The Easter Weekend...

Jake & Pip (now 8 weeks old)

Most of you, who know us, know that Jake and I seldom have nothing on.  Our lives are busy and we like it that way.  We like to be busy and surround ourselves with the people we love.  Easter is a special time of year for us and so it was no surprise that we spent most of the weekend charging around and trying to squeeze as much into as little time as possible.

Saturday morning, Jake had a fun morning on with his cubs pack.  They'd planned an egg hunt in the local retirement village and were all super excited about it.  Each cub had to make an Easter bonnet and they were to go in uniform for an Easter parade and egg hunt.  We spent a bit of time on Friday making his hat and he was super proud of it.

We used an old cowboy hat from Disney and converted it into a bunny.  Jake even made his own pom-pom...

 Well done Jake (and a few others), your hat is gorgeous...

 The cubs were each assigned a few residents to chat to and to take with them on the egg hunt.  It was great to see the cubs and old people enjoying each other's company...

 Jake won second place for his hat and was very proud of himself.  He's here with 90 year old Alice, who also won second place for her bonnet...

 There were literally hundreds of Easter eggs and each resident and cub were each allowed to take 5 home with them...

 After the cubs party, we had Corky's birthday party!!  I cannot believe that our little Corky is 4!!  For the first time, he wanted something other than a "Thomas" party.  I can't wait until I know how to edit these pictures properly, the pink overhead lights didn't help me, but you'll get the idea.  Just imagine that it was sunset...

 While a family friend made the cake, Jo was responsible for these really cute pirate ship cupcakes - also photographed at sunset...

 There was dress up stuff for the kids, which was a real hit...

 With fun things for the kids to take home...

  "Captain Connor" with his very clever mommy...

 Jake was such a good sport and joined in on all the fun.  I even managed to get him to put his arm around Corky for this photo...

 Because they weren't sure whether they'd be in their new or old house for the party, Jo booked the lifestyle centre in their complex for the party...

 Corky and TJ (or "Teej" as Corky calls him these days)...

 On the pirate ship jumping castle - these guys look scary...

 Help Auntie Sue - I can't see where I'm going...

Bi in her new boots - she won't take them off for much...

 She's realised that she can see her picture on my camera after I've taken her photo, so I can get her to look at me.  Please note the pretty pink nails too!  Jo says she sits so still while she has them done...

 A jumping castle is always a hit with kids.  Especially one that doesn't look like your standard jumping castle...

 Hi Bi (or Bibi as she calls herself).  You're too cute and I love you...

 Jake was a little put out with me.  He's so much bigger than the other kids and he's so rough.  He was put on duty to watch that no little kids got hurt, but it only lasted for 2 minutes...

 Corky loved every moment of his amazing party...

 And Bi thought it was hysterical that she couldn't stay on her feet...

 This is Corky with his best friend Aiden aka Spidey the Pirate...

 Excited to finally be allowed near the party table...

 Then it was time to light the candles and sing to the special boy...

 Time to eat!  That's Corky's girlfriend, Hannah.  she's 7...

 This is probably my favourite photo of the birthday boy...

 Gareth was in charge of braai'ing the hamburgers...

 When my mom phoned to wish Corky happy birthday on Saturday morning, she asked him what she could bring with and he asked her to bring Bi a present.  He obviously felt a little guilty being indulged, while she got nothing.  Needless to say, Bi got something from us too and she was thrilled with her new things...

 Oh Da-haling...

 The shoes were definitely her favourite though and she loved their clicking noises.  Bi also loves music and she loves to dance, so took to the floor in her new shoes to entertain us all...

 Waiting patiently for the next track...

 Corky was very good and waited patiently until all his friends had left before he started opening presents...

 We gave him a Thomas Train (thanks TJ for bringing them all back with you from Germany) and some silly things like slime and pirate stickers, but the real highlight was this moustache.  When he found it at the bottom of the gift bag, he held it up and said "do you know, this is just what I've always wanted?" - now please scroll back up to see the table full of dress up stuff, and tell me why the moustache was so exciting?  It's the small things that count...

 Hannah got a kiss to say thanks for her gift...

 And Teej's gift of a new engine station was definitely a highlight...

