Well hallo! And happy new year!

Two weeks into 2017 and I only greet you today! All that I can say is that it has been a wonderful holiday. One filled with rest, relaxation and family (and obviously not blogging) - and it was great. Port Elizabeth spoiled us with stunning weather! Just some highlights in photos:

We had hours of relaxed family time at home and lots of time active outdoors.

We slept over on our favorite Karoo farm on the way down - it was so dry - glad to know it has rained substantially since then. It was a day of magic and nature.

The kids fished - and totally loved it. The girl child turned out to love it most for the moment. That may of course change again. She caught and released 3 fish that morning - and the boys one each.

We spent a lovely day at the Sundays river with friends - boating and eating and having so much fun.

Our Ocean girl loved the rock pools - she is not a huge lover of waves but those pools!

Our favorite beach at New Years morning was quiet and stunning - it did get busier but it is big enough to handle it. What a blessing!

All the best for 2017 - we are already knee deep in school things. So how was your holiday? 

Sometimes a snap decision is the 100% right one

Sardinia bay - the most beautiful beach

Last week we made a snap decision to fly down to Port Elizabeth and visit Oupa and Ouma. Oupa had his birthday on Friday and it was such a pleasure to share it with him. It was without a doubt for all of us such a treat and 100% the right thing to do. We all spent time with him at the house and we had lots of adventures with Ouma.

Port Elizabeth blessed us with 3 incredible days - cool enough to stay on the beach without feeling over heated, but warm enough for a swim in the sea and the pool. No wind and abundant sun. It was truly a blessing in itself after a busy term.

Some things - family time and special moments together - are priceless. Memories are made that will last a lifetime. C will always remember how he fell asleep next to Oupa one night while chatting away. L will never forget the rugby games watched, dissected  and discussed. A will treasure holding Oups hand while stroking the cat on his bed - the cat that refuse A to stroke her any where else in the house. It reminds me of that old  credit card add where the money value was mentioned and then the experience as priceless. Totally priceless moments. I am so glad we did this.

Schoenmakerskop

July holidays reflections

I always love to chat to my kids about the school holidays and what they enjoyed most. They often surprise me with what they choose and with how varied the 3 different choices are. It also gives one a great insight into what they really love and value. Often it's simpler and the less costly ones. You will find the April holiday's post here

So this morning we had a chat on our way to school about exactly this and I though I should let them choose 3 things as one just seemed to difficult a choice for such a long holiday choc full of activities.

A chose: 1. Seeing a huge pod of dolphins really close at Pollock beach in Port Elizabeth

               2. Bounce Inc
               3. Giving her friend K a little soft toy and flowers after her grandmother passed away and
                  that K still preferred to spend the two following days with her.
C chose: 1. Flying in and airplane for the first time
               2. Bounce Inc
               3. Finding a rare intact shell at Pollock beach,  Port Elizabeth declaring it his new favorite    beach

L chose: 1. The Lego exhibit currently on at The Zone, Rosebank
               2. Eating Burger King for the first time (he loved the bottomless soda machine)
               3. Playing soccer in an inflatable court at Something Good, Port Elizabeth

For me just being at the sea and spending time with the family is always a highlight. There is just something about the ocean and the bush that speaks to my heart.

I have to admit as per usual some of them were expected (Bounce Inc, the flying and the Lego) , some speak to their personalities (A choosing the reflection of a true a friendship and nature - she is a big lover of nature, C's choice of a place with beauty and a beautiful object and L's choice of a sport activity) and some took me by surprise (? Burger King  - really? - I though we were just filling our tummies before heading back on the Gautrain)

I thought I will share some of the activities we did the holidays in a few posts to follow. Although some of them are seasonal most can be experienced throughout the year.

Trains, planes..... no automobiles

(Does anybody remember the movies Trains, planes and automobiles?)

