Father of twin daughters. Owner of two dogs, alternating goldfish and espresso machine. House chef, avid reader, wannabe handyman, husband to my one and only wife. Boy with a camera.
Writing here on everyday life, including interviews with some industry leading minds.
I think Picasso said; I learned how to draw like Raphael in five years . . . . and it's taken a life time to paint like a Child…
Or as a very dear friend Sir Toss Woollaston told me once; I’m just trying to see with the clarity and simplicity of vision that I had when I was five years old.
Sienna & Marlana have come home with distinction ‘Super students’ today…. Incredibly this sort of thing seems to work…. No one wants to be on the ‘bottom’ category ‘NEED to Call parent’!!!
Work in Queenstown on return from USA, and managed to get the girls into ski school! They loved the snow…. Reminded me of Marlana's current favorite book. Lola and Charlie. Lola said "Charlie, Charlie, SNOW… it is my favourite and my best!" Just back from the snow, now off to New York, Santa Barbara, Michigan, Denver, Aspen etc…
I have just got back from working in Queenstown, had a lovely time with family It snowed and snowed and snowed… some with only two wheel drive vehicles needed assistance… Sienna and Marlana got to go skiing and had lots of memorable moments. Including building a Lakeside snowman/woman… about 150cm down to water's edge!
I’m flying to LA today …missing my three girls awfully already… I’m going to miss their first assembly in their new N.Z. school, Where Marlana is going to say ‘My Mom is an American and my Dad is a Kiwi. When we fly to America, at the airport they say to me welcome, to my Dad they say, ‘what do you want, what are you doing here?’…..
When Marlana rehearses her little speech it’s very amusing … My daughters think it’s funny they sail through customs as American citizens and I get asked lots of questions… even though I have a VISA!
Sienna & Marlana have discovered Little House on the Prairie..... so cute... they love it! The first shows Charles struggling to support the family, he is injured, and his daughters make a show of support to help their father. The series get's a bit of negativity from some for it's lack of modern ideals, but I'm liking the way it motivates our daughters to see our family.
They're also choosing to watch their favourite movie in French, Italian and of course Spanish...which doesn't cease to amaze me... Donnell hopes it will help them develop an ear for languages.
Donnell hosted a very prim and proper 'tea party' for some of Sienna and Marlana's little (girl) friends... it was just brilliant... Donnell had a chef friend/Mum help with the 'food' and fancy stuff... very memorable...very cute and adorable..
Had a crazy time since leaving the States! Marlana in hospital ER for a day in Arizona...everything fine in the end.
Left US a week late to make sure she was fit to fly back to New Zealand
We are now caught up tin the flu thing... We can't leave the house...though none of us has any symptoms of any note.
Both of our daughters are in love with reading although one is more fluent and the other still more interested in the pictures. Anything creative she's sort of 'genius level'. They are beautiful people ...supporting them and encouraging them without spoiling them continues to be a challenge! But one we love!
A week ago with friends (thankfully) I shot a hole in one over two small lakes (180m) at Remuera golf course....my game has sunk completely into levels of sham since...however I get a trophy at some point...but allas no car!
That Friday night I did 'seem' to shake about 200-300 strangers hands...thanks to the club 'shout' 'one me'! I did ask a Scotsman ...how many holes in one had he done...'5'! ...since 1952!....Keep aiming for the pin and you'll do another one...he told me!
I'm now representing the Artists Marlana and Sienna !!!! They may be the next Pollack or Rothko or Jasper Johns???
Marlana signs her art sometimes the way DiVinci wrote..mirror image..blows me away!
Marlana one of my daughters did an 'installation' last week. 'Dinosaur...with pink hand bag' ...it must be in the genes... I'm going to send you a picture..I think you'll love it....Donnell was pleading with me to drop everything and capture it.....
Played golf with a friend last Monday while we were on holiday...named 'Steve'..... He is actually one of my best mates. He put me on the plane to America when I flew out to meet Donnell all those years ago. I let the girls know the night before why I wouldn't be with them the following morning...Marlana says...'Steve's a bush!..........And indeed he is....a hedge in the Disney movie...'over the hedge'.....
Although it's sort of against my nature to tease...I'm getting good mileage out of this one!
Took Sienna and Marlana to the Phantom of the Opera yesterday Totally intoxicating for them...it was beautiful ! They had masquerade masks I'd got them from Venice!!!
Two days ago I won a few industry awards -Gold! Ten years ago this would've been a really big deal for us PR etc.....but it is neat to let the families evolved know that their pictures have been judged 'outstanding' by a panel of 5 judges!
A Buckingham Palace shot you can see on my portfolio www.mahlon.com is fun...and no, the police would never allow this shot to be taken as you see it! The little guy has a really big 'thing' for the soldiers..so the family love this picture.
