Ciao Georgia and Joe,

I just listened to your concert Joe - it made me cry because it was so nice to see and hear you,(but I loved the singing :-) I feel a very long way away from you in Venice. I MISS YOU both XXXXXX Sandra

PS please give Mummy and Daddy a big hug from me

We are crap at updating photos, but here's another vid.....

Catch up!

OK, we missed a few months - maybe we need to go right back to February 08 to start updating...here's a few moments from then:

Uncle Jarrod and Katie!! Remember this large tiled dragon bench, well they all look the same after a while.




Tiger Joe pounces!!

Narrowneck beach is home to a bizarre cult, at least until bathtime...

The video that was a year in the making....

suddenly winter

Georgia's fourth birthday is almost upon us - during the dark days of winter she has been working on her graphic art skills..

No, this wasn't lifted from the Tate Gallery Catalogue - although critics have praised its 'bold, uncompromising attention to primitivist principles....pure, defiant, revelatory..." Others dismiss it as being "little more than the work of a 3 year old." Actually, it's daddy holding a rake.















Meanwhile, Joe has spent the winter relaxing....
















....and examining family resemblances.








Georgia has been seen at all the best parties. (The ones with cake.)

While Joe has been comtemplating a future career which might boost his status with the ladies...

Georgia's reading and writing skills are coming along fine...

...while Joe works on the skill of hiding inside boxes.

Three weeks ago we heard of a massive snowfall around the mountains near Taupo, so off we went to fulfill Georgia's dream of 'throwing a really big snowball at daddy's head.'

And there it was, the golf course next to the chateau covered in wintry whiteness.

Georgia was well pleased by it all.











Joe less so, having been woken and dragged from his warm car seat.











"Seriously, this finger feels frostbitten."












"Hey, why don't we photoshop our way up that mountain?"

And so we did





"Not sure you've got the proportions right," Joe commented.

"Oh come on, do you really think this is going to fool anyone??"

"Oh, hey - I can see Mum's hat from here!"









Guided by the red woolly headgear,we returned safely to find Mum and Georgia putting the finishing touches to a snowman.

Joe and Georgia started to look forward to a nice hot bath back in thermal Taupo.

Goodbye, snow - see you next year.


Hello hot tub!

Surfin' Narrowneck

Mid summer in Devonport and Georgia and Joe love it now the water is warm...

Georgia frolics with Alex....

But Joe has waves to surf.

Sometimes its just you and the waves, other times your dad sort of ruins your vibe.

"Get lost, dad, there's some surf chicks checking my action"

Wooo Hoooo!!!!

Joe rides a monster of a wave with ease

Georgia's turn!

Eat my foam, squids!

All going very well..

Till Joe tries to intervene..
Wipeout!!

Heh, heh!

Waiheke to Devonport in style

A while age we all ferried to Waiheke on a sunny Saturday - after the beach and a bit of lunch we were very generously offered a ride back to Devonport on a beautiful yacht. Ian, Angus' cousin-in-law took several passengers - his son David, Liz, Angus, Jack, John and Donald Robson, their Mum Rachel and ourselves. This was not without risk - would Georgia and Joe mutiny? Would there be seasickness? Sharks? Mountainous seas? Messed up hair?

Waiheke in the background as Joe starts to get restless...

This, we were assured, was the rope that made the boat go. Just as well John knew how to hold it.

Meanwhile Jack was in charge of the back....aft...stern..rear area. Anyway, all secure here and that's the way it stayed.

Angus at the helm for a tricky overtaking manouevre.That's the other ship's wheel on the left, that one steers the..left side of the boat.

When the complexities of seamanship became overwhelming, challenging other boats to races was a great diversion. We easily outran this F class 22 foot rudder-steered sloop.

Jack was in charge of ship's biscuits....

..and Joe was in charge of eating them.

And later regaled us all with long passages from his composition "The Rhyme of the Juvenile Mariner"

Suddenly there was a commotion, followed by two seagulls and a spotted dottrel. We checked the instruments...

One glance told us all we needed to know - either we were entering a shoal of small red crosses or home was near.

Just as it was forJames Cook, finding landfall proved tricky - Angus rowed the boat ashore, Halleluia. Then he came back, picked us up and took us to Devonport Beach. That's our trusty vessel out at sea, squint and you might make out Angus in his dinghy.

Can't see him? Here he is from the boat. OK, he had an outboard motor. Somewhere on the beach is the family, all collectively thinking the same thing

What a day!

In the days following, Joe and Georgia tried to relive the excitement of travel, but a tricycle is a bit of a comedown.