32..

That's how old Jacques should be today. I've always said that I'm sure his birthdays are harder for his parents then they are for me, but I'm feeling really down today (thank goodness I have dinner club tonight with the girls!). And the weather's crap and I'm hung over and it's just not helping. I'm SO over winter...

I know I mustn't, but I can't help imagining what my morning would've been like. Should've been like. Jake would have been so excited to give his dad his presents. I can see him jumping into our bed to help unwrap presents. I wonder what we would've given him? Probably some stupid game for the Wii or Playstation that we'd have owned by now. Perhaps a new pocket knife to replace the one he bought off some stranger in the UK who was short on bus fare while we were on honeymoon and lost. New clothes? Music? A high speed driving course?

Last night, Jake and I went out for a quiet dinner with Jacques' folks and my folks. It was a very enjoyable evening and I was doing well until I went to the loo and they were playing my wedding song - Amazed by Lonestar (something of a one hit wonder who's CD I still do not own). I don't believe in accidents like that and there's a reason this song was on for me last night (even though it made me cry in the toilet and drink too much wine). Here are the lyrics, which make me cry, but that I still love, especially since Jacques chose it for our special day:

Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take
Baby when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away
I've never been this close to anyone or anything
I can hear your thoughts
I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you

The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark
Your hair all around me
Baby you surround me
You touch every place in my heart
Oh, it feels like the first time, every time
I want to spend the whole night in your eyes

Chorus

Every little thing that you do
I'm so in love with you
It just keeps getting better
I want to spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever
Every little thing that you do
Baby, I'm amazed by you

OK, so before I have a major meltdown at work, I'm going to go. Hope everyone else is doing OK and can't wait to get out with some of you tonight. And don't forget to put on your happy faces...

Love, Susie XXX

You guys wanted wedding photos...

And here they are. I do have more, but I'm sure that this is enough! Oh, the ones on Facebook are basically the same, so probably best not to waste your time checking both here and there.

As is tradition, we went down to the Blue Peter for pizzas and wine the night before the wedding. Our family from Jo'burg met us there and we all enjoyed the perfect sunset before heading home for an early night.

For a couple who have seen each other almost every day for the last four years, being apart for the evening before the wedding was torture. Rose couldn't leave her phone alone - I guess just being apart this close to the wedding was a tall order...

View of our beautiful mountain from the Blue Peter...

