Our Summer This Year

In the summer months, we’d have sunlight until about 9-930 pm. Our petrol consumption in the summer goes way up because the girls couldn’t sleep until it gets dark, so we take them out to the playgrounds or to the city for some playtime. Usually, they get tired and sleepy by the time we get home.

Officially, it’s autumn now in New Zealand, and pretty soon, we’re going to start layering up our clothes, wear thicker jackets, and start using the heater at home. There are still warm days, though, so we take advantage of those and get out as much as we can.

We talk a lot about the weather here in New Zealand If you want to strike up a conversation with a Kiwi, the weather is sure to fire them up. People can tell you which year was a good summer (2018 and 2019 were good!), and a bummer one (2016 and 2017 were miserable). This year was just ok. Just the right amount of sunshine and rainy days here in Wellington. But it didn’t reach tropical temperatures as the previous summer though.

Here are a couple of our summer highlights. Just putting it out here to look at for when the dreary winter arrives.

Blueberry picking

Our first outing after we got back from our holiday in the Philippines. We drove out to Levin with friends to pick out blueberries with friends. This was Patty’s first time, and she had too much fun picking blueberries. Towards the end, though, she started eating straight from the tree.

Otaki Kite Festival

This is the second time we’ve attended this event. Otaki is a beach town about an hour and a half drive from our suburb. The girls love looking at the giant animal kites at the beach. The day was perfect because the wind was quite strong that day, but it was quite warm too.

Katie was obssessed with this ride in the carnival. There was a tantrum that happened, guys.

A Beach Visit to Paraparaumu

On Waitangi Day (see holidays in New Zealand), we drove out to Paraparaumu beach about an hour away from our house. John set up our beach tent, and we let the girls play to their heart’s content. Though the water was too cold for a swim and they were limited to just the shore, they still had fun and enjoyed themselves.

Our Yearly Visit to Castlepoint

Ever since we moved here, we have always visited Castlepoint. I’m in love with this place, because it’s just gorgeous. This year, we managed to go just a few weeks ago, before summer ended. It was  a nice summer day. I like Castlepoint because there’s an inlet that has shallow waters so we don’t need to worry about the girls being pulled in by the tide.

In between these are lots of days spent at the playground, parties and visits with friends, and just a lot of time spent together as a family. How has your summer been?