The farm 20-22 March 2010

21 March was a public holiday (Human Rights Day) and here in SA if the public holiday falls on a Sunday the Monday is also a public holiday, making it a nice long weekend. We decided to go to the farm for the weekend and yet once again the kids had a ball. Grampy (my FIL) is the hero and he spent a lot of time with the kids playing ball, driving on the quad-bike and of course fishing (for both fish and frogs).

A "new" room - March 2010

I never really did anything major when the kids were small in respect of their bedrooms. They were never "done up" as a nursery and we have literally just been winging it. I decided that this year I would tackle their rooms and personalise them a bit.

We decided to do Andrew's room first. I managed to find some lovely bunk beds and we shifted the room a bit, painted a wall (still need to do the art-work for it) and made it Andrew's own. the results are quite nice actually and he seems to love his room and spends much more time in it just doing "stuff". He had a sweet "reading corner" now, which he loves - the chair in it is one that Ed's grandfather made, so is also very special.

Michael is now sleeping in the room with Andrew - Andrew got the top of the bunk and Michael the bottom.

It is not completely finished yet, but at least it looks good so far - now I just need a day to complete it.

Elton John concert - 21 March 2010

I was fortunate enough to win tickets through a local radio station to the Elton John concert "under African skies" held in Johannesburg on Sunday evening. We had 4 tickets and Jenny and Clyde came with Ed and myself. It was a picnic-style concert which was lovely and so relaxed.

As for the show itself all I can say is WOW! I love his music and I love it even more now that I have had the opportunity to see him live. he is a real show-man and is absolutely brilliant at what he does!

There were 12 000 people at the concert and we ended up getting fabulous seats close to the front (about 80m from the stage) and had a clear view of everything.

He played for over 2 1/2 hours solid (no breaks) and was amazing. The crowd was wonderful and it was generally a lot of fun.

Summer rain season - February 2010

If there is one thing I love about the city I live in, it is the weather. On most summer afternoons we have a thunderstorm or at least a cloud burst, which cools the earth beautifully and makes the evenings nice and crisp. Usually after these rains the whole sky changes colour and it is just too beautiful for words. This was one of those afternoons......

Hair today, gone tomorrow - 6 March 2010

On Saturday I (eventaully) cut my hair and donated it to CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) for wigs for cancer victims. My ponytail was literally tied and chopped off in my neck.

The result is going to take some getting used to. it is a lot shorter, a lot darker and takes a lot more time to style, but I LOVE it!!!

The kids came with to the Shavathon and they sprayed their hair.

Work Shavathon - 5 March 2010

The annual Shavathon happens this coming weekend and the corporate one is on today. You give a donation and then either shave your hair or spray it to show support for and celebrate the life of cancer survivors. Here is our work function.

Dikololo - 27 Febuary 2010

Lat week Friday my friend Marinda was so kind as to give us her their place at Dikhololo (a private game reserve) for the weekend. They had booked it, but ended up not being able to go.

So on Saturday morning early we headed out there. It is (luckily) only 1 1/2 hours away, as the kids were getting SO frustrated (who knows what we will do with a 12 hour trip). The place was really lovely and we spent the next 24 hours swimming, looking for game and just chilling.

There was not much as far as animals go, but what there was was so friendly and tame that we managed to get right up close. The kids loved the wild-life around the chalet as well as the rocks - or at least "the mountain" as they called it outside the front door.