Spring break!

We have Max @ home for the next little while over Spring break! See... evidently the cherry tree at Maxi's play school thinks it is Spring....I beg to differ though, the weather's still freezing!!

Although it is great having Max at home, I struggle to find him things to do. On Friday we went to a movie together....Open Season 2. Max loved it but I loved it MORE! I was one of about 10 adults in the cinema...& I was the only one laughing at the top of my voice. It really tickled my funny bone....& was highly entertaining. OK I admit it I am a slap-stick kinda gal, so this movie was right up my alley.

The weekend was incredibly 'non'... we didn't do anything much, other than act as referee between Cas & Max...I ask you?...She is 10 & he is 4....what on earth could be that important, that requires squabbling over to sort out.

Admittedly he was trouble on two legs tho'....as you can clearly see here by the look on his cheeky face, he was impersonating the...

" Pharoh of Egypt....that means I am the King....and
I want juice now!!!"

The two of them got SO irritating, that at the first hint of sunshine we headed to Slangkop beach in Kommetjie, to get some fresh air & a good dose of vitamin D.

Our neighbor, Taylor, came along too...she & Cas are best buddies. It will be a very sad day when they climb onto the aeroplane in 2 months time & we have to wave them goodbye. They like 1000's of others, are ducking out of SA while they still can & heading for a new life in Australia.

We had a great time there...collecting shells & bits of broken beach glass that were washed up onto the sand. With the massive storms that have been buffeting our coast line, all sorts of treasures have been thrown up onto the beaches. Max true to form, created an awesome beach art sculpture, using everything he could lay his hands on. It was beautiful and people stopped & commented, which thrilled Max, being the social cat he is...he LOVED it!!

The girls who are at that weird tween stage..."couldn't be seen dead doll!!" without large sunnies & handbags. Although it didn't take long before all the accessories forgotten, discarded & dumped with me to 'guard' while they went climbing on the rocks....girls!!

I did catch this SUPER cute moment on camera, which made up for all their squabbling earlier...obviously their wrath was short lived.....good for them, even better for the frazzled parents :o)

Thanks to my trusty tripod, I was able to get this shot....family shots are all to few in my albums, so it will be great to have a new one.

Well guys that's all for now. I promise I will try & blog more often...I am just down right lazy!!
So have a good one.
Over & out...KJ XXX

Heritage Day!

It is a public holiday here in SA....no work...no nuffinc...just a day to sloth around in our PJ's, drinking copious amounts of Hawaiian coffee (Thnx Joscie), trying to keep the mini Watson entertained. To make matters REALLY challenging is is raining-again-Bob!! I am so irritated with all the rain, sog, mud...& profusion of weeds in our lawn as a result of it. It means no outside walks...no bike rides...just our 4 walls...bleuh!!

To make matters worse...Hunnie is working....he has a million deadlines looming...& the pressure is on, so no rest for the brilliant designer I am afraid....sorry babes....(text me when you want tea :o) {I know he reads my blog}

Thankfully the Leappad is back....Max LOVES it...& it has kept him occupied for hours.....well in total anyhow. In between he has played cars, had endless chats to his snail buddy, Liam (his new pet in a jar) & now he is watching the Incredibles on DVD. Oh-boy...talk about a hard one...I am running out of things that he wants to do. Oh were is Spring???

He did at one stage, decide it was time for more art in our house...."to make things look pretty were his words"....take a peek at the latest sculpture :o)

Well now that I have bored you silly with pic's of my kid I will spare you & show you one I took this am....I love eating oranges....I have done ever since I was a kid....so whenever they are in season..we have a ton of them in the house. There was something about them in the wooden bowl, against the leather couch that make me hesitate & grab my camera....I think (if I remember correctly) that moment is what Stacy Julian calls 'an arresting moment'. A moment that stops you in your tracks & allows you to appreciate the creativity of that one moment...to quote her:

" I don't believe in perfect days, but I do believe in perfect moments."

So try & find at least one of those moments in the humdrum of dishes, pots, picking up & noise...they are there, you just have to look.
KJ
XXX

We got around!

We really got around this weekend....so much so that we were hardly home....unusual for the Watson's :o)

Friday saw Max at his buddy Tristan's birthday! Fun was had by all running themselves ragged around the forest, with water bomb balloons, races & hunt for the present. Oh the joy of being 4!!