I had a big busy blast of a summer; All over the States, then over to UK, back to N.Y. and all over the States again.....my girls were very glad to see me back home.
I've just come in (2weeks early) from all over USA then to London then all over USA and then home. Sienna and Marlana had me weeping..."Finish work, bring presents and come home!"
Marlana mostly wouldn't talk to me...I'm zooming past Stone Henge...wizzing down 3 feet wide roads in Trowbridge.....Cold play's blasting from the amazing Volvo's sound system..life's kinda good....
On the phone Home; Marlana; 'Tell daddy to come home then I'll talk to him'!...gototop...2weeks early!!!!!!!
I did a full day fashion shoot at a beach resort yesterday for an international girls fashion label.... The designer/founder Trelise Cooper 'wanted' a frozen embryo of Marlana....My girls have never been print models before and might never be again..however..they were brilliant..really!
As soon a we arrived Sienna, a mini Claudia Schiffer, was sick all over the floor..from car sickness we think...I could write volumes about the day......sorry its 2 in the morning..I'm on London time at the moment!
When we went to the Zoo on the weekend I managed to sneak out with a secret purchase of two plush tiger cubs...'life sized'. Late that afternoon as Marlana was waking from her nap I gave them to her...and Sienna....I have never seen eyes almost pop out of someone's head before!!!!
It was like Marlana had gotten back together with her two best buddies!
What new parent has not heard of Leap Frog? We have a Leap Frog Globe, Full set of Leap Frog DVD's, Leap frog Phonics thing that attaches to our magnetic kids pin board, Word Whammer, 3 readers with lots of books and cartridges in Spanish and English. We live in New Zealand. Why do the kids need Spanish? Donnell as anglo as she is, was born near the Mexican Border and with very strong SoCal links, thinks it is good for the kidlets to have an ear for the accent. LeapFrog Enterprises, is a leading developer of technology-based learning products and today announced its sponsorship of the new Learning to Read center on Education.com as part of LeapFrog's ongoing commitment to providing parents the best learn-to-read tools for their children. This new reading resource will provide easily accessible, high-quality educational and developmental reference and editorial content that address the critical and often challenging topic of learning to read.
The publicly traded company is majority owned by Knowledge Universe, Inc., a private company with worldwide interests in education-related businesses. Knowledge Universe was founded by financier Michael Milken, his brother Lowell, and Larry Ellison, founder of the software firm Oracle Corporation.
As a trusted leader in creating fun and engaging learning experiences for children, LeapFrog is uniquely positioned to team up with Education.com, a comprehensive, one-stop destination that allows parents to take an active role in their children's education from pre-school through grade 12.
"LeapFrog is excited about our work with Education.com on this important initiative that delivers on our core mission of making learning fun while helping children reach important educational milestones," said Zachary Fisher, vice president of corporate strategy and business development at LeapFrog.
The LeapFrog learning brand is trusted by parents, valued by teachers, and loved by children around the world. With almost 35 million educational platforms and almost 90 million interactive books and games in homes worldwide, and multi-sensory technology in over 100,000 U.S. classrooms, LeapFrog looks forward to sponsoring the new Learning to Read resource for parents who want to take an active role in their children's education.
"Every parent has questions concerning their children's education but is unsure where to find answers. Those who turn to the Web find that educational resources are fragmented and inconsistent," said Ron Fortune, CEO of Education.com. "The ultimate goal of Education.com is to empower parents to help their children. Education is not strictly limited to academic instruction, so whether it's helping parents choose a school or helping keep kids happy, healthy and motivated, our hope is to provide a resource that minimizes the time spent searching for answers and allows for more time to focus on a child's education."
According to a recent Education.com survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R), 74 percent of parents of children ages 18 and under said they wished they had a single resource they could turn to for information and answers about education and 96 percent of parents believe they need to take an active role in their children's education in order to fill in the gaps in public school education. LeapFrog looks forward to building on the relationship with Education.com to find unique and effective ways to assist parents with learning solutions for their children.
The girls are VERY naughty ballerina's but getting...better! I built The tree house (Donnell design)...a 'waste' of my time in many ways.... However I'm proud of it!
It stands outside our office managers window...Sienna and Marlana and friends laughter adds a 'interesting' sound track to our work environment.
Our girls are very naughty ballerina's...... They love ballet! Sienna is getting better...typically, Marlana is challenged by the creative restrictions of the discipline!
Either one of them gets sent out of class for 'playing' up ...often...However the other parents think they're very cute!!
Our girls are 21 months and last night Sienna started to read...... I'm still blown away....it was at true memory, because she can read many more words today.
She gave me her Humpback Whale story one of 100's of their books...and gave me a giggle...instead of me reading the first few pages, she did!!