Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and all the best for 2008!

The holiday makers have returned (reluctantly). Time goes so fast, Christmas, New Year and the holiday now all over for another year. Just a little depressing arriving home to see the Christmas tree and decorations still up. Love getting them out but a real chore to pack them up again. Also a reminder that all that hype leading up to Christmas and it's over in a flash.

Pohutukawa tree at Castlep0int - what better place could grandkids have fish and chips:-)

Typical of our family - 2008 got of to an eventful start!! January 1st Devin our grandson ended up in hospital on a drip to get antibiotics in to him! He had a small cut under his foot the day before, by the time his parents arrived over for New Year, he was alternating between hopping and crawling. (he does have a reputation for being a drama queen) The cut looked fine, no redness and it had been cleaned up. So no-one was worried and we let him hop around. But the next day he still was having trouble walking, we checked and we could barely see the cut. Then he started getting sleepy unusual for him, his foot still looked fine. His temperature started to rise, his foot then started to go red and swell. So our daughter threw some clothes over her togs and went with her husband 50 minutes to the nearest town to get it checked, thinking just a visit at a doctor and back home again. Devin ended up in hospital - they x-rayed to see if anything still in the foot. There wasn't but the glands right up in his groin were swollen, his temperature was very high so he stayed in hospital. Our daughter stayed with him (LOL still in her togs!). He's fine now.

Christmas was great - but all a mad rush as we were packing for our holiday. Also seems a long time ago! The grandkids loved the day and this year seemed a lot more grown up sitting up and actually eating a meal instead of tearing around.

Boxing day we were of for our 11 nights at the beach. While really enjoyable and lots of fun it really wasn't that restful!! I had a pile of books to read, they came back home with me! We had two grandsons with us to start with and they were excited boys. Peter was 'busy' fishing - catching two tides a day to dive for paua and then once a day taking the new toy (boat) out to set crayfish pots. Just about a full time occupation! The two dives meant to start with they were getting up at 5.00am! Rachel our daughter, her husband and their two boys arrived over for a few days - so then we were up to four excited grandkids!! Fights, laughs, tears, noise and mess! Also I should say quite a bit of fun! New Year Debbie and her husband arrived over, also a couple of friends turned up so we had a full house. BBQ New Years eve, then more visitors, Peter has a niece also a nephew both with houses over there and they arrived up with their chilly bins, a couple of their friends and their kids. No party was planned but somehow we had one! Bed at 3.30am!! Was a fun night and our kids enjoyed catching up with their cousins. All quite mad when together.

New Years Day was the trip back into town with Devin. Peter kept on fishing...... Both our daughters and kids went back home, our friends stayed on for a couple of days. We had a few BBQs with the families staying there. Another niece and her family came over for one night (stayed two!) so we had a 19 for BBQ one of the nights. Easy way to feed a crowd. We were invited out for a pina c0ladas night last night! We went and had one and came back home. Too tired, too old! No - not really but it was our last night and we wanted to relax.

Lots of highlights:
- having family and friends there to share with

- the fishing was good, lots of paua and a few crays

- our nephew did well with his fish catching - so lots of fresh fish on the BBQs as well

- my daughter and I taking the boys down to the cafe and buying them fish & chips, we sat on the beach under a pohutukawa tree (NZ Christmas tree but LOL Fynn calls them "hooterkawas") The kids sat gazing out to sea, enjoying the scenery while eating their fish and chips. Rachel and I helped them just a little....- they loved it! A quick play and paddle and home again. (see photo above)

- just seeing the kids loving the waves, the sea and the sand hills

- being at the beach, I love the extreme weather changes we can have, the ruggedness, the sea air and I never tire of the scenery.

- Big highlight here! THE BATTERY IS FLAT IN MY SCALES!!!! All good intentions BUT I sort of threw them out the window, the intentions that is not the batteries!! Back on track, will buy a battery in a week and check the damage, hopefully won't be too bad with a week of tracking underway by then. Great to know that I can get back on track and that a couple of careless but very enjoyable weeks doesn't mean I can't stop right there. I can and will do it!

So start of another year - no resolutions for me but my aims are to continue what I have been doing in aiming for a healthy lifestyle. I know I've over indulged over the past couple of weeks but I'm itching to get back into the pool and back on track.

Work tomorrow:-(