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.