Just a regular walk on the beach...

 We try get down to the beach at least once on a weekend.  When we're at Marius' house, it's a sin not to.  You see that white house behind Jake?  Marius' house is about 3 back from there... see?  It's a total SIN not to go for a walk!  Besides, it gets the kids out of the house and away from TV games.  We see lots of interesting things on the beach - from birds (both dead and alive), to crabs and worms and dogs of all sorts.  One thing I've never seen on the beach is a snake.  Yep, the one Jake's holding above was out for a walk with it's owner and their pet pitbull.  Quite an odd picture, but at least Jake got to hold the snake for a snap.

 To go from a home, where Jake's an only child, to one where he's got "brothers" has been quite a big adjustment.  We often find that by Sunday morning, the boys are all starting to get ratty with one another and that's usually when we head out to the beach.  Being so close, means that we get to chose the best times of the day for our walks.  As most of you will know, it gets pretty windy in Cape Town in summer time, but most early mornings are great.  On this day, it was already quite windy by the time we got down to the beach.  You can see the boys have all had enough of each other for the moment.

It swings in roundabouts though.  They all have their turns to be angels and devils, so we are learning to take it as it comes.  Jake's probably the one who's had to learn the most and he does dig his heels in sometimes, but he's getting there.  He knows he's my number 1 guy, I just need to remind him sometimes :o)

 Being on the beach lets the kids get rid of some of that pent up energy and frustration, so that by the time we get back to the house, they're ready for lunch and more time together.  Marius is adamant that he wants a screen free holiday, I'm not so sure - surely a little TV isn't a bad way to unwind for any of them?  It's going to be expensive keeping all 3 of them busy and I like to veg out sometimes too.  If there are no screens, these boys are going to be on my case 24/7.  Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when we get there...

 Marius and I managed to escape for a few days again for his birthday (mid-October - that's how behind I am!).  We went out to Riebeek Wes and had the most wonderful, relaxing time ever.  We ate and drank and slept in - it was divine...

The birthday boy enjoying wine at Kloovenberg...

 And me hiding in a tank... perhaps too much wine for some...

 The Royal Hotel, which is in the main road of Riebeek Kasteel, has gin happy hour from 5 - 7 and we took advantage, enjoying their most expensive brands on the balcony...

 This is the restaurant in the hotel...

 Ahhhh... gin cocktails and sunshine...

 This is the view from the balcony of the Royal Hotel...

 We did go back on the Sunday afternoon for another yummy cocktail...

 The balcony is the longest one anywhere south of the Limpopo River.  It gets quite festive during happy hour...

 In other news, Jake had his annual cub/scout prize-giving.  This was his first as a scout, which he's not enjoying as much as he'd hoped.  Cubs is run by adults and scouts is run by other scouts, so the pecking order doesn't run in Jake's favour.  It's different and he's doesn't seem happy to go to scouts, which is a big warning sign for me.  He couldn't wait to get out the door for cubs.  I've asked him give it a chance and insist that he must stick it out until the end of the year before he makes a decision...

 A big part of the prize-giving was Jake receiving his Leaping Wolf Badge.  This was one he worked on through out cubs and it's the highest award any cub can receive.  He had a lot of tasks and projects to complete for this badge, including a personal challenge.  He decided that for this challenge, he wanted to complete every single badge in the book and he did.  He worked very hard and did a stunning job as a cub...

 They made a big fuss over his achievements and over all the badges he'd done...

 The leaping wolf badge is the only cub badge that Jake is allowed to wear on his scout uniform...

And that's it!  I'm up-to-date with my photos.  I must get my camera out and take some more pictures soon - it feels like life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately.

Jake started exams today - English Language and Comprehension (neither are his favourites), so there's been lots of studying happening.  I've taken a big step back from Jake's studies for these exams - we end up muttering and moaning at each other too much when we work together, which makes us both unhappy.  While I am more than happy to sit and listen or ask questions, I feel that it's very important that Jake learns how to do this on his own before he gets to high school.  It's taught me a lot too - it's not easy to sit and ready, or do housework when I know Jake's working so hard.  I want to help him, but I know I must let him do it.  His basic study plan is to study in 20 minute sets, letting me quizz him and then have a 10 minute break.  The nice part about me not helping him is that now, during his study breaks, he chats to me and we enjoy the time, rather than be irritated with each other and just want to get away.

Marius is away at the moment, he's gone to a big show in The Netherlands, called METS.  It's the biggest trade show for the marine industry in the world and so he's there till sometime on the weekend (hopefully he lets me know when).  It's funny, because I don't usually see him during the week, so he's far away, but he'll be back before I've even missed him.  Just hope that his bags are packed with nice things for me when he gets home!

Love Sue XXX