holiday fun

I have to sneak a few minutes to blog before the days get swept away.  Rob is on leave for two weeks and we are having so much fun.  It is hot, ranging from 33-40 degrees and we are up early to explore.  So far we have had a glorious morning on Cottesloe beach.  We spent a whole day at the river meeting friends for breakfast and then others for lunch with kayaking and swimming in between.  We drove out to Lake Leschenaultia for some great swimming and kayaking in a huge manmade lake that is fed by four springs.  We have watched Rob kite surfing.  Russell got a trainer kite for Christmas and loves flying his kite on the shore while I take Griet for a walk.  We have had barbeques with friends and even sneaked some afternoon naps.  It has all been so relaxing and wonderful family time.  We all have golden sun tans and are looking healthy.

The boys only go back to school on 2 February so we plan to do more day trips and even a night or two away in January.  There is a lot that we haven't seen yet and we are taking it all in, one day at a time.

Here the boys are enjoying the beach at Lake Leschenaultia and Rob is swimming towards them after having crossed the river for a bit of exercise!
We now have a tribe of boys!  Hugo is one of them and slots right in.  They are loud and busy and always up a tree or running a race.  Life is full and noisy!

The amazing aspect of Perth is that there are so many fantastic places for the size of the population that you never feel that a place is too crowded.  The facilities are brilliant and clean with unbelievable play equipment for the children and clean well maintained communal gas barbeques dotted around.  Everyone just enjoys being outdoors and making use of the great public areas.  What a treat to be here!

merry christmas

Let these four minutes be the best part of your celebrations.  Here's to a Christ-filled Christmas!

christmas cheer

Two advent boxes to go and there is alway SOMEBODY who peaks too early.

adoption

We came all the way to Australia to adopt an Afrikaans speaking dog named Griet!  Yes, you read correctly.  Griet has joined our family by door to door courier from Darwin.  Hannalie and Dirk are heading off to the US for a three year contract and "arme Griet" is 8 years old and probably wouldn't survive the repatriation quarantine for six months at the age of 11.  The result is that we now have a cross Maltese/Jack Russell and goodness knows what else in our home.  The up side is that Hannalie's teenagers will visit us (and her) in Uni vacs AND there is now another female in our home and the boys are so delighted with her.  She is house trained and very cute.  She is a real house dog who likes her tummy scratched and lots of cuddles.  She has an affinity for ham or salami and likes to be near us.  I think she is a bit shell shocked at her sudden change of scenery and is doing a bit of moping and pining but that will all soon change when she realises what fun these three boys can be.  She was not too happy to pose for the camera in her grumpy mood so these pics are all I have for now.

I told the boys that we are getting a dog that only speaks Afrikaans and after the first day Hugo innocently asked:  "So when is she going to speak?  You said she can speak Afrikaans!"  Adam has been a real sweetheart trying to talk Afrikaans to her and asking me for various translations.  She seems to be very intelligent so we will just have to add linguistics to her many talents as she starts to understand us!

party season

It's the party season and we have had some occasion to clean up and have a good time.  Last night we fitted in a cocktail party and a 40th birthday bash!  Tonight Rob has gone to see U2 live in the city with some friends.  Tomorrow night we are hosting friends for a Christmas dinner and then the week will fill up with various drinks gatherings.  It really is good fun.  The weather is just too divine and strappy dresses are all I need.  The advent boxes are diminishing and there is definitely the distant sound of sleigh bells. 

a good read

I have really struggled to find the time or energy to get into a good novel this year.  I was in the same book club in Cape Town for nine years and would leave each month with a pile of pre-approved books for Rob and me to devour.  It has been so difficult to arrive at the public library and wander along the huge towering racks of books.  The bold print on the spines is quite intimidating when you cannot conjure up a single familiar author from your newly migrated brain.  For the first time in years I have judged books by the cover and size of the text.  It has been a new experience to go it alone down those quiet isles.

The result has been very little fiction reading this year.  But it's not all bad.  Instead I have delved into some pretty awesome books which have stretched me intellectually and spiritually.  I have grabbed at Christian reads to make sense of all the emotions of this great move across the world.  I have attended workshops and courses for personal growth and have dug deep into my faith.  Amongst the books that I would highly recommend are:

• The Bible
• Living the Good Life - John Ortberg
• Never Give Up - Joyce Meyer
• If you want to walk on water you've got to Get Out of The Boat - John Ortberg
• The God Empowered Wife - Karen Haught

But now I am in search of holiday fiction so bring it on!

angels

And I thought they weren't angels.  Just look at them!

