Happy Birthday Connor!!

So this was a major week for the McLeod clan. Our first major celebration since we've left Canada, away from friends and family. I was concerned about Connor's reaction but he, and we, had a fantastic weekend. On his actual birthday, Friday, it just so happened that his school had an all day school picnic. About 5 minutes from the house there is a lovely park with a beach that the school went to and spent the day swimming, playing cricket and rugby and generally having fun. They were home by 2 pm and Connor called it the best birthday day he'd ever had. It was certainly the warmest!! Then that evening we had invited over our neighbors and their kids to celebrate with us. So Connor was allowed to play video games all evening and fortunately one of the neighbor's kits, Sam (13) is as addicted as Connor is. So for the whole night the 5 of them rotated thru various games and various teams playing. The adults sat outside and drank wine, like all civilized adults.

Saturday morning we got our selves up and on the go by around noon. Definitely a slow start! But we did eventually get ourselves into the van for the t=drive over to Rotoroa which is a city about an hour from us.l The drive is quite windy and twisty, with 2 one lane bridges. Connor was reading his new birthday book for most of the way and about 3/4 of the way there he says 'I know that I don't look it, but I don't feel well'. And it went downhill from there. So, before you could say 'bob's your uncle' we had pulled off to the side of the road, off loaded Connor and had
Connor wolfing his cookies on the side of the road. Any of you who know Connor know that this was a BIG DEAL - but he rallied beautifully. Don thought for sure that we were hooped for the rest of the day but Connor nicely put the event behind him and didn't even whine excessively.

So then we were able to get to Te Puia, one of the Maori cultural centers in Rotorua. We saw a cultural display (i.e. the sining and the dancing) and a geyser and a mud pool. Somewhat stinky place but really interesting. It's also the home for the NZ Maori weaving and carving schools so the gift shop was really nice. The McLeod boys are especially excited by the world of gift shops and if they happen to have any money it definitely burns a hole in their pockets. We managed to escape with only a pack of mints and a carved traditionally Maori necklace a piece. Don and I managed to resist this time around but we have our eyes on a few pieces the next time we visit with some visitors.

After we were done pitter pattering around the cultural center, we headed over to the big highlight of the day, the Skyline Skyride. The Kiwis call this 'luging' but there is no head first racing down a track, I can assure you. Nope, this is good ol' fashioned go carting in non-motorized little track cars. You take a gondola up to a tallish hill/small mountain. Gorgeous views out over Rotorua and the lake. You then load yourself, and a small child if they are nervous (aka Aidan) onto a car that you steer and brake using the hand controls. Lots and lots of fun. Stunning views on the way down too. Though not too wise to look out over the lake too often lest you steer off the track. We went down 4 times a piece. The carts only take you half way down the mountain and you take an open air chair lift back up. Aidan's a touch nervous about heights so I wasn't convinced that he would enjoy that experience but he really loved it. Such a great experience for us all. Connor gave the day high praise when we got home that night, saying 'that was better than watching tv!!!'. Good times indeed.

This morning I went to my second Zumba class. A friend at work gave me a week's free pass to her gym so I've participated in 2 classes now. I enjoy Zumba tremendously. It's like dance aerobics only much sassier!! Then I came home and rounded up Aidan for the annual Mudslide event held by the local Scouting group. Connor didn't want to go for some reason but Aidan wanted to check it out. So, let me set the scene for Mudslide 2010. It's held in a farmer's field about 17 km from Tauranga. The local fire department comes out to pump out the massive amount of water required for the mud. It's set up like an obstacle course. You start out at the top of a hill and slide down a 50 ft slide into a pit of mud. Then you wade your way thru various obstacles to the top of another hill where you go down a 100 ft slide into more more, then more wading thru more stuff until you climb a hill using ropes to escape the muck. Aidan checked out the situation for more than a half an hour before he said he'd be interested in attempting the course. But the slide were really not his things, so he walked down the first hill, leapt into the mud pit and started his adventure. He also by-passed the second slide. He enjoyed it immensely and he didn't even get freaked out by the eels that were swimming around in some of the water. Yep, eels - fun stuff.

So there it is, another fun filled weekend for the McLeod clan, with no one coming out worse for the wear. Well, maybe a touch weary. We are anxiously awaiting news from Kathy and Doug on their new arrival. We have our fingers crossed for a safe and happy delivery!!

Love to all