Heath family happenings....

On the 17th July, Jenna, Kayla & Erin turned six years old. This weekend was the Princess & Dress-up party. So all the young girls were so excited to dress in their beautiful dresses and feel really special. The weather was quite chilly, but this did not faze any of these little ladies. Good old fashioned party games were played – pass the parcel & musical chairs. Delicious Princess & chocolate cake was enjoyed. Pirates chased princesses. Brides and rugby players alike ran wild towards the end of the occasion! All in all, the kids had much fun.
Happy Birthday to Bryan Heath too.

My friend(bridesmaid) Moira arrived home from the U.K. and popped in to say hello before heading home to the family farm in Maclear. She has been travelling around the world extensively for the last few months, until her dad became ill. We hope to visit the farm soon and introduce Lauren to some good old farm style living. Moira wants Lauren and me to go horse-riding with her. Seeing all the cows, horses, sheep, hens & pigs up close and personal will be so great.

We are going to visit Hudson Park primary school this week to apply for Lauren to attend. We have already sent application forms to Clarendon school (all girls), which Dean prefers.

Dean bought Lauren a Kids computer to help her along with numbers and letters etc. She really enjoys the games and wants to take it along wherever we go. She has mastered the mouse function which is a good for future computer practise. Children have to be academically more advanced than we were, to keep up with the fast pace of this advancing world. I agree you should not push your child, but exposing them to a little information technology can assist in development.
There are some Playschools in EL that have computer lessons for 3 year olds once a week.
In the song: What a wonderful world, Louis Armstrong sings: I hear babies cry, I see them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Next week we plan to visit the Ballet – Sleeping Beauty. My friend Dee (retired work friend) has arranged it all, as her grand-daughter will be dancing in the play. Lauren is really looking forward to the show. Maybe her long term memory will start to kick-in and she will start remembering these special occasions for the rest of her life.

Lance and Allison leave for Canada on Sunday. Allison’s brother lives there with his wife and two children. We will go to the airport to say goodbye and wish them well and give them a shopping list or two. They will be away until the 4 September ’07. Their dachshunds, Tinka & Gaza will stay with granny Penny for a while.

Want hierdie is a 'n blog vanuit Suid Afrika, ek will a bietjie Afrikaans skryf. Ek kyk 7de Laan amper elke aand en my dogter kyk saam partykeer. Ek moet baie dinge verduidelik, maar ek maak my eie storie op partykeer ook, om haar te ‘beskerm’. Sy kan 'n bietjie Afrikaans ook praat. Sy se die worde “7de Laan” en sy se “Jou ster skitter nog helder” – nog 'n Afrikaans program wat sy gesien het. Ek se nogal baie vir haar, wanneer sy meer lekkers wil he : “More is nog a dag” en sy weet wat dit beteken. Geniet jou week, tot later almal.
Totsiens

Ballet, birthdays, braai & brightness......

The weather was really lovely this weekend. Cool, but no wind and plenty of sunshine…. the average EL winters day.

Lauren was practising some ballet in a princess dress. Her dance classes start again on Monday at Playschool. (school holidays have ended) Lauren’s playschool doesn’t close during school holidays, but the extra activity classes do. Dancing is probably not something that will be pursued outside school, it is just a fun activity at playschool. Maybe we will look into horse riding when she starts ‘big’ school.
Dean and I are investigating ‘big schools’ this week. Apparently you have to enrol your child just out of nappies!?....we’re late.

We celebrated Allison’s birthday last weekend. Her birthday is the 7 July. We gathered together and had some tea and delicious cake and eats. This weekend there was a Sunday braai for Lance and my Mom, who have their birthdays on the 17 July. On the menu was garlic bread, potato salad, green salad and I made a curried rice & raisin salad. Malva pudding with ice-cream was served for desert! …Mmmm seems to be our favourite at the moment. There was also Blueberry Tofu ice-cream for Lauren.
Lauren enjoyed interacting with Tinka(L & A’s one dachshund) and mom(me) allowed her to hug her and hold her. (normally not a good idea because of her eczema)
Lauren was not keen to leave Lance & Alli’s house, so we will let her spend a day with them again soon.