The kids church put together a Nativity play for the morning worship service last week.  It was literally put together over three weekends of Sunday school and was truly spectacular.  The coordination was done by two marvelous South African girls, Liezl and Ina, and the costumes by another SAffer, Chantelle!  So it was a glorious SA performance right here in Perth.

Hugo loved watching his brothers performing and walked up the steps on to the stage mid-performance to touch baby Jesus!

I have decided to print these pictures on large paper and pin them up in a prominent place for the holidays.  Whenever I think my children are not angels, I will calmly cast my eyes over to these reminders.

big milestone

Hugo can swim!  He is so proud of himself and couldn't stop saying how happy he is that he can swim.  He has been crossing the pool at his lessons for the past few weeks but today he ventured out and swam in Ava's pool.  Once he had the confidence to do that first dive, there was no stopping him.  What a champion.

Check out this You Tube link to see him in action:

Hugo swimming

pre-primary outing

Yesterday Hugo and I joined Adam and his friends on their end of year outing to Piney Lakes Reserve.  The children had a marvelous time on the bush walking trails.  We stopped for a picnic and watched the beautiful bird life in and around the pond.  Adam even spotted a long necked turtle swimming just below the surface.

The big excitement at the end of the day was the surprise visit by Father Christmas which really ended the outing on a very high note.

kitesurfing

keep trying

Rob is absolutely loving the kitesurfing.  He is out on the river whenever the wind permits.  We hang around on the beach spectating in our hoodies, hoping to catch him riding the waves.  He says it is exciting, exhilirating, cold, exhausting and humbling.

What more could you want from your leisure time?

The fan club trailing behind

Rob in his element

sunset on the water

it's up

The advent box had new Christmas balls in it on Friday which subtly announced that the tree could go up.  The boys were so excited and tackled the annual project with vigour.  We are definitely at the stage of our lives where the tree is more of a monument to enthusiasm than a decorative work of art.  I love taking out all the old decorations that  each have a memory for us.  There are clay bells that Adam made at Kildare, Russell's artwork of sucker stick stars and many other gaudy trinkets that I have gathered over the years.  This year we even added melted tinsel!  Last year the tinsel got mouldy in the horrible storeroom below the rental in Newlands and I diligently washed and blow dried it.  The result is very retro and my crazy family insisted on using it!  I have given up any hope of every having one of those beautiful trees that adhere to a theme or colour and are perfectly balanced and eye catching.  There beauty cannot be denied but their very make up is far too boring for me.  I lovingly dust off the ornament with Rob and my photo from 1993 each year and chuckle at our youth and innocence, not to mention Rob's big round specs.

So the tree is up and its feet are wrapped in the quilt that my American mom made lovingly for me in 1990.  Every Christmas past is glued together in the corner of our lounge and there are three little boys getting more and more excited as the days pass.

There are homes that are covered in lights here.  Last week we drove past a home that even had the lights flashing to music that was being transmitted over the radio waves on the frequency given on a huge billboard out front!  People go all out and share in the joy.  It is great fun for everyone in this build up to the big day.

advent

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month...

Here we are at the beginning of December already.  We have our advent calendar in place.  This year our top shelf in the kitchen is filled with a row of 24 boxes.  Every day the boys will open one box and find a small toy or sweet.  As the boxes diminish and we creep up to Christmas day, the excitement grows.  I had great fun filling all the boxes and coming up with ideas.  There are Club Penguin cards (to collect), matchbox cars, sparklers for Carols night, decorations for when we set up our tree, a voucher for fish 'n chips at the river, a voucher for your own can of Coke out the fridge, glow sticks for the school picnic dinner, new juice bottles and lots of candy canes!  It does help to have a mom who loves Christmas.

This count down is like no other for Rob and I.  In a way I am quite nervous of those boxes disappearing.  It means we're getting closer to what could be our most difficult Christmas yet.  The two families that we are the closest to here are heading back to South Africa for Christmas.  Our Christmas memories are of all the cousins and grandparents in Cape Town and of course the holiday week with all our friends.  This year we feel a bit stranded and the five of us will have to draw close.  The "firsts" are always tough, but no doubt we will find the fun.

