A day at the beach.

Summer has finally arrived! After making a brief appearance and then leaving only to let winter back - it is here!

It was a sweltering 34 deg. yesterday so we went down to St.James beach for the afternoon with the Carters. (This picture is especially for all those readers from the North i.e. Bev and Dottie who may not have seen blue sky for a while!!)

Apart from a "minor"(!) altercation between Bryce an Niave over a collection of shells and other treasures in a particular bucket - it was a lovely afternoon.

Abigail could not believe her ears when I fetched her from school and said "we're going to the beach"! She has been wanting a beach outing for ages. She absolutely loved swimming in the huge tidal pool - much to my distress!

She is surounded by a lot of water!!

Niave loved being free to explore - she's an explorer for sure. I was glad I had chosen a bright pink costume for her as I was able to keep track of her as wandered from 1 side of the beach to the other completely unfazed by the fact that she was very far away from me.

She had a ball!

Like a little mountain goat!

Gazing intently at some creature or other!

The beach was quite full - different from our other visits to St. James but we stayed until about 6:30 so it quietened down somewhat.

They had a really good time.

This morning Abigail wanted to know "can we go to the beach today?"!!! Oh dear, I see a pattern emerging here!!

Passengers!

Just so you know how many passengers we have to take with us on almost every trip in the car - and there are many in a day!!
Would you like an introduction? Well, from left to right we have : Bubu, Beaky, Taffy, Snoeks and Buster!

26 hours of non-stop rain.

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day.

(from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss)

Herbert and Patience

Yesterday Herbert and Patience got married!

Herbert is one of Grant's business partners. They are from Zimbabwe and have been down a long, difficult road to get to this point. Herbert arrived in South Africa just as the Xenophobic violence started and as a result he ended up at the Rondebosch United Church where refugees were being looked after. It was a terrible time in South Africa but for Herbert it was probably a blessing in disguise as it was at this church where he met up with other Zimbabweans and even some he knew but hadn't seen in some time. The church has also been a place where he, and Patience, have found a "family" which was very evident in the service yesterday. That was wonderful to see, especially in light of the fact that no family members from Zim (on either side) were able to make it - largely due to passport issues.

The service and reception were a great mix of Euro-centric and African. Here it is in pictures:

The Bride.

Flower girls.

The Groom - and best man.

Down the aisle.

A marimba band plays.

Vows are taken.

Signing the register.

Mr. and Mrs. Zuze emerge from the church!

Photo's in the gale-force wind!

The reception.

The cake.

The party starts!!

This guy was amazing! He danced so well, look at the picture on the right - both his feet are off the floor!

Congratulations Herbert and Patience, may you have many years of happiness together.

A visit to:

This afternoon Niave went to meet her teacher for next year and to see her classroom etc. It was a lovely afternoon, we felt very welcomed and Niave had great fun - again, in the garden. She just loves the climbing!!

She spent some time painting, some time climbing, some time eating and lots of time playing!! Here are some pictures:

She seemed very relaxed and at home, I think she is going to be very happy there.

And just look at this little sausage sitting on the steps!!

She looks so tiny!!

My baby going out into the BIG, w-i-d-e world!!

Student of the MONTH!!!!

I was supposed to be writing a post about my weekend away at Simons Town but before I could get that together Abigail came walking through the school gate with a big "Student of the month" ribbon pinned to her dress! So here we are with this post:

Every week there is an assembly on Monday mornings at school. At assembly 1 or 2 children from each class are awarded with the Student of the Week award. Abigail has received that a couple of times. Then, on the first Monday of each month they hand out the Student of the Month award. One child from each class is awarded for something that they have done well or excelled in or even just persevered in, it is sometimes academic, sometimes sport orientated, sometimes it's to do with arts and culture or even socially. Each recipient is given a ribbon (or rosette) and a certificate and they get to have lunch with the principal in the library.

Today Abigail was given the award for grade 2 for her progress in swimming. She is doing really well and keeps talking about getting into the team!! Anyway, she was very chuffed with her award and is very excited about her lunch with Mrs. te Water tomorrow.

Here she is with her rosette and certificate which has now been added to the wall of fame in our passage!!!

"The Wall of Fame"!!!!!