A close one

We had another cricket games this weekend and it was the last one of the year.(for me that is)

We won the toss and chose to field.

On my last over I bowled my balls of the year and only 2 runs came off the the over(I think)

Coming in at no.3 with Haydon told me 'you have got to get those runs'

I batted quite well too scoring 19 runs in 4 overs (the highest score in the team)

Hitting 2 fours helped a lot as Haydon on the other hand struggled to get runs(or even on strike as we kept running twice)

In the end a patnership of 24 runs as the last 2 batsman came out.

It was down to the last ball. Kumeu still had a chance to win. All they needed was a wicket to win and the batsman(not knowing they were winning) had to avoid getting out.

The ball was fast and went straight past the keeper and the batsman ran.

They could only run one overthrow or in this case byes but they didn't know that so they ran again but the umpire tryed to send them back which left them stranded in the middle of the pitch and the keeper threw it in and mist but a fielder got it and threw it in and ran the batsman out.

We had lost by 2 runs.


In the first innings I hit the stumps and the batsman, well I thought out of his crease but I didn't know and the umpires didn't see it so it could have been out.

So they gave him not out.

If only they were watching sigh

Snow globe (part 2)

After the broken snow globe at the Werehouse a few days latter doing Christmas shopping I saw snow globes. Being very happy about the low price (4.50)I would buy it next week.On the next day of Christmas shopping (Saturday)I was wondering when it was time for me to buy the snow globe.I continued to ask about it . Thinking that mummy was getting anoyed we finally went there. This time I "DID NOT"brake it.

Our blog’s personality type (from typealyzer.com)

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Lucky 100

I'm the lucky person to post the 100th message on our blog!!!

Snow Globe

Last Friday we went to the Warehouse. I went to the shoe department, Timothy to gaming and Elizabeth to toys. We agreed, I would catch up with them as soon as I’ve looked at ALL the shoes.

Half way through, a very worried looking, Timothy came to me and said Elizabeth broke something. Moments later a crying little girl appeared. Through the sobs she explained something about a snow globe and the toy isle. I said not to worry, we’ll go to the customer service and explain.

The lady at customer service was very nice and told Elizabeth it happens all the time and they will send someone to come clean the mess.

As we were walking away I said: “See I told you they will be nice about it”
A still sobbing Elizabeth replied: “That’s not why I’m crying”
Me: “Then why are you crying?”
Elizabeth: “It was the last one!!”

Thinking ahead

Elizabeth realized that we will be in South Africa for Christmas and we wont have a Christmas tree in the lounge as usual, so she wrote this letter and provided a Christmas tree.

Cricket - Victory at last

Timothy's cricket team this season, the Takapuna Eagles, consists mainly of newbys and as a result is struggling a bit.

So I'm happy to announce they had their first victory today, beating the Birkenhead Panthers by 3 runs. Both teams scored exactly 100 runs, but the Eagles lost 1 less wicket (7 vs 8) than Birkenhead. Since a team gets 3 runs for each wicket they take the final score was 124-121 to the Eagles. The fielding was also much improved.

Well done boys.

Timothy took 2 wickets (both bowled) and the other 6 wickets were all run-outs.

Mashed Potatoes Elizabeth Style

Movember

I registered for Movember. This is a fund raising exercise for charity (prostate cancer and depression under men) and involves me growing a moustache for the month of November.

Please sponser me here.

5 Pokemon books

Finally there're here the 5 pokemon books well sort of you see...
on Monday there was the five pokemon on trade me (which I discovered last Friday) I bided $5 and got out bided after crying my eyes out mummy and daddy said "I can bid my pocket money before I get it.But I have to wait until I've payed them back" So it was a deal! I won the bid and Tomorrow I'll get them!!!!!!

P.S THANKS PATRICK!!!!!!!

The Most Funnest Dad Ever!

According to the lovely Father's Day card I received from Timothy, I am as much fun as a PlayStation 3.

High praise indeed.

PS. Apparently I'm also smarter than a calculator.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Post Box

Today I had to post a letter (to the taxman nogal), so I dashed around the corner to the post box we all know and love and have used for many years.

To my surprise, this is what I found:

Is that allowed? Can they just remove it? I feel cheated! What about all the old people in Milford who now have to walk miles to the next post box?

I shall investigate ... (OK, maybe not)

Nothing lasts forever

A while ago we were outside under the carport enjoying the traditional family braai (bbq).

