The Result...

The Spring Hat competition is over for another year. In my last post I attached a picture of this years effort.

I am happy, and Devon even more so to report, that we won. That makes it 2 out of three entries... the preasure is on already for next year.... any ideas....

Spring time again...

Spring has sprung the grass has riz, or however it goes. Spring is here and it is the good 'ol Spring Hat time at Devon's school. Tomorrow is the day when he has to, along with his school pal's, parade his spring hat. This means that every year we have to get the creative juices flowing and come up with some kind of spring hat...

So here it is... this year contribution...

a FREEZING weekend...

This weekend was probably the coldest weekend I've had in a long time. I don't think I can remember it being that cold anytime before. Perhaps it's the age thing. You feel the cold more as you age. That can't be it though as I would then have to admit that I am ageing. Whatever it was, it was freezing. The highest I saw my cars temperature gauge go was 8 degrees, and that was at about half past two.....what it didn't show was the wind chill factor. I think it wiped out the eight degrees and some....

It was so cold and to top it off the rain came down on and off the whole day. Nothing like wet cold weather. It was so cold that the rain that had fallen on the trampoline froze. The pic was taken at about 2 in the afternoon....

One month...

So a month has past since my last post. Not intentional, I promise! Things have been busy and uncontrollable circumstances.... let's leave it at that!

In the last month I have been involved in the end of term exams (if you can remember those), just ive been on the marking end which takes a little of my time, and a holiday to the Cape. No access there! I actuallty feel a little guilty about not posting for so long. Especially when you get comments on FB about not posting. I'll take that as a compliment, as that means that someone actually takes the time out of their day to read what you write. Thanks Ninnles!

The trip to the Cape was totally what I needed. I love the Cape!

I drove down, and comoing back was no fun... a flat tyre and 17 and a half hours later was no fun. Needless to say starting work the very next morning!

I also got a chance to see Man City play live. One of our local sides, made them look rather ordinary. I know it's pre-season, but with all of that money backing you, you better win a funny little tournament in SA.

Today was a great winters day on the highveld. Morning crisp with pleasant sunny midday temperatures. Ideal for a family braai, and a chance for the kids to play outside!

For those that are interested I need to make more time on the PC to blog and not work!

See you soon!

My wife's fear of flying...

For those of you who have been following this blog since it's inception or alternatively know my wife, will know that she has a huge fear of flying. This fear is not due to the lack of flying, as she has done this on numerous occasions, it is just a fear that she has. We have a overseas trip in three weeks time, so my wife took drastic measures....

On Tuesday afternoon she took BIG steps to cure this fear.....

Yip, at the park she headed off to the iron bird and headed up the steps to sort out this fear for once and for all.

Well Done Love!

Awesome weekend....

So this weekend was totally awesome for me. I have been totally spoilt in my terms (and my wife's). Thanks Love!

To start off with school holidays started off on Friday, which means that I get a chance to spend time with the family and not have to worry too much about work for the next two weeks at least.

Secondly, on Saturday I spent the day at Kyalami, those that know a little about motorsport will know all about Kyalami (South Africa's premier motor racing circuit). More about this in another post, with photo's.

And, thirdly I got to go and watch the second twenty/20 international between South Africa and Australia. South Africa won the first match on Friday night, quite nail biting, but did it any way. You would expect Australia to come out fighting in the second and final challenge in the twenty/20 format of the game, which they did. However SA seem to be on top form and produced the goods, and produced the goods they did. Now for the ODI's!!!!

Catch up...

Just a short note to keep up to date with the goings on in Miller land... a chance to catch up!

This past week has been rather busy, with Adam's birthday, a birthday party, family lunch, work and the coffee business. This weekend was rather hectic, well Saturday at least. We arranged a party for Adam at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. The lapa cleaned, chairs set out, TV for the football and rugby games that afternoon and the braai ready for being fired up for later.
All was going extremely well until 2.45pm when the heavens literally opened and the rain came down, came down, came down and just kept on coming down. The rain continued till well after the party was over. My wife was doing the stress thing as things were not as she planned it, and now we had about 30 people in our house (not my wifes plan)! All went well and I think everybody enjoyed themselves.

The British holiday is drawing nearer and nearer. 35 days to go!!!! As you may be aware, we had to apply for a visa to visit the UK as a South African citizen. All the paperwork was done, photo's taken, a trip to Sandton and the application made. The visa's arrived today, so all is falling into place quite nicely. The excitement is growing even more now. Still not time to pack though. I'll have to wait a couple of more days for that I guess.

