Riding the Waves at Browns Bay

Saturday at Browns Bay, with my kids at the middle/front

I never thought that there'd be a time where I can see my son, happily riding the waves. He's 9 and he was out there with his boogie board one Saturday afternoon, enjoying the surf. He went as far as where the water was up to his neck. That really gave me a fright as the surf do go higher than him. With a big nudge, I managed to get hubby to get his attention to go back to where the water is only up to his waist. Can't help it, he was by himself in the water. And we were maybe 3 mins away (if you walk), watching him from a picnic table. He was also drawn to two older kids who were further out, where the water is up to their chests. He didn't protest when I signaled him to head back. His fingers were already wrinkly and he kept giving a thumbs up sign as he rode the waves towards the beach. That must've been fun! (Oh motherhood, it's changed me to become such a worrier!)

Auckland Anniversary Weekend 2016

You know that it's a long weekend and you know that most Aucklanders are probably leaving town. Because we're probably not up for a long drive and we do like sleeping in, we've decided to revisit the harbour and check out the SeePort event. I remember how the kids enjoyed those free rides last year. From then on, it was a "let's see how it goes" weekend. As with any weekend, we do check the forecast before we leave the house and hubby makes sure that he's able to take enough photos as he experiments with his camera equipment. Somehow, we always realise that we to forget an item or two as soon as we're on the road.

SeePort
What's different this year is that they have food stalls, lots of it! My kids successfully climbed the wall and rang the bell (Rose did it twice!). Both were eager to try all the rides, inflatables, the mini golf, face painting and the navy display. It was a sunny day and I did get a bit dizzy while waiting in line for the tug boat tour. It was hot! Lots of ice cream and cold drinks consumed that day.

There were more in store the next two two days and what i think we should check out next time is the Symphony orchestra playing during sunset ending with a fireworks display later in the evening.

Music in Parks
Hubby usually does the weekend shopping for us but this time around, I wanted to join him so I can choose the bread and see other items in the store that we'll be consuming for the week. I wanted to try some new recipes.

I prepared sandwiches for our picnic lunch at the Domain. I now know that my kids don't like the bread (Quinoa and Flaxseed) that I got for them unless you've got a good spread on it to mask the flavour. We bought sushi and sausages from the nearby stores as well for our picnic. We found a spot that's across the road from the band stand. Live Jazz music played. I've covered a few pages from Bo Sanchez's My Conspiracy Theory. It was cloudy and the kids enjoyed their space as they clashed their light sabers around. Later on, hubby took out the RC for the kids to play with until it ran out of battery. Then it felt like rain was about to fall so we headed back to the car. (False alarm!). We were parked near the Wintergarden so we brought the kids inside as it's been a while since they last visited the place.

Summer Picnics
It felt like a Sunday morning (Monday holiday). The kids were hooked up on morning tv shows. I was trying out the Chickpea, carrot and feta fritters recipe. I thought i'd make corn muffin too but realised that i don't have corn in the pantry. There were some morning showers so it felt right to have prepared nilaga for lunch.

We headed to Cornwall Park in the afternoon, setup our picnic in one of the shaded areas near Pohutukawa Drive, close to a fenced area where a flock of sheep was resting under a shade. As soon as we've unpacked, Rose declared that she's hungry and started opening a container full of WanWan rice snacks with his Papa. Max took out his cricket set and asked me to play with him. Max is actually getting better with hitting the ball. Rose played frisbee with hubby, then with Max. The football wasn't played much but those trees surrounding us sure had lots of fun as the kids played hide and seek among them.

We had a stroll across the field, up to the cottage when Max said he needed to go to the toilet. On our way was the Creamery and Rose said she wanted ice cream. On our way back, I told her that we'll have ice cream at home as we still have some in the freezer.

So three days went past. There were enough lull moments for me, and even enjoyed two afternoon naps. Can't help but think of the luxury that we have here in Auckland. We've got time to be with our kids. We have lots of open spaces and many free family-friendly events that are meant for us to enjoy. I told my husband how it's noticeable to see parents or a parent walking their kids or a pram along a footpath. And this is almost everywhere we go, even in commercial areas. Hubby said that it's a good sign.

Air New Zealand's 75th Anniversary Exhibit and Fun at the Parks

Next to the War Memorial Museum at the Auckland Domain sits the cockpit part of an Air New Zealand plane. There's a staircase leading up on both sides of the plane's doors. The first time we were there, the gates just closed which made my kids very upset as we were already there. We managed to come early the next time and had to fall in line. It was windy that day and a bit cloudy. I was pretty pleased with how they accommodated the guests. They did not rush you while you're inside and they actually wanted you to try all the gadgets and switches that are found on board. My kids said they were flying to the Philippines. The captain sits on the left side with the co-pilot on the right. It's a commercial plane but my kids preferred using it like a battleship. We were there for about 10 minutes I think, or maybe less as we had to give the others a chance to experience the plane as well. 

This summer's memories centers around park visits. Instead of taking long drives, we've been taking the kids to our favourite parks and beaches, and explored new playgrounds like those with water play (Waterview) and skate park (Mount Roskill). This  usually ends with an ice cream treat, be it from Mr. Whippy, the local dairy or from our TipTop tub at home. It's great to be a kid in Auckland.