BLAH BLAH takes out TIGFA Jr Title

Things weren't looking good for the Junior TIGFA fishing comp with a week of bad weather but Dyl was on a mission. Simply, catch as many fish as possible and as an added bonus he was taking Uncle Ryan along for the ride. The run out east was a little lumpy but as soon as we slowed to trawling speed Ryan's sea legs gave out. So we headed through the reef and up north of Malinoa. Once we were back in deep water Ryan headed over the side and the fish started biting. Dylan did the maths and figured he had to get ready to fish every time Ryan threw up and he wasn't far off the mark. 

 Dylan and Dad in action on the first fish of the day.

 Welcome aboard Mr Mahi Mahi. Is this the winning fish??? Everyone was very excited.

 Dylan was a little upset as Ryan had taken over his nap spot and he wanted him out, for two reasons - so another fish would bite and also so he could sneak back inside for a rest himself.

 Suddenly Ryan all smiles. Pump and wind little Bro!

 Ryan's first Tongan fish and his biggest fish ever, hence the smile.

 A little later we snuck behind the protection of the reef and it was a double hook up. Two Big eye tuna and no spewing either?? Was Dyl's theory wrong?

 With 6.5hrs of fishing complete Dyl's monster weighed in at 10.3kg and was nearly bigger than him. Ryan was extremely glad to be back on dry land.

 Ryans didn't make the qualifying weight but he was still all smiles and so were we, with fresh Mahi Mahi in the fridge who can complain.

 BLAH BLAH takes out her first win of the year, a $200 fuel voucher as best boat. Finally, Lyndon was all smiles and just wait till the next comp boys.

 Dylan took out 1st and 3rd place for individual fish, also the biggest fish and biggest total catch (1xMahi Mahi, 1x Big Eye Tuna, 1xSkippy and 1xSnapper) His mate Tane picked up 2nd place and here they are comparing prizes.

 With new tackle and rods in hand they were both back into the fishing. Leaving the parents at the Bar for a debrief.

Finally, with sunset on us it was time to head back to the Navy base. Ryan found a little stow away onboard. Gale loved her special ride with Dad.

The Nambour Q's visit TONGA

March had finally arrived and Ryan and the family were due into Tonga for some R&R. Amanda felt like a smuggler mule with all the extra's we had asked for and luckily they could split it up between everyone. This too could have been the reason they were last out of the airport security. Luckily, one of the policemen knew Lyndon and came out to let him know that they had arrived but were taking a little longer than normal. Nothing like a little local knowledge. This entry is the general pic's from around the house and Island during their visit.

Just some of the stash that we asked for. Lollies and chocolate made it high on the list and the kids eyes nearly fell out of their heads when they saw this pile.

Off to Fresh Cafe for our first lunch, thought we'd start them off on a high.

Jodie took them on a half Island tour as this was about a limit for the kids and so here is Ryan and Gale at the Ha'amonga Trillithon.

There's a little surprise in every Tongan handbag.

Look at me on my magical turtle. Might have to save this one for Eb's 21st.

Dyl found a friend in Eb and was also great with Gale.

Em went into auto baby sitter mode to the point we had to slow her up some days.

Eb having a crazy hair day.

The pool was a great saviour from the heat.

Finally someone else in the pool took the heat off Lyndon being drowned every second. Cheers Uncle Ryan.

Gale thought she had left something in the bag, or were they just playing hide and seek, or was she just having a little mohe (sleep)???

The Nambour Q's found our camera laying around and took a few family snaps for us.

"Come on, catch up I have your Baby." We tried our hardest to get them to join us on a Hash run/walk but Amanda and Eb were the only ones who actually made it. Too hot and the kids were too tired (more like the bar fridge would miss you Ryan). Anyway, Jodie set a ripper through Puke' and we ended up walking through the same funeral twice, an real experience for Amanda.

Jodie Does the Auckland Cup Races

The first weekend in March saw Jodie head off to Auckland for her Christmas/birthday present, a weekend in Auckland for the Auckland Races, Derby Day specifically. She went with our friends Shayne and Leilani and it was a flying visit as she flew in Friday afternoon and was back in Tonga first thing Monday morning.  Don't let the short amount of time fool you, Jodie definately squeezed a lot in that short space of time.

First stop was a visit to Leilani's family and then onto the nearest Westfield Shopping Centre for a couple hours of retail therapy. Bits and pieces for the kids and 8 fasinators for Jodie, a haircut and nails done for Leilani, and plenty of bags for Shayne to carry, it was time to head off to dinner and a early night was in order for the big day ahead.

The "storm cell" that was to hit Auckland that day did not eventuate so we were lucky enough to have good weather, although it was very cold for Jodie who was not used to the 19 degree temp. Leilani's friends rocked up to the unit to have a pre race starter and then we all headed off for a day of fun.  A great day at the races ended at about 9pm when we met up with the boys and then headed to a nearby nightclub till midnight.

After a little sleep in we spent Sunday sightseeing around the historic little town of Puhoi, fish and chips at the cafe, then up to the oldest tea house in town for a lovely devonshire tea with scones and jam - oh how civilised. Sunday afternoon was back at Leilani's family house for dinner then bed early for a 6am flight home and back to realily. Thanks guys for a great weekend.

The best ever eggs benedict here, at Circus Circus at Parnell.

Rach, Leilani, Carolyn, Georgie, Jodie and Mary waiting for the cab to arrive.

The winners circle and main grand stand, way before the crowds turned up.

