Howdy Partners...

Evan's party was a rootin tootin good time!... the weather was kind of drizzly and cool but that didn't stop the fun! There was a jumpy castle and a pony. Lots of food and fun. Can't believe my baby is 5! Wow it has gone by so fast!!

The Cowboy Cake...yes I made it... don't seem so surprised :)




Awaiting the pony....


Evan on the Pony -- He wouldn't wear the hat!


Party Fun.....






Ready for another year....

Evan is 5!!!!

Happy Birthday Evan!! Evan is 5 years old today. It seems like it was just yesterday.. the years have flown by. Of course, there will be multiple celebrations..He celebrated at school this morning, he wanted to take in chocolate covered donuts instead of cupcakes. Then tonight we will have a special dinner and more donuts along with the opening of presents and then on Saturday we will have his big Cowboy birthday party with his friends. Here are a couple of photos from school...

Evan with his teacher - Madelyn


Blowing out the candles on his donut and his class.


More to come on the big man's birthday celebrations.....

Whales, Whales, Whales

And no I am not talking about me on the beach :)

We went to the town of Hermanus (about an hour from Cape Town) for the weekend. They have an annual Whale festival. The humpback whales come in very close to land on their journey this time every year (I think it is for them to have their babies) The Hermanus area is the best land based spots for whale watching. We didn't set foot on a boat and saw about 20 whales! We stayed in a house in a small area outside of Hermanus called Vermont. Our "family" the McCarty's went along for the fun as well. Our house was very close to the water and we were able to spot a few whales from the back patio. We explored the city, checked out the craft stalls during the festival and had some great meals. We also took a day from the long weekend and headed into the winelands for some great wine. It was a great weekend! The boys absolutely loved the whales.

Hermanus...


Kids..


The Crier - He blows the horn when a whale is spotted.


Two whales together... very close to the shore

A whale jumping out of the water

The tail...


Festival


Kids watching the whales...


Views from our house...



The crew...


What a wonderful weekend with friends!! Can't wait for the next :)

One of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World...

Victoria Falls ... It was a unplanned vacation (due to a little visa issue) But we made the most of the weekend away and flew off to Livingstone, Zambia to see the Falls. The Falls border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. They were amazing even though it is the dry season.. I can't imagine them in the rainy season! We went on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, we saw hippo and elephant along the way. We also took a game drive in the national park and visited the crocodile park. In between we hung out at the resort pool and drank a few cocktails! I even had a visitor at poolside. A baboon wondered into the area and stopped right in front of my chair to check what I was doing... a little too close! An Amazing experience! Enjoy the photos... it just doesn't do justice to the site!

Victoria Falls.... Breathtaking!








The photo is dark but this is a zebra right outside our hotel room. Since it is part of the national park the animals just roam. We saw lots of monkeys, baboons and giraffe.


Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River....



Hippo in the river.. We also saw a couple herds of Elephants along the river as well.


Boys swimming in the pool...


Aiden hanging out with the welcome crew.


Crocodile Park... lots of huge crocs! But learned alot about them.

Believe it or not .. this croc is already a year old! So cute when they are this small.

Splash!

Aiden was in his first Musical this week. The Private school he goes to now put on a production of Splash the Musical. It is about Noah's Ark and a Parrot that needs to get all the animals on the boat...the parrot ends up having to tell everyone they won tickets to a luxury cruise to get them on board. It was very cute and funny! Aiden was a lemming...he is with a group and they essentially just run across the stage a few times. But he loved it and had a good time being on stage. Just in case you don't know what a lemming is..(I didn't either!)



And here is Aiden in his costume... They are very cute as a group.




I was so impressed with the talent and the show. They did 1 dress rehearsal with an audience and 4 full shows. So proud!!

What's Up?

It has been awhile since my last update, so what is up?

The boys are back at school for the third term, so it is back to the routine of school, and all the other activities!

I have started a pottery class that I absolutely LOVE! I will be posting some of my creations soon.

Sadie is getting big and chewing.. I think we finally have the house training under control now just to work on the chewing and biting.

We took the boys to see High School Musical on stage and they loved it. They were really excited to get the autographs of the main characters :).

We have still been working on the house, getting everything organized and getting all the little things to finish it off. We will take some photos and post them soon.

We had a long weekend at the beginning of August and went back to Blanco guest farm...Yes I know we were just there a month ago, but we took some friends who have never been before. It was a great weekend! I think that kind of place would be a gold mine in the states! WONDERFUL!!!

Right after that weekend, Scott went away for a weekend golfing with the guys. He had a great time and came home tired and sun burnt!

I have been working on our trip home in December. We have our flights booked and working on the Disney trip now. And now am starting to plan Evan's 5th birthday party..yikes! Aiden is getting ready for his big musical debut. The school is putting on a Musical.. Aiden's class has very small parts (I don't even think Aiden says a word). That is coming up in Sept so stay tuned for pics! Scott & I are having a big "housewarming" adult party next weekend... fun will be had!

So lots going on .. and time is flying by! Stay tuned, you never know what we will get into next!


Boys riding horses at Blanco!


The group at the top of the mountain.. What a view!!


The boys with Sadie!

We welcome our new arrival.....

Evan finally got his dream fulfilled.... We got a puppy! Just picked her up today! We got an adorable 6 week old female yellow lab. She is so sweet and very playful. The kids love her! The name right now is Sadie... unless we seem to come up with anything else. Here are just a few of the first pics of bringing her home!

She is sooooo sweet!!



Going after Aiden's shoes

Cute picture except she moved so she is a little fuzzy...