New Stone Crew Blog

We've made the decision to close down this blog in a few weeks.

But don't worry!! It's because we've created a new blog at a new address. Please update your bookmarks and links to point to our new family blog here:

http://stonecrewblog.com

We'll be regularly updating, but this new blog system will allow us to organize things a lot better. We're categorizing posts and adding some cool new tools...

Keep watching!

Vishal's Visit to Tekapo!

We’re planning to bring our Fiji developer for www.proworkflow.com to NZ to live and work, so he’s been here the past week checking out the NZ scene. I took my boat down to Lake Tekapo in the weekend to attempt to freeze him. Vishal lives in Fiji so I thought the cool minus 2 temperature would be a bit of fun ;-)




Very scenic and no wind! We went about 30kms to the top of the lake. Even had a fish, but not a lot of fish action. Anyway, here's a few pics from the day.









After the lake, I took Vishal to the Salmon Farm to feed some fish. I think he enjoyed that - here's a vid:

Chilling on the Rakaia

Ben Viv and I took off to the Rakaia for the morning to chase Salmon. We didn't catch any but was fun trying to drive the jet-kayaks up the gorge in 100km winds!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter! Grandad visited us and Jackson has discovered the marvels of chocolate!

A play in the river...

We had a lovely surprise with Sarah's Mum, Uncle Gary and Auntie Judy dropping in with their bus. They just decided to drive down to Christchurch to surprise us! Awesome.
They stayed for a few days and Jackson loved having them here...

One day, before dinner we decided to take the Jet Kayaks down to the Waimakariri Gorge to have a play. Here's some Photos:


That's Uncle Gary and us just getting ready...


Taking Jackson for a ride around the river...




The beautiful Sarah and charming Jackson take a moment to smile for the camera!


Sarah's mum Shirley just relaxing in the sun!

Playing with Jet Kayaks!

Just taking a new Surfango Jet Kayak for a spin on Lake Hood in Ashburton, New Zealand. We're trying to run in the motor so it's not full steam yet but heaps of fun. This is running a 9.5hp 4stroke motor. We're planning to take these up the rivers and gorges to chase salmon and trout!
That's Ben in the vid - the motor''s running a lot better now we pulled out the ton of weed sucked into the unit!

Sarah & Dan - The Methven Winners

Sarah with Dan (the man) feeling very proud of themselves after cleaning up at the Methven A&P show. They won all these ribbons!

• Reserve Champion Saddle Hack
• Reserve Champion Novice Saddle Hack
• First Open Saddle Hack
• Second Novice Saddle Hack
• Third Ladies Hack
• and Third Best Paced Hack

Apparently Dan gets really excited when he's in the ring waiting for a ribbon - he loves all the attention!

Julians Headshots

These are the headshots I had done today. We're starting to need them for the ProWorkflow business. What do ya think people?

Mum and her little guy!

Just some nice photos of Sarah and Jack. I love my family! They're groovers!

Jack at Airforce World!

On Wednesdays, Sarah takes her wee boy out on adventures. She does this each week and they go somewhere different each time. This trip was to the Airforce World in Wigram which is an Air Force museum. Jack was a star, they fussed over him, dressed him up and stuck him in planes.

They both tried the flight simulator and crashed it... but they had a great time! He's a good lad and Sarah's a great mum!

Ben and Julian at Motenau

On Monday Ben Viv and I decided to take a fishing day at Motenau. It's true offshore Canterbury fishing, and has a tricky shallow bar you need to cross in only certain conditions within a tight timeframe either side of the low tide. Our boat sits about 60cm deep in the water and the whole way down the river and out the water was averaging 50-70cm - so man she was tight!

Over the bar's waves and into the open ocean it was ver clear that the 2 metre swell was here to stay. It was confused sea, coming from two direction in a motion that made us pretty green.

Once over the bar, we are unable to come back for 4hrs til the tide is right, so we decided that we'd get out to the spot. I had marked the fishing spots on the GPS so we drove about 6kms up the coast and 3kms out and got within a few metres of the spot!

The fish were biting, but our lunch was coming up. We both spent about 3hrs vomiting over the side and attempting to fish in between chucks!

We both caught plenty of fish, but Ben caught the 'keepers' and also hooked into something huge that fought hard for 10 mins before breaking off. We think it was a huge shark!

As soon as the tide was right, we got ourselves together and got back in over the bar. Land sweet land!! I think I like Motenau - not a 1st choice spot but I would do it again... Just never again on a 2 metre confused sea!


Some shots above of the river going out to the bar. Very shallow and tricky but doable if careful.

Ben hooking into a massive fish! I wish we could have see what it was! We suspect he had either a shark or a Mack Truck.

The pictures don't show it but Ben's looking serious as we were getting into some decent waves ahead.

The Bar is by the rock. This is about 1/2 way to the spot we fished.

After crossing the bar, coming back up the river...