Yes, we did actually watch some horse racing, our corporate tent was outside the winners post.

Our vote for best dressed lady.

Just hanging out with the Auckland Cup, nothing like a bit of Queen Victoria's silver ware.

Cheers, thanks Leilani for the invite.

Couldn't help myself, had to have another hold of the Cup.

Yes, very serious business this racing. Champagne - check, form guide - check, race book - check, money - check. 

Woo Hoo - winners are grinners.

Our corporate tent was fabulous and very cilivised, here I am in the foyer lounge waiting to watch my horse "Drunken Sailor" come home, he did, but in second place.

The historic Puhoi Hotel, wood chopping poles and all. It is a Sunday hang out for motor cyclists.

Scones, jam and lots of cream, just what every little girl wants. Leilani and Karlee making the most of a yummy morning tea.

TWISC girls visit Kingdom Coffee

The girls headed out to visit Jo at Kingdom Coffee for one of their monthly events. Jo gave them a tour of a "Tongan" working coffee plantation.

The girls started off in the fields, sorry no testers until later.

Jo explaining the story behind her trees.

To see the beans for the first time is a shock for some, they are all green to start and once they turn red they are ready to be picked - by hand.
.

Once picked they go through the sheller.

Jo's partner Vinnie, a world qualified coffee roaster and blender, loads the beans for shelling.

Then out to the drying racks for atleast 3 months.

Jo and her coffee bean roaster.

Now you are talking and on that note it's off to afternoon tea or should we say coffee.
Talk about an amazing smell.

The pool room doubles up as the sampling area.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating scones and checking out all of the artwork Jo makes and imports to sell to locals. We had a great afternoon, thanks Jo and Vinnie.

SURVIVOR MALINOA ISLAND - Dylan's 10th Bithday.

We finally had the perfect weekend forecasted so preparations were in full swing for Dylan's 10th birthday party "Survivor Malinoa Island". We'd been dreaming this one up for some time so Dyl new exactly who he was inviting. We also organised with Mal our neighbour to utilise his boat for the day. The departure point was down at the Navy base, for an 0800 start and NO other details were given out. The following pictures highlight just some of the fun we had. With Sunday being D day we only had Saturday to finish off prep's and for Jodie to put the final touches on his Aquarium cake.

 The final product, sadly it stood no chance of surviving the day out in the boat so......

 Cake on the wharf at 8am was just what growing boys wanted.

 With the cake destroyed, it was time to pick some teams and issue out the team head bandanas. Blue and Red then a quick pose for a survivor photo.

 The teams split into two and we headed out on our separate boats. Red with BLAH BLAH and Blue with Mal on STRIPER. (Yes no spell check needed, there isn't a second "P" in the name)

 As soon as we arrived it was time to unload the boats and hear what the team names were. Red - RED OPS and Blue - CRAZY CRUSHERS.

 First game was "Rescue Beacon" the boys had to find 6 items weighted down out in the lagoon then once they had found all of them they could take three items with them to assist them in the next section.

 Sal was one official and Mal the other. Once all six items had been retrieved it was off to stage two.

 Part two include two parts the tallest sand section and the tallest beacon in total. Crazy Crushers won this task.

 Next game was "Shanghai Shooting" what boys don't love to shoot marbles at targets? This was the practice target so we could all get our eye in.

 Even Sal and Mal got in on this game to give each team a chance at bonus points.

 The birthday boy showing off his aim. This one was easy, 2 points for the centre and 1 for the next ring and squat for anything else. Sorry boys no shooting the wild life. This event ended in a tie.

 Next game was " Rainbow Treasure Hunt" each team had 30 min to explore the Island and come back with as many matching items of the twelve colours from their colour chart. Very close purple was a little difficult and hence another tie.

 Lunch was free time for the teams and time for Lyndon to cook up 60 sausages for the troops.

 Let the feasting begin. Not one hot dog survived.

 More swim time and how clear is the water. If I wasn't so busy setting up each event I too would have been in there.

 Giving out the instructions for the next event " Water Rescue" Again find the weighted down coconut halves then use them to fill a 10ltr bucket. Did I mention someone had drilled holes in the coconuts.

 Red Ops were going strong until Tomasi realised you could use your mouth to carry water too.

 Winners Crazy Crushers!

 Next game was "Sock Bombs" Your team filled your sock with sand while you do 10 spins with the net, then all you have to do is run up the beach grab the sock and throw it at the bucket. Simple enough. No one got one in, not even Sal who struggled the most with the spins but was very funny.

Blaise had a great footy pass going which may have helped Red Ops to a win.

 We had the Malinoa force field up, as it looked like it was raining back in town but the water was the main attraction for the boys.

 Next Event was the "Survivor Combo Race" a One on One event. First was swim out collect a sunken paddle then race down the beach.

 Shoot two targets with the Shanghai then move on again.

 Next was the sock bombs minus the spinning. Still no direct hits?

 Then finally sprint to the end of the island to collect the Tongan flag. Red Ops came up with a win in the final race.

 The final event was the "Hermit Crab races" They had 10 minutes to find the fastest two crabs on the Island. Red Ops came back with two crabs. Crazy Crushers came back with a hand full and had their own qualifying race before the big event. This theory paid off in the end with them winning the final event.

 With everyone a winner, the Survivor's from the day all received a Tongan bone hook necklace to remember the day by.

 For the ride home we swapped boats so every one got a go in Mal's speed boat.

Finally, with all the kids home safe and sound it was off to the Fishing club for a parents debrief.

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY DYLAN.