After a while there was this horrible breaking sound.

On investigation (which did not take long) I found this to be the source:





















This was followed by a lot of crying.

For the time being Elizabeth's mode of transport will be the scooter.

Election

So another election has come and gone. We had 3 (yes, 3) polling stations within walking distance from our house - all in about a 800 meter stretch on Shakespeare Rd. Why so many so close together? Ok, one of them was at North Shore Hospital so it kind-off makes sense - sick people also want to vote, you know. And they don't want a bunch of non-sick people running around the hospital on election day. Hence there was a polling station at Carmel College right next door to the hospital (for the not sick people). Maybe it's because of all the old people we have in Milford - we don't want them to have to travel to far to get to a polling station. We'll have major traffic jams on the footpaths with all those mobility scooters out.

We went to Milford School to cast our votes. As before, I only made my final decision in the booth. Was very tempted to waste my party vote on Bill and Ben but in the end sanity (or what I have left of it) prevailed.

Anyway, the upshot of this is that Auntie Helen (aka Helen 'Photoshop' Clark) has been kicked into touch by the good people of New Zealand (die volk het gepraat). On the down side, John Key has that smirk back on his face that he seemed to lose in the run-up to the election.

Bet you didn't know this ...

Tonight, during dinner Timothy declared:

You can't strum a jellyfish

Re: Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

WOOT! I caught dialga!!! + beat the Sunnyshore gym leader!!!! I'm on fire!!!!!!!!! I have to beat the Elite four now and then i'm of to an island that I can't go to until I beat the Elite four. So I'm going to have to train back at victory road oh well its not the end of the world

Pokemon Diamand and Pearl

On pokemon diamand and pearl I am nearly up to the part where you catch the ledgendary Dialga!!

I can't wait untill I catch him

Around the world

In class today we played a maths game called Around the World and I won!!

YAY!!!!

A New Bag

This morning I got a small bag.
When I decided I was going to put my pokemon cards in it Elizabeth said "Oh Timothy"
I don't know why. Probaly because she is weird

Idiot and Stupid

Yesterday while I was playing the DS I named my pokemon trainer IDIOT. So when I was playing the game I complained about everyone (even my mum) calling me IDIOT. Rhiana got to chose my friends name. She called him STUPID. But not many people said his name. So everyone just thought I was an IDIOT. A very sad thing.

Folk Dance thingy a bob

On Tuesday 26TH August I went to the a Folk Dance thingy a bob. It was great! My favorite dance was Yish. It was so fun doing Yish. One bit that was SO funny was when almost everybody in my group put up their hand to do Yish again (and me of course) The lady asked a little boy and he replied "The coconut dance."Finn just said "I hate the little guy! I feel like killing him!"But of course he wasn't harsh enough to kill him. It was a great day!

Shopping on Mars and Venus

Nadia views the shopping list as "that's what you buy and nothing else", so she gets the stuff on the list and then goes home.

Patrick views the shopping list as "that's what you must not forget to buy", so you get the stuff on the list and then you look around for fun and interesting thing to buy.

No wonder I enjoy shopping more than she does.

Rules for talking to Mummy

1. If Mummy is in the bathroom, do not talk to her through the door unless there is blood or fire.
2. Do not talk to Mummy while she is using the vacuum cleaner.

Beijing 2008

As a celebration of the Olympics Games we had Chinese take-aways for dinner last night. The kids preferred KFC.

They have no Olympic spirit!

Happy Birthday Timothy

Timothy turned 9 last Tuesday. On the Sunday before he had a party at Laserforce.


Getting ready for action are Timothy "Timo" Vaughan and
Elizabeth "Shoot Me" Vaughan.

My Birthday

Woo Hoo it is my birthday tomorow!!

Need for speed Underground 2

Hello everyone I'm going to tell you about NFSU2 (Need for Speed Underground 2)

Need for Speed Underground 2 is a sort of racing game where you start off in a city called Bayview.

Then you travel around looking for events to race in. There are different events like sprints,circuts,street X,drag and drift.

In Sprints it is a bit like rally but its on the street not dirt.

In circuts you drive around a circut on the streets. You have traffic for both circuts and Sprints.

In drags you also have traffic and you have to do the gears. Drags are also short distances.

