Around the house

Been meaning to put these up all week to show you what has been happening around the house. Hubby got around to putting up some of my birthday gifts....its taken a while I know!

My brother in law had made me this beautiful , handy jewelry or come whatever stand. It is so convenient to know where my sunglasses or other bits and pieces are.

My sweet daughter gave me these lovely wire hearts that she bought while we were in Ladybrand.

Hubby crafted these wooden hearts for my birthday. We had seen others in a shop in Ladybrand but they were rather expensive so even though I loved them, I didn't buy them at the time.

This lavender adorns my mantelpiece. The lounge is filled with the lovely aroma of lavender.

Hooray!

The team from Jion who have been selected to represent Western Province.

This morning, there was great jubilation when we received an sms notifying us that J has been selected to represent the Western Province at the up and coming SA Trials in Bloemfontein! (From there, if selected, he could be taking part in the All Africa Games in Cape Town later this year.) This of course means that he gets his Provincial Colours too.

He has put in hours of training and we are very proud of him. He is so excited and really looking forward to the trip and competing.

Our Boy did it!

This morning we had an early start out to Belhar Sports Centre where the KAWP (Karate Association of the Western Province) Cadet, Junior, Senior & Veterans Championships were being held. I was amazed at J's calm composure and attitude. The day of the Provincail Trials had finally arrived. He has put in many hours of training for todays event.

He was up first in his division for Kata. Eric and I sat nervously on the stands as we watched our big boy go onto the floor. We couldnt imagine how he was feeling if we were SO nervous! It was a knock out competition and the score 2 to 1 in favour of his opponent. He was ok with that as it was only decided in the last 2 weeks that he would enter the Kata competion as well.

J in the blue belt.

Next came Kumite....that is very exciting to watch and the tension was high. Again he was up first in his weight division. He had to wear protective head gear as well as foot and leg protectors along with the mitts. He managed to get in some good punches and kicks but as it so often happens in these competitions, he did not score points. (Sometimes the judges miss these points) He came off knowing that he could have done better but we were all thrilled when he came in joint 3rd place with a bronze medal.

Now we wait a couple of days to find out if he is selected for the Provincial Team and if he has to compete in Bloemfontein in a couple of weeks time..........

School fun

The week has had its challenges but on the whole, been going well. It has been incredibly warm in the Mother City and we are thankful for the swimming pool. The children have enjoyed a quick dip between lessons and before bedtime.We have enjoyed breakfast and lunch out on the patio this week.

My resident baker has been at it again, keeping the boys happy with her baking.

Yummy peanut butter biscuits and bran muffins!

We have had lots of fun with Zoology. The kids made cardboard megaphones and tested how they reflect sounds off various objects....just love the face Z is pulling! It helped them to understand how a whale uses sound to determine what kind of object is near by.

They are making Ocean Boxes, in which they will place models of all the various sea creatures they are learning about. Today they painted their boxes and while I read, they made these amazing models of the various magnificent whales they learned about. They tried their hands at an origami whale too. We have experimented with the freezing temperatures of normal and salt water and Z was amazed that the salt water remained unfrozen even after being in the freezer all night!

I found a fantastic book for Afrikaans to use with K and Z and we are making good progress as we laugh our way through the funny new words they are learning.

We had another session of Afrikaans with J and his school buddy and the boys are making headway. The same afternoon we did some life science and made our own wet preparation for the microscope. We looked at the membrane between the layers of an onion. It blows my mind to see how amazingly even this has been created! We looked at a tiny bug too and the detail is incredulous! I can see that we are going to have lots of fun with the microscope.

As J works hard to catch up with his terms work (due to his books arriving late) , he is learning so many new and amazing things. Below is the view from his desk out onto my little veg garden. He enjoys the greenery outside his window.

First and foremost on his mind this week is the Western Province Trials for Karate on Saturday.

After karate training and ballroom tonight, he was in the lounge, dressed in his gi and practising his kata. He is determined to do well on Saturday. Tomorrow, he will have most of the day off school as he has a further 2 hours of training and we need to get ready for Saturday.

Its jungling!

Yip, my veg garden is starting to look a little like a jungle! The comment passed by T when she saw it this weekend was,"It's jungling!"

It is so exciting to see the tiniest butternuts and gems on the vines that have rambled up the tripods. There are a number of green tomatoes and the chillies are starting to poke out of where the flowers used to be. I am picking green beans , baby marrows and peas! Mmm those peas never made it to the table as I snacked on them when I was feeling a bit peckish.I continue to pick basil and lettuce regularly and the corn are just about ready.

I hired our house helper's son to scrub down the last of my pots last week. He did a fantastic job, but I have not found the time to paint and plant since we are so busy with school.It will have to be a weekend job.

My Karate Kids

We had to be in camps Bay early on Saturday for morning for a kata competition. The atmosphere was charged as the children waited with butterflies in their tummies for their turn to compete.I must say, I too find it nerve racking watching my children compete.



I just love watching the concentration on their faces as they go through their moves. K was up against 4 girls of her age with higher belts than her own. She did well, taking the third place and winning a bronze medal.



J on the other hand, was up against boys with not only higher belts, but the SA Champ and two others with Province colours!

Above, he and Logan compete. Logan has Province colours and is an upcoming SA Champ!

J did well, coming in third place with a bronze medal. The SA champ won and Logan came in second. I look forward to next Saturday when J goes for Western Province trials for Kata and Kumite!

Friday Wrap Up

Well, it is the end of yet another busy week. What a week it has been! I am grateful for the weekend, despite the fact that it will be very busy....

J has been making progress with his new curriculum and seems to be enjoying the challenge. His long time friend is walking the same road as him and they enjoy doing a lot of their work together. This week has seen me taking on the role of Afrikaans teacher as well as teaching a lesson on Life Science today. What fun we have had! These boys have such a great sense of humour! Between the laughs we are managing to get some work done.

As you can see, neither of them wanted to be photographed....a good photo to show at their 21sts!
We needed a microscope for this lesson. It is something neither family owns at this stage. I recalled my sister had borrowed one from the doctor who delivered all my children and hers some years ago. One quick phone call was all it took, and he kindly agreed to allow us use of his microscope for as long as we need it. What a blessing!
The boys enjoyed the hands on experience with the microscope and it made such a difference to the lesson. I cannot imagine trying teach this lesson about the parts and their functions without the microscope being there. We need glass slides to examine specimens and they did not come with the microscope. I called the pharmacy to see if we could order some but apparently all the wholesalers are out of stock. I proceeded to call the local pathology lab and explained that we needed a couple of slides for our lessons. I was bowled over when the lady told me I could come in and collect some free of charge! She gave me a whole box full as well as the slip covers for wet specimens. We sure will have more fun when we get to use the microscope next week!

The younger two have been enjoying our Zoology studies. My little scientist thrives on the hands on and experiments. He so enjoyed this experiment that proved that cold water is heavier than hot water and therefore sinks.

This afternoon, before dashing off to K's drama class, we had a welcome break at the Barnyard. The children enjoyed the free open spaces and all the animals as well as delicious milkshakes.



This evening we had a fun evening out with hubby's parents and the daughter of one of his cousins from Holland. It was lovely to meet her. She is studying to be an actress and as K has been chosen for a fairly big role in the performance her drama school is going to put on, they had a lots to talk about!