Phew!!

Well, it was certainly hard work getting out of bed this morning to go to work after a 10 day break for the Christmas/New Year period, but what a great time I've had.

The kids (being 10 and 4) had an absolute ball on Christmas day. It started at 6.15am with Tom coming in telling us about the Santa sack at the end of the bed, but Al was still sound asleep. He was gagging to open it all up and with no sign of his sister emerging we let him get into it. Eventually Al surfaced about 7am and she had a great time opening it all as well.

Then it was downstairs to see what Santa had left under the tree. But Santa had made a hash of it again and managed to tip over the coffee table, knock over the lamp and left presents stuck up the chimney!!

The looks on their faces were priceless and makes the whole Christmas stress worth it.

Then it was off to Larissa's parents in Whangaparoa for the rest of the day - and what a fabulous day weather-wise it was.

The next week or so was a bit backwards and forwards to Tindalls Bay (Whangaparoa).

New Years Eve we decided to do something different and had friends around for a lunchtime BBQ which is much better with little kids. Now, if you've never tried the BBQ with the chicken and the beer can trick it is absolutely fantastic!! The best chicken I've had in a long time. If you need any instructions, leave a comment and I'll post them.

New Years Day was off to Martins Bay to spend time with my parents. Great weather and a fun time on the beach, but the drive home was terrible - a trip that would normally take 75 mins took nearly two and a half hours!! Can't wait for the Orewa bypass to open.

The final day of holidays yesterday was spent at Tindalls Bay with our best friends and their kids. It was absolutely fantastic and I did get a little burnt. The most upsetting part was that the jet-ski battery had died so no jet-skiing :-(

So this morning it was back to putting shoes and socks on and sitting at a desk - it's taking a bit of getting used to again but I do have another week to look forward to in 2 weeks time (I'm praying for fine weather).

Happy New Year everyone!!