In drifts you are in a stadium and you try to get as many points as you can before time runs out and you must complete the required amount of laps. When you drift you can't hit the wall. If you do you loose all your points you got from that single drift.

In Street X you must complete a race on dirt!

All Blacks lost

OK so the All Blacks let me down.

No worries! We will still beat Australia on Saturday!

I must say it.

GO ALL BLACKS!!!!

Pokemon Indigo

A few weeks ago Timothy told me about a neat little new pokemon game called Pokemon Indigo and its SO (I repeat SO) cool

PS.Thank you Timothy for telling me about such a cool game

Swimming

On Monday Daddy may be taking us to do swimming at...


Takapuna pools HURRY WOO HOO I REALLY LIKE SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sleepover

Last Friday (not the one that just passed the one of the last day of school) my friend Rhiana came for a sleepover . We played LOTS (I repeat LOTS) of games and it passed SO quickly.

A Thrashing we will never forget

Over the last days we have been talking about todays Tri Nations match between South Africa and New Zealand.

Patrick has been saying do you want to stay up late and see the Springboks get thrashed.
He supports the boks and I support the AB's

GO ALL BLACKS!!!!!

Bye - Bye YMCA

Today was the last day that we go to the YMCA Holiday programme.

We saw Kung fu Panda at the movies and saw a magic show after Kung fu Panda.

But before the magic we did some kung fu of our own. Well YMCA style.

Overall I had a fantastic week!!
I made new friends and saw some old ones.

Cookie Monster

Yesterday afternoon Timothy was complaining about maagpyn (tummy ache).

Yes, Timothy - that's what happens when you eat 2 packets of Shrewsbury Cookies in one go!

When It Rains It Pours ( I Mean it!!)

Over the last few days when it rained it poured and I mean it poured because it even started hailing on us!!!!!

Netball

Yesterday Elizabeth played a netball match - it did not go very well and Milford School lost 12-0. As they were leaving the court at the end of the game, I overheard one of her team mates ask:

"Who won?"

.

Priscilla

We (that's Nadia and Patrick) went to see the Priscilla Queen of the Desert show in the Civic Theater last Friday night. The story is pretty lame (same as in the movie), but the costumes/effects/decor is spectacular and made it well worth the effort. The music was pretty good as well.

All Blacks vs England

Hi everyone,

On the 14 of June Patrick and I will be going down to Eden Park for England vs the All Blacks
All Blacks should win this but don't forget that England are strong.

GO ALL BLACKS!!!!!

Dear FFN

From: Patrick Vaughan
Sent: Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:50 a.m.
To: Nadia Vaughan
Subject: How do I lock my computer?

Dear FFN

Ctrl-Alt-Delete en click "Lock Computer"

or

+ L

- Your friendly computer guy
____________________________________________________________________

From: Nadia Vaughan
Sent: Tuesday, 13 May 2008 10:53
To: Patrick Vaughan
Subject: RE: How do I lock my computer

What is FFN?
____________________________________________________________________

From: Patrick Vaughan
Sent: Tuesday, 13 May 2008 11:15 a.m.
To: Nadia Vaughan
Subject: RE: How do I lock my computer

FFN = Friends, Family and Neighbours

It's a collective term that computer people use to describe all those outside of work for who they supply computer support

Thanks for asking
____________________________________________________________________

A day in the life

A day in the life of the Vaughans:

Saturday 17 May 2008

- Omelet for breakfast while watching Amazing Race re-runs
- Timothy rugby match against Glenfield. Coach said to be there early as there are usually parking problem at Glenfield Rugby Club. Turns out that this was the only match and there was plenty parking. Easy win for the Takapuna Blues.
- Elizabeth netball game. Unfortunately lost.
- Lunch
- Clothes shopping for Patrick. This resulted in 2 grumpy kids - they would rather spend time at home in front of some kind of screen (TV, PC, PlayStation). Not my favourite pass-time either, overspent completely but at least got something.
- Rush back home to be in time for Elizabeth's friend Rhiana coming over for sleep-over.
- Some more shopping, groceries this time
- Party food and DVD (Flushed Away) for dinner
- Patrick and Timothy watches rugby on TV
- Patrick falls asleep in front of TV, wakes up about 1:00 am on the bean bag

Gym

So I joined a gym again. This time the YMCA in Northcote. Had my first session this morning and I'm just starting to feel it in my arms and shoulders. Expecting to feel much worse by tomorrow.

