A mini-break...

 Marius' sister invited us to come up to spend a long weekend with them at their little holiday spot on the Clanwilliam Dam.  It was a little bit of a juggling act with my leave - I had to go back in a day early, so I could take the Friday off, but it was lovely and SO relaxing!

The drive to Clanwilliam takes you up along the West Coast.  It's not too far, probably just shy of 3 hours.  We made a pit stop in Piketberg for lunch at the local Spur.

The dry plains of Africa (actually wheat farms)...

 Janine and Andre have a boat, so we were up early in the mornings, food and drinks packed and off we'd go to find a quieter spot to enjoy the day.  This was the beach where we spent most of our time...

For those of you who don't know the area well, Clanwilliam is HOT!  It easily goes up to 40 C deg during the day...

 All sunscreened up - we all spent all day in the water...

 Janine enjoying something cool in the water...

 And her husband, Andre too.  Believe me, in that heat, you can't go long without having something to drink...

 The boys literally stayed in the water the entire day, except to get food and juice.  The life jackets were brilliant for bobbing around in...

 So calm and relaxing... you can feel it, right...

 A little ridge on the boat...

 Tubing behind the boat...

 Michael the poser...

 And a proper smile.  I think Michael looks a lot like his mom, but I see so much of Marius in this picture.  There's hope...

 Cam was a little nervous, so Marius rode with him...

 Jake and Michael watching from the boat - eager to have a turn...

 Michael is a total adrenaline junkie.  This is him jumping in the tube, to get it to bounce more on the water...

  He loves every second, especially going over the wake on the bends...

 Pure, absolute pleasure...

  Cam and Marius did get another go, before the afternoon wind picked up.  Hello biceps...

 Cam didn't really enjoy the waves, especially when Marius fell off the back - this pic shows how rough it gets...

 Jake chickened out all together.  I always feel sad for him when he misses out on something fun because he's scared, but I'll never force him to do anything that's beyond his comfort zone.  He was quite happy to watch and enjoyed being on the boat...

 The view from the boat...

 2 courses of antibiotics later and Jake's face was just about back to normal...

 Day 2 was pretty much the same as day 1.  We went back to the same beach and spent the day in the sun again.  Bliss...

A pretty dragon fly...

OK, so Jake did actually get to enjoy the tube too...  He had heaps of fun with the boys, shoving each other off...

Marius joined in to help with the tipping...

And it looked like so much fun, I "hopped" on too.  Can't be that boring mommy who doesn't join in the fun...

Lol... There's me...

Off you go Cam...

Michael getting revenge for Cam...

Which was apparently hysterically funny!  So good to have a laugh like that sometimes...

I thought it might be easier to go up legs first, but it wasn't... it was just more embarrassing and everyone could see how physically weak I really am...

Marius slept really well after his day of throwing kids up onto the tube and tipping them off again...

It was worth it though, just to see the smiles on the kids faces - they had a ball...

Back to reality from this was a toughie!  I'm still in holiday mode, which is maybe a good thing.  Packing lunch boxes doesn't seem that bad!

I wrote most of this post yesterday and have only just realised that it didn't actually upload for some reason, so here it is a day late!

I've woken up today in a really, really good mood.  Not sure whether it's because I'm attempting to run again (with Jake in tow this time), or whether it's because Jake's managing to get ready for school really quickly and easily at the moment, or whether it's knowing that I'm seeing Marius later, or the gorgeous weather, but I don't think there's much that can make me feel less happy today.  It's a great feeling :o)  Hoping that everyone else is as happy today as me

Love,

Sue XXX

Bits and pieces...

 So, in amongst other things... we spent time at the beach.  Did I say that before?  The kids spent a large part of holidays on their body boards, which means that I have (had) a semi decent tan by the end of the holidays too.

I am in love with this beach and this mountain.  I could never leave Cape Town...

 Clouds cooling us off (a lot that day)...

 We had a few visitors, not as many as I'd hoped for over the holidays - I had big plans to do plenty of entertaining, but turns out it's a busy time for most.  Rosie and Gareth came to visit, with Rylee and Jake was very excited to show off his tricks with his new board, which he bought with his own pocket money...

 Ag man - look how sweetly Rylee's snuggled into Rosie...

 I love this photo of the boys all watching the sunset.  It was beautiful - the clouds make it amazing...

 The last spot of sunlight dropping off the edge of the earth - honestly, it's breathtaking...