Rose with our cousin Taryn... Sharing a private joke... My dad and his brother, my Uncle Brian. It's my uncle's marrow running through my dad's bones and it was so special to have him and his entire family with us on Saturday... A good luck wish from the sky - bird poop... Yvonne, Taryn and Craig - some of our cousins from Johannesburg (Yvonne's Craig's wife)... Rosanne with my mom...And my Auntie Jenny and my dad... Pretty, hey? Cute Mr Jake... The sun setting over Robben Island... The next morning was an early one. Jake was awake at 6:20, which had the rest of the house up. Rosanne crawled into bed with us, followed by Taryn and eventually my mom. We ate Lindt balls and pizza, before getting up for breakfast. Note the phone in her hand again. At this stage, Rosanne was so nervous she thought she was going to be sick... The bridal car - a 1946 Jaguar... Gareth met us (excluding Rosanne) to help tie the ribbons on... Since we'd been up from sparrows, it was a long day. I think Rose was a little bored. Here, she's just killing time on the couch... While Jake ate ice-cream... Jo organised someone to come in and do our make up. It was such a treat! I was done first, Rosanne last. The rest of the day flew by and we ended up rushing around a bit just before leaving. Rose is waiting for her turn here. She'd already had her hair done... Jo went next... Champagne to calm our nerves (I'd already had a tranqu, so followed the champagne with a red bull to keep my eyes open for the rest of the day)... The rings and bouquet... Paul keeping Connor company while Jo has her make up done... The mother of the bride being pampered... Rosanne's petticoat... Dress... And shoes... She's ready and looking gorgeous... Connor cooling off. It was a beautiful day. A little windy in the morning, but it had dropped by the afternoon and was just perfect... Next up, it was the bride's turn... Transformed! She looked so pretty! She could almost have gone to the church draped in this towel... Our little boy all dressed and ready to join the party... We all got dressed (very quickly), had a few photos and it was time to leave... Rosie with her two dashing young nephews... Gareth had snuck a little note and flower into the car for Rosie. She'd been so brave all day, but it set off the tears... Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye... Poor mom had to drive to the church on her own... And Connor slept... Here's Gareth's love letter with the flower and rings... It was quite a long drive to the church, especially for the old Jag, but I think it gave us all time to recollect and calm our nerves. The Jag attracted a lot of attention from other drives, which always makes a bride feel special... A very proud ring bearer, getting excited as we near the church. He insisted on sitting upfront with Uncle Paul... Obviously, I couldn't take photos in the church, but here are the newly weds shortly after the ceremony... Jake and Connor holding hands in the car on the way to Buitenverwachting for photos... Rose and Gareth with his two best men. The guy on the right is Grant, Gareth's brother... Note the green (Ben 10) socks... The happy couple with all the kids. The other two belong to Gareth's other brother, Brendan... With the parents... After the family snaps, we took them into the vineyards for their couple shots... We also stopped for some snaps in the avenue leading in from the entrance to the farm... They arrived at the reception at Constantia Nek around 6:30, very much ready for that glass of champagne... The tables were beautifully laid out, thanks to a cousin's wife on Jacques' side of the family. If you're ever looking for an events co-ordinator, call Nadine at Theme Creations. It was so effortless, well worth the money spent... Jake was so excited to see champagne on the table. He was allowed a sip, but finished the glass while I wasn't looking. Following closely in his father's footsteps... And so began the speeches. They chose to do these as soon as possible, Gareth was very nervous... To intimidate the groom during his speech, the guys all gathered closely around... The first dance - I got you Babe by Sonny and Cher... Wesley waiting to help Jake try catch the garter. They didn't get it (thank goodness!!)... Gareth looking for the garter. Rosanne nearly died when he stuck his head under her skirt for a better look... Gareth's mom made the cake - it was divine and so pretty... The morning after the night before. We had lunch at our house with all our family who'd come down from Jo'burg, as well as Gareth's family... Gareth and Rose opened their gifts - they were so spoilt, it's one of the very few reason why I'd like to get married again... The kids carrying in a huge gift from Gareth's brother... With all their gifts - how spoilt were they??? These last few aren't my pictures, for obvious reasons. Pia sent them to me this morning. It's great to have some nice photos of Jake & I for a change. Pia, if these are the snaps you managed to grab of Jake and I late in the evening, I cannot wait to see the rest. Thank you so much for all your hard work on Saturday!! Jake was an absolute gem at the wedding. He was well behaved (besides the champagne incident), considering how exhausted he must've been. He loved dancing with me and was quite jealous when I danced with my neighbour. He actually told Jo that I was embarrassing him and that I was only allowed to dance with him. Might be a problem for if I ever meet anyone, but for now it's sweet. We only got home after 1am and he was still going...

And that's it. Sorry it's taken a bit longer then expected to get these pictures up, but there are a lot to work through. All in all, it was a very happy wedding and we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Rosanne and Gareth have gone off on their honeymoon in the Kruger National Park (coincidentally) and are due home on 11 November. I think they have another week or so off before getting back to work. Now that the wedding's over, I'm looking forward to things settling down around here for a while before the Christmas rush begins. Thanks for sharing this with me!!

Love, Sue XXX

How are you?

(I’m writing this post, just putting it out there into cyberspace, knowing that most of the people who will be at the wedding tomorrow, probably won’t be checking in past my blog before then. Definitely nobody from my house will be reading this, because our internet’s down.)

So, how am I? Well, as you all know, tomorrow is my baby sister’s wedding and I have such mixed feelings about the day. Firstly because she is my baby sister. I was 8 when she was born and feel (in some ways) more like a mother then her sister. I can remember everything about her from the day she was born and I have always adored her. I am totally excited for her and Gareth, I think they’re going to have an amazing day and it’s a brilliant send-off into their future as husband and wife. They are so perfectly suited to one another, so in synch, I just know tomorrow is going to be the happiest of happy days for them. What a way to start such a special journey!!

