on holiday

This weekend we went to Duvuchelle and Akaroa, both places are just over an hours drive from Christchurch. The twelve of us ( friends and kids) stayed together in a big holiday home. It was our friend's 40th while we were there and with a bit of sneaking we organised her family to visit and surprise her on Saturday night. Her parents live about 2 hours South of Christchurch in Timaru, her sister lives in Arizona and her brother and sister in law in Melbourne- it had been a while since they were all together so it was pretty special.

The highlight of our weekend for me was going on the black cat cruise http://www.blackcat.co.nz/. We saw hector dolphins, seals, albatross and some beautiful scenery. We got half price passes on http://www.grabone.co.nz/christchurch thanks to our friend who spotted them- perfect timing.

The kids LOVED it and I would've paid double just to see their faces when they watched the dolphin dive and chase the boat or a when they were spotting seals sleeping on the rocks. If you're ever in Akaroa or if you're local and you've been meaning to go on the cruise you really should it's well worth it.

M got the paints out today and decided to use her fingers to paint a picture of the dolphins. I'm feeling pretty satisfied about managing to pass on my love of being creative to our kids. It fills my heart right up to see how much enjoyment they get from it and how delighted they are when they create something they're proud of.

I love this shot of the dolphins swimming towards us

clouds, sea, peaks of waves and dolphin's fins