The countdown has begun. The first box was opened at 6am!  Are you ready?

Ava

It's official:  Hugo is the first of our boys to fall in love.  He is quite besotted with beautiful little Ava who is the girl we never had.  She spends as much time with us as her mom and I will allow and she lights up Hugo's life. Ava is 3 months older than Hugo.  She is Australian but her parents (our good friends Ondine and Chris) hail from Newlands, Cape Town.  She can be one of the boys and muck in with everyone but is also such a little lady with her handbags, dresses and pink crocs.  Hugo wakes up asking for her and plans his day around when he can see her.  If a day passes without him spending time with Ava he tells me how much he misses her.  He sees Ava's smile and Ava's eyes in every other little girl he meets.  And when they do get together - even after a two hour break - it is like they haven't seen each other in weeks!  There is lots of screeching and hugging before they rush off to play.  He's got it bad!

This weekend Ava had her first sleepover EVER at our house!  Her big brothers came too to ease the blow (and give the Komnick parents a night off) but we were so honoured that she was willing to stay here.  Russell and Adam adore her as well and are only too happy for her to tag along with us.  I have now moved Hugo's school day to a Monday to accommodate a weekly play date with Ava on her home day which is Tuesday.  The best part is these two little souls run off to embark on "pretend games" of cooking, working and being monkeys or dinosaurs.  They paint and draw and swim.  There is very little supervision required and never a moment of fighting.  It is going to be fun watching this gorgeous friendship grow.

post-it!

The last time I came anywhere close to using the term "post-it" was to stick little pink reminders all around my monitor and on my notebook.  I have always admired those friends who tirelessly do the Christmas card activity on time and with such aplomb.  I haven't sent Christmas greetings by snail mail since the advent of the email age.  This year the boys each came home with 8 cards that had been professionally printed using their artwork for a school fundraiser.  We naturally felt obliged to purchase the packs and believe it or not, we actually got a few in the mail.

Adam very proudly wrote in the cards to his grandparents and Russell lovingly wrote to a friend and his SACS teacher.  Mom pulled up the rear and filled out a few as well.

Don't hold your breath or check your mailbox just yet.  We were limited by our packs and, of course, quite challenged to find out the street or box address of the recipients.  Whether by Australian Post or over the ether, the message of holiday cheer is the same.  We love and miss everyone who can't share Christmas with us this year.

But the whole activity of walking to the big red box and dropping the cards in with a wish gave us each an unexpected thrill.

SALE! SALE!

Wow, these Aussies love a good deal!  We have fast learned NEVER, absolutely NEVER, buy ANYTHING at full price!  Most department stores have sales every month and literally everything from the new season to the old is out on sale.  It would have to be desperate measures to hand over the credit card without feeling all smug about the bargain you just got.  I have recently discovered a few online shops that are sure to be the death of me and my credit card.  Take a look at Catch of the Day and Scoopon for unbelievable deals.  I have just purchased four really cool pretend leather bar stools for a total of $138.  Now that's a bargain!  Every day Catch of the Day advertisers one product for sale and delivery for just that day to anywhere in the country.  You can pick up anything from ipods and televisions to furniture and gadgets - but just for one day.  On Tuesday Catch of the Day is having a Sale on top of the Sale and are offering an item per hour for 12 hours.  I can't wait.  I may have to stay home and do my Christmas shopping in my air conditioned office.  If you check out the About Us tab you will read that they are the largest online shop in Australia and turned a record $1million per hour on TV's in one day.  The highest selling item was 220,000 units of Ferraro Rocher chocolates.  Scoopon is the same thing but offering services such as massages, meal vouchers and horse rides.  It's a really cool system:  you put in an offer to purchase the service when it comes on and then if enough people join you, it becomes a deal and you all get it at the discounted price.  It's all about critical mass.  You gotta love it.

The trouble with all this bargain hunting is that you battle to settle on any purchase as you are always expecting to find it for less tomorrow in another store.  We have walked our kids' crocs flat looking at gas barbies and tents and still don't have either.

Only 20 minutes left of Hugo's sleep for me to browse for bargains!

SACS old boys

Last night Rob attended the annual SACS Old Boys' Dinner in Perth.  There are approximately 60 men registered to this chapter of the union and about 30 turned out for dinner.  It was a remarkable evening of memories, laughter and sharing.  The men paid tribute to the late John Ince who sadly passed away recently.

