A birthday celebration...

My dad turns 64 today and we had a little get-together to celebrate it yesterday.  I don't think I know a single adult who enjoys their birthday as much as my dad, Jon.  I guess it's from his illnesses, that he realises that each year is one more to celebrate and we're all happy to indulge him.  The kids love it and Jake was really thrilled to see Corky for dinner, especially during exam time.  The two of them sat chatting away on the front stoep for ages.
  It's lovely how well they get on these days...

 Stinky Binky was there too - the little rose amongst all the thorns.  She's too cute for words and apparently told Jo last night after they'd left that Sue was her girlfriend, friend and twin - she suddenly clicked that we share a birthday.  Very cute, but the best role I have is being her auntie...

 I had a canvas print done for my parents a while ago of the grandchildren.  Bi was probably only 7 months old and she's got hardly any hair and of course, Rylee wasn't around yet.  I had hoped to catch a snap to update it for my mom for Christmas, but my gogga (Rylee) was tired and between Jake, Corky and Stinky Binky, it's quite difficult to get them all to look at me without pulling funny faces and I've since realised that the sunny wall in the background just wasn't great...

 Corky was probably the cutest yesterday, I have to say.  He insisted on wearing his shirt and tie, with black pants and looked too cute for words.  He spent a lot of time thinking about what he could give Pa for his birthday and came up with lots of great ideas - like a wig, since my dad doesn't have much hair left.  He eventually, very thoughtfully, settled on a Mecano set, which he'll have to help Pa build, because Pa's eyes aren't very good...

 

 Yep, definitely a good choice... birthday presents for me on your birthday too.  Smart boy...

 Pa was very touched...

 Despite having a house full of visitors, Pa took time to enjoy his grandchildren too...

 Bi wasn't too happy about having to share her swing (myyyy swing), because she wanted to go HIGH...

 Another attempt to get all 4 kids looking great, now I'm just not sure about the boring wall behind them...

 Jake's pretty much learned the drill... look at me and smile.  Don't move...

But Auntie Rosie was trying so hard to get Rylee to smile, it was very distracting...

Despite the fact that half of them aren't looking at me, this is probably my favourite...

 or this... any comments?  

 Bibi waiting for Pa to blow out the candles, so that she can have some pudding...

 Hahaha - Corky's very funny with the camera at the moment... he's always pulling faces...

 Cake time...

 Rylee helping Pa blow out the candles...

 Nini with Gogga and Stinky Binky...

 Oh gosh... four kids and a granny, to get them all to just keep their eyes open was a challenge...

 Like I said, my dad likes a party.  He likes to have the stage and be able to have his say for 5 minutes (or 10)...

the kids all sat very quietly...

 And then surprise surprise, Jon whipped out his guitar and sang a couple of numbers...

 Rylee is loving having his hair cut at the moment.  I'm not sure how many of you know that my mom is a hairdresser...  she has worked from home for years, from this bathroom.  At the moment, Rylee gets his hair cut about 4 times a day.  This was already his second cut for the evening...

 He's so good and has such gorgeous hair...

 Of course, Nini indulges him the whole way... she loves it as much as he does...

 Big blue eyes...

And when he realises that we're all watching him and telling him how good he is, that's when he's really happy...

Just before we left, one snap of Pa with the kids... Gogga was already sound asleep... 

 Happy birthday, Dad!  Here's to many more!  Looking forward to my leftovers for supper tonight!

Love, Sue XXX

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

What a champ...

 This post is way, way overdue.  Like by almost a month!!  I wanted to have enough time to sit and write it properly though, to give it the recognition that it so deserves, but I'm just not getting there at the moment.  This gorgeous girl with Jake is his cousin, Rebecca, or Becky as we all call her.  Believe it or not, although she's a whole head taller than him, she's only 2 years older than Jake.  Becky was recently chosen to represent South Africa at The African Junior Swimming Champs in CAIRO!  I cannot begin to tell you how very proud we all are of her - I think you can see how much Jake was beaming to have his big cousin visit him at school (she goes to the same school), to find him out to say goodbye on her way to the airport in her team tracksuit.  What a lucky boy.  She's also his class prefect, so he feels very important!