Beautiful clouds from the plane

On short notice, we decided to take the chance to visit the grandparents in Port Elizabeth. When I looked at flights (not wanting to take the 2200 km per car with possible sleepovers) there were none to be found at an even reasonable cost - and I am talking expensive! In the area of R3000,00 per person. Not a possibility in the slightest for us . So the long in our minds idea of taking a train trip some time or another became the idea to do it now. It seems like a good idea. Overnight in a little bed in two compartments and in Port Elizabeth in the morning. So we booked on the Shosaloza Meyl to depart last Friday. All set and ready, I phoned on Thursday to confirm the bedding booking, only to be told that in fact, the PE train was not running on Friday. Due to a derailment of  a goods train on Wednesday night the tracks were damaged close to Cradok and the train will only run the next Wednesday. We were offered a full refund or a reschedule. There was no way we could reschedule as  we would have no time in PE. Before considering a car journey, I had a quick look at flights and lo and behold, good priced flights were to be found on Mango - but only on Monday morning and returning of Saturday. But we booked and we are here. It's great to be at the sea although it is freezing and the wind pumping. It was 13 degrees yesterday with an icy wind blowing but we stopped at our favorite Schoenmakerskop and made the most of it.

And above all it's great to see the family. Because that is what it's all about. To see L and Oups enjoying their shared love of sport. To have tea with Ouma and talk books. To lie in my ned last night and hear H and his dad talking till late. To see the joy and love on the faces of the kids and the Oupa and Ouma. Just to be here. It's great!

That is Hunter, taking a swim! 

Port Elizabeth for kids

 Disclaimer - I know plenty of Eastern Cape peeps know way more about PE and way better places - this is just our personal experience on cold winter week)

As my in-laws live in Port Elizabeth we have spent plenty of holidays there through the years. PE is known as both the windy and the friendly city, both for obvious reasons. It's not the greatest weather city in South Africa. We have however never spent a holiday there with kids in tow in mid winter and possibly in the coldest week of the year to boot. Cold weather, wind and some rain was the package we had - with bits of sunshine in between. So what do you do with kids in PE if the weather is not actually beach weather? I have 10 great things we did last week:

1. Visit Schoenmakerskop.
Schoenies as it is generally known is a little village on the edge of Port Elizabeth and a favorite haunt of ours. It features plenty of great little rock pools for little explorers with great nature finds one can photograph and put back to find another day. It also features a little protected from the wind beach (obviously depending on wind direction) with a bay for some shallow swimming for kids. Even when the wind howls it may be the most windless bit of beach joy you can find. On Monday, and icy and windy day we saw whales off the common green.

In addition it also features a copy of the biggest cannon found on the shipwreck of the Sacramento and kids can climb on it and play around. (The original is at Bayworld). The little Sacramento restaurant on the main street is great for milkshakes and much more. There are plenty of interesting Schoenies history inside it - go and have a look (also in the bar area).

2. Have the best Brownies ever at Grass Roof Farm stall and coffee shop. 

This is a relatively newish PE addition. To get there follow the Seaview road out of PE and you will see the very obvious grass roof at the Sardinia bay turn off. The farm stall has heaps of great take home eats - we bought ciabatta and meringues - both great. The best however is the coffee shop - I had a great lunch there in December and this time around we had the best brownies we have ever tasted. Also great milo in huge cups, good Americano and the kids loved their milkshakes. There is a large lawn area with some play equipment (sporting a grass roof too and old tractor) but we were there in icy winds and light rain. The fire place was cozy and comfy and we spent a good while there.

3. Visit SAMREC - The SA Marine bird rehabilitation and education centre.
This was possibly the one item that we all enjoyed the most - young and old. Every group that arrives get taken through the small centre by their own guide that adapts according to the group. The kids loved the "Please touch" room where they could touch and feel and learn about the sea and sea life. You also get a chance to see how and where the penguins and other seabirds are washed and cleaned and a look into the hospital. Make sure of the feeding times to make the most of your experience.

4. Do a family photoshoot on the beach
In general photographers are very busy in December and also planning their own summer holidays. The sun is harsh and beaches are busy. Off season is a great time to do a golden hour photo shoot on the beach. The afternoon ours were was cool and breezy and I have not seen any pictures yet but am hoping that they will be great and if they are I will give you her details. We had an almost deserted beach and lots of space to work in and it was easy to find a well know photographer as it's "off season" for them. See below the backdrop for our shoot.

5. If it is pouring outside, go play at Funky Frogs
The Wednesday of our visit it was pouring with rain and cold. By the afternoon we had 3 slightly grumpy kids and made our way to Moffett on Main for an hour of play. It's great for the little ones but A was at 9 too old to play. Thankfully she can keep herself busy with a book and we did some shopping and had something hot at a little cafe just outside Funky Frog. You can also leave the kids there and do your shopping.

