At around 7pm we usually get the two boys into bed (not necessarily asleep of course...). At this time there is a light magazine style show called Seven Sharp (because it's on at 7pm sharp..get it? Get it?) that has stories that range between the interesting, the “ohhhh, that's cute”, the banal and the bizarre. We don't watch it all the time, but some nights we have it on in the background. The other night was one such night and Shannon noticed that there was an interesting story on it about an adventurous family outside of Feilding (a town with population of about 15,000 in the Manawatu region of the North Island of New Zealand). The family have some room on their property and have used it in a unique way to have fun. In fact, they've been having so much fun that the guys from Nitro Circus (stunt riders and daredevils) turned up to check it out. The story from Seven Sharp can be seen here.
There were a couple of things that struck me as I watched this story. First, that the benefit of living in a rural area is obvious for family life. Big spaces, lovely peacefulness and a more relaxed lifestyle. Plus more affordable housing and general cost of living. The downsides are of course a more restricted job market and perhaps a harder time to find a peer group (for parents and for the kids). Also, the choice of schooling is more limited for your children, especially at the High School level. But rural living certainly still has its advantages (especially when dealing with Auckland city's housing prices and transport issues).
Secondly, the idea of digging a moat, filling it with water and then giving rides to your kids attached to the bucket of a digger is extremely innovative, looks such fun and goes totally against the current concerns about health and safety and placing your children in cotton wool. It's great to see this family that having fun with their daughter and their friends even up to into their teenage years. After all, when it comes to your children love=time (and that doesn't mean fancy outings that cost the earth). Just ask Ikea.  I have to admit this bought a tear to even my eyes...