Girls' Trip

Back when my niece Zoe was a little girl and Hannah just a baby, we started spending a week during January in Palmerston North with my family there. We did this for many years until Covid in 2020 and then for the past few years we've only been to visit a few times.  This January Hannah and I had a wonderful few days staying my cousin Donna and her boyfriend. We filled our days with lots of shopping, sightseeing, eating out and enjoying catching up with my aunty and uncle too.

One of the days we went blueberry picking at Blue Acres, a farm near Ashurst, such a fun afternoon, one for the pot, one for my mouth ha ha.

One evening we visited the He Ara Kotahi bridge, which is near the esplanade in Palmerston. There's a pathway that goes for quite a few kms, and along the way there is a stream where you can feed the eels. 

One of the most loveliest aspects of the week was just spending time with Hannah, and following her around as she found shops to visit, and food and drinks to try. This was a strawberry macha latte, and was quite delicious.

We spent a day in Whanganui, and visited Virginia Lake and the Winter Garden. This has always been a favourite place to visit for me, we went there many times when I was a kid.

Hannah decided to recreate this photo from 2017!

It was such a stunning day weather wise, quite hot too.

We spent an afternoon at the movies, Paddington in Peru, such a fun family movie.

Hannah's favourite shop, where we went three times ha ha

We also were able to catch up with other friends and family members, including another cousin and his partner, and see their amazing fruit and vegetables gardens. I also got to meet the lovely ladies at the sewing group, Sew On, my cousin volunteers with for the Arohanui Hospice, where they make lots of different things from recycled fabrics and craft items. 

Such an enjoyable few days in the Manawatu.

See you soon x

A Weekend Away

On the weekend, we hit the road south, travelling to Palmerston North to spend a few days with my family there.

The windmill farm at the top of the Saddle Road is always a great sight, especially if they are all turning!

After a stunning day Friday, Saturday turned quite miserable, quite wet and cold, so after a very quick visit to the local market, we did the rounds of some of our favourite shops.

Sushi lunch in the Plaza, always a good choice as its delicious!

After all that walking around and shopping, it was time for an afternoon tea break with the family at one of their fav cafes.

Saturday evening we took Hannah to check out one of the indoor trampoline spaces, Cloud9 - she had a blast. This was a great time to visit, as the crowds from during the day had gone.

Sunday morning the sun had come back out so we went along to enjoy some sunshine at the Esplanade Park.

Before long, it was time to say goodbye to our relatives and head home.

A fun weekend away, just what we all needed after the last few busy weeks.

See you soon xx

A Weekend Away

 Before another weekend starts, I should back track to last weekend when Hannah and I went on a Girl's weekend trip with our friends to Palmerston North.

We left home on Saturday morning and after a stop at the Wind Farm on the top of the Saddle Rd, arrived in Palmerston just in time for lunch at the Plaza.

The rest of the day we spent browsing the shops - Hannah and her friend Abigail were thrilled when the Revlon sales assistant offered to put a little bit of eye shadow on.

Saturday evening we meet up with my family and went out for dinner together, a good catch up.

Sunday was a lovely day so it was off to our favourite spot for morning tea - Orlando Country Club.

The rest of the day we filled with gokarting, more shopping and the movies, A Wrinkle in Time, which we all enjoyed. Then it was back to Donna's to have dinner and dessert while watching the last of the Commonwealth Games.

When we got up on Monday morning it was absolutely pouring down, what a contrast to the lovely day on Sunday, which changed our plans from a morning at the Esplanade Gardens to another round of the shops in the Plaza and a visit to Flip City for the girls.

Then it was time to hit the road and head home - an enjoyable few days with our friends was a great way to start the holidays.

See you soon x

School Holidays

Hannah is now back at school for Term 2 after the two week school holidays. This year both Easter and ANZAC public holidays fell during the two weeks so Glenn and I didn't take any time off work, we're saving our annual leave for later in the year. Hannah spent a few days with Zoe, her cousins and a few days coming to work with me. 

But we did head away for a small Girls break with my good friend Tracey and her daughter Abigail, who is one of Hannah's best friends, to Palmerston North. We were only away one night but we sure packed a lot in!

Starting with a visit to Flip City, an indoor trampoline park - heaps of fun!

Followed by lunch at the Plaza and shopping - Hannah had been saving all her pocket money for weeks :)

New shoes for all of us, and Hannah picked out her birthday present, the latest Sketchers light ups, co cool :)

Sunday night we went out for dinner to Gengy's, which is a Mongolian BBQ restaurant.

Tracey and Abigail stayed at a motel and we stayed with Donna and Jess. We didn't see a lot of them over the two days but we enjoyed the brief visit catching up and a delicious breakfast at one of Palmerston's cafes called Joe's Garage.

The rest of Monday morning was spent at the Ice Skating rink. This had been set up for a few weeks in the Square and the girls had so much fun.  It was getting quite warm by the end of their session so there were quite a few puddles around the rink.

They also checked out the snow globe:

After lunch we headed to the Esplanade Gardens and park for a train ride and play.

Before long it was time to pack up the car and head home. The girls had a wonderful time hanging out with each other, lots of giggling and laughs.  Another fun trip to Palmy.

Until next time xx