A mid-winter getaway

It's been my husband's tradition for longer than I've known him to go on a winter overseas holiday to escape the dreary, wet Taranaki, to take advantage of the lighter workload on the farm, and to chase some sunshine in some other part of the world. Last winter, we dragged our 16 month old toddler and a 7-week old newborn to Fiji to attend a wedding. It was HARD, HARD, HARD. Even though we had hired a nanny, Wyatt got some tummy bug and wouldn't go with her and instead vomited and shat everywhere.

I swore this winter, we wouldn't go away anywhere.  Due with our third baby on June 19th, I refused to try and obtain a passport for a newborn on such a short time frame. Trying to photograph a newborn with no shadows, eyes open, full head exposed is IMPOSSIBLE! I refused to fly anywhere with three buckaroos. We got enough scathing looks when we flew to California in December with the two kiddos. And even though they behaved alright, it was a humbly educating experience that sometimes its just too much to take on.

Poor hubby is suffering this winter. He needs his holiday! So a compromise was struck and we agreed to drive to the East Coast to visit his sister and have some time out at Porangahau Beach for a longish weekend.

 

And yes, Quaid was here with us, in the pram, but I failed to take a photo! The bach we stayed in was well stocked and we got try out the Mocha Wagon, which I had wanted to buy at Christmas, but we decided a digger would be better this year. The wagon is cool, the sides lift off as one piece and then you get a trolley.  W and A rode down to the beach in it. 

No sooner was A unloaded, that she made a direct line, mind you, a very looong direct line for the surf. She kept looking out towards it and moving those hands and knees as quick as her little torso would let her...she made a quick couple of stops to taste the sand and play with some seaweed Alister threw them. She wasn't happy until we were so close to the water that the next big surge came all around us and I had to grab W and A in my arms, find a place to relocate the camera, and run back to the sand. Meanwhile the water came up to us, soaking my feet, the tennis shoes and socks. W got pretty wet up to his waist too.  A few sandcastles later and we were ready to head back to the bach.

Porangahau Paradise, they call it and it certainly made the stay comfortable. Lots of room to separate the kids and is close to the beach. It's never really a break when you take young children, but it was a change of scene and a bit of a slower pace.  The kids enjoyed playing with different toys, sleeping in new rooms, and discovering a new space. Not sure that we'll squeeze any more trips in before Spring but at least hubby got to go somewhere this winter!