this moment

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Thanks SouleMama for the inspiration.

the robot

Here he/she is.  Only one piece of tape used (for the eye patch), all the rest is done with makedo.  So cool because you can use all the bits again and make something else.  The head swivels and the arm moves about with a hinge.

makedo

A wee blog post from our 7yr old about our robot making at the weekend.  We have a new set of makedo, a totally great toy and one I'll be recommending to everyone!  It's basically a set of plastic clips, hinges and a saw, that you can use to creatively build anything you like.  Sorry that there's no photo of the finished product, it's still on the camera.

 It was fun making the robot robot robot!...?

It was very very tricky!

 We had to rip some bits and use the saw.

We poked holes with the end of the saw and  joined bits of box to our robot.

We used hinges for the robot arms.

holiday visitors

Working together on a welcome sign for their Aunty and Uncle, visiting from Christchurch.

Then waiting ...

and waiting.

When they finally arrived they were led on a treasure hunt all over the house (including into the fridge).

Their mission, to find the letters of Uncle Wayne's name and then follow them to their bedroom.

The boys were extra excited that the iTouch had come for the visit too (Angry Birds anyone?).

wordless sunday - liquid

this moment

{this moment} -  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Thanks SouleMama for the inspiration.

I've been reading some photo blogs recently which are mostly photos with a caption here and there... perhaps it's the way of the future?  I like it a lot.  http://lilawashere.com/ is particularly divine and I've totally copied by using dates and times on my pictures today.  I'm thinking of maybe getting all my (years of)  blogging printed into some books and then taking down the old posts.  It seems a bit weird leaving thousands of photos online and stories about my boys lives for anyone and everyone to see... what do you think?

wordless sunday - motion

So I totally cheated and posted old pictures today sorry.  I didn't realise about the "theme" for Wordless Sunday until it was already dark out.  So here are two old photos.  One from years back (taken with the awesome photographer Lisa) which I still love.  And a recent one from the bike park.  We're all over our cold/flus thank goodness and managed to avoid the tummy bug that seems to be doing the rounds.  I'm pretty glad that the school holidays are finally here.  I won't promise anything but I'm thinking a bit more photography and blogging may be in order.  We have a few plans for outings and the boys want to do some stuff with their new stash of stationery from Smiggle.  

Oh and tips for getting the motion blur shots like these, one's with a relatively sharp subject and a blurred moving background....  read this, they explain it really well.

Haha I just realised this is not at all wordless.  Oops!  Maybe next time.

party party party

I know I promised the party photos earlier this week and I've been completely lacking in desire to blog. 

So here they are finally.  There are a lot of photos!

In out family we all love Super Mario (Nintendo game character).  If you don't know Mario and haven't played his games much of our party fun will be lost on you.  All you really need know is that he's a plumber with a big moustache and a red cap.  He runs about smashing open boxes with his head and collecting stars, coins and super power up mushrooms.

First up we had a treasure hunt.  The clues were on stars and each kid had to find the token with their initial on them.  Once they found it they could cash it in for their prize... a hat and felt moustache (free hat pattern here).  Amazingly all of the boys wore their hats for the entire party and some turned up at school with them on during the week too. Win!

We had a bit of actual video game time (which I didn't photograph as I was setting up food) in between our home made party games.  The best game had to be the box smash game (devised by DaddyB).  I'll explain how it works... it's a little like a pinata (but way crazier).

He painted three boxes to look like they do in a Super Mario game, and hung them in the hall with the bottom of each box open.  Into each box B put a balloon full of confetti, stars and rice.  Rather than have the kids whack them with a stick (like a pinata) they had to use their heads!  Just like the video game you don't know what you're going to get when you break them open.  I also wanted to point out the Boo balloon in this photo.  We had heaps of them all over the house but I managed to forget to photograph them.  Boo is one of Mario's enemies.

Wearing a special devised headband of pins... 

 One at a time, they chose a box and jumped and jumped until they popped the balloon, showering themselves in confetti and gold chocolate coins.

 I thought it might freak some of the kids out a little but they all loved it.  Each boy got to have a go at all three boxes and then B set up again for the next one.  We put different sweets in for our youngest as he couldn't have the chocolate (dairy) coins.  Usually I'd just skip the chocolate but Mario always collects coins so we had to have coins.

 

 There was a fair bit of mess to sweep up (thanks NanaRobyn!).

For food we had mini sausage rolls, star biscuits, pretzels, chips, grapes, Mario gummy lollies, toadstools and popcorn.  We used Simone's great idea and turned lemonade into "Mario Boost Juice" which they all thought was pretty cool.

The toadstool cake was made in a bowl and sat on top of a big ramekin 

We gave the kids cake to take home and little Mario racing cart toys.  There were games of Simon Says and "pin the moustache on Mario" too.  The boys all had a great time and the rest of us loved the peace and quiet that followed the party.  Maybe next time we'll do the sensible thing and celebrate away from home.

Just for fun B took a video of the trial...

So the bugs have been laying us all low lately.  Our poor 7year old (seven already!!) had six days off school sick, which must be the most days he's ever been away.  Luckily the antibiotics kicked in and we got him better in time for his party on the weekend.

Although he was sick he still had a great birthday.  Pressies arrived from rellies all over the place.  Thanks Dianne and Colin for the cool Battleship game.  He got a kite, various books, the Mario cushions, an awesome Tag interactive world map (had to buy that online) and fun stationery from Smiggle.

I was pleased that he loved the cushions as it took ages to sew the felt shapes on to the covers!  It was a fun project though and I think even more enjoyable because it was secret.

party prep

Somewhere amongst the flu, ear infections and head colds of the past fortnight we managed to get ready for our lovely big boy's birthday party. 

We baked star biscuits, and decorated them. 

The Mario hats got finished (a team effort). 

 And the house got well and truly decorated with Mario stars and Boo balloons.  

Check back later in the week for the party pix.