One of our favourite places on the North Shore where we live (which is part of Auckland) is Devonport. It is beautiful and quaint and almost has this Victorian feel to it with many houses looking the part. It is probably a 15 - 20 minute drive from our house. Devonport has this relaxed holiday feel to it, with people enjoying their coffee or a meal or a catch-up with their friends at one of the many cafes that you find in the main street of Devonport. Living on the North Shore, our library cards allow us to borrow books from the Devonport library too (although we don't come to this library all that often) and it has a very very nice park for kids. The park is right opposite the library, it has a cool play structure and you often find people sitting on the grass or having a picnic watching their kids play or just enjoying the view. From Devonport you can see some of the significant buildings of Auckland (i.e. the Sky Tower), you can watch the boats and ships come past and today we saw this cool-looking sail boat. And of course you can catch the ferry from here to the city if you wanted to, which we've done before - great fun! In this particular spot there is a small beach too. If ever you come visit this part of the world - Devonport is a must to visit!
I was sitting in the car waiting for Terence and Bianca who went into the shops to buy things for supper. This time of the afternoon is the Fletch and Vaughan show and I must say it is very entertaining to sit and listen to. I think of all The Edge shows, this one is definitely our favourite.
Wow, I can't believe how long Bianca's hair has grown. I know it is still short, but in child cancer terms - this is the longest it has been in a very very very long time. Bianca is so pleased!
A friend who works with Terence gave us 3 chrysalises a few days ago. Today 3 beautiful Monarch butterflies emerged, ready to spread their wings. Aren't they beautiful? Just last year we got some Swan Plants with tiny little baby caterpillars and it was so cool to follow their journey - read here all about the magical journey. I remember looking at them and all I could think about was this which I wrote at the time (http://whitesinnz.blogspot.com/2009/01/to-witness-something-magical.html):
"It so made me think of life - we all start life out as tiny little caterpillars and we go off on our journey and do what we need to do and then something makes us change and we become better, stronger and we spread our wings to start a new adventure or a new life. Sometimes we are quite comfortable in our situations and lives and then we are forced to undergo a change and whilst it may not initially seem like the best or nicest or most comfortable things as we sit there wrapped up in our chrysalis', perhaps even mourning the life we had before, sometimes all it requires is patience and before we know it, we emerge as beautiful butterflies ready for the next part of our journeys."
And so today these 3 beautiful butterflies made me think of little Kyah (http://kyahsjourney.livejournal.com/) who will forever be "almost three" - a little girl who is a hero and an inspiration! Rest in peace little Kyah - you will never be forgotten!
Sorry not the best photo, but this is what Bianca and her dad did today - they went kite-flying. So you can see the orange dot in the top left hand corner of the photo that is the kite and then Bianca towards the middle right next to the tree. It was the perfect windy day for it.
Went to a friend's daughter's birthday party today and as we were standing on the deck I noticed this little kitten in the neighbour's window. He is soooo cute!
Today Bianca came back from Camp Quality. We missed her soooo much, but we know how much fun she had. She is currently wearing this friendship bracelet that the kids and companions made for (and with) each other. I guess that is pretty much what Camp Quality is all about - making friends. We are so grateful Bianca has an opportunity to be part of Camp Quality - thank you to all involved for making this possible!