The flip side (the selfish one) of this is the simple fact that I don’t like weddings. I have always found them extremely emotional, even when I had Jacques around to hold my hand. Once you’ve been married, you can’t possibly sit through a ceremony, or speeches, or first dance, or cutting cakes, etc, without remembering your own wedding day. Plus, it feels totally wrong to have to go back up there to try catch the bouquet (in my mind; what a awful tradition!). So, as I watch Rosie getting ready tomorrow, I will be re-living every moment of the happy day that I married Jacques, remembering the excitement and nervousness that carried me through the day, which makes me really sad that he won’t be with me tomorrow. It’s just all so very wrong.

On the up side though, Jake is going to be the ring bearer and has the cutest suit in the world to wear (I mustn’t forget to pick it up later). He’s going to look so darned gorgeous in his jacket and tie and I can’t wait to walk down the aisle holding his hand. I can already feel my heart swelling with pride at just the thought. He’s a strong boy, he doesn’t even realize that he’ll actually be carrying me all the way. All day…

Love (and lots of prayers/karmic thoughts)

Sue x

Here comes the bride...

Shame, she's the last child, the youngest of 3 girls and since this is the last family wedding, we went large. It was Rosanne's pantry party/kitchen tea/hen party on Saturday afternoon. There was a great group of girls and Rosanne was such a good sport. We had snacks and drinks at home and then her young friends took her to Gareth's & her favourite pub up the road (de Kelder). I tagged along as the sober driver, but it was good fun taking photos of them as they got drunker and drunker. The pictures kinda speak for themselves. Enjoy.

Getting some champagne & strawberries into her system...

The gift opening begins...Spelling out Gareth's name with her bum...Sharing her penalty drink with her friends...This cute little guy was there...He's trying so hard to crawl...

The girls ready to head out...Rosanne's friends added some decorations to her outfit for the outing. Roses to sell to, pretty earrings and a bride to be top...Arriving at de Kelder...Her 'nose' was too big for her glass...Selling flowers. Believe it or not, it was the men who were most interested in her nose... This guy was full of money. He gave Rose R100.00 and a few words of marital wisdom. At least he was nice. Many guys had comparisons to share about Rosanne's nose and were too stingy to pay R10.00 for a flower. This was a nice guy. Check Rosanne's face at the sight of all his cash...The car guard was fascinated with Rosanne's exposed chest...

It ended up getting a little out of hand so I'll end off with this last one...

The guys had the bachelor's party on Saturday night too. The dyed Gareth purple...And lastly, to share with you how spoilt Rosanne was...Thanks everyone for making this such a special day for Rosanne. I promise she'll look much prettier at her wedding this Saturday. Can you believe it's happening this weekend? I'll post pictures on Monday, I promise!!

Sue XXX

He's home...

And I don't think I've ever seen him happier! Besides the day that Connor was born. And the day he married Jo. Still, happier then a pig in you-know-what. Both of them actually, just look at the sheer joy in their faces... It's good to have Paul home again, especially since I did get chocolates for all my hard work. Bugger the bridesmaid's dress!!Sue xxx

Kruger Days 7 & 8

I thought I'd end off our holiday photos in one big bang shoot. I'm sure, by now, that you guys are totally sick of seeing photos of animals on my blog! I promise that we won't be going on holiday again for a while and next time I'll do my best to update as I go.

Our last day in the park was a fairly quiet day. We'd gotten up early again to make the most of our day, but spent a lot of time driving around and not seeing all that much. On our early morning drive, we did spot these elephants having a bit of a tiff...

And this gorgeous Martial Eagle. Jake just loves birds of prey at the moment... He didn't hang around for long though... I love these guys. I don't know why, they're so darned ugly, but they're so funny. When they run away, they put their tails straight up in the air like an antenna. And what's up with those funny horns on the sides of their heads?? A Vervet monkey... Complete and utter laziness. In my next life I think I'm going to come back as a hippo... Yaaaawwn... In each of the camp sites, they have a board up for guests to mark off what they've seen and where. This photo was taken at Lower Sabie, which is one of the campsites Rose and Gareth will be staying at on their honeymoon in a few weeks time. The area is well known for lion sightings (red dots). The black dots are leopards, white dots cheetah, blue elephants, green buffalo, orange rhino and yellow wild dogs. It gives you a fair idea of where to start searching if there's something specific you want to see in the area, but animals tend to move around quite a bit... We headed down from Lower Sabie, in search of the cheetahs at Duke's dam (in the picture above, the dam is where there are two orange dots above two white dots). We were not disappointed and found 5 beautiful cheetah resting at the water hole just before sunset. We spent more then an hour watching them, it was fabulous! And remember, there are only 200 odd cheetah in the Kruger, so we were very lucky to have seen 9 during our trip...

