Sunday, September 30, 2007

Great Waiheke Scavenger Hunt







Today was a big day for Ilona. For weeks (months!), she has been putting together a "scavenger hunt" on behalf of the Historical Society. The goal was really to raise the profile of the Society: while they have a "historical village" with a few buildings and many artifacts from the the Island's history, many on the Island have never visited, and many have never heard of the society or village.

The scavenger hunt was a new idea for the society, and Ilona put in a huge amount of work on it. She found about 20 sponsors who provided prizes, support, food for the "sausage sizzle", and other goods. She solicited questions and put together the questionnaire. She arranged for lots of press coverage (with three weeklies on the island, there is generally pretty good press support for local activities).

The questionnaires went out yesterday. Mike returned from a trip to the US, arriving on a 6AM flight. By 10AM, he was camped outside the supermarket, handing out the questions and selling raffle tickets. Others from the society handed out the questionnaires and all the island top spots: the Saturday market, the library, and the museum.

Sunday (today) rolled around, and the weather didn't cooperate very well: very windy with periodic rain. And would anyone answer the questions?

It was a great relief to have the questionnaires come in, starting shortly after after noon. By the 4PM deadline, 24 questionnaires had been returned, which greatly exceeded most guesses as to the likely response.

The questions were a real mix. Some required current knowledge, while others went well back into history. Some were "collection" type questions ("Get a bus ticket"), some required activity ("Make a sculpture of recycled material"), and one even involved a public performance ("Sing 'Beautiful Waiheke' in front of the minimarket and get the cashier to sign the form). Check out the full questionnaire with answers.

Surprisingly, most of the participants got at least 20 of the 30 questions, and the winner got 29. People on Waiheke know their history! The "sausage sizzle" was a great success, since Ilona arranged for great sausage and buns. More than 70 people went through the museum at some point during the afternoon, with many staying for the awards.

It was a fabulous day.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Springtime and the flowers are out



The weather is warming up, and the flowers are out.

Meanwhile, Alexander is working at spelling his name with his tools. He is getting there.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Send in the clowns and heritage scavenger hunt



The Island does a good job of bringing in acts and programs, particularly for kids. Today, there were clowns. Alexander was a bit disappointed, though: the previous clown dropped his trousers and we heard about it for weeks. These clowns kept their pants on.

Meanwhile, Ilona is putting together a scavenger hunt on behalf of the Historical Society. The mosaic is the mailbox for the kindergarten. Let's see if the scavenger hunt participants can figure that out!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Water, water everywhere...





... but not a drop to drink! Early spring has been very rainy (squally really), which should mean full water tanks. Every house on the island carefully collects rain water through its gutter system. We are supposed to also, but today we ran out of water. Given the amount of rain, the only conclusion is that the collection system is plugged someplace. A tanker truck was sent to deliver water, much to Alexander's delight.

One advantage of squalls is the amazing rainbows we have seen. Here is Alexander with one of the babysitters we tried after Karin.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Duck Crossing!



The island is a pretty relaxed. Ducks definitely have right-of-way (pedestrians do not).

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Family Fun Festival





The Girl Scouts put on a Family Fun Festival today. That is just the kind of island it is. Alexander had a great time riding on the fire truck (all the other kids had to pile in the back), where he helpfully reminded the driver to stay to the left, and pointed out all the stop signs on the route. He also got to ride a horse (complete with bullet proof vest for some reason).

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Pirates on the beach




Mike is away (again!), back to the US for two weeks. Alexander found a (plastic) sword on the beach, and it is his new best toy. The flowers are really starting to come out now, and the water is getting just a bit warmer (Mike did some wading before he left a couple of days ago).

Friday, September 14, 2007

Nice days




Spring is in force, and the sailboats have reappeared.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Dr. Alexander


Alexander got a book about the body from the library. Combined with his medical kit, he has gained a (perhaps un-)healthy interest in medical procedures. He begins every activity with a cheerful "This is going to hurt". When it comes to taking bandages off of Mike's arms, he is correct!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Spring!

It is the first day of spring, by New Zealand reckoning, and it is a gorgeous day. The water is a brilliant blue green and, while not quite shorts weather, no jacket or sweater is needed. Kids are running screaming all around, and all is right with the world.

I'm a little behind in posting here, but I will catch up (so be sure to check "older" posts below this one for stuff I might add later, but I wanted all to know we are doing fine and enjoying things here very much.