What a champ...

 This post is way, way overdue.  Like by almost a month!!  I wanted to have enough time to sit and write it properly though, to give it the recognition that it so deserves, but I'm just not getting there at the moment.  This gorgeous girl with Jake is his cousin, Rebecca, or Becky as we all call her.  Believe it or not, although she's a whole head taller than him, she's only 2 years older than Jake.  Becky was recently chosen to represent South Africa at The African Junior Swimming Champs in CAIRO!  I cannot begin to tell you how very proud we all are of her - I think you can see how much Jake was beaming to have his big cousin visit him at school (she goes to the same school), to find him out to say goodbye on her way to the airport in her team tracksuit.  What a lucky boy.  She's also his class prefect, so he feels very important!

This is Becky at Cape Town International getting ready to set off on her big adventure.  Her parents, Justin and Josette (Jacques' sister) didn't go with her - she went all on her own, with her team and her coach.  Very brave girl indeed, especially since she's only just turned 13...

 Becky with her older sister, Abigail (Abi, 13).  These girls train so hard - they're up at 4:30 every morning to swim before school and are back in the pool every afternoon for more training.  They do about 5 hours every day!!!  As you can imagine, these two lovely ladies are VERY fit!  For various reasons, Abi wasn't selected for the SA team (this time) and she was very gracious and brave in saying her goodbyes.  We were with her a few times while Becky was away and the most beautiful thing is seeing how supportive and excited Abi gets when Becky does well.  They are the best of friends and Becky wouldn't be able to do what she does, without Abi in her corner.  Gorgeous girls, from the inside out...

 Arriving in Cairo - that's a very long way away from home...

 Signage at the poolside.  Jake studied Egypt during term 3 this year and it was actually quite difficult for me not to fly with him to go and watch Becky swim.  Sadly, because the champs were held during the term, Becky didn't even get time to go and see the pyramids...

 Becky preparing for a warm up (or cool down) swim during her first day in Cairo...

 This girl is all muscles...

 The ginormous, crystal clear pool.  I think that I would die if I even attempted to swim one length...

  Getting ready for her moment to shine - this picture gives me goosebumps, she must've been so nervous!!  That said, she took it all in her stride far better than any of us sitting at home did!!

 Most of the photos I'm sharing here are mobile phone pictures, so not the best.  Here's a sweet one of Becky taking her breath before she hits the water...

 And then it all started to go a little crazy.  Becky showed us just how powerful she is the water and outperformed everyone!  She won gold for every single race she took part in as an individual (4) and she won 2 golds and 1 silver for the relay races she swam.  She also took home the victrix ludorum, which is unbelievable considering it was her first international event ever...

 Getting one of her many medals.  It was amazing to see the videos of her singing our national anthem so sweetly...

 Abi put these together of her very talented sister.  With each medal, they were awarded a trophy as well.  Becky's bag was HEAVY...

 The big picture here is of Becky checking her times.  Becky broke some awesome records too - including the 100m free, which she now holds the record in the whole of Africa and SA! I would be lying if I gave you all her times, so I'm not going to try... perhaps if her mom, Josette, reads this, she'll drop me a note and I can update...

Home sweet home!  Becky lived on Pronutro made with water while she was away.  She came home desperate for fresh fruit and veggies...

I nicked this photo off our school's communicator of Becky with all her medals and trophies...

 Becky had her grade 7 farewell dance at school last week.  Poor thing had less than an hour to get ready between getting out of the pool and when she had to be at school.  Showered, hair washed and dried and make-up done...

  She asked me to take a few snaps in between of her getting ready - there really wasn't much time for many...

 I think she did really well and looked gorgeous for her black and white dance...

Being so tall makes Becky look a lot older than her tender 13 years...

 And for a change, Abi felt really, really short.  She was in flats, but still...

 Becky with Granny and Grandpa...

 And Auntie Tam (without whom, Jake would do far worse in maths)...

 Team Meders...

 Yes, I do feel unbelievably short next to these tall, skinny girls...

 I am a mini-me...

 It's been such an honour to watch these girls grow up into the lovely young ladies they are today.  Abi was born in 2000 and was a little chubby cherub at my wedding...

 Glowing with excitement - oh to be young...

 The family - Jake was very bummed that he had to miss it, but he had a scout commitment for the evening...

 We are a weird bunch...

I have so many more photos of so many things that we've been doing, but... time...  I will get there, I promise!

Sending love,

Sue XXX

So much for loyalty...

I was raised to be a loyal soul.  I can thank my mom and dad for that.  We weren't allowed to bunk school, or take off for snotty noses and sore throats.  No matter how you were feeling, you went and did your best.  If we were well enough to get up and get dressed, we'd were taught that we'd already done the tough part.  Half the battle was won and were well enough to go to school.  I remember being sick once - I had chicken pox in std 6 and was home for a week.  I still felt like I was bunking.  Another time, I had 9 teeth cut out of my mouth.  It was a Wednesday morning and I was sent to school that Friday, swollen up like a blowfish.  2 days off!!  Yep, we were raised to be loyal, amongst other things. In today's material-driven world, things are far more dispensable.  Jobs, marriages, clothing, animals, the list goes on.  Not us though, we're the loyal kind.  Once we've committed to something, that's it.  We do not give up and we are not quitters...

