A new year? Bring it on!

All has been quiet on the blogging front for a while, the grand reason for the silence? - we actually took a holiday! I mean a real holiday, the first holiday we've had in three years, and boy -oh-boy it was good. It was road trip time, from Dunedin to Auckland and lots of places between. So 3566km later, I feel refreshed and rearing to go. And would you believe it, I didn't read any books while I was away - it was a reading holiday too. And a computer holiday. Instead I indulged in lots of newspapers (we can't get The Dominion Post or the New Zealand Herald in Dunedin) crosswords and Sudoku. Bliss.

Highlights for anyone touring New Zealand with a car load of kids?

Prawn fishing at Taupo - yep, bamboo pole fishing rod + a couple of pleasant hours = yum dinner.
The Auckland Maritime Museum - brilliant. We also hit the Auckland Zoo & the War Memorial Museum.
Walking around or up Mt Maunganui.
Southward Car Museum, north of Paraparaumu. Petrol head heaven.
The Lynley Dodd retrospective at Te Manawa in Palmerston North. She is fabulous.
The cook straight ferry crossing - there's nothing quite like cruising down the Marlborough Sounds.
Driving - you certainly feel like you've seen the country when you've actually traveled every flaming kilometre of it!

The holiday also saw the transition of Mr Nine-year-old into Mr Ten-year-old. Wow, double figures. The occasion called for a cake, and this one was thrown together in a bit of a hurry, but the results were Smurfalicious.

So now I feel rested, restored and ready to face a new year head on. Excellent!!!