Summer Solstice

   We do a secular Summer Solstice celebration at our house, one where we make our own traditions. Solstice morning, we brought up the drift wood tree from the garage, the one we had been working on building for the past few weeks. Mom and Dad tied some more pieces on it. It was a work in progress - still is. I got out the knitted ornaments Sebastian's grandmother made and gave to us when we visited the States earlier this year. Mom got out some silk ornaments that our family had made years ago. They were made using scraps of Mom's painted silk and a design my cousin Aubri shared with us one Christmas, an ornament making tradition her family had when she was a kid. Over the past week the decorations have been embellished with sea shells, hoarded scraps of decorative ribbon, and anything else that we have felt inspired to add. I love that our tree is mainly decorated with handmade or found objects.

 Mom holding a piece of driftwood in place while Dad ties it with twine

The tree early in the morning

Sebastian sorting out the decorative ribbons for us

   Then we gave Sebastian his presents. He definitely gets the concept of presents this year, and he thinks they are great fun to open.

 Opening a kid sized set of gardening tools

 Such concentration!

 Sebastian checking out his new game with Daddy

That afternoon, we had a Solstice party. I have zero pictures of the event, because I was too busy enjoying myself. Highlights included visiting with our awesome friends, enjoying a turkey dinner that took me right back to my childhood, and a lively game of Cards Against Humanity.

That night Mom threw the turkey carcass in the crock pot and made stock for soup the next day. When Sebastian saw her fishing out bones with some tongs, he just had to get in on the fun. We got out his little tongs so he could help. 

   The soup the next day was delicious, and so were the left over turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches!

Paraparaumu

Sebastian, getting his style inspiration from Doctor Who in this picture. We took a little weekend trip up to Paraparaumu recently. We found Sebastian this awesome rainbow hoodie at the local weekend market and then he borrowed my scarf.

Paraparaumu makes a handy weekend getaway for us at just a 45 minute drive up the coast. It's a laid back little beach town with just enough cafes and restaurants to give some variety, and some funky shops to browse.

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The garden

This one is from a few weeks ago when we visited Aotea Lagoon. Loren is holding Sebastian up so he can get a good look at the whisteria. It grows on an arbour that covers a walkway to the rose garden.

Sebastian's favorite thing at that park though is the windmill. He calls it the "mind-wheel"

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