FIVETRIBE

I am a good 10 posts behind from 2013 but I will start here, today and catch up in the future. Thankfully I have notes to remind me of all the many things we been involved in and will take one evening in the near future to put it all down. Today: Russ made a stellar breakfast for us all this morning. His last day of leave; he presented the idea that we look at Isaiah 43.19 as a family and use that as our verse for the year. We are each  facing a very challenging but exciting time ahead and these words seemed fitting. We had such an animated  discussion around what God meant and how we can apply it to our own lives as individuals. I am always amazed at how kids can grasp and apply scripture to their lives in a way that is always inspiring and fresh. We also discussed this quote: We spent a good 2 hours each writing out (and decorating) our thoughts and prayers relating to the verse and will put it up on the wall in some prominent place in our home. ...

We had a very special New Years Eve this year. We spent it quietly with my folks and the kids. We (okay, the guys) braai-ed and the girls lent a hand in the kitchen making dessert. I did some Pintrest prep beforehand and came armed with 'worksheets' and coloured pens for some interesting family activities later in the evening. Each one of us (kids included) filled out a sheet looking at how to set goals. We also looked back at 2013 highlighting our favorite memories, our sad moments and lessons we learnt. For 2014 we each chose a word, outlined our hopes and brainstormed personal, practical steps to ensure success in areas that are important to us. This is the first time we have ever done something like this.  Goals. Resolutions. Plans. All this jargon often attract criticism but We NEED goals. That is how we, personally,  are wired.  Once we had all completed our questionnaires/activity sheets we all took turns to read out our answers. There is ...

Madam faced her fears and did both her modern and tap exams today.  Wowzer, the nerves were off the hook as she has such high expectations of herself. I collected her from her tap exam to find her almost hysterical. She had forgotten some of her routine. She had had her routines down perfectly for months….but on the day her nerves let her down.  Thankfully she had about 2 hours to recover before facing the same examiner and performing her modern routines. She was more relaxed and enjoyed it far more this time around. Nerves beginning to kick in before tap exam The hair! I tried but thankfully there are more talented hair-lasses on hand to help me. Moments before her modern exam She loves the dance outfits! Experience is what is going to help this young lady cope with exam performance pressures. Her exam marks were not what she had hoped and certainly not reflective of her talent (her teachers words not mine!) but she passed and she gaine...

One week until our very first 'real road trip' experience. For the last two years my guys have flown up to PE for the Sevens Rugby International Tournament - they usually fly for a weekend. This year we have decided to go up as a family for the event but to build a holiday around it. In preparation for this I watched Groupon for accommodation specials in the areas we planned to visit and came upon some amazing deals. Our first stop is Sedgefield for 3 nights at Shearwater Resort. We love Sedgefield and this will be our second stay in the lovely little town. From there we head up to PE and arrive on the Friday and spend 4 nights at a lovely self-catering cottage (Abalone Place)  in Seaview which I found via SafariNow website. While in PE I plan to meet up with two of my blogging buddies; one of which I have never met before! From PE we continue up the coast to Grahamstown to spend 2 nights with wonderful friends of ours who relocated from Cape Town a few years a...

I have never felt settled in my decision to send Rachel back to school. I have wrestled, second-guessed, rationalized and agonized. Not normal for me. Today I had a chance encounter of a very fortuitous nature that changed the tide completely. I have subsequently ordered the curriculum and given official notice of her departure from school. A sample lesson sheet The sweetest thing was when I showed Rach the new Love2Learn curriculum - she took a look and said "This is the right study stuff for me because I truly do love to learn!"

my birthday dawned bright, still and hot! and in came my family,  singing with a bright,  hot cake which looked alarmingly  like it could set the world on fire! how is it that i am 41 already?  we headed down to our shark-infested beach upon hearing the nets were up - much jubilation as the kids were able to swim out far and enjoy some fabulous bodysurfing. The afternoon was spent chatting (and skyping my sis) and generally lolling in a carb coma after we all indulged in my moms spectacular mac n cheese followed by a monumental trifle - my all-time favorite meal and dessert! Evening was rounded out by a swim and a sunset walk around our estate. A superb day to remember.

A few weeks ago I decided I would host  a small garden party. *ahem*  Or shall we say a small cocktail party.  There was much excitement (friends) and google searching (me) about what exactly constitutes a cocktail and whether I should even entertain the thought of making my own. The google search answered my question. No. It really is just like cooking.  Except you drink the result instead of eating it. I wanted to feet up in the sun with my mates and enjoy pretty sundowners with even prettier people. I decided to chill the glasses early because 'apparently' cocktail glasses should be cold. (as a non-drinker I had to serious research on this event people!) I decided to also make a big jug of Pimms #1 - we decided this would be offered as a 'life-skills' module for Rachel. The art of the perfect Pimms. ;-)  Sadly we failed as the general consensus was that our concoction was WAY TO WEAK.  I am sticking with the...