The Sunshine House

Welcome to the Sunshine House!

This is where I hope to be spending most of the summer and where Christmas Day will be celebrated in style!
So this is where we have come to rest - just 100 metres from the beach in this lovely yellow and blue house.
Not exactly my choice of decour but wonderful compared to some of the houses we looked at for rental. Luckily we stumbled upon this one and have now rented it for the next 6 months.
All has moved on quickly since we arrived here. We now have work / student visas and the boys are into their second week at school. They are really enjoying it and no wonder! They have both spent a day on the beach learning about safe surf and having lots of fun into the bargain. Their school swimming pool has now opened for the summer, so they get to go swimming every day and they have both joined the school flipper ball team (junior water polo) and have enjoyed their first training session.
Max has also joined the surf lifesaving club and we all spend a couple of hours down there on Sunday mornings playing games on the beach and in the sea and learning to body board. Neil and I have joined in as helpers and spent a few happy hours freezing to death in the cold surf! This weekend we are off to Waihi - a beach further up the coast for the first junior surf competition. Sadly Neil will not be able to join in that one as he is now too old!
Neil started work on Monday and has spent the week getting himself organised and back in to work mode......I think he is ready for a holiday again now. Luckily he won't have to wait long as he finishes next Friday for his 2 week summer break............life is TOUGH down under!!!

So, that leaves me tending our fantastic vegie patch - I hope you are all impressed??, mowing the lawn (I seem to have lost that photo!) and running backwards and forwards with the kids (no changes there!) I have been in to school and helped out with beach day...great fun and also with book stocktaking (not so much fun!) and have just attended end of year assembly (very hot in the hall.) Unfortunately I cannot start work until February as I have to look after the kids over their summer hols, so I will just have to fill my time going to the beach, park, pool....etc. etc. I know you will all realise how hard this will be for me....but we all have to make sacrifices!!
So that just about brings you all up to date. This weekend we are going to get our christmas tree in the hope that it will make it feel a bit more christmasy around here (it's just not the same without freezing rain and dark nights!!!) The boys finish school next Wednesday but even they are finding it a bit odd. Still we are all looking forward to having a swim in the sea on christmas day and setting up a few new traditions!
Finally, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing some of you in 2008 and welcome you to our new home.
Clare and the Boys.