grey day, lazy day

yesterday was a drizzly day and I spent it with Sarah and Ethan, in the house and going for walks while Harland and Jenny sorted out their things in storage and getting Jenny ready to move house. It's nice to have one of those days every now and then.temperatures have now dropped to 23 degrees... buurrrr....Summer isn't over yet though so I'm hoping for a scorcher next week when we go to the holiday home on the beach :)

there was only one thing for it, after dinner ice cream in Paihia, in the rain

90 mile beach

was woken up in the morning by Ethan playing on his drum with a big, loving smile on his face (of course Harland put him up to it...) and we set off North looking for surf. Got to Tauranga bay,where Harland was sure there would be nice sized waves but she was a pancake... Nevermind, we drove on, it turned in to a bit of a surf safari...minus the surf, even shipwreck bay was calm and flat.

In the end we drove as far as 90 mile beach, where we'd previously been on a tourbus, a well known beach where it is common to drive on to the beach and along it. So we did just that and in the end we managed to find a few little waves and squeeze out some board action.

and today we were working on sprint technique and fast feet, good fun! it's quite handy having a personal trainer boyfriend :)

work it out

So... I'm back in to training again, well, never really got out of it but as the rugby season is getting closer I'm conditioning my bod for it. Base fitness is feeling good as that's been the main focus for the last few months, resting heart rate is 55 BPM which I'm v pleased with. Next step is getting in to the speed work, strength and power. The plan is to be mega fit hen I arrive in g-borg and join my new team. I'm also doing a few yoga stretches for injury prevention. My body is all mended now, no knee pain, no back pain, no hamstring problems (hardly) and I intend to keep it that way!

countdown

so, with 40 days to go before we leave "God's Own" it does feel like the countdown has started... Although we're looking forward to going to Sweden to start our new life it is still a slightly depressing thought. I know they say time flies when you're having fun but I really don't know what's happened to time. Having said that we have done so much and we do have over a month left and we definitely intend to make the most of it!
We're still in Cambridge at the moment and having a wee bbq tonight for some of Harland's friends and tomorrow we're heading north. First stop will be Auckland where we're popping in to the consulate so Harland can have his passport stamped with the all important residence permit for Sweden and catching up with family and friends there. Next stop is Paihia to spend a couple of weeks with Harland's mum, Jenny, and other relatives, hopefully soak up the sun and get some surfing done... We've been offered a bach in Wollys bay which is a surf beach so we're hoping to spend some time there doing... guess what... that's right, surfing. After that stint we'll be back in the Waikato again, I'm hoping for another trip to Raglan but we'll see what happens :)

Water skiing lake Karapiro

Since yesterday, we're house sitting a beautiful house in Cambridge for Harlands sisters friends. How lucky are we? Lucky also to be invited to go water skiing after a first birthday party this morning.

if you think I'm looking nervous, there;s a reason for thatthis happened only twice, not bad for a first timer. They boys were all impressed how quickly I got up. It's not that hard really...

beautiful lake Karapiro. and some lunatic.

SURF'S UP

we've been out on the west coast for a few days, getting back in to surfing. Four days of riding waves and it's been so much fun! I just love surfing and sometimes get a buzz of happiness when I'm out there. On the first and second day conditions were quite rough, as they can be on the infamous west coast but it settled at the end of the third day.

Yesterday, our last day, I even dared to venture out the back to catch the proper waves, as opposed to secondary ones and white water I had been catching when I was still learning to stand up, and stay up.
So there I was out the back,with the big boys and girls - I call them the sharks- sitting on my board like a pro, gazing out to sea. It it surprisingly quiet out there considering how many people there are, maybe 10-15 surfers that look like they know what they're doing, it is almost as if there is an unwritten rule not to talk. They just sit there, looking out to sea, and at each other, waiting for the perfect wave. I almost got the feeling that I didn't belong there, in my cheap wetsuit and my board of an obscure brand nobody's ever heard of, KONZO. And being new to this lark I probably just got in the way.But at least I gave it a go! In the end me and KONZO moved on, closer to the swimming part of the beach where the waves were sort of second best but not so busy. I could have stayed with the sharks and jostled for waves but after all, that's not what were about, me and KONZO, we don't want to sit out the back for ages waiting for the perfect wave, we just want to catch anything, get up and ride it in to the beach and have fun!The funniest thing happened yesterday when Harly and I caught the same wave, riding close together and shaking hands, that made me laugh!
riding the white water to the end on my second day of surfing

cousin colin's b-day, Tirau

it was Colly Wolly's 27th yesterday so we buzzed over to Tirau to celebrate in style. We were welcomed with Chrystal's home made won tons, delish, and then we walked down to the waihou river, an incredibly beautiful, clear spring. (It soon climbed to the top of my favorite places list) Oh and cold. The water was cold. Yes we went swimming, with our goggles on to be able to take in the incredible plant and fish life under the surface, before warming up in the sun again. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner with six dishes including a Thai green curry, sweet sour pork, wild venison and various other scrumptious things. Lots of laughs and lots of fun, it was like a comedy show completed by the greyhound Mo and his squeaky toy! if we look a bit tense, it's because of the brain freeze