Dean installed a sensor light outside the garage. When he is out of town on business and the sun sets at +-17h45 in winter, it is not much fun when Lauren and I arrive home and have to cope by ourselves in the dark. The light seems to be working perfectly.

Well, we are officially half way through winter. 1 September is Spring.
I tried out a Power Plate machine last week and it seems like a good piece of ‘gym equipment’. It is perfect for those(me) who want quick results, with not too much effort. (http//uk.powerplate.com/EN/)

Well another week ahead of us…….. until next time.

Waiting for the weekend........

I have just decided that I would like my dear husband (and daughter) to give me a deck chair for my birthday on the 3rd August '07. I would like to lie on the balcony in the winter sun in the afternoons and relax... mmmm.... this seem like a good idea. The weekend is ahead of us and I am popping to the shops and then heading home. Will post the weekend happenings on Monday. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Whereabouts on the weekend 1 July

The weather was really cold this weekend -14 degrees with a bit of a chill factor. The wind felt like it was coming off the snow-capped mountains.

Friday night we relaxed at home and Dean’s friend Ian came to visit.

Next morning, Lauren and I went off to church. Then we visited Bryan and Terri and little Caleb and Lauren enjoyed holding him and had some bonding time. Lance and Allison visited for games and Malva pudding on Saturday night.

We were up early on Sunday morning and dressed in boots, warm clothes and heavy jackets to go to movies with Lauren and cousins to see Shrek III. After movies, Lauren wanted to do one of her favourite things – riding on Mr Elephant and the white horse.

My parents arrived back in EL from the Birdshow on Sunday at 16h00.
Mother managed to beat the road statistics and elements, travelling back
8 hours from Oudhshoorn. When they left EL on Wednesday, they stopped over in PE for the night. Dad’s birds did not come home with any accolades or trophies. In a way, mom is relieved that she doesn’t have another Ostrich egg hanging around the house for years (The winner's received egg trophies). They met up with Dad’s cousin, Glenna and went out to dinner on Saturday night to catch up on old times.

Glad to have everyone back at home. All support systems will be back to normal. (thanks mom x) (& Dean)

Graduation

Grandpa George Heath and Granny Helen graduated with BA in religion at the end of June '07. Congratulations and well done.

Happy Fathers Day

Dean - You are a Super-star dad. Lauren loves you and wants to spend every second of her day with you. I know you love her more than life itself. Thanks for being such a wonderful father.

Happy Father’s Day to my dear Dad / Grandpa S Rowan
As you have loved me, so have I loved you,
Pleased to tell you, now that words are due,
Pleased to have this chance to make you glad.

My dad has always been there for me, always guiding and approving or disapproving. Always a

helping hand when I needed him. Thanks dad for being steadfast and always there for your family. We are so thankful to God that you are improving every day after you suffered your stroke in January 2006. Most days seem dark because you cannot see, but I know Lauren lights up your life and you love her so very much. You are a special part of her life and she enjoys spending time with you.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Father’s Day to Dad / Grandpa G Heath.
We love you and admire you. You are so energetic and strong for your age. We are proud to call you dad. You are so caring and cheerful. Thanks for your love. Lauren loves grandpa and enjoys
visiting you. She loves the games you play and your special hugs. Thanks for all you do for us and I know you love all your boys and their families. We don't always let you know, but we do appreciate you.

Happy Birthday Lauren

Lauren celebrated her 4th birthday on the 21st May '07. She had a party on Sunday, 20 May '07 at 14h00. Friends and family gathered at our home and the theme of the party was Noddy. My mom and I baked and decorated the Noddy cake. All the children sang happy birthday and then enjoyed their party box contents (chips, sweets, jelly & juice with a pinwheel windmill for a keep-sake)
The first party game was hitting the Piñata, which eventually broke open to spill packets of Jelly Tots everywhere. Next was pass the parcel to Noddy music and a Noddy Lucky packet was the prize. Face painting, Bubbles, swings, hoops & toys were available the rest of the afternoon for entertainment. The weather held out and Lauren had a marvelous time with all her friends and family. My mom and sister-in-law, Allison catered cakes, confectionery & savouries for the adults & all. Thanks to everyone who sent wishes, gave gifts and contributed to making Lauren's party really special.

Mothers Day.............

Happy Mothers Day: