Saturday
Ro's class is now bursting at the seams with 11 new kids this term. His class has "news" every day, basically like show-and-tell. To keep it short on Monday, Ms. Carr told the kids to only tell their ONE favorite thing about their holiday. Ro got up in front of everybody and said that the favorite part of his holiday was, "going to Fiji. And we also went to a smaller island that was also Fiji, and a big wave was coming, but instead it hit Vanuatu. And that made me sad because MJ's dad lives there. And, well, MJ...I think your dad is dead." This elicited saucer-plate eyes from MJ while Sherry was emphatically saying, "No! No!" from the side of the classroom. Meanwhile, Kathryn (Mat's mom) was cracking up. Ms. Carr settled the crisis by saying that MJ had called his dad and he was fine.
Mark worked all this week - a rough transition from kickin' it by the pool in Fiji. Sherry was left to keep Ro entertained after school, so on Thursday he went for a playdate at Jack's house. This was their second playdate with Jack's Nan (his Mum works until after 5 p.m.), and his Nana Jean thought she would treat Sherry to a traditional New Zealand treat called pikelets. They are essentially little pancakes, but don't tell that to a Kiwi. The difference is in the presentation, as they are served with a dollop of preserves and fresh whipped cream, which Sherry found to be a refreshing alternative to syrup. When you add that to a fresh home-brewed espresso, you get two thumbs up from Sherry!
Jean had invited her good friend Philippa over, and with Jean's husband home from work, Sherry received an interesting perspective from the sixty-somethings on "how things used to be" in New Zealand. Jean and her husband, as well as Philippa, had emigrated from England when they were young. They talked of how "high tea" used to be a really formal ritual, as opposed to today's homemade pikelets and espresso (are you noticing how there is no actual TEA being served?). Sherry told them of how she and Mark were so surprised to learn that having "tea" simply meant having a snack, and that the drinking of tea was not necessarily involved. They laughed and laughed when she told them we had shown up at the meet-and-greet at Ro's primary school that had advised parents to "bring tea," and so we arrived armed with Ro's lunchbox full of snacks for him and a little Ziploc baggie with tea bags for Mark and Sherry. Especially funny was the fact that Sherry had stressed over whether or not the school would provide hot water for the tea bags. That was one of the early steps on our Kiwi learning curve; tea meant food and maybe tea, or maybe not, but ALWAYS food!
Mark woke up this morning after working late last night to find Sherry in the kitchen frying bacon to go with her first attempt at making pikelets. Ro initially didn't think they tasted as good as the ones by "Jack's Nan," then Sherry realised she had forgotten to put sugar in the whipped cream. She fixed it, but Ro had already been put off them. Sherry took a little solace in the fact that Jean was a traditional New Zealand farm wife who raised four kids and has been making pikelets since before Sherry was born. Ro did, however, eat nearly a half-pound of bacon while Sherry had gone to the store and Mark was in the shower. In thirty years, will that be considered child abuse?
Ro was restless all day today (and last night for that matter), because he was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mates for a little pool party Sherry had thrown together. We always said we would have one once he learned to swim, so now we had to make good on it. The weather looked beautiful all morning, but as the party neared around 3pm, the storm clouds rolled in, much to Sherry's dismay, "Every time I try to have a barbecue, it rains!" Carla showed up first, with MJ and Tori and plenty of food. MJ and Ro were running wild in the apartment, so we shuffled them down to the pool as quickly as possible. Mark stayed upstairs to keep an eye out for the other guests who arrived in short order. Next to arrive was Michael (with his mom Julia), who knew Ro from kindy, and had just been moved up to primary school in Ms. Dohnt's class (Ro's old teacher). Mat arrived soon after with his parents Kathryn and Bill.
Kathryn, Sherry, Julia, and Carla chillin' by the pool
Tori steered clear of the splash contest
The adults sat around a picnic table (with the food and wine) which was covered by an umbrella so we could stay dry. Fortunately, the rain let up and Mark and Bill were able to sit poolside to watch the kids, drinking beers and talking sports while the four ladies gabbed about whatever it is that women talk about. Ro's new inflatable ride-on crocodile was a big hit, although blowing it up was an exercise in frustration. The valves leaked with such regularity that Sherry finally gave up and used her trusty hot glue gun to seal them shut permanently. After plenty of snacking, drinking, and playing in the pool, it started raining again. Mat's family called it a day, but the other ladies adjourned upstairs to our apartment to start dinner while Mark watched the kids in the pool. Tori and Ro could swim, but Michael and MJ couldn't, so Mark tried to teach them with limited success. Teaching them to play Marco Polo proved a lot more fun for everyone involved.
Sherry with Mauao in the background
Mat, Ro, Michael, MJ, & Tori
Goofing around at dinner
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