Racing

Quick on the heels of Heimana's birthday was the 14th of July horse race, what better way to celebrate the storming of the bastille!

 Actually it didn't go as well as hoped. Viriamu sailed through his qualifying round, the horse hardly breaking a sweat, but an ambitious bit of overtaking near a river bank put paid to his hopes in the final. He took a tumble, nothing serious bruised but his pride, however, the riderless horse continued a fair way alone, dazed and confused trying to find his way back home. It seems to be a bit of a saying of ours now, but "oh well, there's always next year"

Heimana is four

I managed to make it back from my NZ travels, just in time to celebrate Heimana's birthday, she's four. Before I left I asked her what she would like for her birthday, she though very long and very hard, and told me she wanted a cake and balloons!  

So that's what she got, she also got a sparkly mosaic crown and a throne (from tattie Tracey). We had an evening out at he heiva ground with her cousins, the kids were running around like wild things.

We had our traditional chocolate mousse cake....yum!

End of term show!

The end of june saw the schools end of term show, after weeks of feverish preparations and endless practising at home, the school show came. In a tragi-comic twist, Heimana ended up going onstage wearing her big sisters couronne (flower lei) and vice versa, poor Heimana, who was already quite nervous about her stage debut, was almost reduced to tears as her couronne kept falling down, but she made a valiant effort. Mato was, as always, an exceptionally graceful and absolutely focused member of the dance group. I really don't know where she gets the talent from, certainly not from her mum.

Heimana's artwork

 

Heimana's almost four now, and while big sister is definitely the big starlet, Heimana is quietly growing and developing her own personality - she's an easy going, slightly shy, slightly tomboyish girl, easily lost in her own little world. I often wonder where she's got to only to find her entirely absorbed by a drawing or a game. She's been showing a bit of an artistic streak recently. Like with  Mato's photos, Heimana seems to have a naive flair for art, here are a few of my favourite paintings, produced over the May school hols.

  

And also a cute little mother's day gift, she made at school, using clam shells.