Things I'm Loving

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.

I am Loving .......

This crazy girl and her crazy outfits, which mostly tend to be her dolls clothes!!!

My beautiful Phoebe. Phoebe is my baby I had before I had babies. She is 12years old and I was a little concerned about her health so took her to the vet. Turns out she is in perfect health but may be going a little senile. The vet called her a dottery old lady!! She is my snuggle bum.

Getting new clothes from amazing local artists!! If you haven't already go check out Jessie Rose who has recently opened a store in Kamo. She is an AMAZING artist and I absolutely love her Rose Red and Boy Black ranges. Riley is modeling a Boy Black T-shirt.

My neighbour, who recently moved out, gave me a heap of wood that was on her property.  We borrowed my uncles chainsaw and my brother chopped it up. This is only half! I don't think I'll have to buy much, if any firewood this winter! Score!!!

Using the long weekend (Northland Anniversary) to take advantage of exploring my hometown!

Visiting Reotahi Marine Reserve

Visiting the Quarry Gardens

Reading LOTS. I have given myself a goal, over at Goodreads, to read 100 books this year. I have so many books that have been given to me that I want to read. My library is overflowing!! I love it! Reading is good for my soul, I want to feed my soul a lot more this year.

Linking up with Megan

I {Heart} Whangarei

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts. I really want to get back into exploring all the wonderful things in Whangarei and crossing some more things off my Hometown bucket list.
What a better way to motivate me than to start up a weekly Linky!!
I am going to start doing a weekly linky about Loving your Hometown and I challenge you to show me how awesome your hometown is by blogging about the wonderful things you can do there!!

Check out my I {Heart} Whangarei  tab to see previous posts about exploring my hometown.

This week I am starting with

Reotahi Marine Reserve

Both of my children have been on snorkeling trips with school to Reotahi. The EMR (Experiencing Marine Reserves) Team came to school for a few visits before hand and gave the children lessons on how to use the snorkeling gear, which they provided, and taught them all about Marine Reserves and the importance of looking after our ocean life.

I thoroughly enjoyed going on both school trips with my kids and had a blast going snorkeling, something I haven't done in many years.

Riley's Reotahi Trip 2011

Abbey's Reotahi Trip 2013

Last week I noticed a Facebook event for a Snorkeling Day out at Reotahi and of course jumped at the chance to go along with the family.

We got up early and headed out first thing Saturday morning, we must have arrived about 10am.  There weren't many people there and we waited for a few minutes to fill out our registration form and read the safety rules and get assigned our guide for our swim.

ALL the gear was supplied, snorkels and masks, flippers, wetsuit and a boogie board with a photo montage of all the different things we might see while we were snorkeling.

We met with our guide, Anton, and he helped us get our gear, showed us how to use it and went over all the safety rules. He also talked a little bit about Reotahi. It was started by a group of Kamo High School students about 6 years ago! Reotahi is the first marine reserve to be started by students ever! Amazing!!!

Then we got to get in the water. The kids were so excited when we saw fish and seaweed. There was a lot to look at and Anton pointed out quite a few things to us as we swam along. We must have spent about 1/2 hour snorkeling around the rocks and bay.

It was AWESOME and ALL free. I definitely recommend you heading out there if you can the next time they do another Fun Day.

Reotahi Trip 2014

So what have you done in your Hometown lately?

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LINK UP HERE

Lovings

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.

I am loving that my biggest brother is moving back from Australia after being away for 13 years.  These cousins are loving being able to spend heaps of time together, just like cousins should!

I am loving having summer milkshake and ice cream dates with these gorgeous kiddies of mine.
I am loving that here in Whangarei we have some beautiful places to hang out.

It's all about who you know!
I am loving that because I have a friend who just also happens to be the Northland Rugby team mascot that I get great photo opportunities like this one!!

I am loving that after having these orange tiles in a box for sooo long that they are finally on the wall in my new bathroom.

On a small side note I am not loving that the bathroom still isn't finished!

Joining up with Meghan at MNMs

I {Heart} Whangarei

The Whangarei Town Basin has always been a favourite place to go. The playground has got to be one of the best around town. The shops are awesome down there. The cafes and restaurants all really good.

Fairly recently in preparation for the Rugby World Cup the Town Basin became the Hub of Whangarei and got a big makeover. The bus station was moved there, new stores and art galleries were opened.  The old bridge was turned into a Canopy Market. The waterfront walk got new pathways and sculptures and it just looks so amazing.

