Field Trip to the Museum...

This past Saturday, we joined the local homeschool group for a field trip to the Daviess County Museum. There were presentations about the Underground Railroad, Johnny Appleseed, schooling in the olden days, and even an exhibit on fossils! It was a lovely outing and all three of our children enjoyed this interesting visit. :)

Learning about the Underground Railroad.

An actor portrayed Johnny Appleseed.

The school house display.

Touching different types of fossils.

One of the many fossil exhibits.

View looking north from upstairs in the museum.

Anya and her Duplo...

Anya loves playing babies with her dolls, but often enjoys quietly playing with her small collection of Duplo. This past weekend, she was sweetly lining them up on the window-sill during the golden hour early one evening. :)

Sweet girl and her Duplo.

Riaan's Stormers Flag...

The Stormers are the rugby team from my hometown, Cape Town, and they participate in several different rugby competitions throughout the year, including the United Rugby Championship, the Heineken Champions Cup, and domestic rugby competitions in South Africa. 

I've been following their progress over the past few months from here in the United States, and often find myself watching a Saturday morning broadcast live from Europe or South Africa. I was watching a replay of this past weekend's game and Riaan appeared next to me with a homemade DHL Stormers banner. I was so proud of him!

Much Ado About Nothing...

This weekend, our local theatre put on a production of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was brilliant evening entertainment on a soggy, rainy night. All our children enjoyed the play! :) It was great to get out and support local theatre.

Programme cover.

Our view toward the stage.

Cycle Tour Ride...

The Cape Town Cycle Tour - formerly known as the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour - is the world's largest-timed cycling event. Over many years, my family and I would cycle this race around the beautiful Cape Peninsula. Before I moved to the United States, I had completed 24 consecutive tours from 1991 until 2014. We were back in Cape Town in 2017 to ride what would have been my 25th tour, but unfortunately that was the year that hurricane-force winds barrelled around the Peninsula, forcing the first cancellation in the Tour's history. 

The 45th Cycle Tour was held this past Sunday (12th March) in near-perfect conditions, and my Mom, Dad, and brother all completed the ride together. It was my brother's 33rd tour, my Dad's 31st tour, and my Mom's 29th tour! It made me feel rather homesick, but I went for my own ride the day before the Cycle Tour - in honour of all those friends and family taking part in this fantastic day. Well done, Cape Town, on hosting another world-class event! :)

Anniversary Afternoon in Jasper...

We celebrated our 11th anniversary last Saturday. After watching our wedding video during the morning, we dropped the two older children off with friends and drove down to Jasper, where we had a lovely walk around Jasper Parklands. Here's to our marriage and many more exciting adventures together over the next 11 years! :) Love you, Candace!

Watching our wedding video together with the kiddos.

Anya enjoying her avo on toast for an early lunch.

Selfie with Anya on our walk. :)

We found an interesting insect's nest on our walk. 

We love Jasper Parklands!

We enjoyed coffee and ice-cream before heading home. :) Yum!

Anya the Cat in the Hat...

Candace has taught a class on Dr. Seuss at our local Co-Op homeschool group over the past few weeks. She even made a craft for the children - making hats like the Cat in the Hat! Anya looked so cute wearing her striped hat - although I think I did a slightly better impersonation back with the water tower a year ago! :)

Weekend in Ohio...

We spent the weekend of Saturday, 18th February, until Monday, 20th February, in Cambridge, Ohio. Candace was finally able to meet her maternal near-miss survivor sister, Casey. Cambridge is roughly halfway between her home in New Jersey and our home, so that is why we chose this location. 

We had a lovely weekend connecting with Casey, Adam, and Nathan, and made memories in some beautiful surroundings. We tried to meet up with this sweet family back in late 2019, but unfortunately things didn't work out that time - and then the pandemic decided to make its appearance. We're thankful to finally spend this cathartic, healing time together!

We drove to Salt Fork State Park...

And hiked up to Hosak's Cave.

The cave itself is off limits due to dangerous cliffs.

The banks of Salt Fork Lake.

Relaxing by the lake.

Queen Eliza standing on her rock castle.

The Kennedy Stone House - built of locally-quarried sandstone.

The cool outdoor storage building behind the Kennedy Stone House.

Nathan and Riaan exploring the heights.

Scenic view of Salt Fork Lake.

Eliza enjoying the calming lake.

"Splash" goes the rock!

Moody atmosphere on the drive back to Cambridge.

Beautiful farmhouse.

Eliza playing Connect 4 with Casey...

While the boys made perler bead creations...

And Anya cut bits of paper with her scissors.

A visit to the park on our last morning in Cambridge...

And Anya loves the swing!

Goodbyes are often sad - thankfully it's more like "See you later!"

Casey and Candace, maternal near-miss survivor sisters!