david * melissa * ethan

We have moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:35:00 +0000

I have followed Miss Julz to the competition and moved our blog to Word Press, and am loving it. I have also purchased our own domain name so you can now visit us at thebestnest.co.nz

Everything is pretty much up and running, those that have been receiving email updates of my posts will no longer receive these – you will have to come to the site to visit! I will continue to flesh the site out in the next few days, let me know what you think!

New Swimming Certificate

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:16:00 +0000

My Handsome Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:56:00 +0000

How cute are they? We finished March with a landslide of birthday parties, I took this pic before the guys left for Josh’s 4th Birthday party. Being Ethan’s social coordinator, driver, gift shopper and gift wrapper does not leave time for normal more mundane things, like……laundry or vacuuming. Oh well!

Love, Love, Love this band

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:22:00 +0000

Insect Art at Kindy

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:34:00 +0000

Good Thing....Bad Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Good Thing: I finally after 6 months bought a new laptop battery online yesterday and it arrived this morning, I was VERY excited.
Bad Thing: Stupid thing doesn't charge and the company is making ME pay to send it back under warranty!

Good Thing: I went to step class this morning,and it wasn't traditional step but more like step-conditioning. I hurt.
Bad Thing: The instructor was a mum from kindy, it felt weird to get all sweaty with someone I kinda know.

Good Thing: There is plenty of Coke Zero in the house.
Bad thing: It is all warm! I can't ever remember to put more in the fridge.

Good Thing: It is sunny and warm and breezy.
Bad Thing: I haven't even started the laundry.

Good Thing: Lou-bear and I just went on a great big dog-walk
Bad Thing: He sicked up in our bedroom at 4am.

Good Thing: Stupid interwebs are finally fixed!!! And there is definitely no flip-side to that shiny gold coin.

Autumn Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:45:00 +0000

Today was one of those days where you want to get your washing on the line as early as possible because you just know it’s going to dry so fast (at least you do if you live in New Zealand!), it was a stunning sunny, hot autumn day – NO humidity. After Ethan and I walked home from kindy we packed a picnic, a bug catcher, soccer ball and our towels and headed down to the beach.

We ate lunch and kicked the ball around in the park for a couple of hours and then went for a swim when we were good and hot. The water was so warm still, there was fun little waves for Ethan, who taught himself how to bodysurf. He has been such a good boy this week. We bought him a new wall chart in the weekend with numbers to 100 and he can read them and and cycle though perfectly. I am so proud of him. He had a sweet swimming lesson yesterday, his freestyle stroke is looking so strong, his shoulders are actually rolling out of the water now and he is fast. It is amazing watching him learn all of these different things and excel at each of them. No Louie today, he has gone to the farm to burn off some fat with Mollie and Marley, he should be suitably tired tomorrow when I pick him up!

The Old Desert Island Piece

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Over summer this year one of my classes was a 2nd year writing paper which was a lovely escape from from the fanantically exacting bean-counting papers I normally have to take. I got an A in the paper and thought I would share some of the writing, this one was edited by Tara, who loves my liberal punctuation.

Paradise Island January 10th, 2009

When you are a tad obsessive-compulsive, trying to wade through the massive amount of things you ‘might’ need on a deserted island is an arduous task. I could not trust myself to settle on only four things so I asked my husband (who could probably write a very funny book about my particular flavor of crazy) what he considered were the four essential items I would hope to have with me on a deserted island. I swear the man didn’t blink an eye, didn’t even pause for a second before he verbally threw the list at me and continued playing his ukulele.
Chocolate, laptop, camera, and bourbon. That’s what the man said. This might be the most honest list that has ever been compiled on the subject of theoretical deserted island strandings! I mean who would admit to those four things of their own volition? I imagine there will be a few family photo albums thrown in on some lists, maybe a couple of cats, a GHD hair iron or three. Not this girl, I apparently need a camera to document the progression of my island tan and some bourbon to help me forget that I don’t have coke and ice to go with it. I love you too, husband.
I’m so glad Dave put chocolate on the list. I mean, chocolate and I – we’s like peas ‘n carrots. After the initial stranding, I would definitely be able to regroup and take a nap in the warm sun safe in the knowledge that the little teepee I erected out of my laptop, camera, and bourbon supply were shading my chocolate stash from the sun. Chocolate can make anything bearable, even potty training. It is a tried and true stress reliever wrapped in purple foil. I love you Cadbury.
#2 on the list; laptop. Even if the unimaginable occurred and there was no wireless hotspot on the deserted island :::::gasp!:::: I would still be able to wile away the hours writing blogs filled with witty anecdotes about island strandings and tips on chocolate preservation. These would have to be published at a later date of course, perhaps when I found an island with an internet café or some other such convenience. There would also be my Diner Dash game to keep me amused, people have got to eat even when their laptop owner is stranded in paradise, come on!
I also love you Dell laptop, for your amazing ability to survive that terrible sinking boat situation. Your simple plastic case is obviously much hardier than one might first assume. Amazing.
My trusty Canon would pair up with indestructible-Dell and allow me to fully document my holiday / stranding. I would probably discover a couple of previously unknown species and later bankroll my future by selling my amazing wildlife shots to National Geographic, the possibilities are endless. My camera may also kick-start my modeling career as, thanks to Survivor, we all know that if you spend enough time stranded on an island you get really skinny (and therefore famous). I can practice my posing and fierceness by using my auto-timer function - Tyra will probably send the rescue team herself once my fierce vibe starts circulating! I will never leave you at home again Canon camera, I love you.
And at the end of each idyllic day on Paradise Island, I would kick back in my cabana, (I’m sure there will be one there left-over from the last stranding incident) sip on my bourbon, and reflect on all of the hardships I have overcome in my quest to be the next great zoologist / blogger / model.
Paradise Island is not a stranding location suited to everyone, but with a bit of grit, luck, determination (and bourbon, I love you Jim Beam!) you too can surround yourself with your favorite things and really make the best of a bad situation, just like I would. How bad could it be in paradise?