I've been a busy lad!

I got tired of my firewood stash getting wet, so added an extra cover to the front and sides...


In the office, I've created a foyer. So when you walk in the garage you now see a wall with a door through to the messy garage or to the office. I'll line, paint and carpet this in the weekend.
Also having an awesome alarm system fitted on Monday.

Dad's New Truck!

Sarah and I decided to get another truck as we're both wanting to tow things in the weekends! Her with the float and me with the boat. SO this is the new beast. 3litre 1996 intercooled Diesel Hilux Surf. Should get me up the rivers!

Fishing with Dad at Akaroa!

I took the day off today and took my Dad out to Akaroa for a day boating and fishing. Nice and calm and no wind at all. We caught a few cod and a pile of dogfish, but have a nice relaxing day!

Camping on the lawn

We setup our tent on the lawn today to air it out. Jackson decided to make himself at home as if he was camping. Can't wait to head out camping with him soon!

Clever Jack!

Saying all the days of the week and months of the year! What a legend he is!

Huge hail storm in Rolleston and we missed it!

Sarah, Jack and I were in town for a bit of shopping and while we were out, a huge hail storm hit Rolleston! 2-3cm hail - it smashed our Clearlight verandahs. Would have be awesome to watch!

Molly the wonderhorse!

Liz popped over with Molly to say hi. Jack made sure he got a ride.

Needed a new skipole for the boat.

So I took off to the Stainless Tube factory, got a 2M length and then paid a visit to a local engineer who helped me TIG weld it up!

Visit to Animates...

Animates in Tower Junction - Great place to take a kid as essentially it's a free zoo!

Early Morning Wakeboarding!

We took off this morning at 7:30am through a cold southerly drizzle for a morning wakeboarding at Lake hood. It was Julian, Sarah, Jackson and Ben that went. Sarah's first time, and she did really well! Here' a vid of me playing around...



And here's Ben having a blat!

The Stones and Vivian's take to the water for the day! To nice to stay home!

The Stones and the Vivians took off today to Lytleton for a wakeboard session and picnic on the beach. We were in a nice bay behind Quail Island. 18 degree water – nice and warm! We all did a bit a wakeboarding and got in some good jumps!

Here's some highlights from the day...

* Julian forgot the clamps were on the boat when launching (so was stuck on the trailer)
* Rose got up on the wakeboard for the first time! Did great!
* Ella and Jackson had a cuddle
* Sarah busted the traler light on a rock
* Ben did some supreme jumps
* Julian tried a 360 jump which I spectacularly failed (got to 270)
* Jackson held his first crab!
* Grace was just cute as normal
* Good bit of chop coming back to the ramp

Jack just hanging in the sand!


The kids enjoying the day! They were all very well behaved and had heaps of fun.



Sarah, Ben and Rose chilling! We all work hard so it's nice to take time to just relax once in a while.


Jackson stealing a kiss from Ella!

Our new pet Magpie!

We were in the paddock the other day and this friendly magpie came up to us. No idea where it came from, but it thinks I'm it's Mum and keeps knocking at the door for food. It's really tame and I've already taught it to be patted.

To hot to work! I'm off fishing!

I started back at work today. Got bored, looked at the lack of wind and decided to head out fishing. I called Graeme Evans (mate of my dads) and took off with him to Lake Coleridge for the day. It was about 30 degrees and the water was like glass. Plenty of fish in the lake but they weren't very obliging! However, he caught this nice Salmon...



Oh! and this little one below. He went back though as he was too small.



This is the general condition of the lake...



Glas, glass, and more glass! We had a great day!

Christmas at the Stones!

We were woken up this morning at 6:30am by a Christmas call from Sarah's sister Jess. It was great to hear from her. Seeing as we were up, we went and woke up Jackson. He was excited when we gave him a Christmas bag filled with pressies!
All of us sat on the bed and opened them! I think he was overwhelmed!


Here's the tree with a big pile of pressies under it. Christmas is fun when you have a kid!


Jack checking out the boat Dad built him in the workshop. The trailer attaches to his trike so he can tow it around.


Mum and son hanging out. Jack's sitting on mum's new sunlounger. Hopefully we'll get some sun so she can relax!


Jackson's backside... :-)


Another bath toy - yup! it's the famous BP inflatable boat!


Sarah has been saying that she wants to try some Dressage to music, so I built her a 4WD paddock stereo. This is super rugged, but will be able to blast so loud that both her and the horse will hear it down the paddock. I think Sarah wants to get the horse dancing to trendy modern music ;-)

Mum turned on some cool music whilst at the house and Jackson decided to have a groove!




Want a pressie anyone?


Even a horse (Luke) got in on the act!


After feeding horses their 'Reindeer Nuts' this is Jack wandering back to the house with Pooh under his arm for a Gingerbread boat (Yes, I built a boat shaped biscuit cutter!)

Groovy Jack!

