Connor and the gang...

Just a few snaps taken of Jake with his little cousin at home the other day. I know there are a lot and I know they're similar, but seriously, which one's the best? I love them all. Jake and Connor get on so well already, it's so sweet together. Jake wants to hold his Connor all the time and Connor beams when Jake chats to him. Connor's doing really well on all his milestones and we are all loving having him around a bit during the week. Jo goes back to work at the beginning of August, so Connor will be with us every day from then. It's so sweet to watch him grow and learn new things, even though I tried my best to take note of all the changes in Jake on a day to day basis, when he was so little my life was such a mess and it's all just kinda blurred up a bit.

After 17 Million photos, Jake decided to rather go and help Gareth with the braai... My mom with Connor... And with both her boys... These shots were taken on another occasion and I don't think Joanne was too happy with us pulling Connor around the house in a box, but she didn't say too much about it. We used to pull Jake around in a box like this when he was about the same age as Connor and he loved it - used to put him to sleep. Jake has seen the photos and found this box when Jo was only just pregnant with Connor. He's kept it in his wardrobe for months and months, so he was really excited to take it out for a spin...Connor seemed far more fascinated with the red patterns on Jake's Batman pillow...

And just for old times, I've dug out some snaps of Jake in his box from 5 years ago. Quite funny to see how much he's changed. Still looks the same though...

Ceres Part 3 - lunch in Tulbach...

After our unsuccessful search for snow, we headed off towards home, stopping off in Tulbach along the way for lunch, which was a very interesting experience. The bar we ended up at was something to behold. The menu boasted sandwiches on its menu like 'Kaptein kaptein', 'Bliksem' and 'Armgat'. The waitress, who also turned out to be the chef, was another story all together and when we asked her whether the pizzas were good, she replied, 'I don't know, I hope so'. The pizzas turned out to be delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. The sun came out and it was lovely just relaxing. Plus, our table was outside, so the kids could run riot. Tulbach is such a quaint old fashioned town and I hadn't visited it in years, so it was good to go back. After lunch, Rose and Gareth headed home, while the rest of us went on to try find some wine. We ended up at Drosty-hof and because it was the weekend celebration of Christmas in June in Tulbach, the farm was having a special on. The entire place was decorated with Christmas attire and for only R12.00 each, we had the most delicious pancake and glass of red wine (the kids had tea) - it was a wonderful end to our fabulous weekend!!

Sitting in front of the open fire at Drosty-hof with his tea...

Sam's a scream. The pancakes came with cream on the side, so she gave herself a moustache...And smoked her wafer cigar... The kids had to copy, which left Sam and I hysterical with laughter and, I'm sure, the other guests offended... I've tried to refine him, but I can't. The only way to drink hot tea is out of a teaspoon, otherwise you burn your lips. That's why it's called a teaspoon anyway...

Ceres Part 2 - the hunt for snow...

After a late night, the kids were up early and ready to start going again. To say it was cold at 7am, would be an understatement and I'm not sure that I've ever been that cold before in my life. The boys wanted to get outside and play with fire again and soon enough we had another blaze going. We had a "quick" (not on that stove!) breakfast, got dressed and cleaned up and headed out in search of some snow. There was plenty of snow around, but we didn't have a 4X4 and weren't prepared to walk an hour and a half each way to reach the low snow, so, much to every one's disappointment didn't manage to play in it. We will be going back though, with the weather the way it is at the moment, there must be snow on the way for sure!! With the 27th having been 5 years since Jacques died, I wasn't looking forward to the day at all. Getting away to Ceres with such wonderful friends/family was the best thing I could've done and I had a fabulous time.

Jake is a pyromaniac of note. It's a bit frightening. Besides wanting to cook his newly acquired goldfish, when there's a braai to be made, Jake's there with a smile and a ready hand...

Mike too... Boys being boys on the road outside our chalet...The snowy mountains. Apparently someone died here in the Mattroosberg the weekend we were there, so maybe a good thing we didn't go up with the kids. Klondyk Cherry farm...A highlight for us was the ice along the side of the road. The kids had a ball smashing it to smithereens...Frosty rocks...Views along the road - pretty hey? I really felt like I was miles away on a different continent...We went up the pass to look back over Ceres and just to make sure that there was no snow up there either. We stopped along the side of the road to enjoy naartjies and sherry and to stretch our legs... Mikey's so good and gentle with Jake. He's unbelievably tolerant and the two of them get on like (pardon the pun) "a house on fire"...Sour naartjies??? The Ceres Valley...

