We went on a car trip to the Waikato today to my Aunty Em’s farm. She has the best place; every window, every wall, and most of the ceiling are covered in marvellous, glittery decorations. Oh, and the garden, too.
I imagine that a first-time visitor might be taken aback at first but you know, it is very beautiful.
The girls mouths open wide as they walk in, looking at all the glorious things. It’s like walking into an Eye Spy book.
We stopped on the way at Candyland, a big warehouse of lollies in Taupiri, the name of which makes me hum the song from Charlie the Unicorn. The girls were more interested in sitting on a tiny, coin0-operated, ride-on plane, but were persuaded to come and look around. I let them choose a big lolliop each because I know how they work when it comes to lollipops.
They beg and beg till the lollipop is opened. Then they will have a go eating it for a few minutes, and chuck the remainder in the bin. Like, an entire lollipop minus 8 licks. Which still doesn’t take away from the BAD MUM look of a tiny toddler with an enormous lollipop. Like they’re gonna eat the whole thing.
So, after they licked the three-atom-thick layer off their lollies and discarded them, we had a lovely lunch. Billie helped herself repeatedly to a bowl of grated cheese. We helped shoo the rooster back out-of-doors when he came in to eat the dog’s food. Beetle helped Uncle Henry adjust the fountain outdoors, drenching them both in the process, and then went ’sploring in the rain in her new dry dress to find some eggs in the henhouse. Then she skipped back into the house with those three eggs in a plastic supermarket bag, and immediately pressed the button on the wall-mounted singing fish. The music roused her in her a dramatic corridor-dance that involved a great swirling of bags and cracking of eggs on the door-frame.
We left the eggs.
It was long past Billie’s nap time, so we reluctantly left, farewelled in a sudden rainstorm, rushing through the garden to the car, Uncle Henry grabbing an umbrella to shelter us while Aunty Em sheltered under a boogie board.
We waved goodbye as we backed the car through the gate, draped in bunting and gaily wrapped in rain-dripping tinsel.
It’s a wonderful place to visit.
