Equinoxial equilibrium

Hannah insisted we celebrate 'Earth Hour' on Saturday, and it was rather fun. We have plenty of candles and Chris had the opportunity to try out some new meths fuelled candles that look cool but don't give off all that much light as it happens.
Zach started soccer this week and Chris is going to coach the team; as a result our house is now host to a large sack of soccer balls as well as everything else!
Katarina has finally cleaned up her room; this has been a mission for all involved as she would much rather do craft or even homework than sort out things she has to make a decision about. Do I keep this? Where do I keep it? Arrgghhh! However, we can see the floor again. The front room has also had a shift around although it still seems to be full of computors...
The leaves are starting to turn, but the last few days have also been windy, which at least keeps the paths clear!

Easter journeys

Katarina and Janine have had a wonderful time at Easter Camp, held at Tirohanga. I went out on Sunday night to celebrate communion with them, and they weren't very pleased to see me! The young people have had a great time and it was neat to see young folk that we first met as campers three years ago stepping up into leadership roles now. The girls are enjoying an extra day to sleep in and catch up on washing and homework today.

Zachary and Hannah came to Oamaru on Saturday as we connected with the Timaru and Christchurch cousins. It was a noisy and active afternoon as you can imagine. We couldn't stay longer as Chris was preaching and taking communion at North Taieri on Sunday morning.

Chris has had a very productive Easter, putting the finishing touches on the study, and we also had a heat pump installed this week in anticipation of the winter to come. With the extra insulation we have put in, we are hoping for a slighty cosier winter than previously.

On Monday night we all enjoyed catching up with various Knox people at Mark and Anne's home - they hosted a get together as Alistair and Jackie were down from Wellington for a school reunion. Our paths do not always cross despite living in the same city, so it was good to have the opportunity to hear what people are up to.

La la la la la la

Janine and I went to the Japanese students Farewell concert on Wednesday where we were treated to orgigami, flower arranging and tea ceremony displays. The girls seem to have enjoyed their New Zealand trip and looked stunning in their kimonos for the evening.
The big girls and I went to "Money for Jam", a Tear Fund event run by East Taeri on Saturday night. It was an outdoor concert which featured a number of local Dunedin bands and was great fun, sitting outside in the warm (yes!) evening, until the cold air off the sea mvoed in. Blankets from the car made the evening bearable... just! On Sunday afternoon we also sat outside in the sun, this time listening to the Mosgiel brass band play in the band rotunda at the Botanic Gardens. This too was most delightful, and while the kids soon lost interest, they were delighted to recognise some of the music, the theme from Thunderbirds for example and a Wiggles medley. It also was the Columba fair weekend in addition to our usual assortment of sports and music.
The girls are off to Easter camp this weekend at Tirohunga, and it looks like the rest of us will have a day trip up to Oamaru, to work on firewood and see the Christchurch cousins who are spending Easter with the grandparents while Mum and Dad have a well earned break.
Hannah is singing a Spanish song in the shower at the moment. It is very cute although it doesn't make the shower any shorter!
Hannah and Zach had a wild hair day on Friday, and made good use of orange and red temproary hair colour. The week before was Sea Week, so Zach dressed up as a crab and Hannah as a fish.

Okey dokey

Katarina, Janine and I took Erika, our homestay student, to the butterfly house at the museum on Saturday afternoon. It is fantastic. The butterflies are very unpredictable in their flight paths, and don't mind perching on people either. It was great fun. Erika leaves on Thursday morning to go back home. We also went to the Farmers' Market on Saturday which is very colourful.

Zach is off to have his photo taken at six for cricket.
Swimming club has a club night tomorrow which means racing and collecting times.

Chris has almost finished the front office.

Drought breaker

The farmers and the gardener's are happy - it's raining! Not quite enough for the nutty people who like to canoe down the Leith in full spate, but we've had a good soaking over the past couple of days and you can hear the collective sigh of relief from farmers. Zach was hoping to be doing the Weetbix triathlon but we didn't get ourselves organised, and I'm pretty happy as it turned out, because even the parents were absolutely soaked in Mosgiel, despite shortening the event to a duathalon and reducing the length of the bike and run legs.
Janine had minor surgery on Friday to remove half her toe nail and deal with the ingrown toe nail once and for all. I'd been watching the infection all week, but the normal home remedys hadn't done much. She has been pretty miserable over the weekend but is feeling better this evening, and will be fine for school on Monday.
Katarina has been taking a more active role in creche at church, organising and preparing the lesson. It is lovely to see her taking a step up.
Hannah is coming on with her reading, she is very independent now, although she loves to be read too still. She is having homework each night now too, plus her recorder practice.
Zachary and I are in a recorder ensemble. The music is pretty challenging for him, but I am keen to keep him involved in music somehow. He'd like to do guitar, but his hands are still a little small.
I haven't seen much of Chris this week as it was one of those weeks with two evening meetings in Mosgiel so he stays over, rather than tripping backwards and forwards. The office is almost finished, we've been looking for curtains all over town, and managed to pick up the extra one we needed on sale at the Warehouse, which was a bit of a bonus.