School Holiday Yay!

It's been a hectic few weeks leading up to it but it finally arrived - School is out! While most parents are gritting their teeth and fretting about how to fill those 12 weeks, not I! I'm going to sleep in, try to lose the extra 10 kilos I've gained during the school year and just hang out with my kids; and also travel to Apia and NZ.

A couple of weeks ago we had the school arts festival. The theme was Polynesia and my class represented New Zealand. We performed two Maori songs, Tu Tiramai and E Papa Waiari, the boys also learnt the Ka Mate Haka. My Maori expert came via Youtube and a friend skyped her sister-in-law for the moves to Tutira Mai. The kids did real well singing a few of the sticks went here and there but it was okay. Our Haka was the express version it had a lot of noise but very fast.

In the last few weeks we had a class umu at my home for the kids in my class and their parents. It was quite an experience and thankfully I had a lot of help from parents and my mum too. It was a long day but fortunately none of the kids burned themselves or cut themselves in learning how to scrape breadfruit or taro or peel bananas. It was quite a night, and I was tired by the end of the night.

Talia and Noah have had a good year with school. They've both done really well adjusting to a working household. They've not complained when 5 out of the 7 dinners were take-out, they've not complained about being dragged to school early and staying at school late. So I am thankful.

We are eagerly awaiting Nana and Poppa Thomas' visit, to see what they make of this interesting island and to see how we all live here.