Baboons

Only in Africa....

Driving home from school last week, we met a troop of baboons on the road.  Only about 1km from our front door - the Tokai troop.  Considering we live in Tokai it's to be expected, but it is still quite awesome to see!

One of the baboon watchers chasing them back into the forest.

BIG boy under a tree.

BIG boy IN the tree!

On the side of the road.

Fan Walk on the way to Germany Argentina

After our very packed train trip to Cape Town stadium, we then did the Fan Walk in FULL force!  I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place with only one thing on their minds... GEES!

Walking out of the station and heading up the Fan Walk.

Now that's what you call a Vuvuzela!!!

Heading further up the fan walk, I was snapping pics aimlessly!  Only when Roland yelled at me did I realise my cousins Andrew and Alistair were right in front of us.  I took this pic before realising they were there - yet they were the focus of the shot!

Lots of people.

African drummers, just one of the "acts" we saw along the way.

Heading up one of the bridges.

And further up the bridge... just couldn't stop because the marshals were screaming at us to keep walking!

From the top of the bridge heading forward.

The last big group before hitting the stadium.

2010 Soccer World Cup - Germany v Argentina

The 2010 soccer world cup was one of the most amazing events I have ever experienced.  These pictures are from yet another amazing moment in that incredible month... heading off to Germany versus Argentina at the Cape Town stadium.


Everything throughout the tournament was FIFA regulated, including the hotels where the teams stayed.  They used only 2 hotels, with one team at each, through the month.  The first hotel is the Vineyard, in the suburb of Newlands, and the second, the Newlands Sun.


Roland's offices are in the building next to the Newlands Sun.  So after parking there and walking to the station to catch the train into town, we passed the German team getting onto the bus to the match.


I did try to take an earlier photo at the back gate, but the cops came running!  My dear husband in all his wisdom says to this female officer "She's like the paparazzi isn't she, maybe you should arrest her"!  Luckily the woman liked his charm and told me to go around the corner!!!

Cop car with the German team bus in the background.

 Players packing their bags into the bus.

I made the guys wait down the road so we could see the team bus drive off.

We did the train trip into town with thousands of others.  And believe me it was THOUSANDS!!!  This was getting off the train at Cape Town station. HECTIC!!! Like London tube rush hour!!!

My BEAUTIFUL Meg

Not only was I blessed with triplets, but 2 years before they came into my life I was given the blessing of a beautiful angel called Megan.  She is an amazing little girl and I cherish every day I get to spend with her.  Megan turned 8 on July 6th and I cannot believe that my baby isn't such a baby any more.  Megs I love you, you are such a blessing to me.

WOW I'm 8

Andrea (our fantastic au pair) organised a surprise "family" party for Megs.  Meg had her party in May - due to the soccer world cup and a long winter holiday.  But after Meg and I went shopping on the morning of her birthday, we came home to an allergy free party and a cake Megs could eat!

Oh so pleased with Andrea's cake that (for once) I could eat! 

We went to the Spur for supper and one of Meg's great friends Julia came with us.

They brought me a sparkler and everyone sang to me.

Cake at Home

After our divine lunch, we headed home to have (sorry to say but it was store bought) cake and let the family join us in celebrating 6 years of my 3 beautiful triplets.

Opening presents from grandpa before the cake lighting began!

Dad came home early, specially to light the 18 candles.

What a lot of fire!

Lights out!

And my beautiful Meg was there too.

Triplets Birthday Lunch at Cafe Roux

As I mentioned in a previous post, Andrea and I took the triplets (AKA Oliver Cameron and Hannah) to Cafe Roux for lunch on their birthday.  I'm posting this only a month too late, but it was such a lovely afternoon!

They all had on birthday badges so the staff obviously realised it was the big day and brought them the HUGEST piece of chocolate cake to share.  How the devoured it (in about 43 seconds) was quite embarrassing, but they LOVED it!!!

The cake... Once the sparklers were finished and before the cake devastation began!

No one can tell me the trips don't like cake!!!

Welcome to Holland

I have good days and bad days, as does every other parent.  What I struggle with the most is having a "special needs" child - that isn't really special needs.  When most people meet Hannah, they see a happy "normal" 6 year old little girl.  But in reality she is a special needs child.

Hannah is a childhood stroke survivor.  Yes, she had a stroke - on the day she was born. Nobody I know believes that kids can have strokes, but sadly it is a reality.  And something that I want everyone in the world to know about.  Kids have strokes, babies have strokes - and even unborn babies have strokes.

Hannah is one of the lucky ones.  She is a true stroke survivor.  But in my daily life, I didn't plan to have a special needs child.  I planned on visiting Italy, not going to Holland.  But being in Holland is the best gift that God has given me.

Welcome to Holland was written by Emily Perl Kingsley, and the passage below is her copyright.  She is the proud mum of Jason Kingsley, a beautiful boy that was born with Downs syndrome in 1974.

When you are going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make all your wonderful plans: the Coliseum, Michelangelo's David, the gondolas in Venice.  You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane lands.  The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland ?!?"  you say.  "What do you mean Holland?  I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy"

But there has been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.

So you go out and buy new guide books.  And you learn a whole new language.  And you meet a whole group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you've been there awhile and you catch your breath, you look around and begin to notice Holland has windmills- and Holland has tulips.  Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone one you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they are all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go.  That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, and very lovely things about Holland.