Riaan's Lego Nazgul and Fell Beast...

Hot on the heels of the hobbits cowering from the Ringwraith, Riaan has created another famous scene from The Lord of The Rings trilogy. This time, it's the fell beast and the Witch-king of Angmar. Watch out below!

This was also made from memory.

He even made a micro-scale fell beast and Nazgul!

He's so proud - and so are we!

Highest Point in Wayne County...

On Saturday, to continue our boys' adventure, Riaan and I went hiking at Maybury State Park. We had a lovely hike on a beautiful morning. We even made our way to the highest spot in Wayne County (the county where we live in Michigan), marked with this wooden sign at the top of the ridge. :)

Beautiful trail.

Selfie in the morning light.

Hiking along a ridge.

Large boulder by the trail.

Lovely to catch some autumn colours...

... And an elusive deer, camouflaged in the foliage.

Boys' Weekend Away...

Riaan and I spent a night away from home this past weekend. We drove up to Northville and stayed at a hotel there. We ordered Detroit-style pizza for supper after we arrived, and then enjoyed the really nice swimming pool. We absolutely loved the breakfast buffet the next morning!

We're trying to be more intentional about spending time individually with our children. :)

Buddy's Pizza is really good!

It was nice and quiet at the indoor pool.

Breakfast on Saturday morning. Yum!

Jumping Dog...

This dog is a curly, slender ball of energy. 

She loves leaping up to catch her ball!

Ice Cream Date...

Nothing beats a nice cool ice cream - even when it's a dreary, rainy day! Anya joined me shopping last week and once we were done, we swung by a nearby ice cream shop for a special sweet treat. :)

Yum for chocolate ice cream!

Church Open House...

Our church hosted an open house at the end of September. Curious friends could come and share in conversation over freshly-pressed apple cider and doughnuts. There was also a jumping castle for little ones, and other activities, including a cider press, for adults and children alike. 

We helped at the cider press station - with washing and chopping apples, before they were squeezed in the cider press to make the juice. It was encouraging to see church members and visitors get involved in this fun autumn tradition!

Eliza helps wash the apples.

Riaan presses the chopped apples down to make the juice.

Love the community we have here!

Anya is Cycling...

Our youngest child is now confidently cycling! She has such a good sense of balance and one Friday evening she simply decided to ride her bike - with minimal help from us. We were so proud! 

Riaan was six, Eliza was five, and Anya has continued that downward trend at four years old. :)

Such determination! :)

Revisiting Checkers...

The children pulled out this classic Little Checkers set the other day. My mom gave it to them back when she visited in September 2019. It had been years since they had last played with it. They spent a whole afternoon shopping in their South African supermarket!

Nearly finished setting it up. :)

Date Night Cycle...

Candace and I enjoyed a lovely date cycle recently. Our church has started a new initiative allowing couples with young families the opportunity to go on a date. For a very small fee, the church provides a meal and entertainment for the children, while parents can enjoy a couple of hours child-free on a Friday night. 

We dropped the children at the church before heading off on our cycle through Dearborn. We stopped at a local bakery for some pastries before continuing on our ride. It was so much fun. And for those of you interested, we cycled 23 kms or 14 miles together. :) 

Heavenly Conjunction...

I snapped this photo in the early morning light of Friday, 19th September. It's the conjunction of the moon, Venus, and Regulus.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)