Takapuna rugby/roads

Today going to rugby training we had a big traffic jam caused by a crash
Ambulances came to the scene!
At the end of rugby we had free rugby balls YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Returning to pick me up Elizabeth and Nadia saw another car crash
NOT THE SAME ONE!!
Interesting day wasn't it?

Rainbow headquaters

on you tube I am having something new at the start of each new video Rainbow Headquaters

Blog Change

Hi everyone. We have a change to the blog. The colours!

We changed the colour cause Orange was getting old so now its green


I hope you like the changes

Budget Blues

Tonight I updated the budget for a change. As a result, the following appeared on the fridge:

OFFICIAL NOTICE
No take-aways or Eat Out until Timothy's Birthday unless we win LOTTO

Mother's Day

It was Mother's Day in New Zealand last Sunday.

As per our mothers-day-and-fathers-day-are-not-gifting-events policy Nadia did not get a gift, but she did get three lovely cards (well I thought they were nice)

Despite the no-gift policy, we did manage to spend a lot of money anyway - magazines and a book at Borders and then some good food and wine at Fox's Ale House

Class Captain

New school term started on Monday and Timothy came home with great news...
He's been elected class captain. Every one in class had 1 vote, Timothy and Sidney tied with 4 votes each and in the stand off Timothy won - well done!!
Good luck with your roll as mini teacher.

Kids for Kids: Shake, Rattle and Roll

Last night we went to watch Timothy perform in the World Vision Kids For Kids Concert at the Bruce Mason Centre.

Shake, Rattle and Roll is the latest arrangement of the ever popular Kids for Kids Concert. Special guest Suzanne Prentice (one of New Zealand’s best-loved singers) and a choir of 400 local children, performed a great selection of songs from the 50's to the present day. With songs from the Beach Boys and Elvis Presley to Dave Dobbyn and Neil Finn, Shake, Rattle and Roll is a hit everywhere!

Great evening of family fun, although Elizabeth fell asleep during the second half of the show, and Timothy was seen to hide a few yawns- 9:30pm is quite late for 7 & 8 year olds.

The sims

Last night I returned from my friends house at 5:05. when I wnet into mum and dads room they asked: What did you do at your friends house? My responce: I played Sims Coaster on my friends computer. On sims coaster you can make rides at a theame park!! The price of the game is only $10!!!!! I really want to buy the game now after seeing how its like!

Rainbows End

Today we all (plus Elizabeth's friend Rhiana) went to Rainbow's End (theme park) for the day to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday.

My favourite was the 3D Sponge Bob movie. Other high-lights the bumper boats, mini-golf and the dodgems.'

KFC for dinner.

Thanks Elizabeth for a great day.

Facing Your Fears - Part 2

Few days ago on entering New World (supermarket)

Elizabeth: Today I'm going to face my fear again
Patrick: What are you going to do?
Elizabeth: Touch a live mussel

(New World sells live mussels)

Also see: Facing Your Fears

Seven Years Old

Happy Birthday Elizabeth - hope you have a great day

A deal is a deal even with teachers

A few days ago our class and Mrs Smith made a deal
Mrs Smith"Since you really want to get on to your topic I'll make a deal with you"
Mrs Smith"If we do our topic now then we'll have to do handwriting in topic time tomorrow"
Our class"okay"
Tomorrow at topic time
Mrs Smith"Remember the deal we made yesterday"
Our class"no" I remembered but I said no
Mrs Smith"We agreed that if we do topic we have to do Handwriting a topic time today"
So then we carry on with handwriting

Hello everyone

On 28th of April its the day its my birthday!
Yay me!

Happy birthday dear Nadia

Nadia's birthday yesterday and the big four-o is closing in fast.

We hope she had a great day and may there be many more.

We love you lots
Patrick, Timothy and Elizabeth

Things that go BEEP in the night

Well, this started last year when Timothy brought home a toy from school he received for good behaviour. Not just any toy... one that plays a silly tune...randomly...in the middle of the night. The toy was banished to a deep, dark, drawer in the lounge, never to be heard again.

This year it was time for a beeping noise from Elizabeth's room. The first thing I did was change the fire alarm's battery but... the following night BEEP again... only long enough to wake you and get to Elizabeth's room, then quiet. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... every night at 15 minutes past midnight. We tracked it down to the bookshelf behind Elizabeth's door. Then finally one night Patrick caught it red handed... it was the Sudoku game. Stupid toy had an alarm set... go figure.