Just Mum and Jackson having a groove to the music on the stereo I built them last week, I think he's starting to get the hang of dancing!

Ferg and Nathan's maiden adventure on their boat.

Ferg and Nathan took their boat down to Lake Hood for their maiden ride after restoring it to lovely condition. It went well!

Jacksons Birthday Party!

The crew came over today to celebrate Jackson's second birthday! Plenty of sugar for all the kids meant that they all had a good time! Jack had a few meltdowns but he got through it! The people that visited were: Liz & Ferg, Jess & Pete (with Tim and Sam), Ben & Rose (with Ella and Grace) and Lesley...

My Silly son ;-)

I took these photos the other day of Jack being silly at the Daycare's Christmas play. I love him - even when he's a twit ;-)

Jacksons Birthday cake!

This is the awesome cake Sarah (Mum) made for jack's 2n'd birthday. She did a great job! Can't wait to see what the kids are like on the sugar!

Jackson's End of year play

We had the daycare's end of year Christmas play last weekend. Unfortunately Jackson didn't go in the play and got stage fright. All his mates did a great job though!

Now this is dedication!

Jack is so keen he wanted to pull the boat out of the shed himself. Must love the boating heaps eh!!

Jackson - My famous son!

Jack and some other Selwyn Toddlers went to the Royal NZ Show. They had a great time, and managed to get snapped for the Selwyn Times. Check it out!

Mums Memorial Day

We had mum's memorial today for all the Christchurch friends and family. Was a great event and good to catch up...

Family Fishing Trip to Coleridge

We woke up today and the weather looked just perfect for a wee backcountry jaunt. So I told the family "We're going!", we packed the boat and took off to Lake Coleridge.

It was the first time that only Sarah, Jackson and I had put the boat in with just us. The wind was fairly non-existant, and it was a great morning. We got the boat in ok and took off around the lake. After a bit of sightseeing, I showed Sarah how to troll for trout.

We saw fish and they weren't biting, so scooted back to the South side of Ryton Bay and Sarah took over as Skipper. She drove the boat and kept us over the fish. We hooked up! I landed a small (but very eatable) salmon.

It was great to be with Sarah and Jackson when I caught the fish - and even better because Jackson now knows what fishing is! A great day was had by all!

Jack's Bed Boat is finished! Awesome!

Finally, the bed is done, however we're nervous about putting him in it - he'll never sleep!! But whatdaya reckon? 10/10 for effort? What a great dad!

Grandad came to visit!

Grandad popped down for a few days recently. He decided to take the kids for a ride on the Rideon Mower...

Progress on the boat bed!

Did a bit more on the boat bed for Jackson this weekend. Nearly ready for a sand and a paint!

Jackson's Birthday Boat Bed!

Jackson's birthday is on the 16th Dec... He'll be 2yo and because I'm such a great dad, I'm going to make him a super cool boat bed. I started today in my workshop and after about 4hrs, this is the progress. I'll upload more photos as I get further along.

The Front section of the boat will come to a point and will be an area to store toys. On the headboard I'll make a Yamaha Motor (and bookcase/light)



It's all braced and square/level. Just need the glue to dry now. The next fiddly bit is to create the front part as a removable section.


This is the bed tray that the foam mattress sits on. This drops in the top of it...

Jacks new wetsuit. Now he's ready for the summer fun at the lakes.

Jackson is really proud of his new Spongebob wetsuit. He wore it all day today around the farm and even had his midday sleep in it. Looking forward to getting him to the lake for a swim!

The new auxillary!

Finally sorted the auxiliary on the boat. It's a little 4hp Yamaha 4 stroke. Now we can start going a little further out and catch some real fish... We'll also use this for some trout trolling on the back country lakes...

Dad's old farm truck

We just purchased this old 1985 Nissan Safari off Trademe the other day for only $4750. Awesome truck... It's old, but mint! and was owned by an old Grandad that hardly used it.

The truck was always garaged over 20 years, serviced every 6 months and has only 125km genuine miles!!!

Also has near new Wrangler tyres, winch, bullbars and nearly everything under the hood is new, or like new! Just have to suss out getting 12v out the rear instead of 24v, then it'll be great!
Should make a great second tow vehicle!

Chilling in the Hood!

I took the family (Sarah, Jack, Simon and Zach) to Lake Hood today for a play on the boat today. It was a nice calm day, but the water was freezing! 12.3 degrees!

Didn't stop us tough louts though! Simon and I got in and did some wakeboarding and even though we froze out bits off, we had a great time

Sarah drove the boat as well - she did really good!

Double trouble at the Stones!

The guys spent the day playing in the garden, fighting over tractors, splashing in the pool and just being cool kids. Simon was building a garden...




Above is wee Zach, just hanging!

Time for a photo shoot!

