Te Awamutu

 Saturday morning, and a family trip to Te Awamutu (where Gran's family mostly lives) was on the plan. She had set a 9 am departure time, and even with six people to run through the showers at her place (our beach house seems to have a fatal flaw -- only enough hot water for one shower), we were close to on time.

We all piled into the van -- me, Justin, Gran, Grandad, Uncle Garth, Cameron, Maia, Ella, and Bria -- and headed south. With a stop to buy gifts and a stop for groceries, we arrived at Auntie Sue's place in the country. Cousin Jason's wife Maria and their two little girls, Isabella (7) and Trixie (4) joined us for lunch and visiting. The kids had a great time on the trampoline, and Bria and Trixie became fast friends.

Next was a trek down the road to Uncle Paul and Auntie Dawn's house, where they were hosting an engagement party for their middle daughter, Lisa, and her fiance Benji.

The kids were a little overwhelmed by all the people around, but it was a good way to get to see and catch up with most of the Empson family. They heard over and over how much they had grown (8 1/2 years will do that), and saw lots of people they had fun with when we came for our wedding. Maia took a photo with Lisa and her sisters Janette and Katherine, who were a trio of teenagers toting her around when she last saw them.

Cameron played ball with Janette's six-year-old son Kaden, and all the kids went out to the paddock to see the sheep. Bria even rode on one, thanks to Grandad's help.

We caught up with Nick and Ros, who are expecting their first grandbaby when Cousin Vicky and Mario welcome their first baby in Austria this December. We also got to spend time with Nan, who had a lovely time sharing her chocolate mousse with the littlest and posing for photos with the American great-grands.

We all piled in the van and pointed ourselves north at dark, complete with a pair of super wound up teenagers (Gran though maybe Cam's three ginger beers were to blame). The children were starving by the time we hit Auckland, so we stopped at a food court and had Asian food. Maia was asleep before we even left the table, so we dropped the rest of the family off and called it a night.

One thing we are definitely finding about the time transition is that we are tired much earlier than we are used to at home! By about 8 pm, the kids are done. We have decided the move from summer (long days) at home to winter (short days) here is contributing to that.