Longfellow Park...

We walked to Longfellow Park, an open park area in the neighbourhood, several weeks back. They have some super-cool outdoor gym equipment, which have become quite popular throughout the world. Riaan even wanted to give the stationary exercise bike a go - although his legs will need to grow a little bit longer!

 Information board about some of the exercise equipment.

 Candace and Riaan both tried out some of the equipment...

... And then Riaan tried out the exercise bike! :)

Ford Flex...

We recently found a used vehicle to give us a little bit more space as a family. We were quickly outgrowing Candace's little 2005 Toyota Corolla, and so we were able to find a good deal on a 2011 Ford Flex at a local dealership here in Washington. I've already personified it with my South African flag number plate and a ZA sticker on the back! :) We've nicknamed it Madiba, the isiXhosa clan name of Nelson Mandela, (1918 - 2013) South Africa's first democratically-elected president.

The back of our new (to us) vehicle.

Coconut Cutting...

Riaan has been reading some old Usborne Puzzle Adventure books - which I read when I was much, much younger - and his favourite characters are Agent Arthur and his dog Sleuth.

Riaan was particularly interested when Agent Arthur was trying to open a coconut in one of the books. And so I went and found a coconut at the local supermarket and I showed Riaan how to safely cut open a coconut. He was quite concerned that I would "cut [myself] and end up in the hospital like Grandad"*, but we managed to open it without incident. We then drank the milk and also enjoyed eating the meat inside the coconut - although Riaan was certainly not a fan!

*This is a well-known true family tale. It was Christmas 1996 and I had just received a Swiss Army Knife for Christmas, and my dad decided to show us how to open a coconut. It was Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, which is a public holiday in South Africa. (Now known as the Day of Goodwill.) While the details of the story are a little bit hazy, in my mind my dad cut through the coconut, delicately balanced on his leg, and into his thigh muscle. There was no blood, but the cut was very deep into his muscle and he required several stitches from our family doctor - who just happened to be in his practice on a holiday. We actually used the very same Swiss Army Knife to cut the coconut some 22 years later in 2019 - thankfully, without incident! :)

 Draining the coconut of its milk.

Cracking open the coconut.

 The fleshy meat on the inside.

Riaan was not too impressed! :)

Late-March Snow Shower...

We had a brief late-winter snow shower on Saturday, 30th March. It came after a day of soaking rain and, since the ground was quite warm, the snow didn't really stick around for too long. However, it was very pretty to watch as it fell to the ground. :)

The snow falling in Washington, Indiana.

Spring days...

Spring days are meant for being outdoors! These two certainly love spending time out and about exploring in nature! :)

 Bundled up on the wagon.

Relaxing with Rusty in the back garden. :)

Garden Shed...

We now have a little garden shed that has been built for us to use. It was included with the house and we are so thankful to have this space for our outdoor and gardening supplies. Twin Rivers, as usual, did an amazing job! :)

 Working on our shed on a chilly March morning.

 Just siding and shingles on the roof still to be done.

 Completed shed.

View looking towards our house.

Lego Creative Fun...

Riaan is amazing us with his creativity. He builds fantastic little Lego planes and cars without any instructions. He is revealing such an attention to detail that is surprising us at his young age! :) Naturally, Daddy also enjoys playing Lego, too.

 Riaan shows off one of his creations...

 A super-cool race car!

 A little aeroplane-spacecraft. :)

 A cross between a segway and a unicycle. :)

 Jurassic World comes to life on our dining room table.

Duplo tortoise built by Daddy. :)

Kirstenbosch Glasses...

We bought these beautiful glasses at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden back in Cape Town in either 2013 or 2014. We decided that now, being in our new home, it was time to put them to use. We had had them packed away in a box with other glass breakable items for the past four or five years. The flower depicted on the glass is the King Protea, South Africa's national flower. Kirstenbosch is one of our favourite places to visit in Cape Town, and you can read about our last visit back in 2017 here.

Beautiful Protea design on the glass.

Election Studying...

As a patriotic South African, I will be joining thousands of my fellow expat South Africans around the world in voting in South Africa's sixth democratic general election - since Apartheid ended in 1994. South Africans living abroad are voting on Saturday, 27th April - South Africa's Freedom Day - and I will be heading up to Chicago to cast my vote at the Consulate there. South Africa itself goes to the polls on Wednesday, 8th May 2019.

I'm making sure I'm an informed voter and so am educating myself with newspaper articles sent to me by my dad, as well as doing a lot of online research too. Voting is a great privilege and responsibility and I am excited to play my part in South Africa's future! :)

Landscaping work...

Twin Rivers have been active at our house over the past few weeks, and recently they came and hauled off the Habitat for Humanity trailer that was parked here for about a year. It is strange not seeing it here any more. They also worked on flattening the pile of soil that had been sitting here since the foundation was dug back in May 2018. Riaan enjoyed watching the tractor moving about our plot!

 Moving the Habitat trailer.

 It definitely changed the scenery.

 Flattening the large pile of soil.

 Riaan and Rusty watch the progress.

Our house on the corner. :)