American girl

For Kate's birthday this year I gave her a choice of a party, or a trip to Dallas to get an American girl doll. Birthday parties and all the expense really add up, and the dolls are expensive too, but I think she is old enough now (7) to understand the value of money and having something she could enjoy for several years.


So our little family trip (over spring break) included a day at Six Flags and going to the American girl doll store.



She chose Kit, I think because she looks like her (blond hair and freckles). And now she can't wait for the new movie coming out and plans on taking Kit the doll with her.

small kiwi

Kate had to make a diorama and research an animal for a 1st grade assignment - so (with some encouragement from me) she researched the kiwi. As well as the diorama she had to write a written report and do an oral report too.

Here's the diorama we made. We had the kiwi toy , used a girl scout cookie box, covered it with brown paper, painted the inside black, used bark and twigs from our pine tree, and all the foliage, rocks etc is courtesy of dollar tree.

free fun for kids

a blog I was reading on had a great idea to share things that make good "free fun" for kids. Thinking about all the things I enjoyed as a child living in New Zealand mostly involved the outdoors. I like for my kids to have a lot of the same opportunities and hopefully really love the experiences.

Here's Kate daydreaming on a peace of driftwood on the beach in NZ last year.














Of course you don't have to travel to the other side of the globe to have that kind of experience.

there is fun in the outdoors to be had every place.

Click below to see some great "fun for nothin'" ideas.

Why Kiwi?

No, not the fruit. Kiwi is the slang term to describe someone from New Zealand, here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:
The word Kiwi has multiple meanings:

In connection with New Zealand
Kiwi - any of several species of flightless bird native to New Zealand. All of the following are named after these birds:
Kiwi (people) - a colloquial term for the people of New Zealand.
Kiwiana - a collective term for New Zealand's various national symbols and icons, especially when presented in a kitsch or folk art manner.
Kiwi Dollar (NZD) - New Zealand's floating dollar.
Kiwibank, a bank owned by New Zealand Post.
KiwiSAT, the first New Zealand built satellite.
Kiwi Airlines, defunct New Zealand airline, based in Hamilton, and operating between 1994 and 1996.
Kiwis (rugby league) - the New Zealand national rugby league team.
Kiwi (horse) - a New Zealand racehorse, winner of 1983 Melbourne Cup.
Bulford Kiwi - a geoglyph of a kiwi carved in the chalk created by New Zealand soldiers awaiting repatriation following the end of World War I.
HMNZS Kiwi, two vessels of the Royal New Zealand Navy.
The word Kiwi, used to describe people, is usually capitalised. The bird's name is spelt with a lower-case k (excepting, of course, when the rules of grammar state otherwise) and, being a word of Māori origin, normally stays as kiwi when a plural is formed. Thus, two Kiwi = two people, whereas two kiwi = two birds.

I love to read blogs on a bunch of different topics. And with more time to spare this summer (I am a teacher with the summer off work), I have some blogs that I like to read up on. I may not have much interesting stuff to blog about but I decided to create my own if I ever feel the inspiration to write about something. Mostly it may just be about my kids and family.
I am originally from New Zealand, but Texas is home now - I have lived here for 9 years. We try to make trips to NZ as often as possible (every 1-2 years).