Having So Much Fun!

We have been having so much fun here at home and we have been very busy with markets.

I am sorry I don't blog as much as I did in Winter, but now the sun shines and we go to the beach very often! I love boogie boarding and swimming in the beautiful ocean, and we are very blessed, as Fish Hoek beach is a very child-friendly beach! Even 5-year-old Beth boogie boards!

We have started a new market at Longbeach Mall on a Friday. It is a very good market, and although it is tiring, it is worth it!

We have also been busy with christmas boxes for the under-priviledged children. It has been great fun to go and buy goodies to put in a shoe box, and I will do a post on them maybe later or tomorrow.

I have been in the garden a lot lately too. I love weeding and checking on 'my vegetables'! We are growing sweet peppers, potatoes (by accident), strawberries and lettuce. We are also waiting for our cherry tomatoes to come up! We still plant in tyres and it is working out well!















The Little Ones' carrot seeds have been growing nicely!
















We are busy experimenting with potatoes.















My mom ate that strawberry in the middle. She chopped it into her homemade muesli and said it was so sweet! The next biggest I'M having (when it is ripe)!

We have had such beautiful days here, and we have had breakfast, lunch and supper outside almost everyday! We were given a lovely table and bench set from the man who owns the markets. it is so nice to sit outside in the early morning and breath in the fresh air!

Horse riding is going well and I have another show on December 19th. So stay posted for pictures of the event! I fell off last week, but I didn't get hurt (thankfully)!

The days and weeks seem to be flying past! Before you know it, Christmas will be here! So now you know what is keeping me busy! But I will try and post as often as I can!

Trampliiiiining!

Yesterday a friend of ours from church gave us their old trampoline for the Little Ones. There were a few broken springs and their son was too big to jump on it, as it could break. The Little Ones and Nancy were so excited, they could hardly wait!

Once my dad had collected it, they kept asking: "when can you put the trampoline up"? My dad was not very impressed that they asked so many times!

Eventually, while my dad was braaing, Nancy decided she had had enough of waiting and erected the trampoline herself! Where there is a will, there is a way! She did pretty well until the mat had to be put on. She then called my dad and he came to help!













"All hands on deck"! The Little Ones helping Nancy.
















Gabrielle trying desperately to help!















Beth, very annoyed that the spring wouldn't go in!

They had great fun pulling and holding, even though it took such a long time as the poles kept on falling!

Just before it became dark, it was erected and the first person was jumping! That 'first person' was Beth! They were so happy, jumping and twisting and 'posing' for the camera!
































Nancy doing some kind of twist. As usual, she went the extra mile and didn't just jump, she twisted and rolled and did just about every weird and wonderful move you can imagine!
















































This was quite a good action shot!

It was very sweet of our friends to give us a trampoline! The smaller ones are totally taken with it! They can now build houses underneath it too! I can tell you now, they are never going to be inside anymore - they will be outside, on the trampoline!

Already Nancy was outside early this morning reading the 'Chronicles of Narnia' on the trampoline!

I have taken some other photos of the Little Ones on the trampoline, and I am thinking of doing a scrapbook page, so stay 'posted' for a picture of the page!

Military Tattoo

I must tell you about the wonderful evening my dad, Nancy and I had at the Castle Of Good Hope in Cape Town last Thursday.

We went to watch the Military Tattoo. We really enjoyed our time with dad WITHOUT the little ones!!! Nothing against them, but it was nice to not hear moans and complaints and "I need the loo" signals!

There were bagpipe players, police horse displays (of course, my highlight of the whole evening!), bands, choirs and many other wonderful displays!

We got there before 8:00pm, so we could get into our seats and settle down. There were quite a lot of people there, but it didn't matter because we were focusing mainly on the performers, instead of being squished!

One thing that you just could NOT do, was go to the loo! It was absolutely impossible! There were people sitting next to us for miles(!) Also the space between your feet and the next row of seats was...now let me see......about 2cm! NO way you dared even ask to leave the aisle! You might get a few dirty looks!

Now, back to the event.

My dad got a lovely picture of part of the castle and Table Mountain in the background.
















The police horse display was okay and at the end there was a horse and rider who sliced watermelon at a gallop! It looked like a lot of fun!

I have to say that I thought the bag pipers were the best! There is nothing like the sound of a bagpipe! We all enjoyed their display thoroughly!


