The most frequent BEEP is probably my mobile phone... just enough to wake you but so infrequent that you don't want to get out of bed to put it on the charger. Although admittedly, Patrick has a slightly lower tolerance for the BEEP and will often be the one putting phones on the charger.

This morning I went in search of yet another BEEP, this time in the cupboard in the lounge. I knew it was the fire alarm, I knew it was in the cupboard but I simply could not find it. When Patrick woke up he spent a good few minutes looking, re-arranging the whole cupboard until finally he found it on a shallow shelf sitting next to the speaker - very simple if you know where to look.

Timothy

As requested by Peter, here's a picture of Timothy (in his natural environment)

Shore To Shore

On Sunday 30 March we all took part in the annual Shore-To-Shore fun run/walk from Takapuna Grammar to Milford Beach.

Timothy started really fast and I had to try and keep up - what seemed like a leisurely walk turned into a mad struggle. Luckily he ran out of steam at about the halfway point and slowed down to a more civilized walk.

The girls did the sensible thing and took it easy from the start. As a result I was the only one still feeling it by Tuesday.

Cricket season is over

I've been a bit lazy with the blogging lately, so I'll post a few tonight

Timothy's cricket season is over and the last match of the season was on 29 March. Although the team did not fare as well as the previous season I'm sure all the kids had a good time. After the final match it was the end-of-season prize giving. Timothy won the MVP (Most Valuable Player) for his team - well done Timothy!

From cricket straight into the rugby season - Timothy is playing tackle rugby for the first time this year. He plays for the Takapuna Rugby Club at J6 (Junior 6) level. One of the parents made a website. Have a look at www.takapunablues.co.nz.

Fun things we did over Easter Weekend

Picnic with fish & chips on Mt. Victoria

Super14 rugby at Eden Park for Patrick and Timothy

Lunch at Columbus Coffee at Smales Farm (except the bit where the lady panicked when she could not get out of the bathroom)

Relax in the sun with a good book at Premier Lounge at Albany Westfield

Kids sleepover at Oupa and Ouma

Curry and Rice take-aways for Mom and Dad

Dear Vaughan's
Um, well I need help for one of my videos on http//www.clubpenguin.com/. Timothy be your oldest, Patrick and Nadia be your penguin (Note: Do not throw snowballs like mad dogs) and I will be my second oldest.
Server: Rainbow
Place: Timothy's igloo
When: Tomorrow 10:10
I'll put it on You tube. Patrick can film too.
Love from,
Elizabeth

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Vaughans

Teachers don't know everything

Last night while sitting round the “klein tafeltjie” having dinner, Elizabeth proclaimed: “Teachers don’t know everything”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Mrs Smith didn’t know what a Pub Crawl was and she had to ask Finn’s helper.”
“How did Pub Crawl come up” I asked, partly knowing the answer.
“We had to write about our weekend in story writing, so I wrote I went for a Pub Crawl”

We may have to rename our “safari-ete” down Takapuna’s main drag.

House Cleaning

Elizabeth: "What are you doing Mummy"
Nadia: "I'm cleaning the house"

Elizabeth: "Who's coming to visit?"

The Best Weekend Ever!

The last weekend was the BEST EVER!
1.Friend came over
2.I went to a friends house
3.Swimming (first lesson)
4.Tenpin Bowling!
5.KFC
and that is my great weekend bye

Cricket at it's best

Today my team had our best practice yet!
I had a really high catch (for our age) and it just whistled past my head and colapsing with my cap.
The good parts are that I was exelent at batting hiting our coach for 6!
Allthough our coach wasn't really balling properly it was still a good hit that rocketed away over the fence.
Our team cought 20 balls in a row on only our 2nd 3rd or 4th try!
I was glad to get my bat back

Hot Water

After many years of putting up with ridiculously slow flow from our hot water cylinder, today we had a brand new high pressure unit installed. It's fantastic - I have no idea why we waited so long.

Thanks to Nadia for organizing this.

The wonder of e-mail

Today I received this e-mail from Elizabeth:

From: Sky Wishs
Sent: 27 February 2008 5:51 p.m.
To: Nadia Vaughan
Subject: Sad

I'm 100% board can you please please please think of something to do!PLEASE

/Elizabeth\

North Shore Times - 26 February 2008

Junior learn from the best

Former All Black Ian Jones has helped a young team reach the grand final of an inter-school touch tournament.