My son……

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:53:00 +0000

I am posting this picture solely for Ethan’s future embarrassment. After all, the sole purpose of this blog is to create a record of pretty much everything we do as a family, so Ethan can look at it as he grows up and hopefully remember what amazingly cool parents he had! Apart from allowing him to wear a leotard everyday that is. The Cheetah suit actually lives at kindy, but seeing as he wears it every day, 5 days a week, I thought I better bring it home and wash the boy-stink out of it. Not that any other kid at kindy would have the balls to put it on, I’m sure they would be too scared of the potential repercussions, after all Ethan is pretty big. So big in fact, that he is blowing out the seams of this suit, the lycra has already been stripped of any elastic properties it may once have had, there are in fact ladders in the bum-area but this does not appear to have diminished the appeal. So tomorrow, we are going on a hunt for velvet, cheetah print lycra and I am going to get mums sewing machine and make a leotard. I will keep you posted. Until then…ENJOY!

Jack Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:24:00 +0000

Bestest Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Because I am selfish and miss my boy (and he was very tired!) he stayed home from kindy today and we had a nice relaxing morning. We walked Lou on the beach and it was gorgeous and warm, no wind for a change. We did notice quite a lot of dead sea birds though. After discussing this for a while and postulating about their demise (Perhaps they were old? Perhaps they were sick?) Ethan decided that what happened was a simple case of the birds dive-bombing for fish with their eyes closed and missing the ocean. Ouch.

We headed out for lunch as Farmers was having their weekly HUGE sale and I needed new underwear. I had told Ethan he could have anything for lunch he wanted, he chose Sushi (I love him a little bit more every day).

We headed onwards to the Farmers Department store and made our way to the underwear department. He was squirreling around and running under racks of bras as usual, but after a couple of minutes he called (very loudly) “Mama, I have found your favourite undies, they have an orange sticker on them and they are $10. A bargain!!!” He had indeed found a whole rack of bargains, recognized the brand I like, even the style. The other female shoppers were very impressed that my four year old doubled as a personal shopper!

Athletics Finals Nights

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Ethan has been racing up a storm at Athletics this year and I think it is fair to say from the pictures that he enjoys it a wee bit????

Ethan and the Frog-poles

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:56:00 +0000

Ethan finished off a lovely stay with Nana and Grandad by catching almost-frogs or Frog-poles. He was so excited that he brought them up from the pond to be admired over lunch before their release.

Melissa wins a prize

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Play the movie and listen with your ears

Swimming Certificate

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Ethan had an amazing lesson on Tuesday, he can swim freestyle perfectly now and is FAST. He was so focused on Tuesday, and worked so hard. I was very proud of him!

Athletics Ribbon

So Tuesdays are full on for Ethan, he has kindy in the mornings, comes home for a quick lunch, goes to swimming, has a rest than goes to athletics. Tuesday was the first night of the Club Champs and Ethan loved the competition (as usual!). His age group ran their 60m heats and finals this week, Ethan came third in his heat and 4th in the final! Dave thinks he should score top three in the 100m final as he has quite a lot of stamina (don’t we know it). It is funny how when you are talking about under 5’s a 100m race involves stamina, they have such little, chubby legs!

The long way home

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:50:00 +0000

Our drive back home from Whatawhiwhi took us 13hrs, but we had a great day. Ethan was so tired he fell asleep in the car – which he never does!

First stop, the awesome Coopers Beach. We had only been driving 35 minutes but we already missed the beach!

