All good intentions...

 I have been trying to be a bit better about keeping my camera handy so that I can take more photos and be better about blogging.  I had intentions and posts planned to do through the week gone by, but just haven't gotten there.  Anyway, before the pictures become outdated, I decided to share them here and promise to take more over the weekend, hopefully meaning you'll hear more from me sooner rather than later.

Spring is supposed to be here, but the weather is anything but. Today it is overcast and drizzly, not the ideal start to the weekend.  It's hard to believe that it's just a few weeks till summer's officially here and I just hope it warms up a bit more soon.  That said, the free water is good for the garden and it's nice to know that our dams are getting a little boost before the dry season starts.

One plus of summer time is watermelons.  Jake loves them and he was so excited when I came home with one recently, that he made me cut it open immediately, so that he could have some.  He could seriously have eaten the whole thing if I didn't stop him...

 Beautiful little Bianca continues to grow and learn.  She's such a happy, content little girl, with lots of squishy rolly bits.  Her and Connor are at my mom and dad during the week now, so we are lucky enough to see them almost daily.  This morning she was waving at Jake (possibly a first for her!) and she is trying her hardest to crawl.  She gets her feet under herself and her little bum goes into the air - it's just a matter of time!  She's a dream at nap time, she gets a little niggly, but never cries and she gets wrapped up and put down and that's it.  Total little angel...

 I was lucky enough to get a day off work this week.  Jake had a school outing to Kirstenbosch Gardens and I was picked to help with lifts.  The four kids who drove through with me were my group to take around and find various things with and it was nice to wander around, exploring with them.  Jake absolutely loves the gardens and I must make more of an effort to get him through there more often.  These pictures are from the African Sculpture Garden.  All sculptures are for sale...

 The kids each had to draw pictures of the things we found along the way.  There's Jake, Andisa and Angelina...

 Next stop was Cnl Bird's Bath, which overflows to a little stream with stepping stones.  This is the prettiest part of the garden, in my opinion and the kids loved getting out of the sun (it looked like it was going to pour with rain in the morning, but then cleared and we got a little sun burnt) and having a few moments to play in the water...

 Jake especially loves looking for tadpoles here and was very upset that he wasn't allowed to take any home with him.  The girls were happy to watch and squeal when the boys caught anything...

 My four little monsters.  Oh, these kids taught Jake the 'F-word' in the car on the way through.  Jake knew that there was an 'F-word', but he's never known what it is.  I was horrified, to say the very least, but have explained to Jake that he may NOT speak like that, that it's unacceptable and he seems to have taken the seriousness of it all very seriously.  For now...

 A pretty protea...

 Looking for crabs/tadpoles in the Otter Pond...

 Drawing pictures in the Fragrance Garden.  The kids are encouraged to pick leaves and rub them to release various scents...

 The outing ended off with us all sitting in the sun waiting for various groups to finish.  The kids ran around and ended up at the river (just beyond the bench - there were other moms there, watching), looking for tadpoles again...

 this is Jake's whole class at the end of the outing.  We probably should've taken the class photo at the beginning of the tour, they were all pretty grumpy and tired after the long walk in the hot sun...

 Other than that, we had this pretty little bloom open in our garden this week, so it was worthy of a photo.  I'm busy getting plans drawn up to do some landscaping in my garden, which is in an embarrassing state at the moment...

 More of the buds have opened and it does have a second little stem with a few buds on it too, so very exciting for us...

Even more exciting is that the little blossoms belong to this...

 Many of you will remember the story of Jake wanting a 'Penis' Fly Trap for Christmas when he was 3.  He did get one and it lasted quite a while, but this one was a birthday present from one of Jake's friends.  That means it's survived nearly 7 months in our house.  It's actually on our stoep and seems to be doing really well.  Perhaps that's because it's actually referred to by its correct name these days..

"When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses

them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, 

remember that someone has prayed for you!"

Enjoy your weekend!!

Much love,
Susan XXX