Saturday
First, a few pics from yesterday:
Ro's class getting ready to plant a garden (Sherry helped supervise)
Checking out the view, ice cream in hand
Ro the sand angel
Buried in the sand at Pilot Bay
View from our balcony at sunset. The ocean is just on the other side of the hillAfter Mark left for work this morning, Sherry and Ro started working on a surprise Father's Day cake; in New Zealand, Father's Day is on the same weekend as Labor Day in the States. During her volunteer shift at the toy library in Papamoa, Sherry found a Winnie the Pooh cake tin and thought it would be an easy design to work with, since she was going to let Ro take the lead on decorating. Ro loves helping Sherry cook anyway, especially when there is baking involved, and is always keen to help clean up by doing a pre-wash (i.e. licking) of the batter bowls. Of course, the most fun part was the decorating, and although Sherry did most of the yellow on Pooh's face, Ro carefully drew the expression by himself.
Ro ready for some hardcore baking
The icing artist at work
After lunch, Sherry and Ro headed to Drury Park to meet up with a newbie to The Anchorage, Barnaby, and his dad Craig. Our apartment manager Lindy always refers the new kids to our apartment, as Ro is the only full-time resident kid. This is how we met Rachel and her kids, who have unfortunately moved back to Oz. At any rate, Barnaby has just turned six years old, and with his blond hair he could pass for Ro's brother. The two boys had a blast playing on the usual attractions at the playground, then headed to the front of Mount Drury to climb the wonderful twisting trees, which Barnaby has never had the pleasure of playing on. The boys quickly ran to the top and had great fun rolling themselves down the back of Drury's grassy slope. The afternoon passed quickly, and the boys bid each other adieu, hoping to catch up at the big "Meet the All Blacks" event in Tauranga tomorrow.
Sherry walked behind Ro at his insistence; he prefers to lead the way on his bike, but Sherry thinks he's just trying to pretend like he's not with her. He's growing up too fast! He had insisted on carrying his backpack with his own snacks and water he'd packed, and with his shades on he looked like a mini teenager...except for the training wheels. He also rings his bell constantly, starting at around 20 feet behind someone, to make sure they know he is coming. He received more than one muffled giggle from passersby exclaiming to the effect of, "How cute! A hot rod on trainers!" Then they shopped at the butcher, where Ro has learned how to smile innocently in front of the sausages and win himself a free "Cheerio" from the butcher, just like any proper Kiwi kid.
After Ro practiced kicking his rugby ball in Coronation Park, it was time to relax at home; while Sherry did the weekly cleaning, Ro entertained himself out on the deck with the water table Sherry rented from the toy library. It was a perfectly warm and sunny day, the kind that lets you know Spring has sprung.
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