Birthday Month

It is over 3 weeks since the last post, so well and truly time for an update. The last few weeks flew by, mostly in a whirlwind of social activities...

On the 18th February we had a combined 75th birthday party, celebrating Will's 40th which was on the 17th February, and my 35th which was on the 20th Feb. We had a BBQ and it was a lovely evening filled with all kinds of people from all of the various facets of our lives. It was a most interesting mix including Will's engineering geeks (self-confessed, I'm not being harsh!), my work friends, korfball players, rugby players, badminton players... It was a bit like our engagement party and wedding all over again!

The following weekend was the Classic Hits Winery tour at Alana Estate in Martinborough. We drove over on the Friday night and stayed at the Martinborough campground. We were going with my friend Elvie and her man, and they had managed to book the tent site right next to us which was awesome. We had a few quiet vinos on the Friday as a warm-up to the following evening.

Saturday morning was pretty chilled. Elvie and Mike did a bike tour of a few vineyards while Will and I wandered into town for a relaxed brunch. At about 3pm we cooked up a huge feed on the BBQ, meaning we only had to take snacky/nibbly type things to get us through the evening at the concert. It was a brilliant concert. The weather played its part and we enjoyed Avalanche City, followed by the Mutton Birds who had reformed after a 10 year hiatus, followed by Gin Wigmore. We had left our chooks 'home alone' (with plenty of food and water) for our two nights away and they were fine. We arrived back to 6 eggs, which they had all decided to lay in the same nesting box!

The first weekend in March was a chance to catch up on some house stuff. The poor old house had been a bit neglected due to our crazy busy February. I also had my first Wellington Masters badminton training which I attended on the Saturday and Sunday. You only need to go to one of them, but I thought since it was the opening weekend I'd pop along to both... I have since been named in the top team which is exciting. We'll play in division 2 Masters, and will have away trips to Auckland, Waitakere and Wanganui during the season, as well as a home tie. I'm really looking forward to playing masters, last year they reduced the eligible age from 40 to 35, meaning I get the opportunity a lot earlier than I thought I would!

On the sporting front I have also just finished a 4-week block of outdoor training sessions held at Waitangi Park. These were excellent. They were a cheapo deal through one of the voucher sites and really well done. Usually there were about 8-10 people training and it was not at all 'boot-camp' style, it was much more supportive than that. It was nice to train outdoors with other people, plus the instructor was good at mixing it up and varying each sessions. Through another voucher site I also signed up to a $35 unlimited pilates for a month deal run by a studio in town. I have now done 2 weeks (of about 3 sessions a week) and am also enjoying that. Boy is it tough though! It's really hard work... I'm relatively strong, but the instructors work you to absolute fatigue. There is a maximum of 10 people in each class, so nowhere to hide...

Last weekend my dad flew into Wellington and stayed Sunday night so it was great catching up with him. He enjoyed meeting the chooks for the first time. Then on the Monday and Tuesday nights we had Anne Flintham and her husband Tom staying with us. I used to teach with Anne at my UK school, so it was great to see her after a few years. They are touring the country in a camper van and having a great time of it.

School is going well, although the weeks seem to be racing by. It's been pretty manic lately, I have been crazy busy marking internals the last week or so. I'm now on top of it all, so it should calm down a bit... My classes are lovely, I really am lucky to work in a good school with fantastic kids.

Yesterday was Elvie's birthday and in the evening she had a BBQ round at her place. She lives walking distance from us, so it was nice that Will and I could both enjoy a few wines. It was a very enjoyable evening. Tonight we were also out celebrating a birthday. This time it was Dale, one of Will's friends from work. We had a very nice meal out at a restaurant in town.

Tomorrow should be pretty relaxed... I'm looking forward to a decent sleep-in, have a little bit of marking to do, and then have badminton training from 4-6. I'll finish with this very cute photo of Will and 'the girls'. They really are entertaining. Every now and then we'll be in the lounge watching TV or something, and we will look up and see three little chook faces peering in at us! They love hopping up on the picnic table. We did have to 'shoo' them out of the lounge several times today.