The girls\u2019 fifth birthday on January 21 (which was also Sarah\u2019s 43rd birthday) felt like a date they\u2019d marked on their mental calendar since they were born.<\/p>\n
Sarah and the girls’ birthday was last January 21. Photo \/ NZ Woman’s Weekly<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real full stop on that phase of our life,\u201d Sam, 45, reflects. \u201cWe spent the last year thinking about them starting school \u2013 and how much more time we\u2019d have \u2013 but we also didn\u2019t want to wish it away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s no denying it\u2019s a bit of respite from how hectic life has been with them doing everything at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anticipation of the twins\u2019 first day at primary school was all going well until the night before.<\/p>\n
Sam\u2019s father Barry got rushed to the hospital with pneumonia, brought on by catching influenza A on holiday in America (but more on that later). Then barefoot Brando stood on a piece of wood on the driveway that ploughed 1cm deep into his heel.<\/p>\n
While Sam was trying unsuccessfully to get it out of his foot, no one was paying attention to Sienna, who decided it\u2019d be a great time to draw a moustache on her face using a red permanent marker. That became the least of their worries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe raced off to A&E, where a doctor had to use a scalpel to dig into Brando\u2019s heel and cut the wood out. And my son was having more fun on laughing gas than anyone should have,\u201d shares Sam, showing us videos on his phone of Brando breathing in the nitrous oxide for pain relief before laughing hysterically. \u201cHe was like, \u2018Dad, I\u2019m floating on a cloud!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sarah scrubbed Sienna\u2019s moustache off until there was just a light remnant of it left.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t care about starting school with a red moustache \u2013 she thought it was hilarious!\u201d Sarah says.<\/p>\n
When Sam returned home with Brando, he also tried to give his daughters a heartfelt pep talk<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI took them aside individually, saying, \u2018Right, it\u2019s a big day tomorrow. You\u2019re going to be great, you\u2019re so good at your letters and your numbers. You are prepped and ready to go!\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cHowever, Cossie spent the whole time under a chair building a hut and wouldn\u2019t look at me at all. Whereas Sienna looked me in the eye and talked for 25 minutes, telling me how it was from her point of view and was the one really giving me the team talk.\u201d <\/p>\n The next morning, Sam and Sarah walked the kids to school, where the twins \u201cwere a little bit quiet\u201d before going into their different classes. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big deliberation for us to separate them,\u201d tells Sarah, a content creator. \u201cWe talked to our friends with twins. Some kept their kids together the whole way through, some did until year three, while others split them from the beginning. What do you do? <\/p>\n \u201cOf course, when we asked the girls what they wanted, one twin wanted to be separate and one wanted to stay together. So we thought we\u2019d let them thrive on their own as opposed to becoming too dependent on each other.<\/p>\n Adds Sam, \u201cWhen I sat down with Cossie on the mat, she wouldn\u2019t let go of my hand when I tried to leave. But she sat with the teacher and 10 minutes later, the teacher texted us to say she was absolutely fine.\u201d<\/p>\n The devoted parents went across the road for a coffee and to process the enormity of the milestone.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a moment,\u201d smiles Sarah, conveying the emotion of the day. \u201cWhen I came home by myself to work, I realised the house was so quiet and how fast the years had gone.<\/p>\n \u201cThen to see them walk out of their classrooms at the end of the day, absolutely fizzing, you feel proud of the milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n When Brando and his sisters arrive home for our photoshoot, they are indeed beaming.<\/p>\n Munching on a bun and still wearing her school cap, Cossie says the best thing about school is playing with friends, before listing off their names. Sienna is happy to report that there are \u201cno naughty kids\u201d in her class and everyone listens to the teacher.<\/p>\n Although identical, their different personalities shine through.<\/p>\n \u201cSienna is in the land of imagination and Cossie is just in the land of love,\u201d Sam grins.<\/p>\n With more time to devote to other ventures, Sam and Sarah are launching a new business, Body Blueprint.<\/p>\n Together with fitness coaches Tyrone Bell and his fiancee Stacie Garland, they\u2019ve been building an app over the past year to help others with science-based training methods<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sam explains, \u201cWe believe less is more when it comes to training and that you have to fuel yourself as opposed to starving yourself. The body responds very differently in midlife than it did in your twenties.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam has documented his own fitness journey from \u201cDadbod to Jacked Bod\u201d on his social media. But today, he\u2019s buzzing about another transformation \u2013 a recent hair transplant surgery \u2013 as he waves around a brush he\u2019s just bought for his mane attraction.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is the first time I\u2019ve styled my hair with a brush in 15 years!\u201d he exclaims. \u201cNormally, I just pushed hair around to cover holes!<\/p>\n \u201cI went to Sydney for the transplant, which sounds like you\u2019re waiting for someone to die, but they just take the follicles from the back of your head. I\u2019m sure they only took the grey ones.\u201d<\/p>\n The popular broadcaster is also passionate about documenting his family\u2019s travels on film and sharing them on social media.<\/p>\n After Sam\u2019s grandparents, Len and Bodil Wallace, died and left his parents, Barry, 74, and Judi, 72, some money, it was their dream to show their family the world.<\/p>\nIt was a big deliberation for the couple to separate the kids. Photo \/ Emily Chalk<\/p>\n
Sam and Sarah are launching a new business. Photo \/ Emily Chalk<\/p>\n