Under Jone's coaching, five and six-year-olds from Milford School's year 1 and 2 team have been competing at Becroft Park every Thursday since mid-October last year.

By the end of the 10-week tournament they had qualified for the final.

For most of the players it was their first taste of the sport.

Bayview were the eventual winners, but with further coaching from Jones, Milford will be looking to go one step further next year.

Update by Patrick: For those of you who haven't seen Elizabeth in a while (or ever), she's the lovely little girl on the far right.

Milford School Newsletter - 21 February 08

Yr 1 / 2 Milford Kiwis Touch Rugby Finalists
Becroft Park touch rugby finals were held on 14 February. Yr 1 / 2 Milford Kiwis put up a strong game against Bayview Mixed team. Despite daring skills, speed, energy and excellent sportsmanship, Milford Kiwis were runners up with a 12 to 3 loss.
Harry Tiger-McNamara scored the first try 4 minutes into the game. Jansen Pallesen scored twice in the second half.
Inclement weather did not dampen spirits. Milford Kiwis consistently played as a team, supporting and encouraging each other. The turf was wet and slippery, many players became grass casualties, but bounced back with enthusiasm. The team was well supported by peers and family.
Congratulations Milford Kiwis on your efforts and dedication for the 2007 – 08 season. Thank you to coach Ian Jones, manager Janine Jones and parents for their support.

Last night we became...

New Zealand Citizens (finally after almost 10 years)

Along with 500 other North Shore Residents.

See pics:

http://www.toppix.co.nz/OathFebA-Z/210.htm (en Nadia pak haar tande uit)

http://www.toppix.co.nz/OathFebA-Z/209.htm

Stickybeak's Adventure - By Timothy

Stickybeak came to my house. He was very tired when he got to my house because we had to walk. He got a rest when we sat down. Then we went to the computer. He saw a snail race and Stickybeak said: "Those snails look yummy." I forgot to say he was watching with his three friends, Harry, Rocky and Greeny. He had trouble getting to sleep because of the fan and my mum vacuuming but he got to sleep in the end. In the morning he watched me read my Glory Gardens book from the library along with three other friends, Mike, Lily and Princess.

From: Stickybeak's Journal (Room 5's very own platypus)

The difference between boys and girls

The other day Elizabeth explained to me when girls fight, they fight with words and say really hurtfull things to each other, but boys have a bit of an argue at lunchtime and it's soon all over.

Great insight for a six year old I think.

A+ Student

The other night while having dinner Timothy said: "If I was a teacher and you were my student, mum, I would give you an A+ for three quaters of the time"

The Tooth Fairy

Growing up, whenever a milk-tooth came out, we would leave it in a shoe overnight and the Tooth Mouse would come along, collect it and leave 5 cents in it's place. The Tooth Mouse has now been replaced by the Tooth Fairy who leaves 2 dollars - which is probably not much more, if at all.

The other night Elizabeth had a wiggly tooth - after several attempts by the parents to get it out (on her request) and lots of tears (from her), we suggested she go to bed and try again in the morning. Fifteen minutes later she came into the lounge, very proudly holding up the offending tooth.

She has real determination, that one.

Doctor Zhivago

When I was in high school, there was this weird kid (and I mean that in a good way), that was absolutely crazy about the movie Doctor Zhivago. I wanted to see it ever since and last Thursday (28 years later) me and Nadia sat down and sat through the full 3 and a half hours.

It was excellent.

Amazing Race - Vaughan Style

What is the price of Coco Rocks 385g at New World?
What is the price of a Long Black at Columbus Coffee?
How many steps up to the first floor in Borders?
Find the hours of business of two banks
What is the name of the shop between Just Jeans & Jeans West?
Name 2 animal of which they have life size statues in Natures Window
How many cash registers in Number 1 Shoe Warehouse?
What is the price of a return ticket to London at Flight Centre?
What is the price of a style cut at Just Cuts?
How many step from Columbus Coffee to street level?

These are the questions we had to answer on 21/1/08 for our own little Amazing Race.
We ran through Albany Mall, searching high & low, left, right and centre...
And the winners are...
Well, the boy team finished first but...
answered one question wrong (or not quite right)
so we had a tie...

Hoe ry die trein ...