The obvious highlight was searching for unpopped paint balls in the undergrowth...then squeezing the paint all over each other :o)

We got home to Cass having arrived...Max was over the moon as usual to see his sister....he thinks she is the BEST thing since sliced bread....so our jaunt to the beach on Saturday, whilst there was a lull in the torrential rain, was great! We ate snacks & enjoyed the sun on our faces....even though the stench of rotting kelp was gag-city! The leap tides have washed huge piles of the gross stuff onto the boardwalk. Yuck...it has got to be my all time worst smell!! It didn't seem to faze the kids & they had a blast at the play park there.

Sunday saw the beginning of the downpours again...so we headed into the city to the museum & planetarium for the afternoon.

The grouch in the front protested audibly that he was sick of me & my camera~ hahahaha! Get used to it buddy I said....living with a scrapbooker has it's challenges (I don't know if he quite got it though) :o)
The whale pit was amazingly well done....made up for the rest which was super boring & smelt of mothballs!

Sandwiches in the park put a smile on his dial in a flash!
(About 2 minutes after this pic was taken, the heavens opened and we had to sprint for the museum again!)

I wanted to leave you with one of Maxi's sculptures. He does this sort of thing all the time. He finds a variety of things around the house & piles, pokes, balances & coxes them into shape...and they have to be just right. Once he is happy he calls he to look at his newest "Artwork" (his word). Most of the time he says he built it for me because I am so special! Can't beat a reason like that, can ya??? Certainly pulls on my heart strings :o)

Well that's all guys! I am going to try & get some sleep...I am bushed from coughing all of last night...yip! I have that awful flu again!
Anyhow....
Have a goodie!
Chat soon.
KJ
XXX

Celebrate!

It was our 6th anniversary on Wednesday! Yes...6 years of wedded bliss...with a cherry on top. Don't get me wrong we have our fair share of hurdles, but we have gotten through them, I think because of a mutual decision we made right from the beginning . 'Never to go to bed angry with each other'... rather stay up as long as it takes to sort it out. That little rule had stood us in good stead & here we are today still very much in-love :o)

To celebrate. we got ourselves a baby sitter (yeehaaah!...this is a rare occurrence in the Watson household & we made the most of it). We headed out for good steak at a local restaurant & a movie.

The meal was outstanding...we even splashed & imbibed in a cider each...woohoo! Go Watson's!! As you can see from the pic...there was no pomp & ceremony, as soon as the babysitter arrived...I popped a sweater on...made sure nothing was stuck in my teeth & headed out. We didn't want to waste a single second.

Afterward we went to to see the Batman movie. Bleuh! what a let down. We, as serious marvel comic & sci-fi fans....thought it was a 'load of horses'...shame & to think that poor actor lost his life over the role he played in it....which was a great performance by the way, just so meaningless in the greater scheme of things. We got home around midnight & felt like kings!!

In honor of our special day, Maxi remembered that I loved lily's & picked me two from the pond at the end of our road....it touched me so much, sweet child. Seeing this pic of them reminded me of the day T & I eloped. I held lily's too that day.

A little walk down memory lane :o)

Our special day, done our way. We were ridiculously happy & cried alot hahaha! Not very flattering for the camera...'snot on the face' heehee! The very next morning, the 11th of September, we flew out to the London for our honeymoon, where T met my parents for the first time.

Good memories!

My passing thought guys, is that marriage is SO important. Through it, God uses our relationship with each other to smooth off our rough edges & teach us about love, forgiveness, compromise, selflessness & grace. He uses marriage to prepare us for life with Him one day. So protect it, cherish it & be ever vigilant to work at it because (the grass is NEVER greener on the other side) if you get my drift.

Enjoy your weekend.
*Hugs from way down south*
XXX

Not just a tall story.

OK so it wasn't just a rumour...we did in fact go away for the weekend & I did in fact catch a couple of large sweaty bass....it was the first time in 4 years that I have gotten some serious fishing time in....& it was worth the wait.

This was the tunnel of bamboo that lead to each of our cabins....with the green glow was so hard to photograph the kiddlets without them looking like they were ill :o)

One of my bass...check out the dorky look on my face.....mild hysteria hahaha! I'm crazeee I know. My brother looking ever the part of serious fisherman, was helping remove the lure from the fish's gizzard. He swallowed it so deep you'd think he hadn't seen food in a month....NOT!! Look how fat he is (the fish, not my brother heehee!)