This is a yellow billed horn bill. He was sitting near to our car while we were watching the cheetah and seemed to be having a bit of a problem with a grasshopper he was trying to swallow...

Eventually, as the day wore on, the cheetah began to get restless. The two on the right are youngsters...

They went for a drink, which is typical before they head off for a hunt...The head of the pack headed off to go look for some food, while the others hung around for a bit... They watched her through the trees until we couldn't see her any more and then headed off to go join in on the fun...The sun had already set by the time we began our rush back to camp, the fine for being late is substantial and we didn't want to test the system. I couldn't help snapping up a couple of last photos though...The time to leave arrived and we had a last breakfast, packed the cars and began the long journey to Johannesburg International (OR Thambo). This photo was taken at the boundary fence outside our bungalow. At night, a hungry hyena prowled the fence looking for scraps, this morning we had to settle for a warthog... Jake getting cuddles...Some shots of Jake & I on the park behind our bungalow. We had intended to have a picnic under the trees here, but realised that there were too many Vervet monkeys in the trees and didn't want to tempt them with our delicious snacks, so we ate at our hut instead...

So, that's it. The holiday photos are done and I'm taking them off to be printed today. I can't wait to hold them in my hands and page through them over and over and over again. Jake is dying to take them to school too. After 8 days in the park, we were so sad to leave. I had thought 8 days would be far too long a time for all of us, but it wasn't and I think we could have stayed for at least 3 weeks. I've asked Jake where he'd like to go on our next trip (I actually gave him a world map and asked him to pick a spot) and he only wants to go back to Kruger, so, till next time...

Sue xxx

Kruger Park Day 6...

OK, this was our best day in the park. Wait, did I say that already? Seriously though, we saw the big 5 twice over in one day and this was it. We travelled the route from Olifants all the way down south to Crocodile Bridge, which is the southern most boarder of the park. It's gates also provide the exit to the park, so it's quite busy, especially in the evenings when the gates are due to close for the day. It was nice to see another part of the park and, like I said, we saw heaps en route.

This picture's not great, but there's a leopard in that tree if you look really carefully. It was far off the road and because it was tucked away in the shade, it wasn't easy to spot, but it's still a leopard...

A pregnant bush buck at one of the picnic sites...Jake making friends with a baby bush buck. You're not allowed to feed them, but they're attracted by the smells of meals being cooked over gas cookers and I'm sure the odd visitor slips them a snack. It was love at first sight for these two... Until the momma decided to and inspect...And nearly nipped Jake's fingers. He seemed amused though...Our next stop was a bird hide along one of the rivers (I haven't a clue which). A herd of elephants were grazing past, on their way down to the river. It was amazing to be so close to these magnificent creatures$. They're so quiet. There were probably about 15 - 20 ellies in the herd, with a couple of babies. A real highlight...Zebras make for such pretty pictures...A heron hitching a ride...A male lion taking a nap. Even though I didn't get that perfect head and shoulders shot, I can definitely see it's male...A baby baboon. I love this photo...It's just a pity that they grow up to be so ugly...A hippo taking a nap near the side of the road. We thought it was dead until it opened its eyes...A big lizard...More lions... Duelling buck...This baboon was getting too close for comfort to this family of Egyptian Geese. They eat anything. Added to mom and dad's worry, the water is full of crocs...When they realised the baboon was not actually going to eat their kids, the geese let him enjoy some water in peace...Some of the rhinos, we suspected 2 males and a female...

The day ended with yet another perfect bush sunset...

And this last exciting moment for our day about 15 minutes outside our camp, a rhino and leopard...

What a day!

Sue XXX