Egypt Day...

 As part of the Grade 5 curriculum, Jake's been learning about Ancient Egypt in History this term.  Jake's thoroughly enjoyed learning about this ancient society and their way of life.  Jake has especially enjoyed learning about the way that they used to mummify their dead, especially their pharaohs.  His studies this term have had me wishing that I could hop on a plane with Jake and take him to Egypt to go and see the pyramids for real!!  Maybe in our next lifetime.  Jake chose to dress up as a pharaoh for Egypt day and the kids were encouraged not to rent costumes, but rather make them at home.  It was a fun project (for me) and I think I did quite well in making him look fairly authentic, despite the fact that we couldn't find blue and gold material and opted for purple instead.

They had a best dressed competition, awarding chocolates to the top 10 - Jake was one of them, which made his mom very happy.  That's one of his buddies, Aidan, who looked fantastic too...

 These are the top 10 best dressed - don't they look great???

The fashion show was followed by a picnic lunch of Ancient Egyptian fare.  Jake had to take a fruit platter, which I have to say looked divine.  We even made date balls, because we knew that the kids wouldn't eat dates.  They ate pita breads and drumsticks and played games - Jake was wrapped up like a mummy in toilet paper.  They built a pyramid out of cards!  Jake came home so excited with his morning and I think they all enjoyed playing a bit of make believe for a change.

Love,

Sue XXX

Rhino Day...

With the experiences that Jake and I shared in the Kruger, the value of our rhinos has increased in our hearts by huge leaps and bounds.  This goes way beyond the silly material value of their horns, as I think it does for many South Africans.

It is beyond my understanding as to how and why someone would want to butcher such magnificent giants, often not killing them, but leaving them to die a slow, painful death.  These animals are being slaughtered at an alarming rate - 749 of our rhinos have been killed this year alone!  This is rate at which they cannot sustain themselves - their birth rate is slower than their mortality rate.    

There are many rhinos that survive the agony of being mutilated, where every breath rasps across raw nerves.  There are stories of rhinos surviving their poachings and of their rehabilitated back to health.  If you're on Twitter and have a strong stomach, you can follow @SavingSurvivors.  Be warned though, the images are explicit and not for the feint-hearted.  I do believe that people need to see what is happening, to share and expose, so that we can all catch a wake up.  It makes me so sick that humans can do these things for money.  I don't think I could put a price tag on the experience of being up close to a rhino and to being able to say that we helped save one.  The stories of survival and the people who work so tirelessly to protect these animals gives me with goosebumps.  The flip side of the brutality of man, is that people are also amazing and kind.

So, today, for world rhino day, I ask that you consider adopting a rhino through the South African Park's Board.  It'll only take a minute and it'll cost just R20 (that's about $1.50).  You'll get a certificate that you can print out, with your rhino's name on it.  Just something small, but if we all stop to give, a little can go a long way.  You can find the info here.

Sending so much love to our rhinos,

Sue XXX

A growing bunch...

 

 We had dinner at my mom's house on the 20th of August to celebrate Rosie's 30th birthday.  How did that happen???  I was 8 when she was born (don't do the maths, I'm still 27!) and can remember it all so clearly.  I can see her tiny squishy face and I loved (still do) so much.  She was just too cute and she tagged along with us where ever we could take her.  She's all grown up now and more beautiful than ever and such a wonderful, gentle mommy to Rylee.  Her birthday was a good excuse to get an updated picture of the four kids together.  We aren't all together often enough.

It's not easy taking photos of 4 kids... Jake has learned just to look and smile, no matter what, but it's tricky when the rest of them are still learning the ropes...

 I kinda gave up after this...

 Just one last one of Jake and Rylee.  It's funny how similar they look sometimes and yet how very different.  Rylee is so like his dad, Gareth and yet so like his mom too...

 Last Sunday saw us doing the Sunflower Fund Fun Walk in Sea Point.  The weather was fantastic and we all enjoyed getting out for a while - summer is on the way...

 Gorgeous boys...

 YAY!  There's one of Jake and I together...

 There were a lot of people, so it was very festive...

 Jake with Marius and Cam (Michael was sick)...

 Mom and dad...

 Smiley Rylee aka Gogga...

 Jake enjoying the time away from TV...

 We walked all along the promenade...

  A flat, flat sea...

 Rosie and Gareth, who have just recently signed the transfer papers on their house, which they've been renting from me - a huge congratulations to them and yay for me...

 Doesn't this boy just have the most beautiful eyes...

 Jake landed up running most of the way, so he met me at the finish line again, with an ice-cream... 

 All done!  My dad was treated in the sunflower ward.  He had his bone marrow transplant done in 1998, so this is a very happy walk for us...

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

Love,

Sue XXX

King Tut...