Rob was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity that these men showed him as the "new kid on the block".  Arms were stretched out to give him a hand up in business and family life.  He says that he gave out more business cards last night than he had in the preceding four months.  Many old boys have been here for years and have established themselves and their families very well.  They are pillars of the business community and true Perthians.  I think that was quite inspirational for Rob as we are so new to this game.

The thing that struck me is how fiercely proud these men are of their roots and how they link arms so far from home to serve one another.  If you are a SACS family you can rest assured that your boys will find a home wherever they choose to live.

Besides the annual dinner there are so many Cape Townians here that there is an annual yacht race on the Swan River between SACS, Rondebosch and Bishops - we look forward to checking that out this summer.

The number of South Africans in Perth is quite astounding.  Two of the Supreme Court Judges in Perth are South Africans.  Last night I attended a women's seminar in the city.  Out of 16 women, 4 were South Africans!  Two of the four local Speech Pathologists are South African, the Bible Study I attend on a Thursday morning has 8 SAffers in a room of about 40 girls.  Our Sunday school is run by a lady from Jhb, the congregation is dotted with "whenwe's" from Zim and SA.  Russell gathered with the locals at a home nearby in the holidays and out of 11 children 9 were South Africans.  Adam is one of two South Africans in his class.  Hugo's teacher is from Springbok and his best friend is Junior from Pretoria.  But then, everyone has a South African friend, I've been told!  We live south of the river and Little Bloem is north of the river according to the rumours.  There is an NG Kerk up there and many immigrants everywhere you look.

Our expectation of a bland one-dimensional society has been wiped out by the massive migrant population to this isolated city.  There are people here from every corner of the globe which makes for an interesting diverse culture where an accent is the norm and everyone's way is the right way.

Rob's birthday

Rob, Amanda, Ondine and Chris

Saturday the 13th was Rob's birthday, our first family birthday in Australia!  I think he had a really fun day as so many people remembered and sent him messages from all around the world.  We spent the morning at a huge outdoor and camping expo checking out tents and camper trailers.  Everyone here is into camping and we have a couple of weekends booked during the summer but need to replace our tent.  We were totally blown away by the choice in tents and gear and couldn't quite get our heads around what to buy.  We left the show empty handed but well informed!

The afternoon was spent at the river at a four year old's party that Hugo cracked the nod for.  We drank champagne and networked with the parents we will probably be seeing for the next 10 years at school.  From there we rushed home to quickly dress up in cocktail attire for our new Aussie friend's 40th birthday party in the city.  Lisa had hired out a restaurant and invited 70 friends to join her for dancing and cocktails.  We started out drinking champagne at another party-goer's house before boarding a bus with 25 others to the city.  We danced all night and caught the bus home in the early hours.

What more could a man want than a full-on city party for his birthday after only living her for four months?

The photo is of us with Ondine and Chris Komnick who have become our great friends.  The children all play happily together and Ondine and I are growing a gorgeous friendship.  Our men kite surf together so it is all really good.  The Komnicks are South Africans from Newlands who have been living here for 9 years.  We live one street apart so the children (and often the adults) run between our houses!

Rob's birthday gift is a kite surfer so stand by for some action shots.

Jacaranda streets

This is the view looking up and down our street.  While waiting for the boys to come home from school today, I thought I must capture this awesome sight before all the flowers fall to the ground.  Most of the streets around here are lined with Jacaranda trees and it makes a picture perfect frame for my morning run.

In the distance you can see the boys' school and all the cars lined up waiting for the children to pour out.  What a treat to live right here while Hugo is still little and fast asleep.

interdental "S"

Adam continues to "lithp" quite badly on "s" and "t".  He still misses "d" and "r" and interchanges "f" for "th".  The bottom line is we need to get cracking with speech therapy before Year 1.  The problem is that all the good pathologists are fully booked to the end of February 2011!  I found a South African therapist, Bev Lister, in our neighbourhood who took pity on us new migrants and phoned me with a cancellation.  She is marvelous and thoroughly assessed Adam for language concepts and speech.  The great news is that he is way ahead of his piers in understanding sounds, blends and syllables.  His grasp of reading and writing is great.  The not so good news is his annunciation which needs work.  She gave us great games to play and exercises to do.