This is Becky at Cape Town International getting ready to set off on her big adventure.  Her parents, Justin and Josette (Jacques' sister) didn't go with her - she went all on her own, with her team and her coach.  Very brave girl indeed, especially since she's only just turned 13...

 Becky with her older sister, Abigail (Abi, 13).  These girls train so hard - they're up at 4:30 every morning to swim before school and are back in the pool every afternoon for more training.  They do about 5 hours every day!!!  As you can imagine, these two lovely ladies are VERY fit!  For various reasons, Abi wasn't selected for the SA team (this time) and she was very gracious and brave in saying her goodbyes.  We were with her a few times while Becky was away and the most beautiful thing is seeing how supportive and excited Abi gets when Becky does well.  They are the best of friends and Becky wouldn't be able to do what she does, without Abi in her corner.  Gorgeous girls, from the inside out...

 Arriving in Cairo - that's a very long way away from home...

 Signage at the poolside.  Jake studied Egypt during term 3 this year and it was actually quite difficult for me not to fly with him to go and watch Becky swim.  Sadly, because the champs were held during the term, Becky didn't even get time to go and see the pyramids...

 Becky preparing for a warm up (or cool down) swim during her first day in Cairo...

 This girl is all muscles...

 The ginormous, crystal clear pool.  I think that I would die if I even attempted to swim one length...

  Getting ready for her moment to shine - this picture gives me goosebumps, she must've been so nervous!!  That said, she took it all in her stride far better than any of us sitting at home did!!

 Most of the photos I'm sharing here are mobile phone pictures, so not the best.  Here's a sweet one of Becky taking her breath before she hits the water...

 And then it all started to go a little crazy.  Becky showed us just how powerful she is the water and outperformed everyone!  She won gold for every single race she took part in as an individual (4) and she won 2 golds and 1 silver for the relay races she swam.  She also took home the victrix ludorum, which is unbelievable considering it was her first international event ever...

 Getting one of her many medals.  It was amazing to see the videos of her singing our national anthem so sweetly...

 Abi put these together of her very talented sister.  With each medal, they were awarded a trophy as well.  Becky's bag was HEAVY...

 The big picture here is of Becky checking her times.  Becky broke some awesome records too - including the 100m free, which she now holds the record in the whole of Africa and SA! I would be lying if I gave you all her times, so I'm not going to try... perhaps if her mom, Josette, reads this, she'll drop me a note and I can update...

Home sweet home!  Becky lived on Pronutro made with water while she was away.  She came home desperate for fresh fruit and veggies...

I nicked this photo off our school's communicator of Becky with all her medals and trophies...

 Becky had her grade 7 farewell dance at school last week.  Poor thing had less than an hour to get ready between getting out of the pool and when she had to be at school.  Showered, hair washed and dried and make-up done...

  She asked me to take a few snaps in between of her getting ready - there really wasn't much time for many...

 I think she did really well and looked gorgeous for her black and white dance...

Being so tall makes Becky look a lot older than her tender 13 years...

 And for a change, Abi felt really, really short.  She was in flats, but still...

 Becky with Granny and Grandpa...

 And Auntie Tam (without whom, Jake would do far worse in maths)...

 Team Meders...

 Yes, I do feel unbelievably short next to these tall, skinny girls...

 I am a mini-me...

 It's been such an honour to watch these girls grow up into the lovely young ladies they are today.  Abi was born in 2000 and was a little chubby cherub at my wedding...

 Glowing with excitement - oh to be young...

 The family - Jake was very bummed that he had to miss it, but he had a scout commitment for the evening...

 We are a weird bunch...

I have so many more photos of so many things that we've been doing, but... time...  I will get there, I promise!

Sending love,

Sue XXX