Promised photos

These are photos from the end of March....

We have barbets that come visit and sing around our house. Last year it looked like they were nesting in our garden... and this year I got to catch them on camera. The family of three black collared barbets in the tree, as well as showing you the nest (bottom left corner)

The Wednesday before Aaron's school closed we went to Allie's ice skating party.... her birthday was actually in January and this was technically her b rother's birthday party, but her mom decided that she could have some friend too.... so here's pics of Aaron skating as well as Aaron and Allie playing on a cell phone (one of the dad's)

On Saturday 28th March it was Sebastian's birthday. Aaron and Sebastian went to Play Group together when they were 2... so this is a long standing yearly arrangement now that they are at different schools. Anyway, Sebastian's birthday was a "camp out" theme. A guy came and did all sorts of camping activities with the boys.

Build a tent and not get wet when a bucket of water is thrown over.

Make a water filter and see which team's one works the best

Make a fire using a flint ... a bit easier than on Survivor, but still a lot of hard work.... a fire was eventualy made!

Then the boys got to do a typical boy thing.... water fights! They filled syringes with water and squirted each other.... some kids got VERY soaked.

Then as a special treat the guy brought out the paintball gun and each boy got a turn to shoot the target before Sebastian got to empty the barrel.... he ended up demolishing the target!

After a quick swim, some hotdogs for lunch it was on to birthday cake, a welltimed visit by a passing icecream truck got each kid an icecream, then it was present time.

And as a special treat, Sebastian's dad loaded all the children into the back of his bakkie for a trip to the river just behind their house.... the boys loved playing in the river and causing havoc before going home.

Aaron didn't want to leave and so we ended up staying till nearly 6 o'clock. On the way home from the party there was the most awesome sunset.

I think that is all the promised photos... next post will be about our Cape Town trip.

We are back...

We've arrived safely back from Cape Town... left Aaron with my folks for the week... so I get some peace and quiet... hehehe.

I've downloaded my photos from the camera (all 270 of them!) and will now begin the task of collaging them ready to blog... so patience... they are on their way....

Going away...

I've got tons to share with you but no time to do it.... I've got to go do my ironing and then pack our suitcases for our trip to Cape Town. We fly tomorrow morning and don't get back till late on Saturday... will post on Sunday (hopefully)... and then it will have to be two weeks worth of photos.

I need to share with you the following:
1. Daniel's bday party last Saturday
2. Allie's bday party at the ice rink on Wednesday
3. Sebastian's bday party yesterday
4. The sunset on the way home from yesterday's party (awesome!)

and then of course it will also be our Cape Town pics.... so brace yourself for LOTS of photos next week.

Till then, happy happy to all and keep scrapping/blogging.

ps... happy birthday Helen for today... hope it's an awesome day all round

Doing my bit...

I've been hearing about it on the radio , then read about it on one my my blog subs, so after following a link to the website I have signed up for EARTH HOUR..... so why not do your bit for the world too... and go sign up.... all it takes is one hour of darkness on Saturday night at 8:30pm... your local time!

Blog party for Jacki

My most awesome blog friend Jacki is having a blog party... so please go check her out and leave a comment (you might just win something too!).

Layouts from Saturday

Well as mentioned in my early post, I scrapped with my friends on Saturday... it was Judi, Gayle, Charmaine & I. We had a great time at Charmaine's house... even with my yucky tummy! And I managed to scrap two half decent pages....

I should really have scrapped a third as I ended up sitting around for nearly an hour doing nothing, but I think by then I was just out of it! Will have to do some more scrapping this week just to make up for it all.

More busyness.....

Wow another busy weekend behind us... but it actually started on Friday already....

Friday saw Aaron VERY excited as it was his day to wear civies to school, get called up in assembly and be presented with his certificate for getting 10 merits... well done my boy. Also he had gotten a second trophy award last week for being well behaved on the reading carpet... only got to take that photo on Friday morning.

While I was in assembly taking the photos (like any good scrapbooking mom!) the heavens opened! It came down in absolute buckets along with a few bits of hail. So when it was now time to leave I got a bit wet... a bit? understatement... I got soaked! My feet were sopping squeltchy wet... yuck!

Drove to work and the sky was the weirdest thing... pitch dark rain clouds ahead and brilliant blue sky and sunshine behind. Well I had no sooner got to work when school phoned to say Aaron wasn't feeling well.. so dropped everything and rushed off to fetch him... sore tummy. A bug has been doing the rounds of school so reckon it was now our turn. Once home I took these photos outside our backdoor... looking north there is just clouds and looking south, blue sky and sunshine!

Aaron spent most of the day on the couch either watching dvds or sleeping. And by the end of the day, I had it! Not nice.

We were both in bed and asleep just after 8pm. Thankfully by the time Aaron woke on Saturday morning he was fine... I still felt very crampy and not at my best, but Aaron had a birthday party to go to so I took him to that, took some pics and just chilled.

The party was such fun for the boys.... road bikes, skateboards or scooters around the school parking lot; decorated their own party packs and then had a treasure hunt to fill them.

The rest of my Saturday was spent scrapping... will upload those pics in the next post. Sunday my dear friend Theresa (who needs to blog more!) came for lunch and for us to say a fond farewell... she leaves with her kids for New Zealand early in April... boo hoo.

And that dear friends in a nutshell was our weekend. Report on my tummy... still there but definately improving. Aaron seems no worse for it all!

This will make you feel special...

Received my latest installment of "Catch of the Day" and this is what it said:

God's tattoos
by John Fischer

Not in the sky, because the sky is too high
Not in the clouds, because the clouds can't hold you
Not on a stone, for a stone is too cold
Not on silver or gold, lest anyone think you could be sold
Not in a book, because a book could be lost

But on the palms of His hands
On the flesh
Where you can't be lost, sold or forgotten
On the flesh
Where He sees you all the time
On the flesh
Where the pain was measured out in love
On the flesh
In the warm skin of the Savior

There you are…
Permanent
Indelible
Part of…

Engraved
Cut into
Scarred forever
As God's tattoos

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:16)

Been scrapping again

The banners that I was making are finished and hanging up in the church.... here's the proof:

I really enjoyed making these.... they are half the size of the ones I normally make and I didn't sew as much on them.... mainly just glued and then painted around the lettering with white fabric paint liner... much easier! Now must start thinking about Easter ones I guess.

And now and then inbetween all my other stuff I do also get to scrap.... here's the layout I did over a week ago

And last Saturday I went with my friend Judi to Scrapbook N Things' scrap day at Al Fresco. We had a great time.... here is one of the two layouts that we did that I have now finally finished.

The little red square is actually a maze book that opens up to show more photos, quotes and journaling.

Now off to finish the other page and then also plan some more pages from scrapping on Saturday when "the girls" are getting together again.

Thought for today...

Got this one in a newsletter and thought it was definately worth keeping:

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." ~Oprah

Now that would also look perfect on a scrap layout... adding it to my archives of stuff.