Adam and I will now be spending 20 minutes a day playing games with words beginning with S.  Bev will try to see him weekly whenever she gets a cancellation and we hope to correct his lisp by the start of Year 1.  The other sounds may follow on their own or we will tackle them in the second term of 2011.  Adam is such a star and is so committed to correcting his speech.  He really tries hard and I am sure that we will get him talking like an Aussie in no time!  Adam, is after all, the first person in our family to regularly say "yea".

nanny state

Ok, so I wasn't ready to talk about it:  I failed my driving test!  After twenty years of successfully navigating my way through the hazards of South African streets and the rush hour of London as a rep, I failed my driving test.  I was mortified.  This small failure and hurdle suddenly seemed so big and overpowering as it brought out all my "new migrant" emotions.  I questioned whether I was really doing ok.  Am I really fitting into the system?  Am I up for this challenge?  I cried a bit, well actually a lot, and then took small steps forward.  The great success of my failure was that three beautiful girlfriends cheered me up with gifts, sms'es and calls which proves that I am actually doing ok.  It was then back in the little Noddy car for lots of practice looking over my shoulder at the blindspots, not crossing my arms over on the steering wheel and not coasting with my foot on the clutch - all a build up of years of relaxed driving.

The tricky part was getting another appointment because the driving centres are all full to the end of the year.  I managed to get an opening in Mandurah which is an hour's drive from here at 7.50am yesterday morning.  I headed off at 6.30am and made my way down the freeway in time.  This time the tester was a dear old grandad who kindly took me through my paces for 30 minutes.  This time all the boxes were ticked and I was given the green light to drive.  I smiled broadly into the camera for my driver's card before making the trip home.

My South African license expires today.  And now, at last, I can talk about it.

maths puzzles

These are the kind of maths problems that Russell (year 3) brings home regularly for homework:


"Five Students are sitting in a row of chairs along one side of the room.  Jennifer sits beside Alison but not beside Peta.  Steven sits in the second seat on the left.  Alison sits between (but not necessarily next to) David and Peta.  Steven sits beside David.  Who sits in the middle seat?"


Or try this one:

"At the water tap there are only three litre and five litre containers.  The children must pour exactly seven litres of water into a tub.  How can they measure exactly seven litres?"


I love it!  They make me think a bit too and I am constantly amazed that Russell can get to the answers after some thought and scribbling.

the blues

Russell graded up to blue belt last week.  He is really into his karate and chooses karate training over every other sport if there is a clash.  He really has a passion for it coupled with a natural skill.  A few weeks ago we had the unbelievable privilege of watching an 18 year old boy in Russell's dojo grade for his black belt.  It took 3 1/2 hours of absolute mental and physical strength to complete the tasks put to him.  The last hour consisted of 40 rounds of sparring with 7 black belts who took turns to try and knock him out!  I have new respect for a black belt now.  Obtaining this status does not only mean you have put in many hours of training and are at your physical peak, but it also shows you are able to concentrate and focus at an exceptional level.  I would fully support Russell going to this level if he chooses to keep it up.

summer sports

The mercury is rising and we are making the most of the summer days before it gets too hot to be outdoors.  This is how Hugo and I get out and about on our mornings together...

Hugo is growing up quickly.  He is full of love and affection and is very entertaining to be around.  He has been accepted into the Mount Pleasant Kindy programme for next year so will be at school from 9am - 3pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next year.  He has made some friends and has play dates already.  His swimming lessons are going really well and he is swimming without arm bands this summer.  We really are out of the baby stage and have three big boys now.  If I was a true Aussie I would now be planning the fourth baby as three boys is an underachievement here!  Sanity prevails and I am not going there.

We are so blessed with our gorgeous boys.

our man

 Our man is really enjoying all this water!  He loves being so close to the ocean and river.  The beautiful climate suits Rob so much and he is always game for a swim or kayak.  He is really enjoying spending more time with our boys and their relationship is growing.  They adore their dad and hang on his every word.  Russell asks what time dad will be home most nights now and so looks forward to our family meal.  Yesterday Rob took his second kite surfing lesson and came home exhilarated and exhausted!  His ribs were bruised from being dragged and bashed along the beach.  His arms were sore from pulling at the kite but his smile was plastered on his face along with all the salt.  He still dreams of owning another yacht and watches them sail out across the river wistfully.

