Wait for me!

Adam, running to catch up with Zi and friends, riding/running in the forest, whilst out walking the dogz....

Ice Ice Baby?

X, enjoying an early morning romp in the snow, at home in Jozi, where some people awoke to snow in their gardens....brrrrrrrrilliant stuff!

Inspiration ?

I read the following quote in a newsletter today, and felt like sharing....

Now is the only time there is.
Make your now WOW, your minutes MIRACLES, and your days PAY.

Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference.

- Mark Victor Hansen

Snow in JOZI !

Can you believe this? ! What funny weather we're having....:)

On yer Bike!

We finally took delivery of our new mountain bikes this week, and the entire family is excited about the prospect of outdoorsy excercise....

H was SO inspired, that she tried to cycle TO WORK yesterday morning !!! Though she only lasted a few minutes this time, I'm sure she'll go longer next time.....


The bikes are Silverback Alpines and are fab! Bring on the events !!!

Like a star

Adam, tickled pink with his sparkler-infused waffle and ice-cream at Milky Lane

Last night, the little one became attached to his elephant sleeping bag, and fell asleep in it, on the study floor....a sign of things to come?

Gateway GP

We made a last-minute trip down to Gateway, Durban, to visit with Sista Sue and the Python, who was fighting in this year's Brazilian JuJitsu competition there.

It was good to see the famdamily, even though it was for a short time.

Aziz and Adam enjoyed racing around on these carts, set up in the area in front of the climbing wall....

Weekend with Zac

Adam, wearing my new helmet - he's getting very used to the idea of wearing head protection for riding....he didn't want to take it off before going to bed!

A more comfy fit? Cycling helmet, that Craig donated - nice and light, and Adam is wearing it for longer and longer spells....I smell another quad purchase, soon!


I think this smile expresses Zac's weekend in Kwambo - we all had great fun - quad riding, playstationing, movies, the beach, fooding....

H + the boyz, at the beach near Pelican Island, Richards Bay, with a tubful of chicken drumsticks, which is fast becoming a family favourite!

Mother's Day at Mes ami Manna + other stuff

With Dillo and Sue in Durbs for the weekend, it was great to be able to hook up for a Mother's Day brekkie at the kidz-a-riffic Mes ami Manna in Chelmsford Road. (see pictures alongside)

Dillo was dressed to go to a friend's wedding, hence the monkey suit....


Zi and Adam had great fun in the play area, but Adam did implode later in the morning....


Zi often talks about Sue, and is almost always ready to chat to her on the phone whenever she calls....


In other news, both Hannah and Sofia have now been sterilized, and Pongo potentially has a left-ventricular murmur!!!
Hannah is much more comfortable on her hind legs now - she had suffered a pelvic fracture last month, when she escaped from the load bin of the bakkie, while we were driving back from the kennels after H's birthday party!

Zac has finally committed to visiting Kwambo for a weekend, and we have a few activities planned, including a quad outride - watch this space for photos and details after next Sunday...

Went to the beach today once H returned from her overnight call at the hospital, and then to the movies to watch The Reef, which was enjoyable, but not as much as the breakdancing display Adam treated us to just before the trailers.....

30-something Party for H

The house was looking great, as was the birthday girrl, and we all had a great time, with a fine dining experience, coupled with a cocktail bar and a murder mystery theme in which I turned out to be the murderer of gang lord Fu Manchuria.....

Check out the flickr link to the left for more pics from a very successful evening.

Check out this link for more Murder Mystery ideas....watch this space for feedback from our next attempted murder!

Ma in the house!

Yup, Ma Stoltenkamp is back in SA, and visiting with us in Kwambo - she is enjoying spending time with the kids, but is likely to return down under, before long...

Easter antics

Check out these hot cross buns that H made for Easter....

The boys, scribbling away at Green with Envy in Vause Road

Getting snuggly, in their new elephant sleeping bags, brought all the way from down under, by Ma Stoltenkamp

Kwambonites visit uShaka

Zi has been so interested in sharks lately, and he was delighted to be able to come up close and personal at the uShaka aquarium...


This potato bass was HUGE! Nearly as large as the ragged-tooth sharks he was sharing a tank with !



This slide was REALLY high, but the boys were fearless! Adam even made a rogue last slide all on his own!

The mechanical bull was a hit!

There was NO way that Adam was being left out of this fun !

Some bad news

Adam was diagnosed with asthma, last week....we have to give him horrid medication and a pump, daily....He takes it like a trooper, but it's heartbbreaking.....

Cavallino Rampante !

Yip, that's a real live Ferrari F40, part of the display in the forecourt of the Crown Towers Hotel and Casino Complex, Melbourne, commerating 60 years of Ferrari, during the build-up to the opening Grand Prix of the 2007-08 season.

I spent 3 days + 4 nights in Melbourne on my very first trip to Oz, but only got to explore the city after sundown....still, I got around, and got a fair sampling of what this great city has to offer.

March in Melbourne is a busy month, with loads of shows and expos, the GP, and for 2007, the city played host to the FINA World Swimming championships. Though I didn't get to attend any of these events, I got the impression that Melbournians are quite proud of their hometown, and believe they can handle anything the world throws at them.

Cavallino Rampante is Italian for : Prancing Horse, which is the emblem used by Ferrari....

Monster House Fun!

Check out Aziz in Monster House!

Weekend away

We had a fantastic weekend away in Ntumeni, just outside eShowe.

It was really peaceful, and outdoorsy - had a little dam, with a row boat and a foofy slide! We are now ready for our own fishing rods....

Clubhouse had a pool, and TV and meals and a pub with friendly staff and friendlier locals....

The boys had a grand time, falling asleep dog-tired each night!

Warplanes,Tanks, Guns, oh my!

Adam, leading the charge into the WWII airplane display area, where they had fun checking out the Hurricanes, Messerschmidts and Spitfires....
The signs all said : "Please do not touch or climb onto the exhibits"....yeah, right!

The guys, checking out some big guns....

What a tussle between them, all trying to turn the wheel in different directions !

Centurion tank - and, as one dad said: if these tanks can be damaged by a few modern-day 5 year old boys, they surely would not have won the war....

These pics were all taken at the SA National Museum of Military History, where the boys had loads of fun. We had a little picnic of choc-chip muffins, peanut butter sarmies and juices under a tree, with Granpa Peter helping out.

Though Aziz and Nico did a disappearing act which gave the adults a tad bit of stress, the morning was a great success.

X-Man turns 1 !

Hey ! It's Xave's first birthday this month! We'll be trying to go up to Jozi to join in the celebrations....watch this space!

Home Hotspot

I got my home wireless LAN working at last ! We now have 2 laptops 1 desktop and a printer connected to the network and it is SOOO sweet !

Thanks to Joffry for all his help and patience and perserverance !

Equipment :
Netgear 54 MBit/s wireless access point
D-Link 8-port desktop switch
Gigaset USB stick 108 - to enable H's laptop to connect wirelessly
Cables
Cable connectors

Joffer also introduced me to Tribal Wars, and for that I curse him !!!

Next networking project is to connect the PS2 and the XBOX 360 to the LAN, and also to the home theater....