But by lunchtime their 2-year-old, Violet, would be dead, drowned in Lake Wakatipu.
During an inquest in the Queenstown District Court yesterday before Coroner Richard McElrea, Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, read from a statement provided by Violet's mother, Alana.
After dropping Jacob (then 6) and Elle (then 5) at school, Mrs Waples, not present yesterday, returned to their Kelvin Heights property about 9.30am, feeding Violet (2) and Reuben (1) morning tea.
After later putting Reuben down for a nap she returned to Violet, who was playing in leaves wearing gumboots.
''I sat down for a moment ... she came over to me and I remember just clipping her hair back, as she always had messy hair.
''I had a cuddle.''
Violet went inside and Mrs Waples tidied up outside before going to the kitchen to get mince out for dinner and thumbing through a recipe book when she heard the downstairs door bang and the washing machine beep.
Mrs Waples went downstairs to check Violet but could not find her. She searched in and around the Peninsula Rd property.
She went to steps leading to the lake and called for Violet, but found no trace of her.
Police were advised Violet was missing at 12.07pm.
Snr Sgt Fookes, also Wakatipu search and rescue co-ordinator, arrived at 12.28pm with staff mobilised for land and water searches.
Thirteen minutes later Violet was located face-down with no footwear, about 5m from the shoreline.
CPR was performed until St John ambulance staff advised the toddler had died.
Snr Sgt Fookes said Violet's gumboots were found on the lake bed at the end of a floating jetty just east of the Waples' home.'Chicken wire netting on the jetty had become ''bunched'' which proved a tripping hazard, he said.
It was likely she had fallen into the lake, ''possibly as a result of a trip'', lost her gumboots, drowned and drifted into the lake, he said.
It was possible she had been in the water an hour.
Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) general manager Alexander Brunt said Violet's death was consistent with a ''concerning trend'' - three unsupervised infants drowned outside a domestic dwelling last year.
WSNZ had delivered the ''within arm's reach'' message for 20 years, teaching caregivers to keep children under 5 within arm's reach and in line of sight at all times and to never turn their back when children were around water.
It was also ''critical'' doors were closed and it was not possible for a child to exit a dwelling, Mr Brunt said.
The coroner heard when the jetty was constructed the owners wanted to erect a gate, but were not permitted to as it was to be available for public access ''at all times''.
In response to questioning, Snr Sgt Fookes said while water was ''certainly'' a hazard, the jetty provided another one.
''To an unsupervised child of the age that Violet was, the ability to walk along that jetty presents a further hazard because an accident on that jetty potentially places you in water that's immediately over your head that you can't recover from.''
Andrew Waples, Violet's father, said he found it ''interesting'' the Queenstown Lakes District Council would not allow a gate to be constructed on the jetty.
Senior Constable Chris Blackford said there were many places around Lake Wakatipu where hazards existed, including wharves, jetties and roots from Willow trees, which provided tripping hazards.
It would be ''impossible'' for any agency to limit those hazards, he said.
''My opinion ... is that it comes back to parental responsibility.
''As hard as that is a bitter pill for Mr and Mrs Waples to swallow, I think it's clear that that is what happened on this day.''
Snr Const Blackford visited the property on Monday and found a temporary fence had been constructed using chicken wire and waratahs, unsecured to the ground near the steps to the lake.
Mr Waples told Coroner McElrea the fence had since been secured.
The coroner adjourned the inquest and reserved his formal written finding.
