Summer is here...

or at least I think it's MEANT to be here...

We have been at the caravan since Boxing Day, and this morning is gearing up to be our 4th nice, sunny day.

Yesterday was the first "real" summers day, Cammy went fishing with friends, he was proud as punch to have caught a fish

Unfortunately, being on roaming internet, I am struggling to be able to upload photo's... so be prepared for a photo overload, on my return to Auckland in just over a months time :)

The New Caravan...

We finally took possession of our new caravan over Queens Birthday Weekend... We were so comfy in it... We LOVE the extra space...

The old girl is up for sale...

After 12 wonderful summers in her, it's time to move on...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=382793680

Exciting... and just a little bit scary...

Remember my post here a couple of days ago about putting an offer in on a new caravan??

Well.... our first offer wasn't accepted... but they came back to us stating their lowest price, and it just so happened to be what we were willing to pay so have accepted it...

So..... we officially now have a new caravan... we will have sooooo much more space this summer...

We are so excited... yet it's a little bit scary at the same time... it's such a nice van... but is costing a lot more than we ever paid for our old van... but we decided in the end that we wouldn't get a mortgage for a few more years, so better to have a nice caravan and a nice car {still to come} and be happy with what we have :)

waiting, waiting...

we went away to the caravan for Easter as we always do... but this year was different... we had 4 kids... and our 15' caravan just felt cramped... As we were walking round the camp one night, we noticed a lovely big caravan for sale... we had a look through, liked it... took my mum for a look through, still liked it and so did she... took my dad and sister through, they liked it too... and by this stage we are loving it... it is a trailite, 18'6", has a permanant double bed... a couch that folds out to a double, and another couch which doubles as a single bed {so a 5 berth}... also has enough room for a porta cot or a single camp stretcher... so if we all had to sleep inside ever, we would fit...

We did some working out of our finances, and with a little help from my parents, we can afford to purchase a new caravan... so last night, we put in an offer...

The owners are living in Australia, so now I am just waiting anxiously to see if our offer has been accepted...

A Week at Home

So the rain set in at the Caravan on Thursday night last week... and along with it came the gale force winds... Friday and Saturday were no better at all... after not sleeping at all on Saturday night due to the wind, I decided early Sunday Morning that we were heading home...

With the help of my parents, I packed up the caravan and awning, loaded all our gear {and what felt like hundreds of wet towels etc} and headed up...

And what do you know...? the rain stopped on Monday lunchtime haha always the way really... but what a lovely relaxing week I have had at home... I caught up on all the washing {for free}, sent Cam to daycare - where he moved from the under 2's to over 2's classroom, and chilled...

On tuesday, I took Paris to the movies, and we saw Tangled... What a great movie... and how lovely to spend some alone time with my darling daughter...

Wednesday, we had coffee at a friends place, and chilled some more...

Today - has been spend doing more washing {I swear, it never ends}, but again - It's relaxing...

I'm hoping to sort the study out today, as that is the room that has been most neglected since moving here, and still has boxes etc, left to unpack... I am wanting to set it up with the desk and computer for the kids homework, but also with the new babies cot, so thats one more thing out of the way...

Home Time....? Maybe....?

Well Ian went home from the caravan last night after being on holiday with me and the kids since the 10th January... so I'm once again here on my own...  Josh has gone to his mum's for the week, so it's just me, Paris and Cam...

And for the first time ever, in my 4 years of being at the caravan for 5 weeks at a time, I think I want to go home... I'm 33 weeks pregnant, hot, tired, bothered, and lonely... My mum is here, but she is absolutely no help to me what-so-ever... not once, has she looked after Cam so I can shower/cook/clean/nap... so today I will pack up Paris' tent, and move her into the awning, and start thinking about going home for a few days... Maybe I will head home on Tuesday...

My sister had to go home yesterday for work for two days {she has her own business}, so I'm waiting for her and  my niece to get back so I can enjoy a couple of days with them till I head home... I'll be back up for the long weekend coming up, but in all honestly, I'm sick of being up here on my own...

Slackness

I'm so sorry I've been a bit absent... I'm having so much at my caravan with my family and friends, that I honestly haven't had time to blog... I have a few ideas in my head {and part 1 of a 3part review} so will start jotting them down tonight...

I have some amazing pictures so far also {thanks heaps to my darling other half Ian for the new camera for x-mas :) }

rain rain go away

come again another day... PLEASE

we are on holiday... YAY

at the caravan... YAY

it's been raining since noon... NOT YAY

and my washing really suffered.... 2 loads this morning @ $3 per load... 1 of nappies, 1 of clothes... hung them on the line, cause the wind was awesome for drying... within an hour it started pelting down... and nearly 7hrs later, it's still raining...

So I chucked all the washing in one machine {another $3} to wash again as you can't just select a spin cycle up here... and then threw it all in the dryer {$4}... *sigh* todays washing has just cost me $13

Daylight Savings has Arrived

Which to me spells the start of summer, bbq's, kids playing outside for hours, fun at the beach, my caravan and a whole lot more...

And yesterday, we just happened to put a new BBQ on layby - I'm so excited... it's not for use at home though - it's for the caravan, but thats ok - it's everything I need up there for when Ian is back at work, and I'm alone with the kids trying to watch them AND cook their dinner... it's a 4 burner hooded BBQ with a side element :)

I only hope the weather starts to get a bit better... so far so good today :)

My little piece of Paradise

those of you who know me, know that I love my caravan... and I love my camp spot...

I've been camping in the same spot with my family now for over 20years.  My kids love it as much as I did as a kid, and as an adult, I truely believe that I spend my entire summer in paradise...

see for yourself

So all there is to say now is: roll on summer :)