The Hobbit Artwork...

I've talked before about our son's artistic talents. He drew this battle scene from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit earlier this month. I am constantly amazed by his attention to detail and his fantastic imagination! :)

New School Year...

Last month - as we did last year - we snapped another photo of Candace with the children in front of our front door. Candace continues to homeschool our children and she does a wonderful job holding down the fort on the home front while I work. We particularly love the flexibility that homeschooling offers - such as using family holidays as opportunities to learn about new cultures while visiting museums and art galleries. The great outdoors is also a great classroom! :)

Playing a learning game outside.

Moody Skies...

Moody afternoon skies in Detroit. :)

Huron Lightship...

Last month we took a trip to visit the Huron Lightship, a museum ship docked on the St. Clair River in Port Huron. It combined two of my favourite things - ships and lighthouses – and was a fantastic educational field trip for our family. It was lovely to board this historic vessel - and take the opportunity to watch big ocean-going ships sail along the river.

It was amazing to hear the lightship blow its whistle every time a big vessel steamed past. The light at the top of the mast also lit up every time this happened. It was wonderful to hear these ship conversations as the big ship would often reply to the lightship’s whistle. 😊 

After spending some time there, we drove to Lighthouse Beach near Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. This was the same beach we visited back in July, and the children (and Candace) all ventured into the waters of the lake.

A large ship sails past the Huron. The light on top of the mast lit up as she blew its whistle.

The huge anchor that held the lightship in position.

Displays in the stern of the vessel.

Walking forward past the crew accommodation.

View looking aft.

Ship's wheel.

View of the light on top of the mast.

Eliza and Riaan watch the choppy waters of the St. Clair River.

View looking up towards the mouth of the river - and Lake Huron's southern-most waters.

Note the colourful superstructure of this vessel as she steams towards Lake Huron.

Pilot boat.

Tourist sightseeing vessel on the far side of the river.

Riaan and Eliza under the Blue Water Bridge. Canada is in the distance.

Garden Growth...

Our vegetable garden in the back has really flourished late this season. We planted cucumbers, sunflowers, beetroot, asparagus, and herbs in late July - not knowing if anything would come to fruition before the growing season ended.

We have been amazed at how well our plants have grown. The soil - given to us by a friend - is rich with nutrients and organic plant matter. We were able to harvest delicious beetroot and cucumbers, as well as basil and dill, and our sunflowers are so beautiful.

Our garden at the end of July...

And at the beginning of October!

Our lovely sunflowers.

Small yellow sunflower.

Our garden is popular with this large praying mantus.

He played peek-a-boo with me!

We are so thankful to have a special garden out back. :)

Flight Path...

Our house in Detroit is located on one of the main flight paths for DTW - Detroit Metro Airport, which is the primary international airport serving Michigan. We often see passenger planes flying over us on their final approach to the runway - such as this Icelandair Boeing 737 MAX 8 on its flight from Reykjavik to Detroit.   

Detroit is a major hub for Delta Airlines, so we often see their planes flying over.

Lebanese Restaurant...

The family and I were in Dearborn one Friday evening and, being rather hungry, we looked up restaurants in the area. We found Country Restaurant, a little spot specialising in Mediterranean cuisine. Upon entering the restaurant, I commented to Candace that the paintings above each booth looked rather familiar. They were scenes from Lebanon - and historic places that I visited during my trip there back in June. :) It was a fitting reminder that we are here for a reason - and the food was wonderful, too!

Eliza and I underneath the painting of the famous arch at the Tyre World Heritage Site.

Selfie on location in Tyre back in June.

The painting of the Pigeon Rocks, located just off the coast of Beirut. 

The very same Pigeon Rocks seen soon after sunset a few months ago.

Family selfie. :)

Family Walks...

I've been trying to spend one-on-one time with each of our children lately - whether it is having one of them accompany me on a shopping trip or going on a walk together. I have taken both of our eldest children on walks on the nearby Hines Drive. It's good to make memories and invest in their lives individually, too.

With Eliza and Rusty on a lovely walk.

And Riaan chose to ride his bike when he joined me a couple of days later. :)

South African Braai...

We went to a South African get-together at Lake St. Clair Metropark back in August. It was a bring and braai and we had lots of fun playing cricket, sharing stories, and reminiscing about our home country. There is a large community of South Africans in the greater Detroit metro area - and it was great to make some more connections with fellow expats.

A fun game of cricket.

Melktert - yum!

Walking along the Metropark's peninsula. Lake St. Clair is part of the Great Lakes system, but is not considered one of the Great Lakes.

Another South African in the family...

After applying to register Anya as a South African back in March 2022, we finally received her South African birth certificate in early August of 2023. I was so excited to receive this important document safely - as now all three of our children are officially dual nationals. With Anya's South African birth certificate in hand, I am now able to apply for her South African passport. We'll likely do that in the next month or two, but for now we are just enjoying the fact that we have another little South African in the family! :)