6. Have coffee, breakfast or lunch at the Pink Fig
This place is a total paradise for children. I guess mine would have gladly spent a whole day there. Filled with old fashioned children's favorites like rope swings, tires, pedal cars and much much more the food is great too (and well priced). There is no admission fee and the kids can play and play. And you can sit in the sun and have a great chat or read a book. It feels as if you are far out on a farm while you are actually in the city. Buy some biscuits to take home (the variety pack for R30 was plenty and very tasty) and come back again and again. Be warned though that this is mostly an outdoor venue and not open when the weather does not allow it.

7. Have lunch at a PE institution and maybe build a sandcastle.
Something Good roadhouse has been in PE for years and has a while ago been relaunched with a slightly more trendy flavour. It features great great burgers and plenty other very good food as well as a jungle gym and jumping castle for the kids outside (weather permitting). While there if not raining, why not build a sandcastle or do some sand doodles like we did on Pollock beach - one of PE's gems.We were there on a cold and windy day, dressed warmly and still had much fun on the beach. We warmed up at Something Good with their courtesy blankets, gas heaters and babychinos. They also make great coffee and great french fries . And real old fashioned batter onion rings.

8. Our favorite beach in the world, Sardinia bay never disappoints.
Even on cold and windy day we had a great walk with the puppies, some of us even had a swim. If you are lucky you will see some of the horses passing for an outride. And after you scale that huge dune back to the parking lot you have some of the world's best hot chocolate at Gunter's wurstwagen. We are never sure if it is actually so good and if the setting and the swim and walk before hand had a say in it. He has been at Saards for 23 years and now in off season only on weekends.He also has crisp and golden french fries and an assortment of continental hot dog style treats.

9. Nostalgia in loads at Second time around

Second time around is a big shed with antiques and all sorts of other bric and brac from years gone by. The kids loved to see the old toys and if they are old enough to know when to touch or not this is worth a visit. They also loved the shop cats lounging everywhere.

10. Visit Bayworld Museum and snake park.
We spent a delightful afternoon in very cold and windy weather seeing every nook and cranny of the Museum. We also saw the seal show at 3 pm. A lot of locals will warn you that it's not worth a visit because the dolphins are not there anymore and the tropical house is closed. It did not matter one bit to my kids. They were not expecting dolphins and loved the seals and penguins. The musuem has a great variety from lifelike dinosaurs (Mr C's favorite) to cannons and model ships (Mr L's favorite) to birds, sea shells and even clothing and old cameras (The Princess' favorite apart from the Kelpy the seal - her most favorite of the day). It may be smaller than your local museum, but its different and it's regional and was hugely enjoyed by us all.

Have you been to any of these or which do you want to go to?

We have just returned

from a wonderful week and a bit long holiday. We drove down to Port Elizabeth (Via Bethulie in die Free state for a sleepover) to visit H's parents.

We spent a fantastic time with the grandparents and the kids adored all the time they had with them. The weather of course was nothing to talk about - it was countrywide one of the most miserable weeks this year. But we made the most of it and had a lot of fun.

We also took our new doggy brother R for his first trip with us and we think what must be his first visit to the sea. Boy did he have fun. And it went very well for a doggy on his first long distance rip.

I will write more later this week, but for now I am never going to catch up reading all your blog posts and I do hope all is well in your world.

Leaving you with some shots of beauty we encountered during this time.

Sweeping shapes

Lovely colours and textures

Found a heart

And another

The view from Something good on Friday afternoon lunch time.

 So which photo is your favorite and how are you doing?

The small things really are the big things

So I am back at work after our well deserved holiday. A holiday where things did not go exactly as planned but where never the less, we made the best off and all had heaps of fun. We had a big road trip, first sleeping over in the karoo near Bethulie, then spending time in Cape Town (mostly Houtbay) and on to Port Elizabeth over Christmas. We ended our trip with a day with our friends in the karoo on a farm bordering the Orange river. The kids were amazing these holidays - I can hardly describe how great they were and am immensely proud of them.

So I sat with the kids after the holiday away and we talked about their favorite moment of the holiday. We had plenty of highlights, visiting the Two Oceans Aquarium, eating at Simons at Groot Constantia, Christmas with many spoils, ice cream on the beach and too many to mention. A immediately said that it was when she took Spirit, a Welsh pony for a swim in the dam on the farm on the day before last of our holiday. I guess to be expected from a horse lover but she was also the most enthusiastic swimmer amongst our bunch and adores the beach sharing a passion for Sardinia bay with both her parents.