Timothy, Elizabeth and me went on our annual train trip to New Market on Monday. Turns out the train is much cheaper than the bus .. go figure.

Anyway, we had a look around the Sony shop, then some lunch (yay, MacDonalds) and back to Britomart.

A great time was had by all

New Zealand vs England 20Twenty

Yesterday night Patrick and me went to the 20Twenty match between New Zealand and England at Eden Park. New Zealand had won the toss and selected to bowl first. (What was McCullum thinking) Two early wickets for New Zealand in the second and fourth overs. Pietersen was getting the score going until he departs with around 40 runs off around 20 balls (WOW). England put up a total of 184/8 New Zealand had to chase that with a terrible start. They were getting a lot of runs behind the stumps. The best score was from J Oram with a total of 61 but went out with a catch by Ian Bell. It was hopeless, with Oram out we were never going to win. Martin had come in. Most people thought he was gone first ball but no he got 5 runs and every one of those runs got a cheer cause he can't bat at all. England had beet New Zealand by 32 runs. Man of the match was Mascarenhas for England. Four people made there 20Twenty Debuts at this match they were
(England)
P Mustard
GP Swann
(New Zealand)
JD Ryder
TG Southee
I was very tired after the match. It was after 10o'clock

A world first

A world first .. for me at least. I bought something off TradeMe (NZ's version of Ebay). Well actually Timothy paid for it - I just had to do the buying bit. It's a PC game - Grand Prix 4, that Timothy had been wanting for a long time.

Its a great day

Today its a great day its so much fun! Very sunny! Not Cold I need a fan! But its still great And the best thing is .....................................NO BOSS!

Grand Prix 4

We could be getting Grand Prix 4. We bought it off trade me now we just need to get it I hope we do!

Re:A1 Gp

We got first in the Championship tables after both Sprint and Feature race. Thats another reason I was happier than him

A1GP

On Saturday me and Timothy went to the New Zealand A1 GP in Taupo. Got up at 4:30, arrived at the track at about 8:30 - in time for the first race of the day. A long day with lots of wind and dust - I had so much dust in my ears, you could plant mielies (corn) in there. Nevertheless a great day with some exciting racing. Got back home at about 9 in the evening with Timothy slightly happier than myself since his team (NZ) got 1st and 4th, while South Africa got 4th and 7th.

Sir Lemons

Today on Club penguin I saw a penguin but hes not just a penguin he makes a blog for Club penguin hes sir lemons. He was in the gift shop looking at a catalog then............................................................... HE WAS GONE!

No Boys

On the 21st January 2008 the girls are alone at home . My entertainment is gone so I'm going to entertain myself at home so I'm not bored.

Facing Your Fears

Today at Milford Mall, Elizabeth asked if she could hold onto my arm when we go on the escalator. After thinking about this for a bit she said:
"No, it's OK Mum, I'll face my fears" and proceeded down the escalator unaccompanied.

We can learn a lot from our children.

Earache & No Sleep

Timothy woke up last night at midnight with a terrible earache and what started out as a peaceful sleep turned into a night of very little sleep for the both of us, him waking me at 12, 2, 4 & 6am.

I went through the day totally knackered but found a second breath when I received this e-mail:

Hi Mum,
Thanks for taking care of me and I'm sorry you didn't get enough sleep.
I hope you can get some sleep tonight.
Lots of love
Timothy
xxxooo

And yes, our family e-mails each other all the time.

A deal is a deal

We have a deal with the cockroaches around here. Our place is inside and their place is outside. Whenever they come inside, we are allowed to kill them. Whenever we go outside, they run like crazy and hide.

Last night I found one in the bathroom , so I killed it

Zoo Trip

Today we went on a zoo trip it was great fun.
First we went over to the Kiwis I found one.
I liked going in the Meercat tunnel. I spotted 4 different ones
I also liked feeding the Bird.
First I put my hand out with a red grape in it.
Next I had a Bird come but I was scared so I took my hand back.
Then I put my hand out again and the same Bird went for it again and got it in his mouth and.....................................




I LET GO OF IT
So the Bird got the whole grape but then dropped it.

Week 1

So, the first full week of 2008 is over.

Not much to report. The kids are still on holiday. On Monday they went swimming (with the YMCA holiday program) and Elizabeth came home with very red cheeks. Tuesday and Wednesday with Ouma and Oupa (with a sleepover!), Thursday they went Ten Pin Bowling (with YMCA) and Friday the went to the movies with the Y and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks which they both enjoyed a lot.

