Beautiful Sunday...

We had a beautiful Sunday here last week. (23rd February.) We spent lots of time playing outside with the kiddos and also had a picnic tea outside in the afternoon. A group of horse-riders were also out enjoying the sunshine - as pictured here. I even went for a nice little cycle later in the day!

 Eliza enjoying playing outside.

 Painting the bird house.

 Riaan brought his Hot Wheels track outside...

 And Eliza's slide came outside, too! :)

 Horse-riders going around the corner.

 Looking up and watching the clouds blow by.

Cycling a little later in the day. :)

Father-Son Time...

Riaan helped me do the grocery shopping last Saturday morning. I then took him out to our favourite coffee shop, the Cherry Ghost, for a cup of hot chocolate. I'm trying to be more intentional about building into our children's lives as they get older. Special coffee/ice cream dates mean a lot to our kiddos - and to us as parents, as well. :)

Tapping the Maple Tree...

Candace's parents popped around a week or so ago and drilled a couple of holes into our maple tree. We are now catching the maple sap in buckets and have already boiled a batch down into maple syrup - which we enjoyed on pancakes for lunch over this past weekend! There are so many useful resources that God gifts us through his amazing creation!

 Attachment and pipe coming out of our tree.

The maple sap flows into the bucket.

Bathing Rusty...

 I had some help bathing Rusty last week. They're my little helpers! :)

Eliza's Second Birthday...

Our little girl turned two on Saturday, 8th February. She is such a gentle, quiet soul who brings such joy and laughter to our little family. We are truly blessed! We spent an uneventful day at home, celebrating the birthday girl. We even managed to brave the cold weather and go to the local park where we (briefly) played on the jungle gym there. Here is how much Eliza has changed since last year!

 With my little girl the night before her second birthday.

 Birthday pancakes!

 Opening her present.

 Play-dough!

 Having fun with her birthday present.

Happy birthday, Eliza!

 Enjoying her birthday cupcake.

 Playing at the East Side Park. It was very cold!

Eliza holding a card from Granny and Grandad in Cape Town. :)

My 36th Birthday...

I turned 36 years (young) on Wednesday, 5th February. I spent the day looking after my children while Candace worked, and although I hadn't been feeling very well, Candace still had some surprises planned! :) She took me out for a lovely pasta dinner the night before my birthday and she also brought a treat home for me on lunch on my birthday.

Then the weekend after my birthday we hosted some of our close friends for a lovely spread of cheese, wine, crackers, tea and cake. There are actually four people in our friendship group who have birthdays within a week of each other, and so it was special spending time celebrating each person!

 At the lovely Italian restaurant in Vincennes.

 Birthday cupcake.

 Homemade beef pie.

 Candace made me a new pair of African fabric pants!

 Birthday present. He's my favourite cartoonist.

Another view of the delicious spread.

Shakamak State Park Hike...

We went to Shakamak State Park on a lovely Sunday earlier this month. (2nd February.) The weather was gorgeous and the kiddos loved playing at a playground. We then went and hiked a much-longer trail than we had anticipated. We had planned to hike just a one-mile loop, but our hike turned out to be around four miles - all the way around Lake Shakamak! (We didn't have a map with us on the day, and that contributed to our mistake.) It was still lots of fun and both children did brilliantly!

 "Grounding" by being barefoot on a beautiful winter's day.

 Family selfies don't go very well these days!

 The playground is lovely.

 A pair of bald eagles soar through the sky.

 Downy woodpecker.

 Red-headed woodpecker.

 Riaan and Candace hiking over a fallen log.

 Eliza sleeping in the carrier with me.

 A fallen tree had taken out some of the trail here.

 Lush green moss.

 Elf stand in a tree.

 Woodpecker holes in a dead tree.

 Canada geese on Lake Shakamak.

We hiked all the way around Lake Shakamak.

Peter's Car Transporter...

My mom's cousin, Peter, passed away unexpectedly back in 2017 and this anique car transporter was left to Riaan by Peter's sister, Rose. My mom brought it over with her in April 2018 and it always warms my heart to see Riaan and Eliza playing with it these days. :)

 Eliza points to the awesome antique car transporter.

Riaan playing with it on the kitchen/living room floor.

Truck-Train on the Tracks...

It's a fairly common sight to see a specially-modified pick-up truck driving along a railway line. They often do maintenance on the railway lines in the area. But this was the first time I'd seen a big truck (or semi) complete with trailer and containers sitting on a railway line. They must have had a lot of maintenance work to do!

 The truck in the distance - just in front of the I-69 Interstate.

Another view from a closer location.