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.

bitter sweet

On Saturday night we had our first dinner party.  It was so great to be entertaining again and filling our home with friends and fun.  This weekend Gavin Kerr, Rob's friend and colleague from Macquarie, came over from Sydney for his 30th school reunion.  He stayed with us for for the weekend.  Simultaneously, Hannalie and Dirk spent the weekend here so our house was full to bursting!  Having Hannalie here has been so special for me.  Our friendship has lasted the distance of 16 years and many kilometres.  We have laughed and shared a lot.  It was a great weekend of good food and wine and lovely river walks and outings.  On Saturday night Koos and Liezl joined us for dinner with Hannalie and Dirk. 

It was quite weird.  I really had a good time but also felt twinges of sadness.  I thought of Kim and Loraine as I served the red lentil soup.  I longed for Lara as everyone complimented me on the lamb youvetsi.  I wanted Cullum and Bev to be here for the apple strudel.  Where was Vonnie when I poured tea from my pot?  We danced around my living room without Charl and Celina!

So while I continue to pedal uphill I can see the plateau in the distance and the road is lined with beautiful trees.

faction carnival

Yip, that's what they call inter-house sports day here!  Russell and Adam are in the Blue faction (as opposed to green or red).  They are not very original about the house names!  After a few weeks of time trials and practices the carnival day arrived on a gloriously sunny Friday.  Hugo and I dressed in blue and headed to the school oval to join in the fun.  I had volunteered to help and was given the job of "first place line judge" for the year 1 to 3's.  This entailed standing at the finish line and keeping an eye out for the winner of every running race.  I had to run over and give him/her the winner's ribbon and escort him/her to the scorer's table.  It was great fun and yet another opportunity to meet some parents and get involved.

Hugo was left to play on the side lines and watch the races.  He kept asking me on the way to school when his race was going to be and I tried my best to explain that he was only a spectator.  While doing my duties I noticed the kindy class coming past to get ready for their race and Hugo had snuck into the line and was heading off with them!  Before anyone noticed, he had lined up with the four year olds and ran the 80 metre race, smiling from ear to ear!  He loved the experience and was so pleased to get his sticker at the end.

Adam ran in one of the preprimary groups and won his race!  He was so proud.  Russell had qualified for the first division year 3 race and came fourth.  Russell then took part in the relay and tabloid sports which involves fun games and obstacle courses much like survivor games. 

At the end of the day the Blue faction won which really made the day very special for the Wilson boys.  The only downer was for Hugo who couldn't understand why Russell ran two races and he only ran once!

photo update

I have added pics of the boys to the blogs about each of them.  Here are some good ones too.
School Uniforms - casual golf shirts, fleece tops and black shorts all year round

Near Margaret River down south. George, the monkey, is now our faithful travel companion.

Playing at Point Walter Beach

phew!

This week we moved to Australia!

At last, I feel as if we are home.  I am exhausted but happy.  I have my things around me and it feels so good.  Unpacking every box was exciting and exhilarating as I dug deep and unwrapped the endless white paper to rediscover my treasures.  I am so thankful for the time that I put in before leaving SA to do a big purge.  Everything that is here, I really want and love.

We now have a couch to perch our bottoms on, a microwave to reheat the leftovers, leftovers (because we have something to save them in), "new" shoes and handbags, photographs, Nintendo Wii and everything that helps us to feel at home.  And I can save and post my photos!

There were moments of sadness as I unwrapped special things like the antique teapot that my bookclub ladies lovingly restored for me.  The most difficult parcels were my tablecloth from the girls and the photo of all our friends from the Bales.

It has been a hectic week of hard work (with no Mavis to help).  On Thursday night Liezl brought us spaghetti bolognase.  On Friday our new friends, Mark and Di came over with big pizzas for us all.  On Saturday Ondine, my new S'Affer friend, came for a drink and on Sunday we had Hannalie, her mom and Liezl and Koos over for dinner.  In between we had drinks in the city with new friends, church and a 40th lunch at Kings Park.  Every spare minute has been taken up with changing electrical plugs (we are at 40 something already!), arranging furniture and art, unpacking and sorting.

So phew!  I am knackered!

This week Hannalie is visiting from Darwin too.  We have been friends for 16 years.  It is just amazing to see her after 3 years and to have a proper hug and coffee - not screen to screen.  She is staying with Koos and Liezl but will be with us when her husband is here for the weekend.  We are so looking forward to the four of us being together again.