There were quite a few brass bands playing. One band swopped instruments as they walked past each other! I didn't even notice them doing it!













There were quite a few cannons going off at the end which made Nancy and I jump out of our seats in shock! They were so loud!

I was a little scared of the soldiers and weapon bearers! I literally ran past them on the way out!

We only got home after 11:00 and were very tired the next day! It was all worth it though! My mom had worked so hard to prepare a lovely, smooth running evening for us. She even packed snacks and juice for us in case we got peckish! Mommies are wonderful! If my mom was not around, there would have been chaos! She specially gave up her evening to take care of the Little Ones. "Thanks, Mom!"

World Cup Show Jumping!

Yesterday afternoon all of us, except my mom and Rebekah, went to the World Cup Qualifier.

It was the highlight of the weekend for me! I had been looking forward to this event for many weeks!

All of the famous South African riders jumped in this class, so I got to see some of my favourite riders in action, and most of all, their beautiful, amazing horses!

The World Cup was a 1.50m class and my breath my taken away when I saw the sheer size of the jumps! I couldn't believe how 'effortlessly' the horses cleared the jumps!

I had great fun taking photographs and holding my breath for clear rounds for some of my favourites'!

It was very, very hot at Glenellen Farm, where the event was hosted! That was exactly why my mom decided to rather stay home with the baby.

Being able to watch this event was one of my dreams come true!
















Tamlyn Clegg on 1st For Women, Glendon
















Jade Hook













Laure Smorenberg













Barry Taylor












Dominy Alexander on Alzu Shiraz













Tamlyn Clegg on 1st For Women, Glendon














Oscar Ncube
































Shaun Neil on Gold Rush













Lorette Knowels-Taylor













Gareth Neil and Mirage 85













What a winner! The fabulous Gold Rush and Shaun Neil. They were also awarded Victor Ludorum.

We had great fun! When I say "we", I mean me! I don't think the others enjoyed it so much!

Sewing Suns

The other day Nancy and I were given a project in our work-boxes. It was a sewing project!

We made these suns as a fun craft to finish off our unit study on the Sun (we have also learnt about what causes the seasons, day and night, the moon, etc).

It was a very quick sewing project, and Nancy and I completed our sun while my mom read one or two chapters of "Let Sleeping Vets Lie" by James Herriot.

What fun we had!

Here are some photos:













We used some stuffing, scissors, a tracing pen, three different coloured pieces of felt, pins, two buttons, embroidery thread, fabric liner (for the mouth and nose) and a needle.

Here are the links to the pattern and instructions.
















Our cat, Jerry, seeking warmth on my lap. It has been raining just about all week, and Jerry has been looking for warm spots all around the house!
















What a life! Nancy and I have had to wait to make our beds in the mornings, because Jerry has been sleeping on them till late! 'Let sleeping cats lie'! It was late morning when I took this picture!
















I didn't put bells in my sun like the instructions suggested, I used stuffing. I also used buttons on mine instead of embroidering on eyes.

What is nice about this project, is that each person's sun will turn out differently!

Auto B Good

A few weeks ago, my granny and grandpa gave us 4 DVDs. These are christian DVDs with a lesson in each episode.

The name of these DVDs is Auto B Good and is a 'Focus On The Family' series.

This is the synopsis at the back of the DVD:

"Welcome to the city of Auto, where cars and trucks come to life through captivating, Emmy winning animation. Join Johnny, Izzi, EJ, Cali, and friends in these brand-new adventures, as they drive on the road of fun, excitment and wonder. Along the way, everyone will learn valuable lessons that will last a lifetime"!

All my sisters adore these! I have to admit that I LOVE them too! Even though they are for smaller children, you will always find me watching too!

There are very cute stories and each episode has a song at the end which we love to sing along to! There is also an opening song which we know off by heart..."here comes sports car Johnny....Cali the ballet queen"......!!!

When my mom says that we can watch a movie, we all shout "Auto B Good!"

Not only are these DVDs cute and entertaining, they have such a good story, for example, there is an episode called Cheaters U-Turn. It is all about how other cars cheat during a race, and at the end they have a change of heart. Another is about friendship and another on why it is so important to be enthusiastic.

If you are looking for some cute, christian movies, my suggestion would be: "get Auto B Good!''

Poetry, Paint And Carrot Cake

Every Friday, we try and read some poetry, do a craft and bake a yummy treat! Last Friday we read a few poems by A.A. Milne (of Winnie the Pooh). We also made some milk carton watering cans and carrot cup-cakes.

