The start of a great day

It was still dark when the boys woke me. I tried to ignore the loud "whispering" and giggling from their room without any success, so up before dawn. Sitting with a coffee I and doing a cryptic crossword, I caught sight of the effects of the sunrise. A quick look, and snap. and thought no more about it until a half hour later when the sky looked much more dramatic. Walked out from the back deck to the edge of our property by the cliff, and took this picture through the pohutukawa on the adjacent property, my mother-in-law's home.

Took the boys down to the beach below the cliff after breakfast in an attempt to calm and tire them. Lovely walk around the point to Algies Bay and back, then some water play. Lost the little one's goggles, and no time to look for them as suddenly he was very cold, and needed a lot of encouragement to walk up the steps and path to the clifftop.

Bit of domestic stuff necessary, during which the quite marvellous S also prepared a picnic and we headed off to Anchor Bay (surf beach). Immediately changed the plan and went instead out along the ridge to the end of the peninsula; Scott Landing. The tide was fully in and the boys were able to play in the water, we had the picnic on the grass in the shade, and then took the boys for a walk to the wee island which from mid tide on is connected by a causeway. Showed them the interesting geology, and Mr H was really interested in the way that strata had been uplifted and turned to become vertical.

Home to a bit of a rest, and then I took the opportunity for a run before a barbeque on the deck and some shots of a great sunset as the boys went to bed.

I feel very privileged.