You Can't Beat Wellington on a Good Day!

"You can't beat Wellington on a good day" is the catch phrase of anyone who has lived in Wellington long enough to know the truth about that statement! It sure rang true today, as our much happily anticipated trip to the local zoo, coincided with the most glorious, sun-filled day! A very thoughtful person gave us a family pass to the zoo (our Christmas present!) so we obviously chose the right day to go!

All the "locals" were out to bask in the sun... the aptly named "Sun Bear", the leaf-gobbling giraffe with his curious head bobbling about for all to see, and even the lioness, who was sunbathing on her giant rock, with one eye open slightly! And my most favourite - the chimpanzee enclosure! I recently saw the Weta Digital famed movie, "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and as pretty much ALL the chimps were out showing off and strutting their stuff, I half expected one chimp to suddenly beat his chest and shout, "Nooooo!". You would of course, have to see the movie to understand what I mean! :0)

It was such a wonderful day, I really didn't want the day to end! Usually I find big family outings like that, fairly exhausting, but with two adults helping me out (my husband, and an extended family member), it was a fabulous entourage: x1 double stroller (mostly for Prince's convenience, as he can only walk short distances), and his twin sister's little legs get tired from time to time!, x1 single pram (for baby Cherub, who LOVED the whole outing, and still managed to have his daytime naps while being wheeled - lucky for some!), and Princess 6, who declared she had enough energy to light the national power grid! There was also another single stroller for our accompanying adult who brought her preschooler. What joy to see such delight etched upon five little faces, who were all feeling the need to gulp fresh air and have a most welcome change of scenery. So we weren't able to find the finances to go out of town on holiday this year, but instead, we have made it our aim to do day trips in our own Wellington turf, where there are always many places to visit, see and do! It's just as much fun staying home, rather than to face a stuffy, hot, crammed car in the middle of Summer, with long driving hours..... and our excuse for not going to the much hoped for Splash Planet in Napier is..... the Manawatu Gorge is still closed, due to a massive rock fall that occurred several months ago. The alternative road trip would have meant several extra hours to add to the journey, and to be really honest, a car trip that is equal to two hours or more, is like travelling with a herd of mini elephants!! :0) For us anyway.... ;0)

Over the last few months, I have prided myself with keeping our family car tidy. It may feel a bit crammed with x4 children's car seats, but I always make sure after each car trip, that the car has no extras in it, such as kids clothes, discarded baby wipes, small toys, etc. Your car is a reflection of you, in a sense, so if you have a messy car (like, REALLY messy!), that can sometimes make you feel icky! When I had a newborn, I sort of let the "car junk" lurk for far too long, and it usually got to the point where if I could, I would have happily invited The Wombles in with their sticks, to collect all the rubbish and find a new home for it!

I'm not into New Year's resolutions at all, because I find it often sets me up for failure! Stats have shown that the most common new year's resolution for women, is weight loss, and men's top one is to spend less money!

But I do find it perfectly fine to plan ahead for the goals we wish to make over the next 12 months or so. For example, last night, Prince Charming and I made a Family Year Planner and listed our goals ie moving house: in order to do that, we need to fix things around our current house by a certain time, and find a reputable company who can do small DIY jobs for us, as neither of us has the time or the know-how, and we are far too busy with our x4 cherubs anyway!

And what else is on the list, that we thought was in the "too hard" basket?! A glass jar/ piggy bank, or a savings account, where we can put a little bit of money aside each pay day, so we can actually go to Splash Planet in 2013! A year from now! Hmmmm, does that sound like a new year's resolution?! Maybe, but in this day and age with the global recession and feeling like we don't have much money for "extras", perhaps, with a whole lot of perseverance, we can watch our little next egg become our holiday fund for Summer 2013! By then, the Manawatu Gorge will be open, baby Cherub will be 18 months old, and we will have replaced the crammed car with a mini van! :0)

Happy Holidays and keep safe on the roads to all you folk in NZ and Australia who are enjoying a well deserved Summer holiday!

Bye for now, til next time

xo Queen Daisy!!