We spent a lot of time doing very little and the kids played far too many TV games, we watched far too many movies, but that's what holidays are for - slobbing and doing not very much.  Hahaha... how well do you know me???  We did plenty!  Cape Town has suddenly become a very health conscious city.  Everyone seems to be moving and doing something to get into shape.  We've got these awesome fitness parks that have popped up everywhere (even in Edgemead).  The kids think they're so much fun and they get a workout without even realising it.  This one's in Sea Point, right along the promenade the beach...

 Jake and Michael having fun together...

 Jake did quite a lot of work during the holidays on his badges for cubs too.  For his Outdoors man badge he had to build a backyard tent and sleep in it for 2 nights.  Marius' balcony is perfect, because he has lasers in his garden, so nice and safe...

 Jake was terrified and when Michael started telling ghost stories, he was the first one back inside.  He did manage 2 nights and it even rained once...

 And, needless to say - nobody got much sleep...

 I think it's safe to say that these 3 wallies had an AWESOME holiday together and we're already looking forward to the next one...

That brings me up to date with the holiday pics.  My camera's been in for repairs at Nikon and I heard yesterday that it's ready for collection, I just don't have time till Monday to fetch it.  Not having my camera with me feels a bit like having lost a limb (OK, not quite).  I'm looking forward to getting it back again!  Have had all my lenses serviced and cleaned properly too, so it will be like new again and I can't wait!!

Sending love,

Sue XXX

Life with 3, no wait, 4 boys...

Is a totally ridiculous circus most of the time really, but we wouldn't have it any other way!!  And Marius is seriously the biggest kid out of them all.

We popped in to visit my mom for her birthday, the day after Christmas, and she was busy moving her old spare room bed out.  The boys were thrilled and made an instant wrestling arena out of the old bed.  When he realised what they were doing, Marius quickly joined in.  I mean, which dad wouldn't enjoy a bit of rough and tough with his kids, right?

 I think he gives in and just lets them shove him around a bit...

 They all take turns squashing him, while they wrestle with one another...

And the boys get pretty intense about it...

 Not to be outdone by Michael, Jake is quick to shove him off, so that he can also have a turn squashing Marius.  I love how confident and comfortable Jake is with Marius and his boys.  It's a good sign and it makes my heart very happy...

 Lol... Jake's not as strong though...

 Marius is under there somewhere... all arms and legs...

 Jake looks quite comfy hanging off the edge of the bed about to fall on his head...

 A few days later and we were celebrating New Year's Eve at Marius' sister, Janine's, house.  We took sushi with for starters.  We actually got to her house really early and had intended to be back at Marius' house before the clock struck 12, so that we could watch the fireworks from the beach, but we landed up staying late.  Jake and Michael have become real sushi pigs, so we got them each their own little platter, so they'd leave the grown ups food alone.

Jake's favourite sushi is Salmon Roses.  Please don't look at Jake's chin - I still feel awful about it!  He'd been on anti-biotics for 4 days already here and it was already looking better...

 

 Michael's choice is always California Rolls...

 Cam doesn't like fish at all and so he had chicken instead.  That's not his beer, by the way...

 Michael and Cameron spent lots of time in the pool with Marius...

 Cam's turn...

 These are Marius' sister's dogs, Georgia and Duke.  She's often home alone and their grounds are huge, so the dogs are fantastic protection for her...

 Michael having lots of fun...

 And to prove it again, Marius really is just an overgrown kid...

 Jake didn't feel like swimming... he gets a little shy sometimes.  He so badly wanted to play with the dogs, but the last time the boys were with them, they climbed into Janine's spaniel.  They're big animals and I think both Marius and I feel happier having them a little further away from our boys faces...

 Cam's like a little bean pole at the moment.  He's eating everything in sight.  The boys mom has hired them a personal trainer, so they are exercising at home every evening - it's very cute...

 All fun and games...  I love these calm summer evenings!

  There was plenty of jacking around for the camera and I have a few shots where costumes have slipped, or creeped, that I'll save you from seeing here, but that'll make awesome pics for 21st birthdays...

 Michael can't understand why Marius can't throw him as high as Cam goes... just not possible - he's a lot bigger than both Jake and Cam...

 Jake sat with me and we managed to get this pretty good selfie of ourselves... 

So, on that note... I hope that 2015 will be a fantastic year for you all.  I hope that it will be a year of dreams coming true, full of love and laughter and special memories made with your nearest and dearest.

Love

Sue XXX