 I recently went with Jake's class on an outing to see the Tutankhamun exhibition, which is currently running at the Grand West Casino.  It was AMAZING and I just wish that we'd had a little more time to view the exhibits.  Being a school outing, our time was limited and the kids had a question sheet to complete, so they were on a mission.  There's SO much to see and it's a beautiful insight into how the ancient Egyptians lived and died.  Mostly died.  The grade 5s are studying ancient Egypt at the moment in History, so the exhibition tied in beautifully with their syllabus.

Jake and his friends discovering "new" wonders of the ancient world.  This is looking into the first of 4 golden tombs into which King Tutankhamun's sarcophagus was put...

 So much time was spent making these tombs beautiful - which is crazy, considering the fact that the ancient Egyptians never expected us to discover these tombs 3000 years after they were laid to rest!!  The hieroglyphics are so detailed, it's nuts to imagine that each picture represents something...

 These are the enclosures that King Tutankhamun's mummified body were placed, before going into the sarcophagus, which was a stone container, which was placed inside the 4 golden tombs.  So 4 gold boxes, 1 stone box and 4 of these sarcophagus' into which the mummy was eventually placed...

 Everything was symbolic - Jake would be better at explaining than me...

 Some of the art work on the sarcophagus...

 Those funny little heads over there are called Canopic Jars.  That's where they put the person's innards when they prepare the body for mummification.  They in turn are also put into a sarcophagus box thing.  That's protected by a row of cobras, which are supposed to provide protection...

 This is King Tut's throne...  The picture is of him and his wife.  It was quite sad actually, he died when he was 18 and they found a body of both a fetus and a baby - he had his fair share of sadness...

 One last one of two of the sarcophagus'...

I really recommend this outing for anyone interested in ancient Egypt, it was brilliantly put together.  Just lots of reading/listening, so maybe not for the littlies.

Love Sue XXX

Busy days..

It's been a while since I've had time to even look at my blog, let alone anyone else's.  I'm sorry!!  It's been so hectic on my side and I know I'm way, waaaaaaay behind.  It's been a long time since I shared any pics of the kiddies, so here are a couple that I took at the beginning of the month, when Paul did the Puffer, an ultra-high endurance run from Cape Point to the waterfront.  It's usually a mostly trail run, but after the devastating fires, this year saw them doing about 60kms on the road and the rest over Table Mountain.  Not for the feint-hearted, as Paul will now admit.  It takes tons of training and lots of mind-over-matter stuff.  Marius ran the leg from Constantia to the Waterfront with Paul (just for fun) and we met up with Jo and the kids at Constantia Nek to wait for Paul.  It was hot.

Princess Bi AKA Stinky Binky after she moaned that I called Connor "Corky".  She LOVES her new name...

 After a long wait, Paul finally arrived at Constantia Nek (by the way, the restaurant in the background is where Rosie & Gareth had their wedding reception.  It's been sold, I think, and is going through some renovations).  Jo was very relieved to see Paul.  He'd been on the go since 2:30am...

 The kids were thrilled to see him too and I think he wished that was the finishing line...

 Very happy to see her daddy, Bi has started to really enjoy having her photo taken and loves to see the pictures of herself as I go...

 After a quick bite to eat, Paul was on his way again.  Marius calls him the Ghost of Constantia, he was that pale with exhaustion...

 Off they go...

 We went on to Signal Hill, where Marius' running club had a pit stop.  They had plenty of juice, water, pancakes, sweets, etc for the runners passing by.  We had quite a long wait in store for us...

 And the kids were super well behaved.  It gave me a chance to snap some updates...

 Corky and Jake doing what they do best together at the moment - gaming.  They are getting along so well these days, it's such a pity that we don't see more of them...

 Stinky Binky with the harbour behind her...

 And Corky getting cross with her for being in his way...

 He's not so obliging when it comes to photos...

 Neither is Jake, for that matter...

  OK, I take that back, he's always been a very good model for his mom...

 The shadows started to grow longer and still there was no sign of Paul...

 Jake took to watching out for him...

 OK, OK... I take it back, he'll let me take photos when he wants me to...

  Like this...

 And this... I love his little embarrassed grin...

 2 Boys happy to sit quietly and take in the view...

 They have a very special bond, these two...

 Jake being the "thinking man"...

 And trying to be serious about it...

 The last of the sun started to disappear behind the mountains and evening was almost upon us...

 And still Jake and Corky waited...

 I always wonder what kids talk about when their parents aren't listening...

 Bi was getting very excited to see her daddy...

 

 And finally he came around the corner... Phew... at long last!!

 He looked a lot happier (and more colourful) than he did when we saw him at Constantia Nek...

 

 Up the red carpet to the West Coast stand...

 And then they were off again, on the final leg of the run...

 Corky was very excited and very proud of his dad...

  Down at the finish, Jake was showing Stinky Binky the goslings.  This boy's really growing up so beautifully...

 And finally, just before dark, Paul finished his Puffer...

 Paul finished his run in just under 13 hours... I'm not sure what's next on his bucket list, but I do believe that whatever he sets his mind to, he can and will accomplish!

Well done Paul!!!

Lots of love,

Sue XXX