poppy’s 6th birthday

What a wonderful afternoon for Poppy’s party at the maze!  Lots of her friends were there to celebrate with her and she had an energetic time running through the maze, jumping on the bouncy castle and riding through the bike trail.

Before that we had a special breakfast with GranJan & Yogi who came to our house early this morning – then some shopping for party things and some time doing our hair and getting ready for the big party!

Here are the photos from her day:

RSVP to Poppy’s Birthday

We’ve planned a fun late afternoon party this year at Stoneridge Cafe & Maze in Redwood Valley.  There will be a bouncy castle, a sausage sizzle and a bike trail if you bring your bike.  Bring your family and a picnic if you like!  If the weather isn’t great, check here or on facebook for a cancellation notice.  Please RSVP using the following form so we make sure there is a sausage for you all!

Stoneridge Cafe & Maze: 298 Moutere Highway, Nelson, New Zealand 7081

christmas 2011

Isn’t five years old an awesome age for Christmas? Poppy chose and decorated the tree herself, prepared all the traditional things for Santa, had wonderful conversations with the mall & retail Santas she met and was fully engaged in the whole process of the countdown – including identifying the date with her advent calendar every morning in December.

Having her Uncle Christopher arriving on Christmas Eve was an excellent addition to the excitement of the season.  Singing carols at the cathedral steps in Nelson on Christmas Eve was really fun. Lots of presents delighted her this year…. especially the amazing playhouse GranJan and Yogi built at the farm, complete with shop window and all the frills for a little girl.  She also loved the mermaid bike from Santa and the pogo stick from Uncle Chris.  The candy necklaces in Santa’s sack were a wide-eyed surprise on Christmas morning… she had asked every Santa she met for some, including the Santa who called from Santa Call – a wonderful experience she talked about a lot.

A big thank you to GranJan for the lovely Christmas dinner at the farm.  We had a relaxing time playing in the sun and enjoying all the family time without rushing anywhere.

Unfortunately, nothing arrived from her Dad in time for Christmas (apparently it’s on the way) – so she was a little disappointed about that.  We sent an awesome gift over to America that I recommend to anyone with relatives they don’t see a lot – a photo book which we picked up from Grab One on sale [a big 30cm x 30cm hard cover photo book with 50 pages, incl. nationwide delivery] from Photo Deals. We made two books, one also for GranJan and Yogi with photos from activities and highlights throughout the year.

Here is a Christmas wish from Poppy to her relatives overseas – and video of her opening her presents.

karaoke superstar finals

Poppy sang her heart out in the rain today at the Motueka A&P Show stage where the Tasman Karaoke Superstar Finals were being held.

All the winners from the different regional heats got together for a karaoke sing-off and Poppy took out the Junior Champion prize.  She sang a Lady GaGa Tribute and Sweet About Me by Gabriella Cilmi.

Afterwards we were going to walk around the show and meet all the animals and see the entertainment, but it was really starting to pour so we dashed to the car with just a quick stop at Mr Whippy for a creamy celebration.

Thanks to Jason from Orange Dog for helping us with the GaGa Girl t-shirt transfer… I might have to start taking orders!