31 January 2014

Things I'm Loving: On yer bike, Copper butterflies, and Making the best of it



I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is.

On yer bike
Mark has been promising for a while now to take Noah out on his first mountain bike ride (now that he has a bike with gears and both brakes). So last weekend while Mylo and I were wasting wiling the afternoon away at a birthday party, they got out on the bikes, up the hill and into the bush. I'd made sure to tell Mark to be patient as I wasn't sure how Noah would cope with the up the hill bit let alone getting into the bush. But he nailed it. And loved the whole experience. My heart swells to see my wee guy so enjoying getting into his daddy's past-times.

 
The picture on the right is Noah standing at 'Lone Pine' , appreciating how far he'd come

Copper butterflies
Loved spotting these two beauties up at the park last weekend. When I first looked at them I instantly thought they were monarch butterflies but then realised they weren't. We googled 'NZ butterflies' and realised that this copper butterfly was in fact a completely different but just as gorgeous native butterfly.


A few runs in the rain
Last Sunday while Mark was out doing the Akatarawa Attack the boys and I went up to the park. We'd seen the weather forecast was looking a bit grim, so high tailed it up there just before lunch for an hour. When we arrived, it immediately started spitting but we persevered and managed nearly a whole hour of 2-over cricket fun. Love seeing these two getting their sport on.


Can't complain about the cafes
If there's one thing that Wellington is known for, it's great coffee and cafes. Espressoholic is a bit of an institution, I remember it being in Wellington right from when I first lived here back in 1998 (how old does that make me feel?!) although in a different location. Catching up with my dear friend Marie (she blogs over at itsmariemade - go and check it out - she's a crafter and baker extraordinaire!) the other night made me realise just how hard it can be to actually choose somewhere to meet in the city - we are so spoilt for choice!



Favourite things
The boys have always been into dress ups. Well ever since we bought the first pirate dress up when Noah was just a wee tacker. We now have a great selection in the cupboard - although some are well and truly grown out of now even for Mylo -  and there aren't many days that go by when they don't disappear into the bedroom and come out transformed into their desired hero of the day. Occasionally I get asked to add some additional accessories like face paint into the mix. I love that they don't seem to care that I'm about as artistic as a shaky spider.



Nice to see you again
The summer in Wellington so far has not been much to write home about. Days like these last year were a dime a dozen, this year - not so much. So it was a moment to remember last week when I opened the curtains and finally saw a cloudless, blue sky before me. And a double reflection of me taking the photo to boot!


Lazy days
This whole finishing work everyday at 2.30pm malarkey is still a novelty - one that I'm hoping is never going to wear off. Last Friday I went to pick up Mylo from daycare - he didn't want to come home as they were just about to have a 'happy last day' afternoon tea. So I picked Noah up and headed home and straight out onto the trampoline with pillows and a magazine while Noah read more of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - his current reading frenzy. It didn't last too long though as he heard the next door neighbour playing in the driveway and soon abandoned me for a scooter trip up to the park. So then it was just me and my magazine in the afternoon sun. Rather than feeling resentful at having being abandoned by both the boys, I tried to consciously go with the flow, let myself relax and just enjoy this rare moment of peace.


The chosen one
How cool that the picture on Google the other day was chosen from a national competition won by a Kiwi kid in Canterbury? Even cooler is his own personal story of being rescued from Bolivia and adopted by a Kiwi lady.

Making the best of what you've got 
I love this amazing story I saw this week on A Holy Experience. About this rag tag bunch of Thai villagers who decided to put together a football team, but living on a floating village with no land there was nowhere to play. So they improvised. A wonderful example of making the best of what you've got to make life better. This story was the beginnings of one of the best football clubs in Southern Thailand. Enjoy!


Now I don't want to scare you people but did you realise that a month of this year has already gone now?! Yikes - how did that happen?! So hold onto your hats people because it's February on the morrow!

Here's how you can join in this week:

Link up below with your blog post telling us what you're loving, and grab the Things I'm Loving button below for your post too. Don't forget to share the love by visiting all the other lovelies who have joined in - the linky is open till same time next week!







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