We have been spending quite a bit of time down there lately. The kids enjoy riding their bikes along the walkways and Holly is allowed down there on her lead. The playground is always a hit with my kids too.

I sure love the Town Basin, and I sure Love my home town Whangarei too!!

So how many new places have you been in your home town lately?!

Fun Spring Day ~ I {Heart} Whangarei

Saturday was such an AMAZINGLY beautiful sunshiny day! We had a busy day planned.

We started out at Kensington Park to watch my 4yr old Nephew, Liam, play Rugby. Watching the little guys play is so fun and darn adorable! They have tags attached to their belts and instead of tackling to get the ball, the kids grab a tag instead. It's fun and fast and Liam LOVES it!!


And what a day to go watch him play because he got Player of the Day!! Whoop Whoop!!


We all went back to my Mums place after Rugby and had lunch then Mum, My kids, my Nephews Luke & Liam and I headed out to the opening of the new Porowini Avenue Road extension. They had the road open for the public to walk along and we thought we would take advantage of the opportunity to walk along the road!


I love how now when they build new roads and bridges etc they try to make them prettier. I really loved the designs along the bridge sides. The kids decided they looked like Doves.
We also had to stop and support Morningside Primary Netball Team by buying some food and drinks at their sausage sizzle! (The fact that my good friend Nadia and her kids were manning the stall had nothing to do with it!!)


After the road walking we headed down to the Town Basin for a good play and wander. The thing I love about the Town Basin is there is SO very much to do! The kids had a blast running around and playing. And Mum and I had a great time too!

The Playground there is one of the best in Whangarei



The sculptures and other features around the place are really amazing. Since they are doing a big revamp there were lots of new things to look at too.



The day was so stunning of course we HAD to have ice cream!!!



What an amazing day! And we were all so very tired both my kids and I slept like logs that night!!

Bring on Summer and lots more days like this one!!!

I {Heart} Whangarei

It's been a while since I did one of these posts! (See HERE and HERE) Winter seems to make me wanna stay inside by the heater!! I wonder why hehehe!! But Spring is just around the corner and the last few days the sun has been shining and totally lifting my spirits!

Yesterday Mum, Dad the Kids and I all drove out to Tutukaka. We went to Pacific Bay which was my 2nd home when I was growing up. This was the bay where we had our boat moored and I learnt to swim in this bay! It's an awesome little swimming beach because the water is lovely and calm. Although the main beach is stony you can walk around the rocks to a little white sandy beach. This beach has so many awesome memories for me and my family! The kids had a real blast running up and down the beach, looking for shells, throwing stones in the water and even going for a little paddle. We even found a HUGE fallen tree to climb on and some swings! It was a really awesome day out and certainly blew away a lot of my cobwebs!



Here is my list of places still to visit ... here's hoping the weather stays as stunning as this and we can cross a few more places off the list soon!

* Mount Parihaka - we have been here a few times but I haven't got many photos, gotta get the photos!!
* Abbey Caves
* Ocean Beach
* Sandy Bay
* Whale Bay
* The Quarry
* Ruakaka Beach
* The Whangarei Falls (with Riley for photos!)
* The Quarry Gardens (same as above!)
* Town Basin (again been but want more photos)
* Heritage Park
* The Observatory
* Hikurangi Lime Rocks
* Ruakaka Refinery Visitors Centre
* Waipu
* Clapham Clocks
* Riverside Reserve
* Laurie Hall Park
* Limestone Island
* Captain Percy River Cruise

How many places have you been in your home town?

I {Heart} Whangarei

Back in THIS post I talked about different cool places to go in Whangarei and started writing a list of all the different places I wanted to visit here. I have since crossed off a couple places as well as added some!! So here is what we've done .....

Reyburn House


Reyburn House is the home of the Northland Society of Arts and its art collection. It is Whangarei's oldest house! It's just beside the playground at the Town Basin and is definitely worth a look. Stunning Art works on display and also many stunning works of art for sale.

Whau Valley Dam


We spent a good hour running around up at the dam. The kids had a blast rolling down the long grass on the side and jumping around in the puddles in the car park. It's really pretty up there. Definitely on our 'to visit again' list.