Yesterday came as a bit of a mind-blower for me, as a colleague resigned and has already packed up and moved on without so much as a goodbye.  I had seen a few warning signs and I did suspect that he'd been for an interview, but it still comes as a bit of a shock this morning to walk in and see a cleaned up desk.  You see, I have amazing bosses.  There aren't many people who can say that, but it's true, they are very special...

I've been working for my company for 15 years.  As the longest standing employee, the two owners are like family to me.  They have known me since before I got married.  They've seen me through my best days, like my wedding day and the birth of Jake, and my very worst days, when I was a grieving young mom, who'd just had life's carpet ripped out from beneath my feet.  They knew when to leave me alone, knew when I was on the verge of tears and when to just send me home to be with my baby.  They knew how to make me laugh and bought me chocolate and wine (to drink at home).  They have helped me to pick up the pieces of my life again and I think that they are happy to see me happy again.  I was just 22 when I started working here and they've seen me grow up into the woman I am today.  I have so much to thank them for and I could NEVER let them down.  They are good to me too and very kind in so many ways - they do things like take my car off and have new tyres put on, or have it cleaned.  They let me sneak out for an hour, so that I can go watch Jake run a race, or swim in the school gala.  I get time off for school outings aaaaaaannnnd I am paid a full day's wages, for a half day job.  It's a busy half day job, but to have time with Jake in the afternoons, I make sure I manage.  I am very blessed and I know it.  All that said, I am loyal to the company and people that employ me.  There is not much that they can say or do, especially this late into the game, that will make me pack up and leave on a whim.  It definitely works in a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" way, but it works.  We all irritate each other from time to time, we wouldn't be family if we didn't, but we care about each other and that's what counts.  We play open cards with one another and it works.

As you all know though, we are not all the same... Not every body has high-loyalty standards (hahahaha). It's odd to see how different people behave.  I am a big people-watcher and it would be very boring if we were all the same. We're busy going through some massive, very exciting changes and we have so much to look forward to.  This disloyalty comes as such a shock to us all.  To  make matters even weirder, he only resigned yesterday, but has packed up and gone without even saying goodbye.  So much for that...

I do wish this person well, he is a nice guy.  I just wish that sometimes people were better than we expected...

Sue X

PS.  Sorry I've been quiet, it's been a bit psycho for the last while.  Got photos to share soon X

A weekend away...

 Marius did a 21km trail run out in Grabouw this weekend.  It was the final run in a series and Marius did brilliantly, coming in 3rd place for this run and 1st overall for the series.  Grabouw's only about an hour away from town, but we decided to use the opportunity to get away for the weekend with the boys.  I did the 5km fun run with the kids and so we were there to welcome Marius in at the finish line.

Marius did take a bit of a tumble, he said it happened so fast, but I guess he can say he's a true trail runner now...

 It wasn't very warm at the finish, but Marius and his friend, Manou, who runs with him regularly, enjoyed a cold one at the end...

 Jake waiting for the lucky draw to begin.  And no, that guy in the background is not relieving himself...

 Michael & Cameron came in first and second place for the fun run too, here they are collecting their prizes...

 They obviously have their dad's genes for this sort of thing.  Jake ran nice and slowly and kept his mom company for our 43 minute 5km jog.  The trail was stunning and we all really enjoyed it...

Our three gorgeous boys, who will be breaking lots of girls heart's in the years to come (not too soon though, please boys!)...

Series winners...

We stayed at a place called Oak Lane.  The chalet is basic, but really perfect for us...

 Out on for a relaxing walk at Oak Lane...

 I love these pics.  Marius is cuddling his boys and Jake just joins in...

 The best part for me is that Michael wants to include Jake too...

 Marius with all the boys getting some love...

  More "bro-love"...

 Me in the orchard, picture courtesy of Jake...

 Pear blossoms...

 Baby pears...

 On Friday evening, I made a pasta for dinner.  We weren't sure what time we'd get there and it's nice to just have something ready to go when you arrive.  We were actually pretty lucky though, I managed to get off work early and Jake finished up school at 11 for the end of the term, so we were able to get going just before 12pm.  We had a little lunch stop and arrived in time to unpack and go for a nice walk.  After dinner, the boys tackled us on the birds and the bees and are now very well informed about a lot of the things expect of their changing bodies.  We're always glad when they're comfortable enough to come to us with their questions and being together gives them the courage to ask.  

On Saturday evening we braai'ed steaks, which was exactly what we all felt like.  Cam keeping a close eye on his dad's braai...

 Being a pyromaniac, Jake can't leave the fire alone...

 It's such fun watching these 3 grow.  Sometimes Michael is much taller than Jake and Cameron and sometimes Cameron and Jake are nearly the same height.  Jake seems to be having a bit of a growth spurt at the moment...

 Michael joined in the fire-fun too...

 Before we hit the road again on Sunday morning, we went for another little stroll...

 The orchards are in full bloom...

 The handsomest boys in town...

 My preciousness...

 The inside of our chalet - the lounge...

 And kitchen...

Our weekend was over sooner than we'd have liked, but at least the kids all still have another week off school, so there's no rush to get back into routine.  We'll probably be spending most of this week with Marius and his boys in any event!  

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.  Jo and her family got home last night from their 9 day holiday in Mauritius and I can't wait to see them all this afternoon.

Lots of love,

Sue XXX