SA Part 4 - Magoga continued

Nicholas LOVES painting. It is probably the main reason why he likes to go to Peques. He often says 'Hmph I wonder if we're going to paint to today?'. Yesterday when I picked him up his hair was green and he just laughed and said 'The teachers got it all wrong it was actually blue'. Here he is finger painting in the nude in Magogong.

Deano gave Nicholas his annual BIG haircut. I think both long hair and short hair suit Nicholas. I also think it grows out so nicely from the short clipper cut. He hasn't had a cut, apart from me trimming his fringe, since then. We should probably think about taking him to the barber sometime soon though.

Nicholas is a real water baby. He absolutely loves swimming and that is probably the thing about South Africa that he talks about most often (apart from all the different people of course). Today after his swimming lesson he said something on the lines of 'Why is there only one swimming pool in London? South Africa has lots of pools, big ones, small ones, shallow ones, big ones. Joburg has the most pools. Why is Virginia's pool inside? The pools in South Africa are nicer because they are outside. But they are actually cold.' Well I couldn't argue with any of that!

Swimming (with long hair)Swimming (lesson with GoGo)
Swimming (photoshoot by Janine ... thanks!)

The Magogong sunsets must be amongst the most beatiful in the world. Although these photos don't really show the actual sunset but they so show how much we enjoy that time of the day. It's so nice relaxing outside as it starts cooling down, the air smells farm fresh and the frogs start croaking.

Another thing I like about Magogong is that the boys get a bit of exposure to farm life - the life I grew up in - a life that I treasure. Daniel probably can't remember any of it at this stage but that didn't deter him from enjoying it. Nicholas on the otherhand talks about GoGo and Deano, the farmers, all the time.

Bath time is very important on the farm. There's no way I can skip it on a lazy day there because the boys really need a good cleaning before bed. Bathing is especially fun with Noa in her extra big bath with all her different bath toys.

No trip to Magogong is complete without a bit of fishing because both my brothers and both my brothers in law LOVE fishing. And being a 'farm girl' I think all kids, and all boys in particular, need to know how to fish. So it's only a matter of time before my lovely husband gets hooked too. We spent a great day on my Uncle Brian's farm fishing in the Vaal. The main excuse of the mass outing was to let Nicholas try out his brand new and very first fishing rod that he got from Deano, Janine and Noa for Christmas. With a little help from his uncles he caught fish after fish after fish, now they were small little things, but Nicholas was excited none-the-less.

Even the best of the best reach a point when they say enough fishing for one day. Luckily it wasn't very difficult to find other things to entertain Nicholas with.

There's something for everyone on these kinds of outings. The main aim is to get everyone out for a bit of relaxing with family and friends in a different environment for the day. It's these kinds of outings that I loved as a kid and that I still love today. And I am delighted that my kids can experience it too even if it is only once in a blue moon. Here's a mini photoshoot of Daniel and once again thanks go to Janine.


Another lovely day enjoying the outdoors. Nicholas had only just turned 3 but already he could draw identifiable pictures and write his name. And at the tender age of 6 months Daniel already started revealing his gorgeous character. We are such proud parents.

We attended Nicole and JJ's wedding while we were at home which provided another opportunity for a photoshoot. We couldn't get Nicholas and Noa to sit still because there was a jumping castle at the venue but Daniel posed nicely for the camera.


Here are a couple of photos of Nicholas and Daniel with their great grandmother who everyone calls Granny. I think they managed to charm her even though they were a bit manic in her small room. Can you believe that she is nearly 93, 19 grandchildren and has 14 great grandchildre. Isn't it funny how Grannies are always associated with sweets and chocolates even to a little guy who isn't mad about them as a rule.


Our last day in Magogong arrived all to soon. Besides swimming we also danced on the wagon, checked out the combine harvester, had a great boat race in the furrow and lay on the lush green grass in the shade of an old thorn tree. You might notice that Nicholas has a fat lip and Daniel has a grazed nose. I guess with boys accidents are to be expected.

Why is it that the grass always looks greener on the otherside?