Mander Park


Mander Park is on the corner of Central Ave and Western Hills Dr. We have been to this park quite a few time and it is NEVER busy. I love that about Mander Park!! It has also been causing a little bit of controversy because there has been talk about removing some of the trees there to widen the road. It would be such a shame if the trees do go because they are one of the things I love about the park the most, there is also huge grassy areas perfect for running and picnics!

Limeburners Creek Wetlands


These Wetlands have been on a Top 12 Wetlands of New Zealand list! We went there today. It is right across the road from the SPCA on Kioreroa Road. It is surprisingly beautiful there. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake and finding Ant Holes. We went the long way back around the Mangrove Boardwalk. It was lovely. We have plans to go back and take a picnic because there is a lovely picnic area with tables and a nice big grass area.

So here is my revised list .....

* Mount Parihaka - we have been here a few times but I haven't got many photos, gotta get the photos!!
* Abbey Caves
* Ocean Beach
* Sandy Bay
* Whale Bay
* The Quarry
* Ruakaka Beach
* The Whangarei Falls (with Riley for photos!)
* The Quarry Gardens (same as above!)
* Town Basin (again been but want more photos)
* Heritage Park
* The Observatory
* Hikurangi Lime Rocks
* Ruakaka Refinery Visitors Centre
* Waipu
* Clapham Clocks
* Riverside Reserve
* Laurie Hall Park
* Limestone Island

Here's to exploring more of my local attractions!!! How many places have you been in your local area?????

P.S. wanna know what bloggers kids get into at a really early age ......


Who knows where that comes from!!!

I {Heart} Whangarei

I grew up here so it's always been special to me in the way it's home. But since I've been back I have been re-discovering some amazing places to visit and take the kids for a great Morning/Day out.
Here are some of the awesome places we have visited ....

Whangarei Falls

This place is gorgeous! You can swim, picnic, walk, play pooh sticks and just admire the amazing waterfall. I can't wait to get the photos from when we released the Birthday Balloons for Jase here. Also need to go again with both kids so I can get some pics of Riley too!!

The Quarry Gardens

Every time I go here something is different! It is beautiful and so many awesome things to see. Definitely going back here and again with Riley so I can get some pics with him too!

Mair Park

Do you know how many bush tracks there are off Mair Park? Not me!!! But I know there are LOADS. Some short, like this one we went on, some long. We are slowly trying to work our way through them a weekend at a time. It's gonna take a fair few weekends before we have explored them all!!

Reed Park

Reed Park is so cool! There is a boardwalk that goes up high in the trees, wish my kids were more co-operative that day so I could have got more photos of the board walk. This track also makes it way back to Mair Park somehow!! I think they all do!

Tutukaka Breakwater

I pretty much grew up at Tutukaka! We had a boat and spent pretty much EVERY weekend out there on the boat which was moored at Tutukaka. Northland has some amazing beaches, we haven't even begun to explore them all!

Serendipity Farm Park

This place is really cool. You buy a bag of food and get to wander around feeding all the Farm Animals. Horses, Sheep, Pigs, Rats, Donkeys, Chickens and even Emus!! The kids thought it was awesome. We will definitely go back there, next time with a picnic lunch!

Rose Gardens ... Fernery ... Cafler Park

This is where we went today. The Rose Gardens have a fantastic wishing well. Cafler Park has some really cool art works around as well as amazing grounds to run and picnic in, plus a major bonus is we found the trees are all pretty climbable! The Fernery/Conservatory is really cool too! The kids really enjoyed themselves, and so did I.

So I have decided I need to explore and show my kids around our Home Town more.I was really inspired by Mandy who is Discovering her home town Wellington, she wrote a home town list. So I am going to Discover my Home Town Whangarei. I am going to start a list of where I want to take the kids and it will be my goal to cross all the things off my list by 2012. So here is the start of my list ... I will definitely add to it as I go along!

* Mount Parihaka - we have been here a few times but I haven't got many photos, gotta get the photos!!
* Abbey Caves
* Ocean Beach
* Sandy Bay
* Whale Bay
* The Quarry
* Ruakaka Beach
* The Whau Valley Damn
* The Whangarei Falls (with Riley for photos!)
* The Quarry Gardens (same as above!)
* Town Basin (again been but want more photos)
* Heritage Park

That is all I can think of off the top of my head, will keep adding and if any of you Whangarei bloggers know of anywhere awesome for me to check out please let me know so I can put it on my list!!

So how many places have you explored in YOUR home town??