way he says my name he calls me lovely. Can't hold my love back from you, can't hold my love back from you, i've gotta sing i've gotta sing, sing my love. It was father's day and we were definitely still feeling the Daddy love and our disappointment was quickly being replaced by that bubbling happiness that lines like this bring: you would not believe the way he touches me he burns right through me. And this: there is a love that is as strong as death. Not the tragic Romeo and Juliet kind, but the utterly exquisite euphoria inducing kind. I forgot how much I love long trips singing in the car.

Destination Omaha. One of our places. We hadn't been since Easter and we'd been missing it.




























Sophia got her fix of that beloved Maori statue of hers (affectionately known as blue statue), and we both got our fix of fresh air and exercise in the form of meanders down the beach and along the paths...

















...and a bit of soccer with Uncle Jono.






























Ah...the delight!











After a number of refreshing Omaha hours, a long drive back home in the dark and a warm bath, Daddy called to say he'd finished for the day. So, Sophia in pjs and all, we hopped in the car and drove off to have that father's day quality time we'd been so excited about. It might not have been breakfast but it was just as fun. Possibly even more.

Sure, it was well past her bedtime, but sometimes routine is nowhere near as important as soul food. In this case: icecream after dark with that man we'd been missing.














































There it was again, that little family value that keeps popping up to see what we'll do with it: life's what you make of it. One of many mottos under constant practice in our home--and I think we're getting better at it. :)

x