Next we stopped in Kaeo for lunch and then headed to inner Northland for a quick visit with Aunty Florie and Uncle Stuart in Okaihau. Pics below are from Opononi – check out the huge sand dunes in the distance;

This is one of my most favourite pics ever!

The giant kauri forest was amazing, it was so worth the stop. The size of these trees just blows your mind, you try and spot them before you get to them but the forest is so dense they just appear right in front of you.

Insects are GO at the moment!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:45:00 +0000

It is a rare day indeed when Ethan stops what he is doing at Kindy and takes some time to paint. That’s why each of these little masterpieces is so special!

My creative one

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:39:00 +0000

Tug of war – dog style

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:51:00 +0000

Jack Family – VIP’s at the Summer Series

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Thanks to the amazing bFM and my uncanny prize-winning abilities, Dave, Ethan and I were given the deluxe treatment on sunny Sunday at the bFM Vodafone Summer Series. I won 2 Nokia Music Xpress cell phones each with $200 credit plus a VIP picnic spot at the concert, complete with a massive banquet – entrees, lunch, desert and a cooler of wine and cold drinks! It was awesome. Sunday was very hot and sunny, the music was great and we all really enjoyed our afternoon. Dave and I kept looking at each other in disbelief;

Saved the best ‘til last

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:33:00 +0000

Typical, but we discovered the BEST, most deserted beach on our last day. Karikari Beach North is accessed by a dodgy gravel DOC road and I had never even noticed the sign for it before. It was stunning. We had another fantastic day with cold snapper wraps for lunch and a lazy afternoon sunning and playing in the waves.

Camp Life

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:04:00 +0000

The Top Ten Holiday Park and camp ground where we stayed was awesome, so much better than the camp in Paihia. One of the great services they offered was daily recycling. This became one of the best parts of the day for Ethan and our neighbours Bradley and Aaron. The recycling man Tony was quite happy for the little boys to ride along with him in the back of his truck and ‘help’ with the daily rubbish and recycling collection. This is pretty much the most boyish activity I can even imagine. Digging around for others discarded treasures, climbing off and on the truck, getting filthy and hanging out with a guy that seemed to love their company. They would be gone for almost an hour each morning and were paid for their time and assistance with fresh watermelon. Ethan thought he was in heaven!

Rangiputa Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:48:00 +0000

We hit another of our favourite spots during our holiday – beautiful Rangiputa with its amazing white sand and crystal clear water. Tara was stoked on the shell selection, I think she could look at shells for hours – or maybe she just needed that much time away from us!

Hottest day ever, since I have been alive at least

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:25:00 +0000

So I finished summer school today on the hottest day ever, wait for it……34.2 degrees Celsius…….wait for the conversion…..93.56F and 77% humidity. That’s Florida weather! Lucky for me (I guess) my exam room was air conditioned and I wrote up a storm. Four essays in three hours and I went in feeling underprepared but came out thinking I nailed it. This will be my last summer school ever!!! I hope!!!

Anywho, here’s is a nice piece of writing, an email from the lovely Tara detailing what she misses about New Zealand;

Here's a list of the top 10 things that I am missing about NZ:
1) The Jacks (of course!!!!, that was an obvious one)......oh yeah, and that photography paparazzi that comes with the jacks
2) the warm weather- i know it's winter here, but come on.....does it have to rain EVERY day?
3) the beaches- i know i live right by the beach but seriously, nothing compared to NZ beaches
4) Louie- hope that he is over his depression and that his tail is high in the air
5) Mrs Balls sweet chilli sauce.......ahhh how i miss the burn on my lips
6) SNAPPER- what can i say, i love it fried, baked, grilled, taco style
7) the food selection- went grocery shopping last night and even the grocery store is more boring in America......seems like there were so many more yummy choices in NZ. going to trader Joes today in hopes of finding good curry
8) my tan :) good thing that everyone is so pale here (being winter and all) cuz my tan is fading......or in my case flaking off
9) waking up with Ethan staring into my face, waiting patiently for me to wake up so that we can play sharks
10) having the time to read.......last time i read was on the plane ride home :( by they way, kate winslet won an award last night for her leading role in the reader.....now i might have to see it, although nothing will be as good as rush hour 3!!! (private xtreme camping joke).

Isn’t that the coolest list ever, we love you too Tara xxxx

90 Mile Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:27:00 +0000

The one slightly dodgy day on our holiday was the perfect day to head west to The Big Beach. Ethan was all about the tua tua’s and was positive he would love them – he didn’t. Luckily we ‘tagged and released’ most of them and Dave ate the rest for tea. Tara really got amongst the shellfish gathering and perfected her toes in the sand stance rather quickly!

Could there be anything more quintessentially Kiwi? A Hangi….in a pie. Magic.