For our special Friday treat, the little ones made carrot cup-cakes. They have been doing a book called: "The Carrot Seed" for school. My mom uses books as curriculum. We usually read a book, then we learn about all the different things in that book. For instance, we did a book called: "Papa Piccolo". This story is based in Venice, Italy and was about cats and how an alley cat adopted two homeless kittens and how he teaches them and how he experiences the joys of fatherhood. We then learnt about Italy, about Venice, about the famous people in Italy. We also learnt about cats and I had to do an essay on fatherhood. The artist who illustrated the book painted with water colour paints, so we had a lesson on how to paint with water colours and so on. We also had an Italian meal.

As I was saying, Beth and Gabrielle were making carrot cup-cakes for our tea-time snack to finish off their book. They have had great fun making a lapbook, planting carrot seeds, doing carrot crafts and listening to the audio "The Carrot Seed" which is an extended version to the book. To listen to this audio, click here, scroll down and click on 'record 1'. There are some really cute songs to go with it, too! The liitle ones (me, mom and Nancy too!) are still singing these songs!

Beth and Gabrielle breaking up walnuts to put in the mixture.

Nancy grating the orange zest.

Icing was quite difficult, as it becomes runny very quickly.

And now for the cherry - I mean carrot on the top....!

My mom read us some poetry by A.A. Milne, "The World Of Christopher Robin".

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
"A soldiers life is terribly hard,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
"One of the sergeants looks after their socks,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robing went went down with Alice.
We looked for the King, but he never came.
"Well, God take care of him, all the same,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace,
Christopher robing went down with Alice.
They've great big parties inside the grounds.
"I wouldn't be King for a hundred pounds,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace,
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
A face looked out, but it wasn't the King's.
"He's much too busy a-signing things,"
Says Alice.

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
"Do you think the King knows all about me?"
"Sure to, dear, but it's time for tea."
Says Alice

A.A. Milne

MILK CARTON WATERING CANS

Gabrielle, not very impressed that the paint got on her hand.















Drilling holes in the lids (with Dad's help of course!)


























The Little Ones' so enjoyed watering the flowers but were really sad a few days later when my mom said that they can't water the plants because the rain we have had for the past week, drowned them!

We realised that we needed some varnish on the cans, as the water just washed all the paint off, so we have to paint them again!

This was a great activity, I just hope the plants survive all the watering!!

Fish!

As I have written before, we are learning about 'perseverance' for our 'Steps' programme.

One of the fun activities that went with this study was 'catching fish'.
My mom made a fishing rod with a dowel, a piece of string and a magnet.
The fish were paper cut-outs.

Nancy and I had the job of colouring in the fish! We each had to colour in four fish, as well as their backs, so that equals eight fish sides to colour in! And don't forget, they had to be cut out as well and glued together! It took a while!













We then used a paper clip to put on the fishes' mouths so they would stick to the magnet.

Each fish had a verse about perseverance that we had to look up on it's front, and a sentence on it's back said, for example 'keep going!'















Then, we put all the fish in a bowl and fished!

The other thing we used was a Bible.
















Knowing the books of the Bible saves a lot of time, trust me!
















Gabrielle really enjoyed fishing!

Guy Fawkes Day

Last Thursday night we went to the beach to watch the fireworks, as it was Guy Fawkes day. Fish Hoek beach is one of the few areas where setting off fireworks is legal.

My dad, Nancy, Beth, Gabrielle and myself went, mom stayed home with Rebekah, as it was pretty chilly. There were so many people there! We sat far away from where the people were setting the fireworks off. We could see perfectly though!

Last year we went down to the beach for a stroll, when we noticed several people setting off fireworks. We hadn't realised that Fish Hoek hosts an annual fireworks display on Guy Fawkes day, so we rushed home to bath, eat and get dressed in warm clothes and went back to the beach to watch. It was a great evening of free entertainment!

This year we were prepared! My mom had packed us sweeties and chips, and we picked up some juice along the way.

We were at the beach till about 9:00pm, just watching the fireworks - it was probably the longest any of us have sat still!

We had GREAT fun there!!!

My dad took some photos, but only a few came out well, since the flash only went off after the firework exploded.

























Wow!




























My dad took a photo of the fireworks from the top of the mountain (Mountain Road).