I just wanted to send out a bulk email and thank everyone again who voted during dancing with the stars. We found out today that we raised $99009.02 for the Upside downs charity!!! Now so many kids will get the much needed specialist education so they can be integrated into society.

The total raised during the show for all the charities was a record $433053.90.

Tamati raised the most $260 for his charity – which is astounding!!!! None of us really had a chance against that popularity, that's the power of TV!!!

Dancing with the stars totally dominated the first third of the year for our family. It was very consuming with my time, also mentally and physically, although we didn't win it was such a great journey and the experience was well worth every bit of energy.

Jonny and I have a few gigs over the next few months, which is a bit of a treat to dance at that level again. Our house has become dance mad and in my spare time I have been teaching dance at Samantha's school and have just about taught every kid (even boys) how to waltz, jive, samba or cha cha our concert is coming up in a few weeks!! Teaching has been so rewarding I am going to have to find ways to continue after this term. Shayne and I have been having swing lessons every week also and even he is loving learning a new skill!

A week after the show finished the whole family went to Vanuatu where I was presenting to the athletes of Oceania on athletes Commission issues. We also launched the International Olympic Committees Athletes Career Outreach Program. The IOC recognised that some countries were not assisting their athletes in life skill areas and have employed me part time, to educate in our region. I will also be presenting at the Mini Games for the Pacific Islands in Rarotonga, September, so the whole family will come with me for a working holiday.

About a month after Vanuatu I attended the IOC Athletes forum in Marrakech where we had 3 topics on athlete issues that were discussed in great detail and the recommendations were then presented to the IOC and will be debated in Copenhagen at the world congress for sport in October to which I will be attending as an athlete and for New Zealand.

Over the last few months I have also renewed my contract with SPARC where I was delivering goal - setting programs in schools. I have been doing this since 1997 and have always found the work so rewarding.

I also still sit on the NZOC executive board and as their IOC representative and will help them with ambassadorial work over the next year.

We have Trilogy (our trimaran) out of the water now and Shayne is working on her so we can go cruising this summer. After 10 years of owning her we hadn't done any maintenance!!! It all caught up with us now we are giving her a birthday present.

Life is incredibly busy with Samantha 8 and Aimee 4. What with Gymnastics, dance, drumming and swimming lessons weeks just flash by and I wonder how I ever fitted in training for the Olympic games!

Thanks again to everyone and I hope you are all healthy and happy

Love Barbara, Shayne, Samantha and Aimee