A bumper...

 So many things have been happening lately.  Life is crazy and it's busy, but it's all good.  The school holidays came and went far too quickly and I am exhausted with the back-to-school routine already.  I can't wait for the long December break!

Jake's had plenty on the go as well.  He took part in a cubs competition at their hall a couple of weeks ago.  Their leaders did it up with a CIS-theme and it was a lot of fun.  Exhausting for the grown-ups, but the kids had a ball and that was what mattered...

 Jake not looking too happy with me snapping photos of him...

 They arranged for the fire department and police to visit and the kids loved it.  Jake's troop won the competition, so they were thrilled with that too...

 As a little treat for doing so well on their reports, we took the kids out for a sushi lunch at Beluga, which is one of our our favourites.  Actually, it's where Marius took me on our first date!  Jake and Michael tackled a 24-piece platter each - Michael finished his in record time and Jake had to take some home for supper.  My boys...

 Michael wolfing down his sushi...

 Jake enjoy his too...

 Cam doesn't eat fish at all, so he opted for ribs and chips instead...

 We spent one of our afternoons playing mini golf...

 Jake loves pretending to shoot me at the moment...

 Jake's friend, Cole, is moving to America this month, so he joined us for putt-putt...

 We also spent a lot of the holidays (the afternoons, I was working) in our garden.  With spring here, it has been great to see everything slowly coming coming back to life.  I love my wild irises...

 My garden is messy and there's still lots of space to plant pretty things, but it all costs money, so I'm just enjoying what we've got for now...

 More irises...

 OK, I know it's not a great shot, but we've cleared out the veggie patch and we've dug in compost...

 Our seeds have been sewn and some have already sprouted.  Baby mixed lettuce...

 Carrots...

 Spinach...

 And mealies...

 Jake also insisted on buying a blue berry bush.  I didn't realise how big it's supposed to get; at 3m it's not a bush, it's a tree!  And I dread to think what colour my walls will be when the fruit ripens and the birds find it.  It's exciting for Jake though and he loves blueberries...

 This year, we've planted veggies outside our patch too - we ran out of space for everything we want to grow.  Peppers...

 Ooooh and look at these.  My mom gave me 3 clivia a while ago and I planted them beneath my lemon tree.  They've all bloomed beautifully this spring and I'm very chuffed with them.  By the way - I haven't done anything to the colours in this picture...

 Looking out from my stoep...

 Jake went to a fete without me on Saturday and he was thrilled to show me the plants he bought for our garden.  We pass a bush like this in the mornings when we walk to school and he always tells me he likes it.  Pretty flowers...

But deadly thorns...

 He also bought me this monkey tailed fern, which is very pretty...

 Having a boy around means that you find things like this in your garden from time to time.  It's a rain spider (my worst - they're harmless, but get bigger than your hand). He tells me it was already dead when he put it in the jar...

 And we also have this shark's jaw in our garden...

 Jake's hanepoort grapevine didn't do well last year and Jake's only just pruned it back and it's got some new shoots.  Hopefully we can nurse it back to health...

 In other news, Rylee got his first tooth last week and we were invited to dinner to celebrate...

 Little drooler...

Jake and Rylee love each other, it's so sweet to see.  Actually, it's been great to see Jake reach a stage where he's prepared to act silly to enjoy his little cousins...

Hahaha... it won't be long before that's a real punch!  Rylee, Jake's bigger than you...

 Rylee decided that he didn't want to go to bed, the dinner party was much more fun...

 He is crazy about his mommy and his daddy too...

 Jake got a new catty - they're not my favourite toys, I'm so scared he hits someone or breaks something.  He's thrilled with it though.  And don't even get me started on how big this boy's getting!  He's in the same size shoe as me now...

 We haven't seen Hilux for a while.  He's still as crazy as ever and he was also very happy to see Jake...

 This is Jake's naughty face...

 Because he was getting ready to shoot my with his catty...

You have to agree, even though he's naughty and full of nonsense at the moment (hormones!!), he's beautiful...

 Jake and my mom (Nini)...

 Hello Smiley Rylee...

 Rylee's hair's definitely red...

 And he's got the most beautiful blue eyes...

 I think he's looking forward to being big enough to enjoy a drink with all of us...

 Jake and Gareth played a game of pool.  Jake lost horribly, but he had fun doing it...

 The more you practice, the better you get...

 Rosie says something along the lines of "it's cuddle time" and Rylee gets all excited...

 Then she smothers him with a gazillion kisses...

 Rylee can't really eat pancakes yet, but he did manage to chew on one through this little gadget...

 The pancake stack...

 All the grandparents joined in the celebrating - it was a great evening and the food was fantastic...

 Jake with Rylee and Uncle Gareth...

OK, I'm back up-to-date!  Hope this finds everyone well!!

Lots of love,

Sue XXX

Have you ever...

woken up from a dream that feels so life-like, that it takes you more than a moment to catch your breath and take in your surroundings, before you realise that it was a dream?

I dreamed last night that Jake went missing, while on a forest hike with his fellow cubs and scouts.  He'd somehow wandered off the path with a friend to look at something, no doubt a bug or a new plant, without the group noticing and when he turned around, they were gone.  He tried to find them, but he couldn't and instead the two boys began to wander around the forest, trying to find their way back to the base camp and instead getting more and more lost.

It was only when the group arrived back at the base camp, that the leaders realised that there were 2 kids missing.  They tried to get a search and rescue team together, but the officials weren't prepared to help, because it was getting late in the day.  I only discovered a little while later that Jake was one of the missing boys and you can't even begin to imagine my panic.  I had to be held back from running off wild into the forest to look for him!  The plan was to go searching for the boys in pairs and I needed someone with me who knew how to work a compass.

Night began to fall and the fear of knowing my child was alone (OK, with a little friend) in a forest, without food or blankets and knowing he would be terrified of the dark, of the crawling creatures and of not knowing where I was, but knowing that I would be scared too and looking, looking for him.  My voice was hoarse from screaming his name, my eyes couldn't cry any more tears, my heart was shattering into a gazillion tiny pieces... 

I woke up so suddenly, literally gasping for air and was so relieved to finally be out of my nightmare!  When 6am rolled on and the alarm went off, Jake crawled into bed with me and I was so, so grateful to be able to feel his little arms wrap safely around my neck.

Have a good weekend!

Love,

Sue xxx