I'll be featured in a few publications soon and on a few websites, so I thought I'd better drop the gumboots and get some serious head shots. Sarah seems to be a master on the camera and took some great shots. So here I am - looking very swish. ;-)



And of course I had to grab a shot with my wee man! He's such a cool kid and has the best smile!

Please daddy can I go fishing with you on the boat?

I promise I'll drive really slow and not run over any sharks or turtles. Please? Pleeeeease?

"I know! I'll just hide in the boat! they won't know I'm here..."

The boys fishing at Akaroa!

I spent a relaxing day fishing at Akaroa today with Lee and Ben Viv. Apart from throwing up a few time (Have been sick lately) it was a great day. Bit nippy, but it's not summer yet - it'll warm up! The boat ran like a charm!




We were fishing just out from the Salmon hatchery close up by the heads. 15 meters and the water was a bit cloudy. Not a lot of action - too early in the season, but we did catch a Skate and the world's smallest Dogfish!





The lads putting their 'Game Face' on.

More Office Update Photos...

Still left to go....

- Small Coffee Table
- Paint on windows
- New PC to setup (when it arrives)
- Steel bookshelf of crap to go – replace with nice artwork (I’ll do)
- Some minor paint touch up on wall...

But we’re operational...!! So I’ll do these last bits over the weekends... Feels soooo good to have a separate office, much easier to focus and work without interruption.
Not a bad effort for a DIY hack designer geek eh?


Now that’s an awesome desk. Designed and built by yours truely!
Resprayed last week at local panelshop in metallic silver.



Wakeboard is there as a motivator...
The window lets me see and talk to the others, but when closed is a good sound deadener.



Picked up a brand new 3, 2 & 1 seater in black leather today of a friend for 1k (new was 2.5k!). They’re only a month old.
Not stolen, just purchased, moved rental and they didn’t fit, so they gave them to us dirt cheap!
(Need a basic coffee table – will look on TradeMe)




All ya need for coffee and a warm lunch!

Stones office extension update

Here’s an update on the office progress. I’m moving the other desk and finishing this weekend (hopefully).
Only other thing remaining on this side is a PC, and a cheapo couch/Coffee table (will get off TradeMe – something retro/cool, and a little paint)

It’s all insulated and warm.

Once I get Sam moved, I’ll sort out the other side... That’s remaining a secret til done, it’ll look great.

One workstation goes here...
Kitchenette behind the other panel in the corner


There’s a slide-opening window for light and airflow. This person can see views out the window down the paddock


The office fridge goes under here... And a jug and Microwave


The Perspex piece above the dividers is an acoustic barrier.
The other desk will be under the other window


High ceilings. A bugger to do, but they make the room feel bigger. In summer it’ll draw the heat away.


The other desk will go under this window, looking down the paddock
(One piece of ply left on the ceiling)

A fun visit to Lake Hood!

Ben, Rose, Ella and Grace came over today. We all headed down to Lake Hood in Ashburton to take the boat for a spin. Had a great time, and the kids had a blast. We got it up to about 70kph - goes like a charm!

Then came home again and got stuck into a pizza! Just another great day hanging with the Vivians! They're a cool family!

Dad's new boat...

After about 6 months of looking around, I finally got off my chuff and upgraded the family boat. We wanted something safe, fast and all-purpose. Check out the new toy! Ready for the summer!
Looking forward to taking all the mates out!!

Fun on the Bouncy Castle

We popped over to Kate and Nick's for Archies 5th birthday party. Jackson was a little shy - until he spotted a bouncy castle! Here's some pics!

Bouncy Castle Vids!

Jack and Zach hang out!

Jack and Zach chilling in the lounge after munching down on their afternoon tea.



A nice moment with Mummy!

More fun photos from Si and Jane and the visit to the markets.

Si and Jane having fun...

More fun in the snow!

Here's Sarah and jackson after a bit of fun in the snow. We all were taking turns on the snowboards.


My brother Simon and his boy Zach. He's a real cute kid and loves hanging with Jack.



Dad and Jackson zooming down the mountain. Jack loved this and had a huge smile on his dial!


This is Mum, Dad and Jack all going for a ride!


Jane and Zach having a wee cuddle. They had a nice time playing up in the snow.

Fun in the snow with family

Sarah's new horse float! Yay!

Sarah's new horse float has finally arrived! I hope she really enjoys it and uses it heaps - Sarah's a wonderful mum, wife and really deserves this...

Jackson's fleet of boats

Ella feeding the chickens

Ben, Rose, Ella and Grace paid us a visit in the weekend - This is Ella feeding the chooks...

Dad's hard work takes shape!

What a good effort! 2 days work and we've nearly got the office extended! Just need to get the sparky this week, then will start the lining and insulation etc...

Funtime after bathtime with Jack!

Tarzan Jack and his mighty stud-muscles. Seriously though, with a bod like this, he'll be pulling chicks at kindy in no time!

Mummy is the favorite of the moment. She gets all the love and attention!

Jack tries to put Daisy in the boat!

