More random party pics

WARNING : LOTS OF PHOTOS AHEAD! Scroll down to the post called "It's been a while..." and work your way back up!

Sarah's cousin Chloe and her boyfriend, Flynn.

Kate and Louise take centre stage while Steve checks out the cameraman.

Caitlin tucks into a hearty Adam's Ale and cracker.

It wasn't exactly warm so bobbly hats (Crystal) and jackets were in order. Sadly, Olivia's cute denim jacket covered up her wings!

On into the evening...

This picture made me think of "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" - Rohan was running a marathon the day after the party so was a little nervous! We appreciated the effort he made to be there - he'd moved in to a new flat that afternoon and still made it out with a lovely children's story about Salvador Dali for Iris (fantastic book for anyone interested in art, goes nicley with the book on Monet that Jessica gave to Phoebe. With any luck, our children will be kulcha'ed!)

Feeding time at the zoo.

This is what the "big" cousins (i.e. the over 18 year olds!) get up to with Play-Doh when the littlies have gone to bed. Josh has submitted a picture to http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ and is hoping to be published!

Flashback to the seventies, except Brad, the fondue master in the blue shirt, wasn't even born till the next decade.

Party on and on...

The younger guests took advantage of the winter sun and tried out Iris and Phoebe's new swing set (very kindly given to us by their cousins Madison, Delaney and Brandon, and driven down from Taupo by Stuart and Delaney the day before).

Three of Granmarg's very good friends, Leone, Jessica and Marg L. joined in the festivities. Bubbles and balloons are a good mix.

Still a full house - Sue ( in the pink shirt) and, in the Play-Doh corner Ashleigh, Olivia, Brianna, Hayley and Crystal.


Aaron and Paula (Ashleigh and Olivia's mum and dad) were a great hit with Phoebe.

Party girl

We were lucky to have a gorgeous, if a bit chilly, day for Iris' birthday party and had a HUGE turnout. As far as we could tell, every enjoyed themselves and no-one weny away hungry after the fondue!

Granmarg and her good friend, Leone (who came all the way from Auckland) helped Iris with the business of opening and cataloguing the lovely gifts she received.

Alex digs into the fairy bread while Trevor and Adrian explain the laws of physics to Joah, who really just wants to play with the balloon.
Our living room was full to bursting point...


Amanda excelled herself with this year's cake. Maisy is Iris' favourite book character and Amanda's amazing effort was created while carrying a four week old baby in one arm!

In case you hadn't guessed...

...we got her a bike, complete with Bob the Builder bell.

Happy birthday Iris!

Iris turned two on the 20th of June. A big thank you to all those who sent cards, gifts, email and text messages - all very much appreciated.

Any guesses on what Iris got from her parents?

We headed off to playgroup where our big two year old read books to Mum.
Phoebe had a fantastic time bouncing in this contraption, hence the blurry action shot.

Granmarg and Grandad visited with gifts later in the day.

Mayhem...

Iris is very serious about her Play-Doh now that she's stopped trying to eat it...

Iris and Frank rush to put out a raging fire.

Granny Ro covered in kids.

Not sure what was so fascinating out of shot but Iris and Phoebe had a lovely time with Rosaleen, Libby and Frank a few weeks ago.

Welcome Devon

A big congratulations to Amanda and Paul on the birth of their son, Devon Samuel, in late May. He's a lovely little guy and will hopefully let Amanda get some sleep soon!

It's been a while...

Back by popular demand!

There are several posts here with photos going back to May. (UPDATE: Have had a few issues with Blogger - other posts will be redone tonight, 2/7). It's been a busy few months for various reasons and blogging has had to take a back seat. Now that we've played catch up, look out for photos of our upcoming holiday with Margaret and Alastair in Cairns.

Alastair has donated his groovy bathcouch for our backyard. We're looking forward to summer so we can pull out the specially-made cushions and enjoy lounging in this sunny spot.

We had a visit from Nicola and gorgeous wee Rose, on a flying visit from London for Nicola's brother's wedding. We're looking forward to spending time with the whole family (Giles, Jamie and Finn stayed in London this time) when they move back to NZ later in the year.

Three dodgy geezers - Josh caught up with his cousins James (left) and Hamish (centre) on a chainsaw extravaganza - the firewood they chopped is burning nicely and the Campbell boys had fun playing good keen men.