Rob has done really well socially here.  He has made some great new friends and has reconnected with the SACS old boys in town.  He is always meeting someone for a drink or a coffee and seems to be networking really well.  He still misses his friends and family quite badly but generally is so happy with his decision to be here.  The wonderful lifestyle this city offers is perfect for him.

The house purchase has been brilliant for Rob who cannot wait to get stuck into another renovation project.  He is scheming and planning and getting really excited about the upcoming DIY.

Rob is settling well at work and is starting to see the results.  He doesn't need to work as hard as he used to in Cape Town which is great for now.  He is thrilled that there are lots of opportunities here for his skills as this is a real booming economy with lots of major projects starting up soon so we will certainly always be able to pay the bills.  For now we are both enjoying the fact that he is home every night and is so much part of our every day life.

I would love him to write on the blog but it's not his thing.  I have to settle for him reading it from time to time for now.

get lost!

I really am quite scared of getting lost.  I was born without a sense of direction and have quite literally never been able to find my way out of a paper bag.  Well, talk about facing your fears!  I have moved across the world to a whole new city grid and plethora of landmarks.  Thank goodness for Garmin, my new best friend, and for googlemaps.  Did you know that you can click on "Get directions" and googlemaps will take you through the whole process of moving from A to B quite effortlessly.  Isn't technology great?!

I am pleased to announce that there are days when I don't even turn the GPS on in the car now and I have totally surprised myself (and my family) by eloquently giving other people directions to a play area or restaurant with the correct street names and landmarks thrown in.  The road system in Perth is pretty straight forward and the beautiful Swan River does a great job of dividing it into halves.  I can now confidently get to swimming lessons, Rob's office, Kings Park and a number of other destinations with only a moment's hesitation before heading in the right direction.  I still have my moments, of course, and if I pull over or into a driveway for any reason, the boys still ask me if I have made a wrong turn or am totally lost.  Over all I really feel that I have done quite well.  I attribute this great achievement to the fact that I really consciously embraced the challenge of the roads.  I got here determined to cement the maps in my brain and overcome my fear.  Well, the fear of getting lost persists, as sadly, we are unable to develop a sense of direction.  The good news is you can master the layout of a city with some effort.

Added to all this driving around is the fact that our driver's licenses are not valid after expiration and can only be converted by taking a Theory and Practical exam.  My license has two weeks validity left so I have been driving around in the infamous little Getz, taking note of my own bad habits and practising driving at 50km/h.  At first I had to put Hugo under the accelerator to achieve any consistency in speed but now I have it all worked out - just hum to the '80s music on the local station and pretend you don't have to be anywhere important before Christmas and you're fine.  I am halfway through the process, having passed the Theory test with flying colours.  (It comprised mostly of identifying roadsigns featuring indigenous species and working out whose turn it is to move in a roundabout).  This Wednesday I don the low cut blouse and miniskirt and head for the testing office to show off my parallel parking skills.

 I just can't wait.

before and after

Adam (6 1/2 years)

Hugo (3 1/2 years)

A good haircut makes a man, and a good haircut ages a boy!  $20 each and they look all shiny and new.

oh brother!

Adam's art

Adam has become quite the little artist!  He loves school and especially the art activities where he prides himself in doing great work.  This picture is of a king and queen who are clearly very much in love.  The next picture shows his castle with a door cut out and a photograph of Adam the King, peeking out!  He is starting to read and write words now and is bringing his first readers home.  There is a lot of emphasis on reading and writing from as early as Kindergarten which is the year a child turns 4!  Adam's number concept is great and he thrives on the science experiments.  We get a full demonstration at home after each science lesson.  Our sweet boy is finding making friends quite tough in this new town but he is starting to find his feet and is growing in confidence.  Invitations for play dates are starting to come in and he is definitely ready to tackle new challenges.

cub's honour

Russell was invested into the Winthrop Bateman cub pack last night.  He very proudly said his law and his promise.  It is a very active pack of boys and a few girls.  They meet on a Wednesday night and play lots of fun games and learn all kinds of exciting things.  The akala is a wonderful mature woman who has been leading the pack for 25 years and still loves it with a passion.  This has been a great place for Russell to meet good friends and have a lot of fun.