Kisses and cuddles for Daisy dog. She's Jacks big hairy mate. They play together lots...

Horses: Mac and Baxter

This is Kate with her horse Baxter.



And this wee furball is Mac. Sarah is a sucker for rescuing horses. She saved this young gluepot from a one way visit to the dog tucker factory. He's having a short stay with us, then will be up for sale...

Jackson's first bandaid!!

All the big dangerous tools in the workshop to play with and Jack managed to get a cut on his finger just tripping up on the floor! Not even anything sharp there! Go figure? Boys will be boys!

Dad's Shed gets finished!

The shed is finally finished! The power is in and all the workbenches sorted. Just a few things to move across and then the attention will turn to the office...



Heaps of room in there eh!...


We'll keep the right bay free for projects. Boats, trailers, and anything I can find on TradeMe.

Dad's Shed gets a roof!

The builders have done the roof. The walls are getting sorted on Monday.
Then we'll be trenching for the power. Sparky comes next Wednesday!




Jack looking up admiring the roofwork!


Above is what Jack does if you say "Show me your muscles!" - What a stud!


He loves to climb!

Dad's Shed (cave) takes shape!

This is my new workshop being built! The office is taking over the garage soon so we needed another garage! They should have it built within a few days.
When finished, I need to move get power to it, move the workshop and then extend the office into the current garage giving us twice the room. I think I'll get a builder to help with the office extension ;-)




It's a double garage/workshop with two open bays on the right for the horse float and the boat. Should work out great and keep the toys from rusting out!


A few more pieces of wood from their kitset left to put on the shed. This is being built by ShedsNZ in Christchurch. They're doing a great job!

Julian and Ben hit the Mackenzie Country for a break

My mate Ben Vivian and I took off for a boy's day off to Mackenzie Country (Central South Island, NZ). We left about 4am on the Friday morning and came back the next evening in a snowstorm. Great break away - first 8hr continuous sleep I've had for years!

Even though the wind was gale force and predicted to get to 150km's we got out in the boat on Lake Aviemore in a sheltered bay behind a hill ;-) The old Seagull went well! Did a bit of trolling - no fish though...



Ben looking like a pirate!


Julian pretending to be a real southern man!

The Top10 Holiday Park in Omarama.

This was what they put us in! Both Ben and I took one look, got severely depressed and walked straight back to the office to upgrade to a decent room with kitchen, bathroom, lounge & TV. Better than getting stuck in a garden shed!


Ahhh! Thats more like it! Decent digs!


Yay! a kitchen!


And a lounge and TV!


Chilling to watch American Idol!


This is the bridge over the Ahuriri river. We stopped to spot a trout. I saw a fat one under the bridge.


There it is! Was about 10lbs. Shame the season is closed so I can't fish for it! Buggar!


Tekapo Canal on dusk!


And the other side...


Ben having a flick in the Tekapo canal


We got caught in a decent snowstorm on the drive back to Christchurch. Heaps of fun and a really relaxing few days!

This is Jack and Archie (his mate) playing in the mud. They're both soo cute! Jack didn't have a change of clothes so came home in a girl's pair of flowery pants.

Sarah and Baxter - Winners!

Well not really, but 4th place and that's fantastic (out of 25 others). Well done you two!

This was at the Hororata HunterTrials.

A day at the zoo!

We took Jackson to the Zoo on the weekend to check out all the animals. I think he enjoyed it? ;-) We fed the Giraffe!

Sarah's Family's Surprise Visit!

We have a visit for Scott (Sarah's Dad) and Shona (Sarah's Stepmum) over the weekend. Was fantastic to hang out and just spend some quality time. On sunday, we took off to Lake Hood. I wanted to check the Auxillary before heading out fishing with Ben in 2 weeks.


Dad and Jack heading out for a hoon!


Mum and Jack throwing stones!


The water was like glass! Was great to just blat along full tit and see how it performed. The boat is going great now we've added anti-cavitation plates to the motor. Much more stable!


The anti-cavitation plates totally make it plane faster and better and they smooth out the wake. No more roostertail! Thanks for the advice on this Ben! Really made a huge difference!


I love my family... but I think we'll need a bigger boat soon ;-) It's haps of fun but kind of a tonka toy.


Can't see him, but Jack is in front of Dad steering the boat. He's a very serious driver!


Shona looking beautiful - keeping warm!

Yummy dinner - saussies and vege!


Scott and Shona bought a toy piano thing. He loves it!. In the morning Jack would run to Scott's room yelling "Poppa! Poppa!"


My beautiful wife and I taking a break for a cuddle!


Getting the grime off - nice and clean!


The two troublemakers in the kitchen ;-) They took off to dinner and a movie to see a chick flick. Scott and I stayed back and with movies at home. Had boiled eggs.


Poppa imparting years of wisdom to Jackson...

Jack's Horse!