Our house just turned into a home and that makes me very happy.  We have been embraced by so many people passing through already.  It is great to hear laughter here.  I still often catch my breath as a wave of nostalgia flows through me.  I wish my distant friends and family could knock on my door.

coming, or you ready, or you not

It's coming and I am ready!  Tomorrow we finally take delivery of our furniture, clothes, books and treasures after 6 weeks in this empty house.  Yippee!  The last time I saw our stuff was 29th of June.  I am so excited. 

Soon you will see photos of us and I can blog comfortably at my desk - yay!

And Hide and Seek for the boys is about to get much more interesting.

Hugo

Our little boy is growing fast.  He has taken to his new life very well.  We are really enjoying the time that we are spending together.  He is becoming quite proficient in housework, emails, facebook and ABC tv shows!  The dummy and blanky are still firm attachments and my money is on him to keep the South African accent the longest.  You see, he has an Afrikaans teacher at playgroup who hails from Springbok and has made friends with a little Afrikaans boy from Pretoria who is called Junior!  What chance does the child have of becoming an Aussie?

We are at the stage of Hugo choosing his own clothes and making a very good attempt at dressing himself.  He eats up a storm and has more energy than his two brothers put together.  Fortunately, for me, he still naps every afternoon for two hours so I get a chance to blog away in peace.

Hugo is so full of love for his brothers and shows us so much affection.  He is extremely cute now and comes out with some pearlers.  His strong will and new found independence do land him in our new naughty corner but generally he has been the Wilson family indulgence.

I am happy to see him becoming one of the boys and we are moving away from all things baby, and that feels good.

fathers' day AGAIN

On Sunday we celebrated Fathers' Day AGAIN!  Yip, Rob scored a double whammy.  The Aussies take these celebrations quite seriously and there was about a two week build up to the big day where every class and activity that the children attended had a Dad slant.  Rob loved all the attention and we spoiled him. 

After church we went to Point Walter for a picnic with friends.  The children ran around, climbed trees and enjoyed the many jungle gyms.  The sun was shining and spring was in the air.  We took a walk out on a sandbank on the river and watched the yachts and kayaks going by. 

At the end of a really great afternoon we joined some new friends (ex Saffers) for drinks and snacks at their home.  This went on into the evening.  All round it was a great day.

Suffice to say that our social life is starting to take off.  We have been invited to share a meal at 5 different homes and are beginning to fill up our weekends with coffees, walks and picnics as we meet new people.  Australians are very friendly and welcoming and there are a great bunch of South Africans here who we are starting to get to know. 

Just to keep you in the container loop:  our agent has just mailed to say that our furniture is through customs and quarantine so delivery is imminent!  Yay!!

Russell

Russell has just grabbed this place by the throat and given it a good shaking.  He has slotted so well into Year 3 and has already made great friends with everyone.  He starts his day playing hand tennis (just like he did at SACS) with the boys and then happily goes in to the class chatting with all the girls.  On Tuesday night we had an open night at school where the children could show us all their work and everything in their classrooms.  In some areas it is obvious that he has missed a year of school and in others he is fine.  The biggest adjustment is psychologically for him to get used to not always being the best.  He is being challenged and pulled along by the other children.  He will have to work at reading and spelling as he has had far less time to cement his knowledge.  We are now members of the great public library and Russell is enjoying special reading time in the morning in bed or at the end of his day.  Today was Russell's turn to tell his news in class and he decided that was too boring so he researched some cool sites for paperjet making and made a box of samples to take to class.  He showed off his planes and described how to make them and which are the good websites to use.  According to Russell, it was a hit!

He is still a great fan of Moshi Monsters and still can't wait for the daily challenge or to check his message board. 

Russell has joined a Karate dojo and is so happy to be back in training.  The style is slightly different to what he was used to in South Africa but he is adapting well and working hard at it.  He is also back in a cub pack and is going on his first camp in two weeks time.  He has signed up for a cricket club for the summer and is wanting to make the most of every opportunity.  The school is preparing for House Athletics Carnival in two weeks time and he has surprised himself by winning and placing in some of the trials. 

The great news is that he seems to have outgrown his eczema and asthma and has weened himself off his pump and nasal spray.  We have made it through winter without even a cold and are thrilled with his good health.

Rob's presence at home has had a massive impact on Russell who has thrived on sharing news with his dad at the dinner table and hangs on his every word.  He is always wrestling with Rob and engaging with him about a project or idea.  It is a huge relief to me to have Rob around to answer some of his complicated questions, too!

He is loving the freedom of being able to walk to friends on his own and play in the street.  When the container finally arrives, Russell will be unpacking his bicycle first.
Our eight year old  is teaching us to take life's battles one step at a time and to make the most of where we are at.