Sorry...

I'm sorry I've been such a slacker with my blog lately...  my dad told me I shouldn't worry about it too much because I don't have that many readers anyway... I'll have even less now that I've had a little break.

To be honest, we've been so busy, especially at work and I really need to do something about getting internet services linked up at home - I just haven't had time for anything.

Home's been pretty chaotic as well.  We're moving out of our house for a few days while my cousin moves in and I've been cleaning like a mad woman.  It's easy to ignore your own mess until you have to share it with someone else.  Jake and I will be moving in with Marius and his boys for a few days and we're super excited about having more time with them!

In other news, Rylee was Christened at the beginning of December!  Rosie and Gareth had a little service at home, with just the family and a handful of friends.  It was lovely and we all enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast after the laid back service, run by Gareth's brother.  Rosie made it very special...

 Rosie and Gareth are great parents and Rylee's such an easy, laid-back baby.  He's got 2 teeth now and is moving everywhere, pulling himself up onto everything...

 One of me with my sisters and all our kiddies...  Aren't we lucky????

 Bi enjoing a cupcake...

Aside from that, since exams ended, we've had a LOT more stress-free time off.  Our weekends in Blouberg have been fabulous and I've realised just how much I don't enjoy school.  We are all enjoying having a break!!  Did I mention to you just how very, incredibly, super smart this boy is?  Considering all the problems he's had and the fact that we had to change his meds just before exams... Jake came 4th in his grade.  4th!!!  That's out of about 180 kids!  He totally outdid himself and I am SUPER proud of how hard he worked for his amazing results.  I personally think that's the most important thing, not the fact that he came 4th, but the fact that he worked so hard!!  Did I tell you I'm so, so proud??!

 Marius loves having all the kids around too - the boys are lucky to have such a hands-on dad, who makes the most out of every second he has with them.  That's Michael doing a backflip into a wave and Jake's in yellow, Cam in blue...

 Jake's a lot more nervous of the water than Marius' boys.  Michael and Cameron are like 2 little fish.  Jake gets a piggy back ride whenever he feels a bit uncertain, which makes me feel quite relieved. 

 Oh look... they've spotted me...

 This is one of the only photos I've edited out of this lot...  this is the view of the mountain from "our" beach.  Shame... poor us, having to spend the holidays here... ;o)

 Hi Jake...

 Cam knee boarding on his body board...

 See... there's Jake watching...  Marius is the whale that's dived under and splashed Michael in the face...

 All my boys having fun in the sea...

 Towards the end of last term, Jake took part in the annual sports day.  He did really well in his race too, came 4th in the 100m sprint and made it to the final, where he came 5th.  That's Jake in front of the boy in the stripy shirt...

 In fairness, Jake did stumble, so he was disappointed with his heat, but I thought he was fantastic...

 Jake's braai'ed for me a few times too... he's getting quite good at it now...

 Mom and I made Christmas crackers for our Christmas lunch, complete with hats and jokes...

 Jo bought the cardboard crackers for us, and we put material on the outside to glitter them up a little...

 We had a whole production line going in my lounge and Jake even got stuck in with helping us.  They were fun doing, especially with a couple of glasses of wine and the yummy braai Jake made us.  We did struggle a little, but it was a fun evening with my mom...

 and the junk in the crackers this year, won't be such junk.  This is Bi's one...

 We've been working quite hard in our veggie patch too.  Jake's sunflowers have come up beautifully again and because my dad was treated for his leukemia in the sunflower ward, Jake decided to pick his first one for my dad.  Jake's hiding behind the flower, so that you can't see the fever blister that he picked and spread all over his chin.  Granted, it was his first, so he didn't know what he was doing.  And he's had a haircut since this picture was taken - thank goodness...

We've had a few blossoms since the one above and Jake's even taken a second to my dad.  Our veggie patch is really looking great this year, so fingers crossed that my cousin looks after it when she moves in too...

 Marius helped hugely by putting up a shade cloth for me - it's made a massive difference.  'scuze Duracell's ears...