Our very cute son has fallen in love with a Tigger soft toy and a rocking horse. I'll upload a video so you can check them out.

Cruising on the lake!

We took out the Shadwell family for a cruise around the lake today - had a blast! The boat is going like a dream! We towed the kids around on the ski biscuit - couldn't shake them though!

Jack - Bob the builder!

Something tells me that Jackson could end up in the construction game! He's such a natural tool lover! Can swing a hammer as good as dad can. ;-)

Rub a dub dude (and dudette)!

Jackson hanging with mates (Ella and Grace) in the tub. I'm sure Ben and Rose would approve if we worked on a 20year plan to get Ella and Jack together!

Jack the cool kiwi dude!

I'm sure the chicks will dig Jack! He's a but of a stud eh! I think black singlets should be in every Cantabrians wardrobe.

The Deck is taking shape!

Should only take a few days and it'll be ready to paint!

Rose and Ella's birthday bash!

We had a great day today at Rose and Ella's birthday bash. Heaps of kids there, was a cool bunch of people!

What a day! The French doors are in!

Well! Operation "Get Heaps Done" is in full swing... The french doors went in today and we'll finish the deck over the weekend. The only problem today was that the doors were straight - the house isn't!

The new Deck takes shape!

Sarah, Jack and I working on extending the current deck. This week we have the new french doors going in from the lounge to the front garden. Should be a lot more practical for Jack and Sarah ;-)

Jackson helping mum in the garden

Some large pines felled today

Sarah and Jack Chilling...

Jack At the Tractor show!

Welcome Baby Samuel Dobbs!

Our good friends Jess and Peter Dobbs recently bought a new baby into the world. Samuel Ryan Dobbs was born wieghing 8lb 1oz pounds on the 26th Feb, 2008 to overjoyed parents :-) Welcome to the world Samuel! Your brother Timothy, your puppy Flynn, Darren and Kates boy Jayden and our wee lad Jackson will make sure you've always got a playmate as you grow!

Here's some photos of the new blessing...

Hanging with Mates on the Lake!

We took off this day for a day on Lake Hood with Ben, Rose, Ella and baby Grace. Fantastic day had by all! I think we had the oldest boat on the lake but was still fun - it's a speedy wee thing...

Julian's Big Fishing Day!

I decided work was getting a little stressful so took a day off last week to go fishing up the Opihi river With a mate - Ben Vivian. It was good and I hooked two fish, but we thought there was better water upstream.

We took off to a gorge just below Fairlie which was absolutely beautiful. Walking up the ridge looking down to the crystal clear pools below we spotted a number of trophy trout. Fished to a few of them, but they were spooked easily. Great day though! Here's some photos...

Note: Click images for larger photos...

Daddys New Hat!

I thought it was time for a new fishing hat seeing as my favorite one disappeared ;-) Jack loves the new one though... better keep it away from him or I'll lose it.

Ella and Jack Hanging Out

Don't these two look like a cute couple?

Jacks First Tractor

Jackson's first Shave. He has to be cleancut to impress the ladies ;-)

Not bad eh! Teaching Jack to shave at 1yo. He's funny, I think he's shaving his ears... haha

Daddys Hack Boat Bracket!

I wanted to show off my achievement of the weekend (took 2 hrs). And yes, I know most people will be dumbfounded with the boringness of this post, but hey - I'm excited - I sold a problem! ;-)

I got sick of the boat's motor dropping off the standard mechanical lock when towing the boat on the road (bumps etc), and putting undue pressure on the electric lift gas strut, so I built a cool wee device from old scrap steel in my shed that slips onto the trim lock bar and also onto the engine clamp.

I buffed all the rusty steel to a clean polish on my grinder, measured and cut the pieces in my garage and went to Fergs where he helped weld her up on his ancient Arc welder. Painted it with an anti rust spray enamel - It fit’s like a glove and the engine doesn’t move an inch now!! You can only take it off by lifting the lack lever on the left side of the motor...

So what do you rate my effort out of 10? ;-) he... (builder bob!) - Julian
Not bad for a country hack!

Jackson Walking - Getting better and speedy now!

Welcome Baby Grace!

Our friends Ben and Rose (and Ella) just had an awesome Christmas present. A wee baby girl they called Grace Melissa Vivian. She's a cutie and just chilling at the mo as she gets used to being in the world. Welcome baby Grace!

Daddys New Hotrod!

In preparation for the new home we've bought down the road, I bought my first Rideon... Gunna have some fun with this!

Paddling with the dog...

Zzzzzzz - Chillin' in his crib...

We've seen some good sleep poses, but this is a new one... One foot through the side bars ;-)

Auckland trip. We visit the the Leonards ;-)

Jes (Devoe's mum) on the left looking beautiful and her mum (Shirley) and Devoe on the right. Was great to catch up with the family!


Devoe and her pink friend ;-)


Jack got a prezzie - a Rideon Truck. Before he opened it, he started making car noises (Raspberries) - He's such a boy!


