Founders Weekend

Last weekend was a long one, being our school Founders weekend. It was an even longer weekend for me as I had the Friday off school ill. I hadn't been great on Thursday, then woke up on Friday feeling even worse after hardly any sleep due to a head cold. I literally slept all day Friday, then drove to the uni to pick Will up from work. He then drove us down to Ohakune where we (along with 3 colleagues and their partners) had a lodge booked for the weekend. Despite the rush-hour it was fine getting out of Wellington, but we did get a bit snarled up in traffic on the Kapiti Coast. However as Will said, getting stuck in traffic in NZ is a bit more scenic that getting grid-locked on the M4! (see below...) By the time we arrived, everybody else was already there. This did mean we drew the short straw with the sofa bed...

On Saturday morning the other 7 hit the slopes, while I again spent a lot of the day in bed recuperating. I did manage the 5 minute walk into the Ohakune township for the weekend paper.
The others got back at around 5pm after an OK day on the slopes. They had to wait a bit in the morning for the lifts to open due to the weather, & once they were able to hit the slopes, it was very cold with poor visibility. They all enjoyed it though, and arrived back tired but happy.

Will & a couple of others had bought along their guitars, so they took over the dining room... My friend Wayne was back in the country for a holiday, and he, Marty & Roger & a couple others were also at the mountain that weekend. They dropped in for a bit before dinner so it was really nice to catch up with them.
After dinner we enjoyed a movie using the data projector that Tim had bought along, and then it was time for bed.

On Sunday morning people were up early for the snow report, but it wasn't great, so it was back to bed and a lazy morning. Jo & Tim cooked us up a great brunch, & then people just pottered around for a bit. Will & I walked the half an hour or so to the junction where we happened to meet Jo & Tim. The weather had improved a lot, so a decision was made to return to our base & get ready for an afternoon session on the mountain. This time Lucy & Em stayed behind with me as well. We had a very chilled afternoon listening to music, reading the Sunday paper, and in the case of Lucy & Em, knitting & crocheting!

Late in the afternoon the others arrived back exhilarated after a fantastic afternoon of skiing and boarding. They had had plenty of sunshine and blue skies, coupled with fresh snow overnight.

Pre-dinner activities that evening included monopoly, handicrafts, & more music school...

Em & Wayne were on dinner duty that night, and after a very nice curry meal, it was time for poker. Wayne could afford to look smug in the pic below, he ended up being the over-all winner! I busted out in 3rd place, with Jo coming second.

We were up early on Monday morning to pack-up and clean the place up, before hitting the road to get Will back to work. I had the Monday off, so spent a nice afternoon pottering around the house & doing a few bits & pieces. By Monday night I was feeling fully back to normal after 4 days of doing very little. It was a fantastic weekend away & I'm sure we'll do it again. Who knows, it might even become a Founders weekend tradition...

Tuesday I was back to school, but only for a day of professional development. The kids were back on Wednesday, so it was a nice short week that absolutely flew by.