 I then prompted L who simply said "quad bike" referring to all the bike rides on the farm with dad. Anything with engines is his passion, possibly a quad bike most of all.

 C has been quiet all the time and then he quickly said - "Swimming in the farm dam" (our first day on holiday) and then changed it to swimming with the horses as well. And then said "no, no, finding the star fish in Sardinia bay and releasing it again".

 He was clearly having a tough time deciding. And then he said it, "actually every thing was the best because we did it all together."

And that I guess is the answer - its the small things (none of these cost anything) that makes the big things count. Spending time together doing things we enjoy is what holidays are all about. Come to think of it, it's what life's about. May your 2014 be filled with magic moments.

A weekend to remember

We had a bumper weekend and all went really well at home with my mom, cousins and the kids. I can really not be more grateful for their help. So what did we do?

On Friday we really just go to know the after check-in and security part of OR Tambo's domestic departures. But the in-laws had the leg of lamb and tripe (not for me!) ready and we had a gastronomic feast and went to bed really late.

On Saturday we squeezed in a lot:

Hunter, the groom and the two best men went for a very early morning swim at Sardinia bay. I slept in.

On his return we had a great breakfast.

Then we visited the beach towards the more "tame" beach side of Port Elizabeth as my FIL was not feeling well and up to hiking over a sand dune. When we parked there we saw the Survivor South Africa finalists and Ockert (for sure - could only be him - see picture) abseiling from a tall building on the beach front.

 

We also saw a beautiful Gold Wing parked and I snapped a few pictures.

 I snapped this great one of Hunter and his parents on the boardwalk.

The beach itself was beautiful.

We saw this huge jellyfish on the beach.

Then we swang by the new 2010soccer stadium - without a doubt South Africa's most beautiful one. (also known in PE as the pumpkin)

Then we had a brief visit with Hunter's grandfather (89 years old) and grandmother. They really grew so old the last year.

And then we went to the wedding - watch out for Wordful Wednesday about that.

On Sunday morning I had breakfast with a very special lady after which we popped back home to be hugged to death by the kids. It was a good one.

Jet setters.

You might be excused to think we are jet setters of note, because frankly, it sounds like it. We have just returned on Sunday from a glorious holiday on the Natal South Coast and tomorrow afternoon we are zipping away by plane to Port Elizabeth for a weekend. For this, I am really putting my big girl panties on - and Hunter his big boy ones, I guess.

Gasp! We are leaving our kids for the very first time in someone else's care to go away for a weekend.I know, I know, most people do this regularly and sooner, but we really lack a proper support system to do this often and frankly, we like being with our kids, even if I sometimes get a bit edgy. And maybe we are both control freaks - ok, I admit it, I certainly am and Hunter is maybe borderline. When the Lill Miss was 10 months old we left her with my mom and Lucy for a weekend - I won a 5 star game lodge weekend on the web and it sort of nudged us in the direction to do it. It was great - did wonders for us. After that, not once. Never. Maybe because 3 kids are more difficult to handle than 1, maybe because The Boys were sick so often, or just maybe because we were not ready yet.

I have a suspicion that if the situation did not get somewhat forced on us, we would not have done this. But with ticket prices skyrocketing this year, it is simply not possible to fly the whole family out. Driving down with 3 kids for 11hours for a wedding that they will not even attend - and then we have to find a babysitter there as my In laws are also going to the wedding - not an option. Not attending is not an option for Hunter - it's his best bud from 4 years old.

So we are doing it - I was so brave when I booked the tickets, and now, although I am looking forward to it, I find myself at the same time excited, but also a bit sad. I will miss those 3 little bodies for the two days we are gone. But I am looking forward to time alone with my hubby and some time with the in-laws. We also have not been in PE for more than a year so I am looking forward at dipping my toes in the water at Saardinia bay on Saturday. I am also looking forward to meeting someone special there - it's a secret! I'll tell you on Monday if it all panned out.

And good luck to my mom and cousins Ananda and Karla who no doubt, will have their work cut out for them. The Lil Miss, thank goodness, is seeing this as one big adventure. The Boys, hard to tell if they understand what I am telling them, but at least their beloved Oumie will be with them.

Wish us all luck!