MMMMM... Chocolate! Gimmee!!


We went over to Cornwall park and caught up with Sarah Perry, an old friend of Sarahs... Great to meet her son Alex... Take a look at Jack's expression. To this day I can't figure it out? Wonder what he's thinking?

Jack the poser!

Just some nice shots I took of the lad... Happy eh ;-)


In this one he's about to take some of his first steps...

Julian's Average Wakeboarding effort

First Driving Lesson!

I took Jackson in the paddock for his first driving lesson the other day. Watch the vid and you'll see he's sussed steering, winshield wipers, gears... Not bad for 11 months eh!

Ben the legend!

we popped down to Lake Hood for a wakeboard. Heres Ben taking a jump, then a dive! Great fun til the engine conked out...

Jack's First Icecream

We're in trouble now. The lad has been introduced to sugar! This was taken at the Rolleston Fete today.

Daddys New Toy!

We decided to buy a small boat to play around with a bit of waterskiing and wakeboarding. Only $3000! What a bargin! Check out the skipper!

Daddys New Toy - Yes it's another Surf!

Jacks 9month Photo Updates!

Here's some photos Sarah took to show the family how big the wee lad is. I can't believe how fast kids grow up!

Well, it had to happen!

The Stones bought a family wagon. A 1996 3ltr Hilux Surf - Intercooled Turbo Diesel. Got a decent bit of grunt under the hood too! We'll have to 'Try' it down the Waimak one day!

Jackson Crawling - Our boy racer!

This is a monumental event caught on film! Jackson is learning to crawl! He's a rocket now! having to baby proof everything....

Jack's new snuggly jersey!

Nana knitted Jackson a nice warm jersey and hat for winter. Doesn't he look cute! Looks awesome!

The cuzzy-bro's chilling out!

Well... these two ratbags definately look like 'Stones'! This is Jackson (Jack) on the left and Zach on the right. My brother Simon and his better half Jane paid a visit for a few days. It was great to spent time and catch up as well as introduce the boys to each other. I'm sure they're going to have heaps of fun together when they get a little bigger... ;-)

A nice family visit!

Sarah's dad (Scott) and Shona paid us a visit. Despite the cold, they had a great time and met the Grandson.

Jackson visits his Great Grandparents

The Stone Crew went to visit the Old Rocks today and we all had a grand time!

Jack's Mate Tim Dobbs... Hanging out!

It was our 7 year wedding anniversary today, so we decded to spend it with good mates... We visited Ben and Rose (& Ella) to have lunch and hang... Then went to Jess and Pete's (& Tim's) to muck around. That's Jess and Tim above. Cool kid!
We wanted to visit Darren and Kate, but she'd had a rough night with a sick wee baby Jayden. We just left them to chill out together...
Geat day though... ;-)

A walking 'Pumpkin Patch' ad!

Jack in a Hat (and Jersey) - Thanks Nana!

Our wee lad modelling his new high fashion getup.

Dan the man - Cruising around!

A new family member - "Dan the Man!"

Now that "Ellie" had found a new home (and is now gone), our new TradeMe purchase "Dan" has arrived! YAY!

He is a real sweetie. He has met me (Sarah), Julian, Baby Jackson, Daisy the Dog and the family of peacocks that visit our place occasionally, and he has been very sweet to all of them. I did feel very sorry for him as he looked rather worn out from his journey – but he coped with everything here very well. I gave him some hay and water in the yard to begin with, and he nearly drank the whole bucket – poor guy. Then I put him out in his paddock and he walked the entire perimeter checking everything out in his cruisey manner.

We later went out to check he was ok, and give him a small feed – and he is warm and cozy in his cover. (which is slightly too big, and has a few tears in it from it’s previous wearer – I am going to get him a new one I think) Then the neighbour decided to walk down the drive way with the wheely bin and he whinnied out – he has a gentle voice too. He even had a wee trot round the paddock then too so it was nice to see him moving.

He does look quite thin – I think the trip was hard on him, but he will pick up – I will look after him. These are pics of his first day at his new home. "Welcome Home Dan!"

Hey! Hey! its Jack in the Haystack!

Jack has a new job. Dad decided he needed to earn his keep. He helps his mummy feed the horses every day at Auntie Lesley's. Jackson is the Quality Control Technician.

Some Cool photos of Jackson!

Jackson's Mate Kiana...

I think wee Jack has found a new buddy. However he still looks pretty engrossed in the telly. This is Kiana, Our friends Mel and Lee's little girl. Out of interest, Mel is prognant with twins! Wow!

Even Jack likes the new Garden!

A big day in the garden!

We decided to lose the ugly garden in the front yard. Well....Sarah did ;-) Good idea though. Looks great now, like a huge front lawn!

Here's the 'before' photos...

Darren paid us a visit with the digger and him, Peter Dobbs and myself got stuck in! Didn't take long to get it sorted!