Now I have to sew on all those badges!!

retro party time

Had we met in the 70s I still would have fallen in love with him!  Rob looked really good in an afro wig at the 70s bash we went to over the weekend to celebrate our friend, Liezl's 40th birthday.  It was great fun dressing up to the theme and we really had a fun time.  I wore the obligatory sea level mini shift and Rob, well Rob, he just looked ultra cool.

the Aussie dream

Yip, we did it:  we have bought our first Australian home!  In true Wilson style, it needs some TLC, a bit of knocking around, a little bit more here and a little bit less there.  We will be taking transfer in February just in time for our lease to be up here.  We are scheming and planning and prioritising our renovation.  It really is good to have a project again.

housekeeping done

I have finally solved some of my housekeeping problems.

Spiderman now does the vacuuming!

setting the scene

I have just completed a four session photography course.  It was so awesome and I learned so much.  There are buttons on my camera that, until now, have not been touched and I have discovered so many cool ways to take photos.  The course consisted of a night of theory; a morning of landscape and waterfall photography in a park using a tripod and practising with various apertures and shutterspeeds; an evening in the city taking night shots as the light faded and socialising over cheese and wine; a last evening on how to use photoshop.  There were 8 students on the course and we were all beginners, so easily impressed with our new discoveries.  I met some interesting people and developed my confidence in taking better pictures.  I learned how to use my telephoto lens properly and how to adjust the colours for various settings. 

The course venue was about 15km from home and on the first night I sat next to a woman who I really liked and felt an instant connection to.  We chatted before and after the course and then discovered that we live 2 mins away from each other in the same suburb.  Karin is a bit older than me and is at home with her first baby.  We shared lifts for the rest of the course and are now planning to walk and ride our bikes together.  We want to spend time at the river practising with our cameras.  God has sent me friends in the most remarkable places and I feel really blessed.

styling in a Getz

He has lost the tie, the Beemer and the stress frown.  This is the new Rob!  It's still a coupe!

hot, hotter...

The mercury hit 30 degrees today and it's set to keep on climbing.  So far we are loving it and are spending our days at the river and beach.  Yesterday we went down to the river at 10.30am and returned after dark.  We met up with three other families and had a braai on the communal gas burners for lunch.  The children and adults took turns on the various kayaks and everyone chilled out.  Hugo spent most of his day running down a grass embankment and diving head first into the river!  The water is warm and clear and we even spotted a beautiful dolphin 10 metres from the shoreline at sunset. 

The sun is harsh and I have never needed hats and sunscreen more.  We are enjoying the full day out this holiday because by December we will be indoors in the middle of the day, hiding from the harsh rays.  Great news is that Hugo can finally pedal a bicycle.  The emphasis is on pedal, as he never got that right on the hills of Fernwood.  The fairy wheels are still in place but he is doing a stirling job and is so proud of his efforts.  He pedals happily along the river path, desperately trying to catch Adam. 

For now, I am having a cuppa with you.  Hugo is asleep and the big boys have walked two streets over to visit their friends.  The holidays are stretched out ahead of us - Oh happy days.

summer is here

The sun is really giving it horns now and I am told it gets much hotter than this!  We are into the summer pj's, t-shirts and shorts which means less laundry - yay!  Today is break up day at school and the next two weeks are going to be filled with kayaking, surfing, swimming and lots of playing.  We can't wait!

Russell had International Evening at cubs on Wednesday night.  In addition to visiting different countries and learning a bit about them all around the cub hall, each child had to dress up in something beginning with a letter they had pulled out of a hat.  Russell pulled Q and did a double whammy - he taught them about the extinct Quagga - half zebra, half buck - native to South Africa.  He was very amused with the South African table and was able to give the group lots of extra information.  The best part was eating some biltong!!

home sweet home

Well, it is very temporary as our lease ends at the end of February but for now it is home.  We have unpacked our boxes and have surrounded ourselves with things that are familiar and loved, so we are home, for now.

We live in a four bedroom, three bathroom quite modern house.  It is a panhandle which means it is shoe horned behind another house.  The plots (or blocks as they are called here) are very small so we are quite spoiled to have a garden!  Upstairs is a lovely living area with a good sized study and our ensuite bedroom and walk in cupboard.  Downstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a lounge, tv/games room and an open plan kitchen/dining room.  There is also the standard Australian laundry room.  So we have enough space.

The best part is that it is right next to the school which really helps as the boys can walk home when Hugo is asleep or I can lock him in for five minutes.