A Fab Week

Credits: Back to Reality and Notebook Notations (peace sign) Little Dreamer Designs

Well it's been a very busy week or so but it's all good!

I've spent ages getting our computers sorted out, still ongoing but the main stuff is done. Scott has needed a computer for ages, with all his ICT course work he uses it for hours. Then we decided to get the wireless internet so that Jake could use his laptop upstairs. And I got a nice big external hard drive to back up to. It took me a while to get the security working for the router, not really knowing what I was doing so it's like learning another language. Well it's mostly fine, just got to work out how to share the printer but will leave that one till the weekend.

We had good friends visiting from Saudi Arabia (Hi y'all) It made for a busy weekend but it was great to have some fun for a change. Jake had his best buddy around for a sleep over and he had a great time.

Jake has had some hiccups at school, nothing too bad but it looks like he may drop French in favour of extra support time. I'm fine with it and he is over the moon,it's his least favourite subject. He will just have Spanish, which he loves, one language is plenty for him.

Scott is busy with his GCSE, he is going to resit a couple of papers. He is very close to going from an A to an A*. Not really sure how this resitting system works but he is keen, his science subjects are excellent.

My job is going really well, it's getting very busy now. Many of the issues from last year are getting sorted out and I'm looking forward to being able to make a difference at last.

My Hornsby Dyslexia course starts very soon, it's going to be tough fitting in the study time but I am so glad that I am doing it.

Other good news, My new washing machine arrives tomorrow (we are going to be soooo broke!)

I actually hate spending money on something like this but the old one was ancient, 2nd hand when we got it! I put some brand new pants in for a little wash before I wore them for the first time and they came out with marks all over so I had to hand wash them to clean them after the washing machine had done it's thing. Grant has tried to sort it out, cleaned it and serviced it but it's just busted! And on top of that it only fills half way, grrrrr!!

Time to go cook dinner, easy chicken satay. Grant and Scott are at the track doing whatever it is that they do there. No kart racing for a couple of more weeks but when it starts up again it will be hectic leading up to the Rotax Worlds.

OK......dinner.....

Everyone Back to Work/School

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! Finally the boys are both at school and I'm back to work (Grant didn't really get much of a break).

Jake loves college! He has had a great couple of days, he loves his Spanish teacher, not at all happy with the French teacher and the rest are all somewhere in between!

He should get plenty of help when he needs it, it will be interesting to see how he manages.

Scott has just gone back, year 11 for him. Scott has a big year with his GCSE exams later.

Last weekend Scott had a night race with the TAG class, bit of a disaster, a new clutch failed and effectively stuffed the whole meeting. He's eagerly awaiting the next race and an incident free meeting!!!!

Nice to see your comments!! I was having trouble making a reply, finally cleared and restarted my computer tonight and now it's working. Not sure what that was all about!

Dorene, I'm super busy now so have to make time for scrapbooking however it's relaxing and fun so I will always try to do something new. The two here were a bit rushed, almost forgot to take any photos at the race meeting. Scott and Jake would have loved to get up to Mt Hutt for some skiing, maybe next time. Nik was so proud of his skiing when he showed me his dvd. Great that the boys are enjoying themselves.

Andy and Raewyn, yes anything over 40c is too hot, the last couple of days have been great, high 30's with very strong dry winds. We have had to put up with a lot of blowing sand but the wind has been a nice change from the oppressive heat.

OK folks - -this is a bit of a short post, time to get to bed. It's been a busy evening because the boys both had a heap of school books to be covered and I wanted to get them all done. Time to get them doing their own I think! These 6am starts are a bit hard too!!

Back after a Long Summer Holiday

Hi everyone,

It's been a very long summer break, we have had a fantastic time and now are settling back into "normal life".

Arriving back in Dubai was a bit of a shock, it's so hot (43c most days), so bright and sandy. Everything seems sun bleached and neglected after the heat of summer. New Zealand is just so darn green!

I couldn't shake the inevitable jet lag, waking up at 2.30am every morning makes for a very long day and after a week of it I was feeling very weary. Still, I did get out in the garden before sunrise a few times and got that tidied up so it wasn't a total waste.



We really loved our holiday, it was a perfect combination of fun and relaxation. Our only regret was not having more time in Auckland. We missed out on catching up with lots of you who we would love to have seen. Grant really needed a quiet break so we had our two weeks of bliss in a couple of lovely holiday homes and then he had to be back here. The rest of the holiday was spent in the South Island with just the boys and I.



I will slip in some photos over the next few posts just in case you missed us.



The highlight for Scott was all the driving he got to do. He had several sessions at the Canterbury Race School, driving the Formula Ford and the RX7. He also got to do a Kart race meeting in Christchurch. All great experience and he loved every minute of it.



Jake was in shopping heaven, he has been reading heaps and managed to add books to his collection all around NZ.



Grants time was spent relaxing but he also get out with the boys for a bit of male fun with some quad biking and jet boating.



I have had such a perfect time, a bit of illness but that doesn't put a dent in my memories.

Family time with a heap of laughter over a table of delicious food.

Now we are all back into the swing of things here. Poor Grant not only had to go straight back to work he also has been sick with a nasty cough and has been feeling miserable. He has kept going on at work even though he should have been at home in bed. He has karting coming up and didn't want to take too much time off as he had already put in for a couple of days extra leave. Then his leave was declined! he was feeling so shitty he just about resigned on the spot!

The karting scene here is so disorganised, Scott and Grant are very disappointed. After experiencing how things should be done in NZ they are really not happy to be here. Time will tell how it pans out but it's not looking good at the moment.

I'm starting back at work tomorrow, I'm all ready and keen to get back into it. I have a big year ahead with doing my course but am looking forward to everything.

Jake is all set for college, he has his new uniform and everything else he needs. Scott has been busy with his course work that needs to be completed over the break, so he should be all set for next week.

It was lovely to hear that you all are enjoying this blog, I will do my best to update it frequently. If you want to comment easily just use the anonymous button (leave your name in the text). Its fine if you want to be a silent lurker, i do that too sometimes, at least I know that you like coming here and getting the latest!

Have a great week!