And the finished 'smooth' new front lawn! Minus the grass of course! Better get the seed in soon I guess!

The two men - reading!

Here's the two Stone men catching up on the morning news. I think Jack is looking in the classifieds for a new baby stroller.

Jackson's Office Uniform!

As an update to the blog posted here: http://julian101.com/archives/37 I thought I’d show some pics of Jackson in his new company uniform… Cute eh!

The 3 Day DIY mission! - Finished!!

Here's the finish result! (minus a sun umbrella!)
I can see lots of hard work days ahead, cruising in the sun with a laptop. Anyway, I'll give myself a pat on the back for this effort.

The 3 Day DIY mission! - Office Garden!

With a new employee starting on monday, I decided to tart up the area behind the garage. Below is what it used to look like. (We'd already fenced a month or so ago).

Look above to see the 'New Improved' version! not bad for 3 days and a few hundred dollars ;-)

The little dude Jackson Posing for the camera...

Some Updated photos of Jackson

The bonnie wee lad smiling

Jack has started smiling over the past week. It's very lovely to see... We got one on film... see below.

A day off fishing for Dad!

I decided to take a break from being a dad and headed out fishing with a mate Ben Vivian. We headed down to 'Pendarves' just South of the Rakaia. It was a long shingle beach recommended by a mate. It was relaxing, but as the photos show, all we caught were sharks. Still... Better that a day in the office!

A Stone Family Christmas!

What a great Christmas! Not only did we have Shirley (Sarah's mum) down, but we also had our first Christmas with our new lad. The hairy thing in the photo is Daisy our dog. She'll be a great playmate for Jack as he grows...
So the Stone family now consists of: Sarah (mum), Julian (dad), Jack (bubs), Daisy (dog), Splat (cat), 2 horses (Ellie & Chatty), 5 peacocks & 7 chickens.

The Mums have a photo op...

This is Sarah's mum Shirley. And what a lovely child we have in regards to keeping up the family relations. If you look closely (and yes, we zoomed in) it's his third finger Jacks holding up.
Yup it appears that Jack is giving Nana Shirley 'the bird'. ha ha...
Either that or he's doing his 'Mini Me' impersonation from Austin Powers. ;-)

Jackson's First day on the job - getting to grips with the workplace...

This is Jack getting the hang of touch typing. Once he's got that sorted, we'll get him onto the detachment of MS SQL databases. We'll keep his chores light to begin with...

Now this is a face only a mother (and father) can love! What a squirmer!

What a little dude Jackson is!
Although you can't tell it from this photo, he's a great kid, hardly screams, growing nicely, feeds well etc... Fingers are crossed that he'll continue this way ;-)
This is his "Look at me girls, I'm soo cute" outfit... I'm sure he'll have the girls at preschool lining up!

Time for a nap - This time it's the both of them!

What a beautiful picture... Sarah and Jack taking it easy after a hard day of sleeping. These are the awesome moments to cherish - a little 'cuddle time' with bubs. What a well deserved rest...

What a week! another birth!

Well, after a week of getting to grips with parent hood, we had another surprise when Sarah's sister Jess, pregnant and due on 15 Jan 2007, had her waters break, rushed to hospital andended up having an emergency C-Section! A girl appeared.. baby 'Devoe'. ;-) Mother & baby & Chase are all doing very well. Here's some photos of Devoe: http://babydevoe.blogspot.com - So it'll be an interesting Christmas!

Julian - "The Proud Dad!"

Finally my turn for a good cuddle. We've been playing 'pass the parcel' with little Jack, so it's nice to spend some time with my little boy.

The Grandparents get a cuddle of Jack...

^ Julian's Grandmother (Nana Stone) having a cuddle. So far, Jacks been perfect. A bit sloppy in the rear end, but not too grizzly. We love him. Sarah's happier having him out rather than in.. ;-)


^ Julian's Grandfather (Grandad Stone) having a cuddle too. Jack's being born into a very loving family!

1st Day at home!

^ Taking a kip after all the stress of the move home....


^ 2 days old and I've already got him contributing to the ProActive Software team. Bit of a lazy employee, but we'll get him into line. We may need to boost his titty rations.

Day 2 - Jackson meets our friends and family!

Well, it's day 2 and Jacks having fun getting used to the big scary world. It's a great introduction to the world, being thrust down a birth canal, slapped, soaked, blinded (by light), jabbed by a needle, thrown at a breast and told "suck this", then thrown around like a rugby ball!

All things considered, he's doing great!


^ How could ya not love this face! Gorgeous - he'll turn the girls heads!


^ Mum (Sarah) and baby Jackson spending a quality moment together amidst the busyness of the day.


^Julian's mum (Diane) cuddling the lad after flying down that morning from Auckland. I think my dad mentioned something about the 'Stone Name' being able to live on' now he has a first Grandson.