Christmas In July...In December

Sunday

Even though it wasn't what we typically think of as Christmas weather, this morning was the Mt Maunganui Christmas Parade. Shorts and jandals were the uniform of the day. Yes, everything here is "Christmas," even the school play. No politically correct "holiday pageant" for the Kiwis. Ro slept pretty well last night, so we were hoping he might just have had a 24-hour bug. No such luck. As we watched the parade along Maunganui Road with Craig, Paulette, Barnaby, and hundreds of holiday-makers, Ro spiked a fever and the whining began in earnest. First he wanted to stand in the front so he could see, then he wanted to ride on Mark's shoulders so he could see, but that was too scary (since when?!?), then he wanted Barnaby to get off Craig's shoulders and stand in the front with him again (of course Barnaby didn't want to). Nothing was right. Bystanders were positively perplexed, futilely offering him apples and lollies to abate his crying.

Just a taste of the summer crowds to come

Ro felt good for all of about 10 minutes

Fortunately, the parade made more than one pass around The Mount, and we retreated to the front of The Anchorage to watch the second lap. The third (and last) lap we watched from our balcony, which is probably where we should have watched all of them, as it had the best view. Sherry elected not to send Ro to school today to board his class float, fearing he would have been one of the kids forced to walk alongside it if there wasn't enough room. His reindeer-garbed class waved to him as they passed each time, including Janyia, one of the two girls Sherry suspects has a crush on him (Bella is the other).

"Heyyy, Ronaaan!"

Santa making an early visit to The Anchorage

Our balcony doubles as box seats for certain events

We spent the first part of the afternoon just vegetating at home, letting Ro rest and giving the Panadol (i.e. Tylenol) a chance to bring his fever down. All the while, we suffered through Disney Channel programming that he elected to watch (e.g. Wizards of Waverly Place, Zack and Cody). Mark finally couldn't take it any more and insisted Ro accompany him to the pool, fever or not. All of a sudden, he was a new kid, splashing around to his heart's content. Sherry came down after a while, seizing the opportunity to relax in the warm sun on a chaise lounge despite Ro's pleas to get in the pool. She was let off the hook by the appearance of Barnaby a short time later (along with Craig and Paulette). We chilled in the spa tub, drinking wine and munching hors d'oeuvres that Craig had kindly brought down, while we watched the boys play in the pool. It is hard for us to believe that Christmas is just around the corner, while we frolic in the sun!