James and Christie

So, we’re back from our holidays now and trying to get back into our routines.  After a fantastic week down at Cook’s Beach in the Coromandel, work and household routine does seem a little…lacklustre though. 

We headed down to the house we were renting with Nanna and Granddad last week (Sunday) and came back on Thursday for the wedding of Georgie and Luke.  The traffic down there was a shocker, to say the least!  It took an hour and a half to drive the 7 kms from outside Kopu to across the bridge!!!

But once we got down there, it was a great holiday – helped by the fact that all the remaining Thompson siblings were hanging out at a house 500m around the road.  Yes, that includes Uncles Brian and Rick who were back from Canada and Australia, respectively, with their girlfriends Amanda and Kate, respectively, to celebrate the New Year with a family holiday.

The weather was pretty much perfect.  Aside from a little drizzle on the Monday, we had beautiful weather every day, allowing us to do some pretty fantastic day trips.  Nana and Granddad looked after Sarah one day so that Mummy, Davey and I could walk down to Cathedral Cove.  Christie doubted David would make the walk, but I thought he could – and we were both right.  He walked the whole 45 minute trip down to the beach – talking the whole way! – but struggled on the last 20 minutes walking back up.  Carrying an extra 15 kilos on your shoulders, uphill, in Summer heat is a great way to sweat off that Christmas turkey, let me tell you!

But the time at Cathedral Cove was fantastic – such a beautiful spot (photos to come).  We also managed to get out to Hotwater Beach (or “Hotsummer Beach” as David kept calling it) and had a blast there.  David and I took to the sand with great gusto, digging our own “spa pool like Nanny and Poppa’s” – although the Little Digger was pretty much just keen on digging.  Even if that meant digging and putting extra sand back into the hold Daddy was digging! 

So, after nearly a week of barbeques, beach time, naps and even a game of golf, we headed back to Auckland and made it back in time for the wedding – which was fantastic (thank you Aunty Kelsey for babysitting!)  The remainder of the week saw us attempting to return to normality as the new working year begins.

But the memories are still fresh enough that if I close my eyes, I can still see the sparkling (but very cold!) sea at Cathedral Cove, or hear David talking on the way down – “so, Mummy, how was your day?”

Pretty good mate.  Pretty good!