New beginnings...

We had a lovely lunch with Jo and Paul in their new home on Sunday afternoon.  Jo spoiled us with a delicious chicken and pesto pasta, garlic bread and salad followed by Malva pudding and coffee.  We were all very excited to be visiting and eating with them in their new home.  And what a really beautiful new home they have.  It's light and sunny and warm and inviting.  Besides Corky who greeted us with his new sword over his shoulder.

They've bought the most beautiful statue for their entrance area.  Some of you might remember her from a series of statues that were displayed along the Sea Point Promenade a while ago.  You can read more about the story of the dragon fly girl here.  This one was the perfect choice for their entrance area, she looks as though she's welcoming visitors into their home.  Jo and Paul have named her Lily...

 Such beautiful detail...

   She's so life-like, it's hard not to greet her with a hug when you walk in the front door...

Hey, Bi...

 Do you know who's the prettiest girl in the whole wide world???

 Well, before you did that, it would've been you, of course...

 The dining room, all laid out for lunch by Corky...

 And lots of space and light...

 The view from the dining room - Pauly, can't wait to braai on your deck...

 Back from the dining room, towards the kitchen...

 Eating lunch is hard work...

 They're so angelic when they sleep.  I love this little girl so much, she's beautiful in every way, even when she's not...

 Half way up the stairs is a list of all the Cape Town beaches from Muizenberg to Sea Point...

 And a window looking out at the neighbour's house.  Jo & Paul's driveway is scary - I will park in the road when I visit them...

 Corky's new room and en suite bathroom are gorgeous.  Such a boy's room and, unlike Jake's, so tidy...

 See... nothing lying around.  A floor that can be swept clean in a jiffy.  Jake?  Did you see this??

 Precious boy...

 Besides Woody and the Mario Bros on his bed, Corky also has a few special bears on display in his room...

 Bi has a million on her shelf...

 Unlike Corky's room, Bi's is such a girly bedroom.  From the four poster bed to the crystal chandelier, to the dolls house and pretty pink duvet - it's all girl and it's everything Jo ever wished she could have when she was a little girl.  All things pretty...

 Bi has a friend in her room to keep her company...

 And looking back, she has an en suite of her own too...

 Looking down on the garden and across the complex from the main bedroom.  The builders found a baby cobra on the plot next door last week, so Paul's doing his utmost to convince Jo that they need a dog.  I think a little dog would be a great addition to their perfect little family.  Not sure what Gemma, their cat, would have to say though...

 Another view from the main bedroom, looks out straight onto Their old house...

 Their beautiful new room...

Paul, Jo, Corky and Bi - we wish you so much happiness in your beautiful new home.  I know you fill it up with love and happy times!!  You have worked so hard to get here and sacrificed so much - you deserve to be able to relax and enjoy your home.  We wish you lots of blessings and love!!

All my love,

Sue XXX

Boys just wanna have fun...

To say that Jake is having fun with Marius' two boys, would be an understatement.  The three of them get on like a house on fire and I see lots of mischief in their future.  For now though, they still like being with us and it's fun seeing their bonds develop - long may it last!!  Michael wants Jake and I to buy the house next door to their dad's, so that they can always be together...

 Michael loves the camera, with his bright blue eyes, he's a natural.  He's a beautiful, sweet, confident and affectionate boy, with a motor mouth of note.  A total show off!  He loves doing tricks and making up his own dance moves to go with songs.  He's always telling jokes and is the mastermind behind most of their rough and tough games...

 Cameron's taken a bit longer to warm up to me.  He initially comes across as very shy, but now that he's more familiar with me, he's anything but shy.  He's incredibly cute, with beautiful blue eyes and missing teeth, but you'd be poorly mistaken for thinking that he's innocent!  He knows well how to defend himself against his older brother.  He's always game for anything that his older brother throws at him.  And he's decided he's OK with the camera... 

 It always gets rough, which takes some getting used to.  It's usually only Jake and I, so it's much calmer.  Throw in 2 extra boys and 1 overgrown boy and it's gonna get rough.  On the dunes its a competition to see who can be the King of the Dunes, which involves shoving your opponents off the top of the dunes.  Michael's bigger and stronger, so he usually wins, but the other two never give up...

 While the boys play, it gives me a few precious moments with my camera too - I'm sure they'll get sick of me and my camera soon enough, but for now it's still OK for me to take it with us everywhere.  The weather on Saturday was gorgeous and the mountain looked so beautiful...

 We'd gone out quite late in the afternoon and, while the sun was shining it was quite warm, but as soon as it got lower in the sky, the temperature dropped quickly...

 The kids are always collecting odds and ends on our trips to the beach.  Marius' boys invariably tell him that whatever rock they've found is his father's day gift in order to get him to carry it back to the house.  Jake always wants what the others have found and it's their greatest challenge to find sharks teeth that are often washed up.  Michael has 2 that he's found, but Marius has been living there since he was 4 and is still searching.  It keeps them busy...

 Part of getting onto the beach is to get rid of some energy.  Thank goodness Marius has a lot more of that than me.  One has to wonder what other beach walkers think when they see us out with the 3 boys, all virtually the same age.  That poor woman...hahaha...  By the way, his own kids also got piggy back rides...

 After our walk, it was back to his house for a braai on the stoep, with a glass of red and a gorgeous sunset...

 The boys were on top form and provided plenty of entertainment...

 They're all into bunny ears at the moment...

 But it all ends up going downhill very fast, when they realise they have an audience...

 Oh look, there's me with messy hair, round cheeks and my big glass of wine...  And Marius.  Hi Marius xxx...  What the heck is Jake doing there?  Spoiling my photo!!  Wally...

 We'd decided that Saturday night was camp out night and Marius set up his tent for the kids to sleep in, in the lounge.  They were sound asleep within 5 minutes, we didn't even have to tell them to be quiet!!  Marius made them pancakes with chocolate spread for breakfast - a definite holiday highlight for Jake, who desperately needs a haircut...

And that was pretty much our weekend.  Nice and relaxed, full of happy moments, just the way it should be.  This coming weekend the boys will be with their mom and Marius is away, so it'll just be Jake and I.  Gonna be seriously quiet!!

Sending lots of love,

Sue XXX

It's a kind of magic...

 On Saturday morning, we went with good friends to the College of Magic for their annual production.  It was such a great morning out and really good value for money - just R50.00 for over 2 hours entertainment and a goodie bag to take home.  The kids had a ball and it was such fun to share it with them.

The double storey building that houses the college has various rooms and it was such fun moving through the Hogwarts-like building as we followed our group.  There was so much to look at as we moved through the passages.  In this particular room, the kids were taught a trick to make and take home with them...

 M and his boys, Michael (10) and Cameron (8) joined us too, so it was awesome to be able to share it with them as well.  They're on the ninja's left...

 Part of the show includes a story, this year using back lighting and musical instruments for all the kids and parents - it's such fun to be an overgrown child sometimes...

 More tricks, needed more volunteers and, ever the extravert, Michael was keen to get involved again...

 The costumes and makeup this year were really great too...

 Our 3 boys were called up to be part of the last act too...

 Cam was the dragon...

 Michael, the man in chains in prison...

 And Jake was the frog.  For the act, the princess had to choose one to marry, based on the crowd's cheering.  The frog won and Jake was NOT impressed with the prospect of having to be any sort of frog prince! Fortunately, to his relief, he didn't have to kiss the princess...

 Not the best photos, but hopefully it gives you some idea of the fun morning we all enjoyed!! More pictures of other fun times tomorrow!

Sending love,

Sue XXX