On Saturday afternoon, we went to Deer Park to celebrate Cameron's birthday with a bunch of his buddies for a game of Laser Tag.
The weather was absolutely perfect for it and the park was gorgeous. I've actually never been to Deer Park, but it's really busy and the walking trails don't look too hectic - we'll have to go for a little mountain walk to test them properly. There's also a lovely cafe just before the park, which has a stunning outdoor, fenced-in play area, which is ideal for young families. Still hoping to visit that sometime too.
Anyway, the boys were beyond excited with the party idea and having to wait for Cam's friends to arrive was testing. As usual, I had my camera with and so here are the hundreds of photos...
Cameron was super excited...
Jake absolutely loved the forest, especially when he found a dung beetle actually rolling poo...
Big brother, Michael...
The food was out almost as soon as we arrived and everyone jumped straight in. I should've given Marius lunch before we went, he was starving...
Michael wants his space and he likes to wander off on his own, but also likes to keep a watch on what's going on...
Marius' car decked out with balloons. You can't see it in the photo, but in the distance, you can see part of the city and out over Table Bay...
We made sure that tummies were full before the kids disappeared. And Cam's mom brought plenty of juice...
So serious... Jake is going through some pre-teen issues. I won't even tell you what he called Michael on Saturday evening after the party, but it meant he didn't play TV games the whole of Saturday evening/Sunday. My sweet boy is growing up and he's doing some serious boundary testing...
As soon as Michael saw action happening, he was off his perch and back at our picnic site; couldn't miss out on any of the fun...
The Laser Tag guys brought face paints for the kids and they quickly got busy making a mess of their faces...
Jake started off tamely...
As did Cameron, until his dad got hold of him...
I love this happy picture of Cameron, laughing at his friends...
Jake getting messier...
Cam's face underway. He thought he was done here, but Marius had bigger plans...
Finished...
Jake did his nose too and put some on his forehead. I had all fingers crossed that this stuff was going to wash off OK, before they got into bed...
Oh wait, there's still some open patches on your forehead Cam, better get those too...
Grown up Michael, took it easy on the paint...
From then on, Jake and Cameron scratched and picked to get the paint off their faces again...
Kids were divided into teams - thankfully, Cameron, Jake and Michael were all in the same team...
And then the game began...
There goes Cam too...
I tried to follow them up, but they had vanished. Cam and Michael's mom was also taking snaps, so it left me with time to appreciate the beauty of the forest...
I didn't go too far on my own - I'm scared of snakes and spiders. There's our picnic site below...
Not long after the game began, Marius was handed a gun and joined in. I personally think he had more fun than the kids, perhaps it brought back memories of his army days...
Attacking his own team...
He wasn't taking a break, he was hiding... I think...
Ooooh! Look!!! It's a dung beetle...
And tall, tall trees...
And a pretty flower... how come this is a pretty flower in the forest, but in my garden it'd be a weed??
Spring is definitely here...
Deer Park looks up towards Table Mountain...
Zoomed in, you can even see the cable station. Looks like an easy enough walk, right?
More pretty weeds...
Hey! There's Michael!!
He spotted me too soon though...
And then Cam joined him. Double trouble!! It's a cool pic, even though they were pretending to shoot me...
And Marius was stalking me down at the same time...
Lol, he's learned to enjoy playing for the camera - clown...
There were plenty of breaks for drinks...
Jake taking aim at me too...
The boys loved having Marius join them for the game. He was their personal body guard...
Run cam, run...
Jake taking aim...
Ho-hum, more forest photos...
See-through leaves...
Michael was protecting their base...
The boys took it all very seriously and the forest was filled with shrieks of enjoyment...
Cam, still scratching, and Jake...
A forest tribute to a pooch...
On guard...
Marius was quite chuffed to have not just one gun, but two!! He's really just an overgrown kid...
Looking deeper into the forest...
Uh-oh! It's a stand off...
Cameron under attack...
This photo makes me laugh... I know photographically, it's awful, but what the heck is Marius laughing at like that? And Jake is so serious...
Whatever it was, it must've been good...
A fallen log. I should've known about this place when I did my courses...
Push ups for more lives to be loaded on their guns...
My four soldiers. Check Jake taking cover, Cameron scratching, Michael looking the other way and Marius is the only one really taking it seriously...
Funny man Cam...
Um, Marius... in-ap-pro-priate!
Looking over one of the neighbouring picnic sites...
Jake is going to have crows feet like his dad one day...
Another photo that totally cracks me up every time I look at it...
Have a closer look at Cam. hahahaha...
A group shot - everyone shooting at me...
Hahaha - and everyone shooting at Cam...
It was time to say cheers to the Laser Tag guys...
Our 3 monkeys...
It was time for candles, singing and birthday cake...
The candle blowing out seemed to go on forever... damn those re-lighting candles...
Cam eventually got them all out...
Marius helping Cam to cut the cake...
The boys...
Cam was excited for a slice of that cake and it was a very surprisingly yummy cake...
Oh, before I forget... the dung beetle...
It was an awesome party and we were so lucky with the weather. Thanks Cam for letting us share the day with you, it was fabulous!!
Love,
Sue XXX
