Day 17  |  The last day of 2017!  I hope you are enjoying your summer holidays and relaxing lots! 

Today was a cooler day.  It was a walk this morning, and then we went for a drive up to the lookout over the lake.  I took some photos of the boys while we were up there.  Couldn't decide on one to share, so a couple for you today : )

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Day 16  |  Another perfect weather day today.  A great morning for walking Alfie, and then a great afternoon for a swim at the lake!  Although admittedly, it was only Hayden and Alfie who actually went 'swimming'!

Day 15  |  A bit of an unimpressive background, but today was our first trip to the swimming pool for the holidays.  It is a hot day so was time to cool off with a refreshing swim!

Day 14  |  The weather continues to warm up, and it was a day pretty much the same as yesterday, mostly just hanging out at home after starting the day with a big walk and then bike ride.  Then this afternoon the boys got their new sprinkler from Christmas out and the water guns and had fun playing out in the back yard.

I couldn't decide on just one photo today, so there's one of Hayden after our bike ride this morning, and then one of Austin drying off in the sun this afternoon : )

Day 13  |  Time to work off some "Christmas" today!  A walk, some crazy catch, a bike ride, and of course, back yard cricket.  And that was just before lunch time!

Here's Austin trying out his new cricket bat : )  Definitely feeling a lot more like summer holidays now!

Day 12  |  Today was a pretty quiet day, relaxing and enjoying Christmas presents.  It was a cooler day, so a bit of a Playstation day for the boys!  This was the view for a lot of the day!

Day 11  |  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The boys were up at a reasonable 6am this morning, with a very excited wee voice shouting "Santa's been!"  And there were two very excited boys when they opened this present!  Austin has had a "video game controller" on this list this year, and Hayden has been asking for a Playstation for every birthday and Christmas for the past 3 or 4 years!  We've managed to put him off until he was 10 ;)  He was very surprised this morningand said he never thought it would happen!

We've had a great day with Mum and Dad, with a yummy Christmas lunch, and working out way through playing with all the new toys - playstation included!

Day 10  |  Happy Christmas Eve!  Today we made the drive down to Central.  We were a little later than usual leaving, and then had to stop for an accident, but we finally made it here late afternoon after a long day in the car. 

Today's photo is from a lunch stop in Tekapo, where we sat outside in gorgeous weather enjoying this amazing view.

Day 9  |  It's starting to feel like Christmas has really begun now!  Austin was so, so excited to find Christmas presents under the tree the other morning, and has been constantly asking if we can open them 'now'.  (We haven't had any presents under the tree for a couple of years now in fear of Alfie eating them, lol, so it was a real novelty for him!)

So today the boys got to open their presents from the Douglass side of the family since we won't be with them on Christmas Day.  It was great that the boys really had time to appreciate these presents and we had lego, games and books on the go throughout the day! It kept them busy while we got everything sorted and packed ready to drive down South tomorrow!  The countdown is on!!

Here are the boys getting all the presents together ready to open!

Day 8  |  Action shot today!  This is a very common scene in our house, in fact, I can't even guarantee it will be the only 'light saber' photo you'll see this summer!  The boys love battling it out - usually until Austin gets hurt and then it's all over ;)

Day 7  |  It was a pretty big day today.  After 14 weeks in cast (over a 17-week period), Hayden got his cast off!  So it was most of the morning in hospital for us, then we headed into town to cross the Santa photo off the list!  While we were there, we headed out to look at the Ballantynes window display, grabbing this photo at the same time!

Day 6  |  This afternoon we picked up Hayden from the airport, so he's home again!  This evening I had to sweet-talk the boys to get a Christmas photo of them both!!  It's a bit of a tradition to get a Christmas Hat photo and a Christmas Tree photo.  We're running a bit behind this year, so have combined the two, lol!  Neither were keen, but we got there in the end!  Merry Christmas!

Day 5  |  Austin absolutely loves the "Busy Bumbles" School Holiday Programme, so he couldn't wait to head out the door this morning!  With Hayden in Auckland, Austin felt he was missing out a little, so this is a real treat for him today.  And the best part is that they are off to the movies!  The funny thing is when I go to pick him up this afternoon, he will not want to leave! 

Day 3  |  Austin has renamed the "Fort" the "Cubbyhouse", and has had lots of fun playing the past couple of days while Mum and Dad have been busy doing lots of jobs around home before we head away for Christmas.  He is really good at making up games and then playing them for ages!  Lots of imagination!

Day 2  |  Gardening day today!!  Austin was keen to come and help tidy up in the garden.  The first to fill their bucket with weeds was the winner apparently!  (His bucket was a LOT smaller than mine, lol!)  He didn't last a long time, but he did fill a good half a bucket and declared himself the winner.  I couldn't really blame him though as it was a super hot day out there, and I could have quite easily joined him in the cool inside!

This photo was the spot he declared his starting point (as we weren't allowed to start in the same place.)  It was a great place to grab a photo too ;)

Day 1 |  And the official last day of school has arrived!  I'm sure it feels like it should only be the end of Term 3 though! 

Hayden left this morning for Auckland to spend a few days with family before Christmas.  The boys' cousins live in Dubai, so it's not very often he gets to see them, but they also arrive in Auckland this weekend.  He's staying up there until the middle of next week, so I'm sure he will have an amazing time!

So it was just Austin to pick up today at lunchtime today.  Austin and I took a photo today that was a copy of one I did with Hayden at the end of his first year at school.   That photo was my first post and photo on this blog way back on Friday 14 December 2012!

Here's Austin!

Day 0 |  I know it's a little strange to start with Day "zero", but there is a reason!  If you've been following for a while now, you may remember that my "Photo a Day" always starts with the boys on the last day of school when they finish their year at lunchtime.  Well this year, it's a little different, as Hayden won't actually be at school on that last day.  And I couldn't break a tradition! 

So here is Hayden's last day of school for 2017!  Then end of Year 5!  Not quite sure how that happened!!  Austin will finish Year 1, his first full year at school, tomorrow!

And speaking of "Photo A Day", yes it looks like I'm back for another year!  A couple of people have said to me that they can't wait to see what we'll be up to this year!  Neither of the boys are keen at all on having their photos taken, so this may well be the last year (so make the most of it!), and yes, there may be a few bribes to get us through these holidays, lol!

The boys, end of school, 2017 - a hot and windy start to summer!