Blogs

As exam season looms, Jim's eldest threatens to take a three-year-long gap year.

Polly and James are on nursing duties as the kids battle a nasty bug, but in the backyard Bugs Bunny has been at play.

Jim, surrounded by pranksters, takes a fall.

Polly and family discover ornithological treasures at wildlife sanctuary Tiritiri Matangi.

Jim is banned from buying certain items on his daughters' behalf.

Natural bunny behaviour gives rise to far broader learnings than Polly had bargained for.

Jim Kayes' weed eater is broken, and he can't handle it.

Wheelchair-bound Zendo discovers a new dance routine.

Guest blogger Elien Lewis doesn't let a shady garden stop her from producing a bounty of produce.

Jim comes down with the flu and has a hard time receiving any sympathy from his family.

Polly knows trouble is afoot when rambunctious three-year-old Zendo is suddenly silent.

As Jim celebrates his 49th year, he reflects on how birthdays tend to matter less when you are older,  that is, unless you have children.

Never a day goes by without Laura MacDonald's toddler eating dirt. But that doesn't stop her living the good life on her rural property in Te Akau.

Jim suffers in silence when his daughters go phone-free for a week.

Training young minds to think creatively is the best schooling possible – and Polly leaves no stone (or leaf) unturned in her mission.

Jim's daughter adopts a 'squeaky wheel' strategy to get a new car,  while he reflects on the Ford Falcon that got away.

Our Far North blogger Polly gazes into the Matariki sky to see if the future is clear and bright or if it's a little hazier for struggling Northland families.

Jim Kayes is egged on by a 12-year-old and gives a terrifying ride in Rotorua a swing.

Polly and the kids delight in things that go whistle and scrape in the night while Pax the dog quivers in the corner.

When Jim's daughters say he is getting forgetful in his old age, he takes it to heart.

Polly ponders the 'olden days' of her 1970s childhood and how her own children are growing up in different times.

Jim's cringey efforts to use the latest lingo provide amusement to his teenage daughters.

When a pig ventures close to home, six-year-old Vita discovers country living cuts a short track from food source to the table. *Warning this post contains a graphic photo some readers may find disturbing.*

Gender bias has no place in the Kayes’ household – and Jim is happy to don a pinny or even a frock when the occasion merits.

Polly and the family escape the forest mud by visiting the South Island.

This week Jim is taunted by a chocolate treat in the cupboard

Left in sole charge of the children and the land, Polly connects with the wildness within.

As his eldest turns 16, Jim remembers when she was just a wee bub and how fast they grow up.

This week, Polly feels illuminated when investigating solar power.

After being mocked on-air for his hit-and-miss fashion , Jim gets some clothing coaching from his girls

Tensions with a neighbour force Polly to learn lessons from the land.

Jim Kayes sings along with Ed Sheeran but draws the line at Mamma Mia.

While townies flock to the campgrounds to get away from it all, for bush baby Polly the holiday park is a chance to reconnect.

This week Jim learns that if you need a job done right, do it yourself.