we have FLUSHAGE!!!!

WE HAVE A TOILET THAT FLUSHES!!!!!!!! WE HAD 3 TRUCKS AND A CREW OF 6 WORKERS HERE THIS MORNING

(DIGGING UP MY FRONT LAWN, KILLING MY HEDGES AND DOING OTHER THINGS TO MY LANDSCAPING BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!)

AND NOW WE CAN FLUSH!

NO MORE VILE CAMP TOILET!

NO MORE LONG DROP!

NO MORE MAKING THE KIDS HANG ON TILL DOM GETS HOME

(SO HE CAN EMPTY THE CAMP TOILET)

Ahhhhh, life is good.

Now I just need the water pressure to get over A Trickle so that the tank can fill up and it can go down the pipes after just one flush, not 3.

But i'm not complaining, oh no, I most certainly am not.

Lucy my hockey princess

This is the 2nd time my Lucy has got Best Effort at hockey... She LOVES playing...

This is her team. I'm been trying to get these photos on my blog for weeks but somehow it just never happens... John - their coach - is a student at Shirley Boys High and he is awesome. I've never known a teenage boy to be so patient and willing to use his spare time to get 6yr olds to play a sport!! He is always cheeful and the kids love him.

Lucy in action... I'd put up a running shot but she moves so fast she would be a blur :)

This is what they do when I am not home....

I was working. Dom was home with the kids (earthquake ment the kids school was shut again)... they discovered a Smile Metre on the camera so they hooked it up to the tv and then took 100 shots! He he he!

my dream kitchen...

My dream kitchen will have this plate rack in the kitchen... (I found this photo on www.panelform.co.nz, they also have really cute country-style drawers and cupboards)

Vanessa and Chris xxx

My oldest niece got married this weekend, and as you can see she was *beautiful*. Here she is with her husband Chris, Dad (Chris) Mum (Dom's sister Marie-Josee) and brothers Lucas, Jackson (Jordon) and Shawn (who makes his bed every day)

xx

Since no one can go downtown...

Some pictures from inside the Red Zone can be found at www.stuff.co.nz (that is the Press newspaper site)...

When I picked up the kids today it occurred to me that most of you probably don't realize that we still can't go "downtown". In a big city like Sydney or Montreal this might not be a big deal, because there are so many other major centers nearby but here... it matters. We still only have 2 operating malls (argh! don't even think about going there because it is like Christmas Eve at all times) and before the earthquakes going "to town" was like going to a mall, but better and bigger and with a more fun vibe. Now however, it is locked up and patroled by the army 24/7. Oh and it is like a war zone... There is rubble everywhere.

So yer, the tourist district and the shops are gone. Maybe they will be back someday but if we keep getting big earthquakes (M6 and over) then I doubt there will be anything left to try to salvage.

comme elle est belle!

Aren't they GORGEOUS!!!!!