And that's it from me till 2015!  I'm going on leave from today, until the 8th and I can't wait!!  I am going to do so little!!  Tonight, Marius' family is coming over to his house for dinner - we're having steaks and tomorrow is lunch with my family - we're having a fairly traditional Christmas lunch, with salads too.  Marius wasn't expecting to have his boys, but a last minute change of plans means that they'll be joining us tonight and opening presents with us tomorrow morning.  We are beyond thrilled!

Hope you all have a very blessed, safe Christmas - I'll see you in 2015!

Love,

Sue XXX

Busy, busy...

 The year seems to be moving along at an alarming rate at the moment - Christmas is just around the corner and I haven't even begun to do my shopping!  It seems very hard to believe that Jake is almost finished Grade 4 and will soon be starting on a new adventure with a new teacher and classroom full of new friends.  Jake's exams are well under way and he actually writes his last paper (Maths 2) on Monday.

In the build up to the end of the term, I was lucky enough to go on an outing with Jake's class (above) to the Cape Town Science Center.  Jake's teacher is wonderful and it was lovely to be able to catch up with her again too.  She does happen to be a family friend, so we don't have a traditional parent/teacher relationship.

Jake was thrilled to have me with him for a change - he even took his chances in stealing some of my coffee...

 The science center is a great way for kids to learn through play and if you haven't been, it's a trip well worth making...

 Using their minds to move a ball along a table...

 The kids took part in some boy vs girl challenges and they boys really outdid themselves.  It's so funny to see how differently the two groups work and think...

 The boys built a lot slower, but theirs was sturdier and they managed to beat the girls, who's tower kept falling over...

 

 They made rockets, which tied in brilliantly with their Space theme they've been working on in class...

Getting ready for messy experiments...

 the idea was to put vinegar in a canister, pop some bicarb in, tip it upside down with the lid on firmly and wait for it to pop off - needless to say, most of theirs fizzled out before popping happened...

Break was held outside too.  It was such fun to be the fly on the wall for a change...

 Chatting across the courtyard...

  To the girls on the other side...

 Another team work exercise - the girls actually finished first, but someone tripped and knocked it all over before they'd had a chance to have it checked...

 In other news, Jake and I did our first fun run together.  We're hopefully doing another one tomorrow morning - just 5km, but you've got to start somewhere.  Jake was thrilled with his medal...

 This one was for the West Coast Running Club, which is Marius' club...

 I was invited to stay at cubs on Wednesday evening, to help and to take some photos...

 As a special surprise for the cubs, the leaders had organised for a visit from the guide dogs...

  They were told all about raising guide dog puppies and about living as a blind person and how guide dogs help.  The kids were enthralled...

 This little one is Zeeba...

 And Vixen, who's obviously a chocolate Lab...

 Zeeba is very quizzy.  She's still in training and is only 5 months old...

She's got gorgeous puppy eyes and I think all the kids went home hoping to be able to convince their parents into becoming trainers...

 This is Barry.  He's an old friend and has lived in Edgemead for many years.  He was left blind after having an accident while driving like a maniac in his Lotus.  He didn't have his safety belt on and his spectacles smashed into his eyes.  It's a good lesson for the kids to learn and Barry does motivational speaking, so he's also very entertaining...

 Des and Estelle have given up many years raising guide dogs - Zeeba is their 5th...

  The kids had lots of questions.  This guy was very skeptical about how blind Barry actually is...

 Jake loves animals and wanted to be as close to Vixen as he could be...

 The kids learned how important it is not to touch a guide dog, or interrupt them while they're working, unless they've asked permission...

 It all got too much work for Zeeba and she took a nap mid-way...

 When she woke up, she'd been made an honourary cub...

 We had a friend out from the States a little while ago, who's also very involved with guide dogs there and she's been to see the kids before.  She sent a link for a video

http://boyslife.org/features/136450/scouts-help-raise-puppy-to-become-a-guide-dog/ - which shows a scout who raised a guide dogs and the kids got to enjoy this on Wednesday too...

 A group snap...

  And a big thank you to everybody for coming...

 We have a very hectic weekend ahead, 2 braai's and Rylee's getting Christened on Sunday and a fun run tomorrow morning at sparrows. Hope everyone else has a restful one ahead.

Lots of love 

Sue XXX