OK, I have very few excuses as to why I have been so lazy with blogging.  Work has been pretty hectic and as month end looms, I know that it's just going to get crazy all over again.  And that's just me, I won't even mention how busy Danie is at the moment.  That said, we take our chances when we get them and we do find some precious moments to enjoy together.  Like after Bianca's christening, when we took Jake to play putt-putt.  It was a lovely day and it was fantastic to get out in the sunshine for a bit.  Jake played super well and was really chuffed with his hole-in-one.  I opted to watch and take photos of my guys.

We play putt-putt in Muizenberg, which is literally around the corner from Danie's house.  It's on the beachfront, which you can't see when you're playing putt-putt because there's a wall in the way.  I love this sign at the little take away spot.  It's like it's stuck in a time warp...

My little pro golfer.  I must remind Danie that Jake would love to go around the course with him sometime.  We are going to a family golf event this Friday, but only the grown ups get to play.  Jake would really love to have a few swings on the course and, of course, try out his putting skills...

 See?  There's no ways that I'd get past the little water basins on either side, but Jake can do it...

 There's also a waterslide on the beachfront.  I've never been down this particular one, but I am going this summer with Jake.  I'll just need to find a quiet day.  Oh, a word of warning, you cannot move on this beach, or anywhere near it, on New Year's day...

 While spring has officially begun in the southern hemisphere, it's still pretty cool here in the mornings and evenings.  I like to get Danie to light the fire at his house.  It means we sit away from the TV and chat.  TV is officially my worst form of entertainment...

 My cousin and his family visited from Johannesburg for just over a week.  He's got twin daughters who are 6 years old.  That's Megan on the left and Hannah in the middle.  Jake got on really well with them, so we spent quite a bit of time together while they were in town...

 We were at Eden on the Bay for a late breakfast.  The kids had a ball playing on the grass while we had coffee and chatted...

 And here's a family snap, Craig and his wife Yvonne and their girls.  On a beach.  With a mountain...

 I also managed to get Jake to put his arms around the girls for a snap.  While he wasn't thrilled, he did do it.  I couldn't get him to smile though, that was asking for too much...

 And I got a nice picture taken of Jake and I on the beach too.  I love having pictures taken of the two of us, there aren't too many around since I'm always the one taking the snaps.  Now I must actually get some printed...

 There are no words to discribe how much I love this little boy and the way he loves nature.  He is like a sponge and loves learning more about the world we live in...

On our way home, we stopped to have a look at the MV SELI 1 wreck along the Blouberg beach front.  During the previous night, the boat had broken apart, which resulted in an oil spill.  The vessel was supposed to have been emptied of oil already, so this shouldn't have happened.  The boat is a Turkish bulk carrier and it ran aground in 2 years ago.  The owners of the vessel have shown no interest in removing it and the problem of cleaning it out and breaking it up has been left to the South African Maritime.  And now we have this "big" mess to deal with on top of it too!  We were lucky enough to arrive just in time to see them getting this helicopter ready to go and inspect the wreck.  Jake was thrilled to see it taking off...

 The beach was completely closed as authorities got on with their work...

 Here's the "SELI 1".  The boat is now in 3 pieces...

 Here you can see the dark patches of the oil in the sea.  Fortunately not too many animals were injured by the oil.  They'd only picked up one seal when we were there.  It wasn't a huge spill, but still disgusting.  From Blouberg (translation: blue mountain) beach, there are such beautiful views of Table Mountain.  The SELI 1 is a real eye sore to a beautiful landscape...  

 Something pretty growing in the dunes.  This is a little fygie.  I love them and my parents always used to have them growing in the garden when we were kids.  The sandunes surrounding Blouberg are protected and you may not even walk on them...

 A view of the clean up operation...

 Other than that, Jake has been taking quite a keen interest in my camera again.  I love that he is so tiny and manages to get around so well with my big camera.  These pictures were taken at Danie's house one evening while we were braai'ing.  The first two are of a Western Leopard Toad, which is a protected species, found only in the Western Cape.  There are quite a few where Danie lives and we have seen them before in the garden, but it's spring now and breeding season is upon us, so they are out in force, looking for a watery nest.  Jake is bound to try catching tadpoles as soon as they hatch!  Of coures he knows to put them back.  It's really lovely to lie in bed at night and listen to the toads calling out to each other.

Please note:  I have done no editing or cropping to these pictures, they are all Jake's own work.  He did pretty well, don't you think?  Especially since he was hanging over a fence stretching to get as close as possible.  And yes, my camera is insured...

 And here's Laila.  I think this might be the only picture ever of her with her tongue actually inside her mouth!  Well done Jake!!  Speaking of spring and breeding and all that, Laila's looking for a mate, so please let me know if you know of anyone who has a male boxer keen for some fun with this pretty girl...

 And that's all for now.  I promise to try write more often.

Sending lots of love to you all,
Sue XXX