Hong Kong DOES have blue sky.......sometimes !

Blue sky and clear days do happen in HK - just not as often as we would like !!

View of Causeway Bay from the back of a tram

Victoria Harbour - view from Shangri-La Hotel

Looking back at Wanchai.  You can see our apartment building on the right in the distance - if you know where to look........!!!!

Mid Autunm Festival (Lantern Festival)

The Mid Autumn Festival is celebrated in Hong Kong on Sept 13th.  It's commonly known as the Lantern Festival as many places are awash with lanterns.  It's a public holiday here on that day and it's normally a day spent with family - eating mooncakes.  We don't eat these mooncakes as to put it simply - they are an acquired taste !!!

To celebrate this year a friend and I decided to take our girls to Repulse Bay for a picnic and some glo stick fun!  It was such a beautiful evening (30 degrees at 5pm) but with the sea breeze made for a lovely time.  The girls went swimming and had such a fun time playing in the water and waited for it to become dark before the glo sticks came out.  Such excitement when they were given the A-ok for them - it wasn't quite dark mind you but when you see others playing with them you of course have to join in !!!!

One of the favourite creations was to make a snake with them and run up and down the beach.  Unfortunately I didn't a photo as you'll see by the ones below they didn't turn out the best but will give you an idea of what they got up to...

Repulse Bay

Girls with the glo sticks - posing and waiting for it to get dark.....

Victoria with her glo sticks.....

Still Victoria..... 

Hannah with her glo stick ball.....

Once Upon a Sketch Sept 1st Challenge

This is my very first every layout I've done for this new sketch site I've discovered - Once upon a sketch.   The first challenge for Sept was to scrap a layout about a memorable year and include the year in the title.  There have been lots of memorable years so it was rather difficult as to what to decided to do.  I've been sorting through all our travel photos that we did while living in London.  The one that really stood out was our trip to Egypt.  It's a country that I've wanted to visit for a LONG time - don't know what it is about that place - the magic, the mystery, the sites, the history.....there is just something.  I used the Studio Calico kit - Buster Brown - which was full of Basic Grey Curio papers and used a portion of one of the papers from Cosmo Cricket Circa range.  The title I used the new Mistables as wanted to bring out the red.

This was a fun sketch to follow and I'm sure it'll be the first of many more to use.  It might just help in getting those travel photos done !!

Let it snow

While we were on our summer vacation in Thailand basking in heat, able to go swimming daily and enjoying care free summer days.....family and friends back in NZ were not so fortunate.  It snowed and boy did it snow !!!!  It snowed in places that doesn't usually receive snow like Wellington and even around Auckland.  It was unbelievable!  We were reading reports and looking at photos and going wow !!!  and thinking how  much fun it would have been to have been there to experience it but how cold it must be !!  I know many friends experience heavy snow on a more regular basis and are like "seriously, you're getting excited over that" but when it snows in a city that doesn't normally get snow it is a novelty ! 

When we were in Wellington we lived close to the sea.  It gets rather windy and with the southerlies (the Antarctic winds) it can be a tad chilly.  Snow falls on the hills around but never to the ground.  A friend of ours took some photos of the backyard of our place and around our street.  She very kindly sent them to us so I've 'borrowed' them to share.

Our street....

The river

Looking at the golf course..... 

The backyard... 



 The beginning of spring (my favourite photo)

Introducing the new Year 2 student....

Today it was Hannah's turn to start school.  She's been itching to get there ever since Victoria started back last week and today was her day.  It was abit of a shock to the system as we had to get up earlier than what we've been doing for the past 2 months but we managed it ! 

I went with Hannah to school and was lucky to go on the school bus with her.  It's so much easier getting to school this way and this morning trafffic was a nightmare !  I'm sure tomorrow won't be nearly as bad!

She had a wonderful time catching up with her friends and giving out invitations to her birthday party (as she turns 6 next week).  Then it was time to line up and head to class.  (We found out when she got back home that her teacher is actually a kiwi but as lived for a while in the UK.  I jokingly said to a friend that her daughter might start talking kiwi!!)  She had a wonderful first day and is looking forward to heading back tomorrow - that has to be a good sign !!!

Lining up and waiting in the playground.  The bell had rung !

And off she goes.....bye mum !

 Passing the time before we had to leave to catch the bus!

Introducing the new Barn Owl......

We got back from our summer vacation Tues night (the 17th) and had to get up early on the 18th to take Victoria to pre-school.  It was her first day back AND she was soooooo excited !  For most of the summer she has been talking about being a Barn Owl - this is the name of the class that she has moved up into.  There are two classes that they have for the children that are going to primary school next year - Barn Owls and Snowy Owls.  They are small classes - 12 children in each class.  The teacher that she has - Miss Gasha - was also Hannah's teacher when she was a Barn Owl.  I wonder if she notices the (many) differences between the two ! 

Also, what we decided to do to help prepare her for primary school was for Victoria to have extended days.  This means that she has lunch and school and doesn't finish until 3.45pm (class begins at 8.45am).  And she loves it !!  She will have extended days on Tues & Thurs - she really is a big girl now !!!

First day as a Barn Owl !

In class - her bag is hanging up on the hook behind her with the pink Hello Kitty sun cap! 

With her Hello Kitty lunch bag on her first full day at school..... 

New looks

After our holiday and the girls turning into surfer chicks it seemed a good idea to get them a hair cut.  There's a great place in Happy Valley that has set up a corner of this huge salon for kids.  They've got these cars that they sit in plus they get to watch a movie - the girls just love going there.  Both of them were excited about getting their hair cut and even more with how they turned out!

On our way to the salon - yes, they're tanned and blonde !

Ready and waiting....

In action...I thought I was being clever as you can see the stylist with Victoria and in the mirror you can see Hannah's one.

 At the salon..........Miss 4

Miss soon to be 6.....

At home.....

And on a different note we were playing a letter game once we got back home - Victoria wrote the letter and we had to guess.  I thought she did a fabulous job of the letter B !