Stuff i've been doing.

Today is overcast and rainy, perfect for snuggling down and reading, which is what I've been doing. I've just finished a book called Biting the Big Apple, by Bella Vendramini, which is admittedly not Nobel-prize winning stuff, but hell, I'm on holiday. It's a memoir, about an aussie girl who moves to New York City to go to school at the famous Strasberg Institute to study acting, and her adventures in the city. Fun and frivolous.



We've also, as usual, been watching movies - Tropic Thunder, which just never gets old in it's hilarity ("Man, I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary." "I know what dude I am. I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude."), Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was oddball and quirky, which meant i loved it (anyway, who doesn't love Michael Cera? The dude does awkward like no one else) and I Love You, Man, which was also funny, if a little dumbass every now and then.




What else? Allow me to chronicle in pictures.


We've snoozed with the kitties...







We've hung out with Jacob and Lauren...(check out the supermarket trolleys they have in Westport. Hello? Totally awesome.)

We've explored the Buller Gorge and checked out the annual Buller Gorge Tube Race, in which crazy people get into a tube and raft down the (unpredictable and dangerous) river for two hours till they reach the finish line (hopefully alive, and without broken bones)...

The tube-tastic tubers coming down the river

Apparently this dude is a local member of parliament. So. There you go.

Oh. That's me.

The bountiful Buller

We've hung out at the beach...

Me looking confused. Are you taking a picture? You are? Wait, i have to look free-spirited and whimsical!

Yeah. Like that. (err...)

Waimangaroa Beach

We've gone swimming in the local river... Well. I went swimming. Jo chickened out cause the water was cold. Pfft. I laugh in the face of cold water. (What? Yeah, it did take me an hour to get in. So what's your point?)

We went to Jacob's school swimming carnival and watched him win some races (Yeeeeah Jacob!) as well as watch Rochelle freeze her pants off in the parent/teacher relay. (I admit it. I laughed my head off watching snug as a bug on dry land. What of it?) But she had worked very hard on her diving skills the day before when we went swimming at the local pools, and it paid off cause they kicked butt and won the relay. (Yeeeeeah Rochelle!)

Jacob in his first race...

He lunges for the wall to take home the gold, and the glory.

Lauren enjoying the trampoline after the swimming carnival

And finally, we've applauded the kiwi attitude to drinking responsibly at local joints like Drifters...

Yup. Overall, I'd say we've really been enjoying the long and lazy days of a New Zealand summer, where the sun doesn't go down till after 9pm, where golden oldies jam on the radio while you're driving through town, where frisbee in the backyard with the kids is the highlight of the day, and where aerogard is a staple in my handbag to ward off the Evil Sandflies of Death. (Hey. That's just my pet name for them. No really.)