I (Patrick) was supposed to spend the full week at work but got ill on Tuesday and subsequently spent Wednesday to Friday at home. Feeling better now and will be back at work tomorrow morning bright and early.

Pleases & Thank Yous

After not using the magic words this morning I asked Timothy if they remembered to use their manners at Ouma's house.
He replied: "Yes, I think we left it there."

Home Alone

An evening alone without the kids ... it's weird ... like a ghost house ...

Grandparents!!! YAY!

Today our Grandparents are coming over and then me and Elizabeth are going over for.........


A SLEEPOVER!

Terug hok toe

Tonight is the last night of my holidays, so I'm having a bad case of the end-of-holidays blues. At least it's only for 2 weeks and then I'm on leave again for about 2 and a half weeks.

Had a great lunch at Nadia's parents today (lekker ribbetjies) but unfortunately I could only sit and drool while the others were enjoying the chocolate and kondensmelk cake afterwards. I suppose that's my reward for losing all control over the Christmas season and eating way to much.

My father in law got himself a radio control helicopter (in kit form) that he is now building. I'm most impressed and can't wait to see it in action.

The Great Milford to Takapuna Expedition

For today we planned a family (and Elizabeth's friend who was visiting) expedition from Milford Beach to Takapuna Beach all along the beach. If you prefer to keep your feet (read shoes) dry, this needs to be done at low tide, so we checked the tides and planned accordingly. What we didn't plan for was rain. As I parked the car at Milford Beach it started raining, so we decided to drive to Takapuna to see if we can get a nice spot to eat our packed picnic food. Got there, found the rain had stopped and set of in the direction of Milford. got about 15 minutes into the trip and the rain came down again.

In the end had to abandon, but had a nice picnic at Takapuna Beach.

Got some tickets for me and Timothy for the A1 Grand Prix of NZ next weekend in Taupo. The prices have doubled from last year! I was disgusted, but we are looking forward to it very much.

Soccer

Yesterday's activity was soccer - Patrick against the rest.

What I learned from yesterday's game:

1. Soccer is strictly for under 40's
2. If there is only 4 people playing, pick a small field. We spent most our time running around like mad dogs.
3. The heavier you are, the harder you fall.
   

New year

On new years I stayed up till 12:00 midnight. We saw fireworks.

New Controller

Today we got a new controller for our Ps2 (Play Station 2)

Fairy Land

Wednesday night we found a note on our bed:

Dear Mum and Dad
I'm going to Fairy Land tomorw so I'll be outside for a very very very long time like until 6:00
Love Elizabeth

Arriving home from work on Thursday I asked: "How was Fairy Land?" "Oh, I forgot"

Activities and alcohol free wine

We are trying to get the kids (and adults) to be more active - otherwise they spend all their time rotating between the tv, Playstation and pc. So, for the duration of the holidays we are planning to do 1 hour of physical activity together every day.

So far:

1 Jan - Walked a trail in Smith's Bush in Onewa Domain. It's advertised as an hour walk and although we took a long detour, we completed it in 28 minutes - you have to go very slow to complete in an hour. It's really good and well worth the effort.

2 Jan - Went swimming at Takapuna Aqatic Centre. First time for the kids in the big pool. A good time was had by all.

3 Jan - Walked (adults) and cycled (kids) to Milford Mall to do some grocery shopping. On our way back the chain came off Elizabeth bicycle and I just could not get it back on. It's happened before and it's always relatively easy to get back on, but today it just would not. The chain cover does not help and I ended up with hands full of chain oil and miles (ok, about a kilometer) from home. We had to carry her bike home and she was rather grumpy.

Nadia went back to work today (my turn is Monday the 7th). The holidays were way to short.

While at the shops today we discovered some "alcohol removed" wine (merlot nogal). Now, in my eternal quest to lose weight (it's also low calories), we decided to give it a go. Well, that was $13.99 wasted. It's both bad wine and bad grape juice at the same time.

Quote of the Day

Elizabeth (today in Woolworths): "We worship muffins"

Hello

Hi from the Vaughans

The purpose of this blog is primarily as a journal for our own use to record interesting events in our lives and secondary to keep friends and family up to date with our comings and goings.

This may be the last entry ever.

Bye