Ceres Part 1...

(Rose, Sam & I)

On the 26th of June, Jake & I headed out to Ceres for the night. There were 6 of us that went - Sam and her son Mikey (who's 8) and my sister Rosanne & her fiance Gareth and we stayed in self-catering chalets in the Pine Forest Resort (and for those who used to stay there years and years ago as kids, it hasn't changed one bit!!). We left after work and were there early enough to stop at the shops (for sherry) and to get settled in before dark. Rose and Gareth came through a little later. Ceres is about 1 hour 30 mins from Cape Town and we were hoping to find snow. It had been really cold in Cape Town and on our drive through we managed to see quite a bit on the mountains around Ceres, so we were all very excited. Once Gareth arrived, he got the boys to start collecting fire wood. Besides it being freezing cold, it had also been raining a lot and the ground was really damp, but with the pine needles they'd collected (in the dark) and the roll of toilet paper they used as a firelight, they actually managed to get the fire going pretty well. While the boys played with the fire, the girls stayed indoors with the very inefficient heater and got supper ready (it took us about 3 hours on an equally inefficient stove that worked at about 2km/hour) and prepared the gluhwein. We got pretty sozzled, but had a ball and were warm as toast by the time we climbed into bed...

The champion wet wood fire...

Jake and Mikey worked really hard to keep the flames going...

Our gluhwein in tea cups. They only supplied us with 6 glasses and after the kids had used 2 and we'd had sherry in the others, there was nothing else for us to use. Besides, who'd want to do dishes??Sam. She's going through a very tough time at the moment. She grew up living across the road from us and is only 4 days younger then Joanne. She's grown up like another sister to us... This is about when the Sherry and Gluhwein started to kick in. I don't think Jake knew what to make of his mother dancing on the table in a Pine Forest. He was game to get up with me, but then wasn't quite sure what to do and made a quick exit to go tend to his fire...Another one of the girls...Jake & I checking out our loft room. The writings on the walls up there were pretty darned scary and, since Mikey can read, Jake came home with a few new lessons in what not to say - including one that asks 'is my penis big enough'. Se-ri-ous!! Who are these people? Much, much later after our marathon cook-a-thon, the kids enjoyed toasted marshmallows and don't fret, besides a bit of singed hair, Jake came away without burning himself of any of his clothes. Although he didn't smell very nice...Cheeky... Making sure the gluhwien's finished...

Jo and Connor...

Joanne asked me to take a few snaps of her and Connor as a surprise for Paul for Father's Day. These are just a few of my favourites from the day...

Out and about in Cape Town Part 4...

Jake's developed a new passion. I'm not sure how good he is, or whether he'll ever actually be any good, but he has fun playing putt-putt and has told me that he wants to go for golf lessons one day, just not right now. Actually, he was so excited to be out with a golf club in his hand, I don't think he took in a word I said and it seemed, most of the time, that he was playing hockey rather then golf. Still, it was fun watching him concentrating so hard and seeing how well he cheats. Note to any serious golfers: When you're playing putt-putt with a 5-year old, the ball doesn't have to stop before you hit it again and 17 whacks like this in quick succession, really only count as one shot. Jake scored 14 hole in ones on this day...

Out and about in Cape Town Part 3...

As most of you know, my cousin, Taryn was living in Cape Town for the first half of 2009. Over her last weekend here, we spent most of our time sight-seeing. On this specific day, we took a drive out to Muizenberg, strolled along the beach, then headed on to Simon's Town, stopping in Kalk Bay along the way. I love this stretch of the coast, although it's taken me a few years to really re-appreciate it's beauty, since it was within these waters that Jacques died (although that was nearer to Simon's Town then the above picture). We have good friends who live in Simon's Town and it was a long time before I could really appreciate the beauty of their home! Anyway, we had a great day out and Jake had a ball...

I love the mixture of colourful fishing boats in Kalk Bay. My sister got married here, on the pier next door, so it's a happy-memory spot for us...

Some one's built this very life-like Southern Right Whale in Simon's Town. Jake was totally fascinated by it's size. I love whales and it's always exciting when we spot one of the many that head towards False Bay during breeding season, which is about now...

I must be honest, after the recent beaching of the 50-odd False Killer Whales on Kommetjie Beach, this image was a little disturbing. Just too life-like... These last few were taken at a Bronze sculpture place they're busy setting up along the main drag in Simon's Town. I have no idea of the prices, but some of their work is amazing...