Windows, tents and Karate

Sunday 15th saw colder wet weather, so it was tent making time. :-)
I still remember when we moved to NZ and I said it didn't matter if the dish washer worked or not, as we wouldn't use it. I was pregnant, and the sink was rather low, so it wasn't long before my back motivated me to try the dish washer out. And I have never looked back.

Well, yesterday, or dishwasher needed repairs. We had been noticing water under the fridge, but weren't sure where the water was coming from. I conclusively confirmed this week, that it was from the dish washer. Where we couldn't figure out though. So on Saturday afternoon (while Asher napped) Brendon and I started the dismantling. We were rather pleased when we eventually found where the water was coming from and that it was a simple matter of the valve being blocked with lime. So I got that cleaned and we put it all together again. We had to take the sides and top off to locate it. And I only remembered to take a photo once it was back together..... We are all very pleased it is working properly again, and that it didn't cost us anything to get it fixed.

On Sunday, Brendon and Rachel headed off to town to collect windows that I had purchased on Trade Me. They left just before lunch and due to different delays, only ended up getting home after 3:30 - much later than they expected. Great memories made though.
I ended up getting such a great bargain. For 3 windows (two big and the one a bit smaller that you can see through the others) I only paid $65.
We had originally thought of putting a sliding door into the middle of the container, into the "lounge" area. But now that we have these three nice matching windows, we may just put the smaller window in the lounge area with a "normal door", and the bigger windows on each end - for the bedrooms.

A nice one of them. :-)

Monday 16th saw Rachel and I off to town for the fitting of her braces. The photo on the left was just a normal smile and they are hardly noticeable. On Tuesday night at St John she got to see how true this was. One friend only noticed the following week and said "hey, when did you get braces"? :-)
Photo to the right showing more of the teeth. I'm glad we took this photo as we will be able to compare with it as the months go by.

Just as we arrived back on Monday (at 5:30pm) Asher had just had a 1 minute Tonic Clonic seizure on the trampoline. She apparently went very blue, so it was a real blessing again that it was so short. After posting about this seizure on facebook, I got some great ideas on where to get some sunglasses for her. And I managed to get a really cheap 2nd hand pair for her during the week.
Tuesday 17th: Asher enjoying some fun play with Hannah early this morning.

Ruth enjoying the camera and nature.

Thursday 19th: Ruth created a HUGE tent in the H bedroom this morning. There was not a bit of carpet to be seen. They had hoped to sleep on the floor in their tents tonight, but Hezekiah ended up in his bed eventually.

Friday 20th: Asher was so cute this morning with the little doll's hat that she decided she would like on. If it had been red she would have been our little elf. :-)
Busy with her regular "game" at Champion Centre, unpacking, sorting and repacking the cutlery tray.





Hannah with for the trip today. She enjoyed the dress up corner too. :-)

Saturday 21st: I finally have a photo to remind me to write about the Karate lessons that started at the beginning of November. Brendon and the 3 older girls attend Karate on Monday and Wednesday evenings (6 - 7:30pm) in the local hall. Hezekiah is just too young as they only start at 5. The practices are also just too long for him.
Here they are practising a "kata".
Don't be fooled by Hezekiah getting this move right. ;-)

Rachel had attended the first night but not really been motivated to keep going. UNTIL...... A couple of weeks later Brendon and Ruth came home buzzing. Some visitors had been there that night and they had done some sparring. Brendon's quick reflexes made that he did very well, even against the black belts. The one Sensei was sparring with him and he couldn't get a hit past Brendon. Eventually he was laughing. Their excitement when they got home got Rachel excited about joining, and she is taking to it very quickly. She and Brendon are now on a mission to see how quickly they can get to black belt.
I am so very thankful that Brendon has this to enjoy. For so many years now he has not had any hobby (mainly because of time), so I am so pleased. And it makes it even better that he can do it with the girls.