Exploring Wellington

New Zealand is naturally beautiful all over. Every where you look there is some scenic view, some trail waiting to be walked upon, some flora and fauna waiting to be discovered. This place offers a lot to do, for all tastes, in a small area.
There are some activities that S, N and I enjoy as family activities and hiking or tramping is one of them. We have been to about 3 or 4 of them so far and want to do more in the summers.
Last weekend we covered part of another long trail called the City to Sea Walkway. We found a park on the way and the kid loved it!!

While some chose to run and bound through the green grass trying to catch the blue skies...

... others decided to hitch hike!!

We went downhill...

And looked up at tall trees.

Found some HUGE trees...

And swung high on swings in the park...

And New Yorkers we have our own Central Park too :) ...

Looking forward to more tramping. Keep in mind the hiking motto "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footsteps"!!

N turns 4 and a tad cuter and wiser!

N turned 4 last week and with that S and I breathed a sigh of partial relief. Yay!! we made it through the terrible threes. But wait what might the 4s bring?
Then I read somewhere - " If 3-year-olds are busy, inquisitive, and fun, 4-year-olds are all that, magnified — yet with a budding maturity, self-control, and understanding of rules that help make life a bit calmer." I hope so. 
The 3s have been very demanding. But I can already feel the 4s being more pleasant :) 

When we were talking about how he would like to spend the day. He didn't really have a list of wants. He did not mention the word party. But he continued to scan every toy/gizmo/vehicle around him and let us know that he would like to get it as his birthday gift.  He was told to choose any 2 things - one from mum, one from dad. He did spend a lot of time thinking about what to choose using the phrases "Thinking", "Still thinking", "Still Still thinking" and ultimately chose some decent (subjective, I know!) gifts. On the actual birth day, we took him to an indoor soft play area that he loves. It was bright, colourful and happy and N enjoyed it with friends. 

We were reading a book a few nights before his birthday. It was about a boy named Angus who shares food from a goods train with people who need it rather than the rich and full, royal family. We do the "What did you learn/like/dislike discussion for the books we read?" And so N said "Mamma, it is a good thing to share things with people who don't have them. I would do that." That motivated me to walk in to my local soup kitchen/community kitchen for people who don't have homes, here in Wellington and I asked about what kind of donations they accept. They said pretty much anything was welcome. I asked N if he would love to share some of his birthday cake with them. He liked the idea!! So we ordered a big cake... 

... and decided to donate it to the soup kitchen after the party. We went to the kitchen after his birthday party and the staff and volunteers there were pleased and wanted to show N the place. His favourite part was the huge walk-in freezer, as big as our master bedroom. 

May the sharing and kind spirit continue. God bless you N!! 

I love this poem by Kahlil Gibran and I hope I can follow it while raising N.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

~ Source here

Otaki trip and farm stay

A few weeks back, we visited a home stay/farm in Otaki about an hour north from Wellington. We went along with another family so N had company ;)
We went via a scenic route along the west coast of North Island along the Tasman Sea.
Once we reached the place, we were welcomed into our cabins by this stunning blue necked beauty!

We set off to explore the place immediately; because it all looked so inviting and exciting. And we wanted to see everything before the sun went down.

The farm is very Bali-inspired. They have their head office in Bali hence a lot of Buddha statues all over the place. 

Some elephants-having-fun statues too!

There was even a cute li'l wishing well and the kids dropped coins into it and made their wishes :) 

There were lots of birds and animals on the farm roaming around freely. Some hens. 

Some geese, roosters and birds-I-don't-know-names-of. 

There were some deer. 

The best part was when the peacock decided to spread his feathers and strut about.

Then it was time for sight seeing around the town of Otaki. And it had so many hues to offer. It was a pure visual delight! 

At the Otaki Beach we saw these seagulls resting.

Ended the day with some delicious food at the local Indian restaurant.

The next morning we had a gorgeous visitor at our cabin door!

Beautiful, isn't it?? 

New Zealand is a beautiful place and here is to many more trips!! 

Apple Crumble Recipe

Here is the recipe for the apple crumble I had made a while back - here. 

I referred to a few magazines and websites to check out the basic apple crumble recipe and then used this following derived version. It is super easy and very quick. Something that I am going to be making a lot!! 

Ingredients:

For the apple filling
- 4 Granny Smith apples (the green ones) You could use any other slightly tangy apples.

- 50 gm granulated sugar - I used soft brown sugar

- 1 lemon juiced - fresh yellow lemons work best
- 20 gm plain flour - For a healthier option use wholemeal flour/unbleached flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the crumble crust
- 120 gm walnuts/pecans 
- 140 gm plain flour
- 100 gm rolled oats 

- 110 gm dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- 115 gm cold butter, cut into small pieces

Method: 

1) Preheat oven to 180C/400F.

2) Peel, core, and slice apples into small (1/2 inch), almost same sized pieces or slices. 

Place apples in a large mixing bowl and mix with sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon. Put this mixture into a lightly greased 23 by 33 cm (9 inch by 12 inch) baking dish, and spread out into an even layer. Keep it aside.

3) In another bowl, mix together the nuts, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the topping. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, gently work in the cold butter until pea-sized lumps are formed.

4) Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown, about 45 mins, rotating once halfway through cooking.

You can eat it by itself or with fresh whipped cream or ice cream! 

The otherwise non-sweet-eating hubby also loved it and had 2 servings (really big deal that is). I was super happy, because I had the rest of it over the next few days. This keeps well in the fridge too, warm it in the microwave, put a dollop of ice cream and you are in bliss! 

Happy Baking!!

Linking this to Made with Love Party hosted by these wonderful blogs - Patty at Colours Dekor, Cerys at Rainy Day Mum, Angie at The Magic of Play and Rashmie at Mommy Labs. 

Spring is here!

Well almost here! So while the rest of the world gets ready to face fall/autumn, here in New Zealand spring is about to start. The weather is Wellington though just seems to be the same. Even though the temperatures are slightly higher, it is a lot more windy than the winter. But the silver lining in the cloud is that for the first time ever since I came here I was brave enough to venture out in 2 layers instead of 3.

Glimpses of a few spring must-dos

Eat strawberry gelato from our favourite gelato shop in the city.

Spend time at the waterfront watching sail boats, speed boats and kayaks. This picture was clicked by N *proud mommy moment* He has been showing a lot of interest towards the camera. 

Catch those tiny new greens popping up on bare trees post-winter. 

Swing in the park and fly high in the sky! 

Go for hiking and get to see awesome, picturesque landscape. 

Go to the beach and get dirty :) 

Get some spring flowers to brighten up your day!!

Linking this as my photography to Made with Love Party hosted by these wonderful blogs - Patty at Colours Dekor, Cerys at Rainy Day Mum, Angie at The Magic of Play and Rashmie at Mommy Labs.

Have a great week ahead. Love!!