I wish Laura and her family were our neighbors.  They usually live in Alaska, but they’re back in Nelson, NZ for the summer and took a road trip down to see us this past weekend.  Jeremiah went hunting, and we had a kiddy weekend in Christchurch.

Left to right it’s Noah (3), Milo (3) and Audrey (4). It’s really interesting to see the innate personality differences among children. Audrey can spend hours quietly in an imaginary world with her characters conversing to one another in depth. Milo greats visitors by assuming the pre-pounce tiger stance, and roaring. He also believes it’s his sacred duty to exclude Noah (as the youngest) from the play. Consequently their play takes a bit of mama-monitoring.

A walk along Govenor’s Bay is always a good activity. After bowling through every muddy puddle in sight, Milo is testing out the balance bike’s all terrain ability.

Back in the city, we’re checking out the City Council’s stream, complete with copper eels. We started by removing shoes and rolling up pants, but by the end they were trouserless and wet anyway. No matter, it was a warm day.

The day was warm enough that trying on the entire Antarctica kit was out of the question–the big boots and mittens that Audrey’s sporting with her pretty tank top were enough. These past two weeks there has been a neat Antarctica exhibit in the city center. Spending many weeks squatting in these two-layer tents in the biting polar wind seems unimaginable to me. I guess I’m not that devoted to research.

The Botanical Gardens were just a couple blocks away, so we stopped in for a play at the droopy cedar, its branches worn smooth by a couple generations of playful kids.

Old Man Cedar (like Tom Bombadil’s Old Man Willow) caught Milo’s foot and he needed help to escape his clutches.

The formal garden beds were so impressive in their spring gaudiness, I couldn’t resist a picture.