Cousin Camp

 I've been hearing about Cousin Camps, and my nephew Daniel's been asking when we're going camping, so the day finally came!  We went to Chapman's Peak Caravan Farm. 

 Here's the closest thing to a picture of the four of us together.  We picked a scorcher of a day to go camping, so as soon as that tent was up, we hit the pool, not much deterred by the green water. 

 The animals were fascinating to us city slicker types.  The tortoise was probably the only animal that didn't run away when "we" ran straight up to it.  "We" had to be taught to approach animals a little slower and steadier. 

 Our group was so excitable, lets just enjoy a peek at a peaceful dove. 

 I thought these pigs were the worst thing I've smelled in a very long time, but Connie said they made her hungry. 

 The geese found "us" rather startling. 

 The playground there is unique! 

 Josh was everybody's favourite.  He wasn't just helpful, but very fun too. 

Notice the bandage on Daniel.  I made sure he recovered before we went to a store. 

 Uno's always a favourite. 

 

 

 We were only away about 24 hours, but our family was glad to have us back. 

Nathanael is telling me how big he is, and I think he wants to be in on the next Cousin Camp.  Jedidiah has a ways to go. 

As for me, I have to recover from this one before I can get psyched for another, but I think we made memories in a big way, and I think the animals will remember us for awhile.  Happily, none of the cousins are strict about our outings being in a tent.  They like that, but they also like staying over at our house, or other places too.  Since we'll be tenting on the way to Rwanda, I might rather see what other type of place we can find to stay for the next Cousin Camp. 

 

Connie and the sheep! 

Meet Jedidiah Jack Young

 "Lo, children are a heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." 
We are rewarded again!  Jedidiah Jack Young was born the 10th of July, about 8:30 AM to James and Gloria Young, and also to us (in a sense) the pleased aunt and uncle! 

 Just six days before, James and Gloria's church threw a shower for the Gloria, stating the obvious. 

Gloria did a great job on this home delivery, laboring off and on all night alone, before telling James around 4 AM that she thought the big day was here!  They called us around 5:00 and we rushed over (5 houses down the street)  in great excitement.

 The other kids were whisked away at the crucial moment, to our house, but in the evening, they came to meet their new baby brother or cousin.  Josh thought he was pretty small.

 Evangel helped Nathanael get in on the joy of it. 

 Here is the first picture of the fearsome foursome together.  Not the greatest photography, but they are a bunch of movers and shakers!  A high action group, for sure, and we are just happy to have one that's not totally blurry. 

Midwife Marian was a great help and source of confidence in the home birth. 










Pirate Nathanael might be glad not to be the youngest anymore.  Maybe people will take him
more seriously.  :-) 

 Eyes open!  A rare treat in these early days. 

 Connie's loving her new baby brother...

 and they share a happy moment. 

 Daniel's feeling the seriousness of being big brother to THREE siblings now.  It's a weighty responsibility, Matey. 

A blessed woman!

 

 

 

Nathanael thinks this is the end of the matter.  And a very happy ending it is. 

Ostrich, Oryx, and Octopus

My cousin Ivy's son Calvin is here visiting us for a month.  We are enjoying his visit.  

Calvin loves animals, and he gets very enthusiastic about anything we do with animals, so each day, we have been showing him some of the sights of Cape Town. 



Daniel had enough enthusiasm for all of us. 

Rhodes Memorial was another
day.





Yesterday we went to The World of Birds in Hout Bay.  I hadn't been there since our kids were little and I wasn't extremely enthusiastic about it this time because the weather was more "sit by a fire and read" weather, in my mind.  It was cold, rainy, and windy, but Calvin has one month here, and it is going fast, and we're trying to get him to see and do as much as possible, so off we went.

It was certainly well worth getting away from the fire (especially since we rarely, rarely make a fire) and out to see those birds!  We went from one to the other, exclaiming over funny feet, amazing colors, brilliant beaks, extreme ugliness, and owl eyes. 

These two looked like I felt when we started. 

Daniel and I agree the Cockatoos are the best because they are the friendliest.  We had encounters with an owl that put him as my second favourite.

I wouldn't have dared just let him on my arm without my winter coat on. 

 

 

 

 

Daniel and I had a chat about the birds.

 

Me:  Do you know who colored the birds?
D: The manses.  (men)
Me:  Who made the birds?
D:  Jesus. 
Me:  Yes, God made the birds so He's the one who picked the colors.
 
I wanted to wax eloquent on how He must like bright colors and even eye shadow and eye liner because of the way He decorated some of these birds, but a 5 year old can only stand so much chat when there are worlds to conquer and big cousins to keep up with.  I think God's object lessons are way better than my speeches anyway.

Eww!  The owls left a bit of their lunch lying around. 



It's good to have all your ducks in a row.  Calvin and Daniel are
cousin's cousins which suits them just fine. 



This owl made me feel better that I wasn't the only one having a bad hair day. 



We also got to hold monkeys!  He had to know what was in Calvin's pocket.

 


They are trusting little creatures. 




            This lion really wanted to play.  He followed Calvin back and forth several times, until of the workers asked Calvin to quit "aggravating" the lion.  That was sad, because the lion was enjoying it too, though I doubt his idea of play would have been quite what ours would have been. 


See the works of the Lord! 




                PS  As to why I called this Ostrich, Oryx, and Octopus, we've been trying to serve Calvin some foods that are new                to him.  Ostrich is normal for us, we have it nearly every week, and octopus is Calamari which we got a                        seafood shop with French fries, but the Oryx/Gemsbok was a first for all of us.  We decided it tastes like turkey.