 Bi is all set to enjoy Corky's gifts too...

 Easter morning was fun this year.  Jake is very much on the fence about it all and heard from a teacher at school (so he tells me) that the Easter bunny's not real and that it's impossible for a rabbit to jump over walls, delivering eggs.  Said teacher went as far as to tell them that it was only parents who do the egg hunt.  I was very upset about it last week, but he is growing up and he can't be the only wally left defending the bunny, so I have tried to be as honest about it as possible.  I just told him that if he doesn't want to believe any more, there won't be any Easter eggs to hunt for.  He did tell me that I'd put one egg on a rock during his hunt though, so he pretty much knows.  I'm very sad that this magical stage of his life is drawing to a close.  Thank goodness he has younger cousins to keep it alive for us all.

The weather was a bit iffy and rain was forecast for Easter, so the bunny hid Jake's eggs mostly indoors...

 It's so much more fun outside though...

 And he did leave some on the stoep for Jake to find...

 Jake was chuffed with his haul and he ate himself into a near coma for the rest of the weekend...

 We had a brunch at my folks with my sisters and their families.  It's our little family tradition...

 The bunny visited at Nini and Pa's house too and it was really special to see Corky & Bi enjoying themselves so much...

 Jake also enjoyed the hunt...

 Bi got a bunny from Auntie Rosie and Uncle Gareth...

 After breakfast Jake and Corky had Easter eggs filled with custard for dessert.  Have you seen that ad on TV?  Who else tried it?  Was delicious and well worth stealing eggs from your kids for...

 Jake's egg had a hole in the bottom so he was sucking the custard out (pssst Jake - you need a haircut!!)...

 Corky being silly for the camera...

 Pip enjoyed the morning with us too.  He's still so tiny, even though he's already 8 weeks old!  He's unfortunately been diagnosed with a cleft pallet and will need surgery when he's a little older.  It means that my mom needs to keep him till he's 4 or 5 months old, but hopefully the surgery will be successful and he'll still be able to find a good forever home after that.  The hole in his pallet is really tiny and he has managed to drink a bottle, but has always sounded as if he has a cold.  The risk is obviously that he can easily get fluid on his lungs.  Also, now that he's started solids, we have to keep the food very moist and soft, so that nothing gets stuck in the hole.  It makes caring for him feel more risky, but we mustn't forget why his name is Pip - he's our little survivor.  And you have to admit, he's darned cute...

 Duracell adores him too and has been so gentle with him.  He's starting to play a little more roughly now that Pip's getting bigger, but it's all fun for these two...

 After a nap at home after brunch, Jake and I decided to make a flask of coffee and to head down to the beach.  We picked up my mom and dad on our way.  It'd been threatening rain all day, but it was so warm we were sure a good thunderstorm was brewing.  I love going to the beach when its stormy and the waves are rough and the wind is cold.  Sunday was nothing like that though.  The clouds were there, but the air was warm and the water was calm.  It was magnificent...

 The air was clear and you could see for miles down towards Cape Point (your left of the photo)...

 Looking up the beach in the opposite direction, you could see the rain coming...

 When it started to rain a little too hard for us, we headed for the car and took a drive further up the beach, stopping in along the way at various spots.  This section of the beach had lots of crushed mussel shells.  The sand was chunky, almost like a mini-pebble beach, the way I like it...

 Toes like his daddy...

 And hands the same too...

 We were out until the sun set - it was beautiful...

 I love how Jake really doesn't care about his clothes getting wet on the beach...

 Jake & I - in hind sight, I shouldn't have crouched down, then you could've seen how tall he's gotten!  Won't be long before he over takes me... 

 True love...

 Special moment...

 Jake's trying to master the art of rock skimming...

 Despite how empty the beach looks in my photos, there were lots of people out and about.  Can you spot Jake in his red shirt??

 One last photo of our beautiful mountain...

We ended our weekend off with the most delicious sushi dinner with Jake's granny and grandpa and his Auntie Tam.  They'd been away camping for the weekend, so it was nice to spend some quality time with the rest of our family.

I hope that you all had a very blessed, special Easter!!

Sending lots of love,

Sue XXX