OK so the rule is...carefully hold them...& SMOOch, then put back. Fish slime is a bugger to get off....needless to say Tersh stayed far away from me & my ripe aroma. (Not my most flattering pic is it....had I known the paparazzi were going to be there, I'd have dollied up a bit :o)

Dawn overlooking one of the dams....flip is was cold!!

Maxi getting his fishin' groove on....he was a natural....must be in the genes.

Cas patiently waiting for a bite...she really got into it, which is unusual for a little girl crazy about fashion, accessories, shoes & the latest hip hop band.

Tersh contemplating his life with this bunch of idiotic, smelly fisher people; whilst drinking in the amazing view over the vineyards. It was a great weekend...even if short & especially great to break the monotony of home life & be out in nature.

To change the subject a bit.....I got my August CK & in it was my Juicy Fruit L.O. They have their new Beta site up & running...you should pop over & take a look. Here's the link:
It is always so cool to see things in print.

This is a digi L.O I did last night. I was so itching for a scrappy fix & had hardly any time left before I hit the sack, so I whipped this up. It is using elements from a kit created by Michelle, as well as a mishmash of bits from all over the place. Sorry, I know I am supposed to give credit to whom credit is due...but I can't for the life of me remember who all the sources are. If & when I do I will mention them at a later stage.

Well I hope this made up for my bloggy absence?? I now have to go & give my guy my undivided attention....it is his birthday after all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Hunni...you are the best!!

Blog you soon.
KJ
XXXX

Last day!

My folks go back later today.....it has been so amazing having them with us...even if really short. We are going to miss them. So hopefully I will also be able to get back to blogging regularly too, especially now that I have some great photo's to share. At this stage I can't promise when that will be..hopefully by Saturday because it is my blokes B-Day tomorrow & I can't spoil the day by being glued to my laptop can I...somehow wouldn't be right heehee!

So chaio for now...chat later.
XX

Weekend pics!

Hiya everyone! This is a quick photo update of what we have been up to over the last couple of days, as you can clearly see; having our family around has been an absolute blast. We had an incredibly busy weekend before my Mum jetted of to Port Elizabeth to visit with her very ill sister and we really made the most of everyone being together.
SATURDAY~
My Mum...not your traditional Granny type....funky hair do, Gucci specs, designer jeans & a fiend on the trampoline. Max was in kiddie heaven.
My Pops got to fish again at a private dam near Stellenbosch....he caught a couple of huge, sweaty, bass(not that we doubted for a second that he wouldn't). His face is a picture of fisherman bliss, is it not????
Max.....went mud paddling with a border collie called Ruby....soon after this he stripped down to his skin....what is it about kids not feeling the cold, together with large quantities of mud??
Moi...caught on camera wielding a rod....caught nothing but a wet bum from the bank...but see the worry in my eye. I was fishing & that's all that mattered.
My brother Brian & Max shooting the breeze & swapping guy stories.
SUNDAY~

Mum left early for PE & Pops was with Brian, so we headed to Muizenberg beach with the kids. It was a perfect winters day....sunshine & not a breath of wind.

Tersh & the kiddlets looking adorable.

Cass posing in her new Hanna Montana kit all the way from the High Street in Southampton. She was in tween heaven & insisted on a full on photo shoot.

Another Watson family shot...Max only barely tolerates the camera, 1 second later he was off the wall & off down the beach hurling abuse at the Mamarazzi.

It is amazing to capture candid shots like this one that so clearly remind me of what the day was about. Everyone thinking their own thoughts, enjoying the sunshine & fresh air.
A family enjoying together time.

.

Cass & I horsing around.

Cas being a sweet nine year old, with her beautiful smile.

Maxi being the cutest mini heart breaker I know. I look at this picture & can imagine him at 15. Oh my cat....he is growing up so fast.
Well lovelies that is it.....I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my weekend.
Have a lovely day.
XXX

They've arrived.

This was the sunrise when we got to the airport this AM....a real Moses moment. From the cranes you can see just how much work is being done on our Cape Town airport, getting ready for the 2010 soccer world cup. Once we got to the correct terminal, we were greeted by TV camera's, African musicians & 100's of people.....Manchester United was on the same flight. What are the chances????

This is my brother & his lovely wife.

Reunion....happy faces all around.

Loads of luggage, all squashed into the boot of my car...if you were a fly on the roof of the car, you could have heard the whoops of joy from Max, welcoming his Grams & Pops 'home'.

Well guys nothing particularly riveting to report but cool just the same.
Family time ROCKS!!
XXX