Riaan's Lego Moria Scene...

Riaan built this amazing scene from The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring recently. It depicts the Fellowship as they run along the towering staircases in Moria, deep under the Misty Mountains - and Aragorn and Frodo get stranded on a tottering section of the stairs. He completed the scene with orcs down below. Wonderful creativity!

Legolas fires off a shot.

Riaan even added a hinge so that the section could tip forward!

Bench Swing...

We brought Candace's grandpa's porch swing (that he made himself) with us from Indiana to Michigan a couple of years ago. We had been unable to hang it until now - as its stand was rusting in Indiana. It fits perfectly if we take down the children's swings on the new playset!

Eliza applied a black and white filter while she was taking photos. :)

Luna Moth Caterpillar...

We came across this bizarre-looking caterpillar in our back garden last month. After some quick research, we discovered that it is the luna moth caterpillar. It's amazing to see all the things that we can find in a small area in a city!

Another view of the caterpillar. Look at that interesting head!

Pretty Princess...

Another beautiful artwork courtesy of our middle child. :)

New Playset...

Candace's parents visited us a couple of weeks ago and assembled the children's belated Christmas present in our back garden. It was a full day's project putting up this playset, but it was a time punctuated by lots of laughter and stories - and really no stress at all. 

The next day, we drove into Detroit itself and visited the Awake Cafe and the Riverfront, and Candace and her mother drove into Canada for a few hours. What a lovely visit, and one that the children will remember every time they play on their new swing set. :)

Starting to build the kit.

Making progress on the A-frames for the swing.

Testing out the swings.

Dusty was a constant presence throughout the project.

A bonfire in the evening to end the day.

The girls enjoy a book at the Awake Cafe.

Snuggles with Grandpa.

Exploring the Detroit Riverfront.

A yacht heads out onto the Detroit River.

Photo with their grandchildren before they drove back to Indiana.

Pine Cone Kids...

Our three children are such good helpers. They helped gather some pine cones for our bonfires and braais for the next while. Picking up sticks and pine cones is a tradition that has been in our family for decades. :) 

Parasitoid Wasp...

After taking too long to emerge, we discovered that some of our swallowtail chrysalises had been destroyed by a parasite. Some of the remaining chrysalises had a perfect round hole on the side of them. This was where the parasitoid wasp emerged after eating its host from the inside!

The wasp lays its eggs on the caterpillar, and once the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, the eggs hatch and the wasp larvae eats the poor caterpillar inside its chrysalis - before it has a chance to transform into a butterfly. Nature can be quite scary sometimes!

Summer Flowers...

A selection of some of our summer flowers, including two sunflowers merged into one!

Beautiful red poppy.

Hollyhocks.

Beautiful sunflower.

Two sunflowers fused together.

Spot the Dusty...

Our canine family member, Dusty, is certainly well-spoiled. Here she is perched up alongside the girls' stuffed animals, with pride of place on a large cushion. She is certainly well-loved. :)

Latest Plane Spots...

Here are a few of the latest planes that I've spotted on approach into DTW airport. :)

Turkish Airlines Airbus Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner arriving from Istanbul.

Air Canada Express Mitsubishi CRJ-900 from Toronto.

Underbelly of United Airlines Embraer ERJ-175.

FedEx Boeing 767 arrives from Memphis in the evening sunshine.

Air France Boeing 777-228(ER) inbound from Paris.

Two Years...

Saturday, 5th July, marked two years since we moved to Michigan. We are so thankful for all the friendships and memories that we have made during our time in this beautiful state. :)

Indiana Trip... with Dusty!

We took another trip down to Indiana for another family wedding over the last weekend in June. And this time, we brought along Dusty - since our normal dogsitters were unable to look after her this time around. On the whole, she did really well on the long drives! 

It was good to catch up with family and friends in person, and to make time to visit some of our favourite places in Daviess County, Indiana. The wedding itself was lovely, and we left Daviess County feeling refreshed and with hearts full. 

We had a lovely meal with good friends in Washington.

Barrels of fun at Candace's parents' house.

We saw rainbows and sunny skies in Amish country.

Dusty had a couple of walks in Washington.

We browsed at the Farmer's Market.

The wedding was lovely.

Reception in the church hall.

Selfie with the ever-beautiful Candace.

Golf cart rides on quiet country roads.

We visited Summit Lake State Park on the drive home.

Dusty was quite well-camouflaged, blending into the trail!

The calm water of Summit Lake.

Stormy Cycle...

I dodged some thundershowers as I cycled under moody skies towards the end of June. :) The cloud cover created a lovely atmosphere - and it was quite nice since it wasn't too hot.

Heavy rain to the northeast.

Selfie on the road.