What an amazing summer we’ve had! So much sun. And for us, lots of visitors, celebrations, volleyball, swimming…
We finished the summer holidays off with our annual trip to the beautiful Kai Iwi lakes near Dargaville. We had heaps of people camping there with us, so it was a full-on time of action and fun. My sister Penny brought out a sailing dinghy and one of our friends bought two lasers out, so we did some great sailing.
Here is Chris about to set off with me into the blue, flexing his muscles for my benefit. 🙂
We had the whole family there for some of the time – bliss. Canoeing, cycling around the lake, going to the diving rock…fun!
Then we had to say goodbye to Ellie and Kate as they went back to Hamilton for their study and work. 🙁 That night there was a beautiful sunset, so I took this photo especially for Kate (who loves sunsets)
Now it’s back to normal life. There is a huge harvest of tomatoes to be dealt with, my damson plums are ready,and I have a pile of basil to be made into pesto. And the corn is ready!
The gardens and lawns are very dry – I am very grateful for river water to use for irrigation.
Here’s Chris playing tennis on the front lawn with Jacob, the sprinkler behind him. He just said to me, “It’s a pretty sight, the water dancing in the sunlight.” So poetic! 🙂
On the book front, I am hoping to have the final four chapters of book four of The Barn Chronicles finished next week. Hoping! In the meantime, for those of you who are interested, Where the Crickets Sing is in the 2013 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award – 8-12 year old children’s section. It’s judged entirely on votes, so I don’t hold much hope, given that my books aren’t very well known in America, but if you feel inclined and have a couple of spare minutes, you can vote for it at http://www.christianbookaward.com/ Thanks!
Right, I’m going outside to play with my boys. 🙂 God bless.