Keep watching for more updates....

I'm still alive....

That bloggers block...... it seems to be back again!

I'm still alive though for those who thought they might have got lucky and got rid of me. Sorry to disappoint. Although I haven't been posting for a while I have still been following the regular blogs I read. Thanks for keeping me entertained. And Faf I'll try not use too many exclamation marks in this post! Oops, sorry.

Life is moving along steadily, and passing us by day by day. My kids are growing up before my eyes and I can't do a damn thing to stop it. Further more, the parenting manual that every parent wishes they had is still being searched for - daily!

Adam is a week away from being 11 months old a took 4 steps today! 4 Steps, all forward, and at some speed. He is growing up so quickly, and seems to be doing everything at pace. Kyle is playing waterpolo this term at school with training 3 times a week- this coming from someone who never wanted to swim. Maybe the synco girls train at the same time, I'm not quite sure. this needs some investigation!

My wife has been really busy of late with school work and swimming gala's and more. I hardly see her, at least i think she is still around - I see changes of clothes in the wash and none of her belongings are missing. It's not that bad, but she really has been working really hard! Oops another exclamation mark.(Sorry Faf)

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last set of photo's I posted. I thought they were pretty good, and obviously I was the only one. It shows you how many visitors I have to my blog.

Football wise, my beloved team still continues to struggle despite spending 46 Million Pounds on players since the beginning of January. But we have a new captain- Captain Keane is back...... watch us move up the table now... our famous last words!

The SA Tennis Open is currently on at Monte Casino, the first time in 18 years or something. I'm glad to see it make it's return.

and lastly for this post..... I must apologise for all the rain this week in Johannesburg, my wife went swimming this weekend, hence the change in weather and season! Oops again!

Work, play and chill time!

The start to the new year at school has been rather busy, and all is going well. The weekends seem to come around quickly and vanish twice as fast. Before you know it you are back at work and headed for the next one.

This weekend we decided to go to the zoo. It is not my favourite place to go after running a 21km two hours before, but hey! It was actually quite enjoyable, and the kids had a whale of a time!

I also had time to catch up with friends of ours Mike and Kirsten this weekend over a braai. I had not seen them in a while so catching up was most relaxing and enjoyable. You need time to just chill every now and then.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered a a tv show called the "FRINGE". I'm not a sci-fi fan at the best of times but this program has me hooked. If you haven't seen it, check it out! Thursday evenings at 21h30 on MNET.

Update and more!

A hang of a lot has happened since the last time I got behind the PC and did any blogging. We have moved into a new year - Happy New Year everyone, I hope it is a good one for you all. I have travelled over 14 hours in one trip to get back home after a wonderful holiday and Christmas with the family! Thanks everyone for making it so memorable and enjoyable. The Proteas have taken a 2-0 lead in the Cricket being played against the aussies!

My wife has turned another year older - Happy Birthday my love. I know that your birthday didn't start off too great but I hope it got better and more enjoyable as the day progressed.

I have managed to get a stiff upper arm playing wii tennis - what a lot of fun and laughter!!!

My Passport has arrived, I am going to collect it tomorrow morning!!!!!

Spurs have bought Defoe back to White Heart Lane!

Spring cleaning has been the order of the last two days. Why is it that every new year people have the urge to spring clean? It was a rather useful exercise though. It is rather tiring though.

I have run a 10km and a 15km race since the last post. No training mind you, just put on the shoes and head for the start line- not a good idea if the course is rather hilly and your brother in-law is in a mood to dash full steam ahead for the finish line to finish some unfinished business.

Cape Town Holiday update 2!

The weather has been really great the last couple of days. Hot and sunny, beach kind of stuff!
Today has however turned in true Cape style and is overcast and a bit of rain. As this is the case it's off to Canal Walk to do that last minute shopping before Christmas.

Yesterday we took a drive to a small town on the west coast, Paternoster, and then down for lunch at Langebaan. Both towns are very holidayish, if that makes any sense with not much else to do but eat, drink and sleep or visit the beach. No swimming here though as the water is around minus three inches (freezing!!!).

Unfortunately I can't post any pics as I left my card reader at home. So when I get home I will post some holiday pics.

I also got to see four of the wind turbines that are used to generate electricity. They are massive and I'm glad I got to see them. Maybe that's odd, but you don't see them everyday, everywhere.

My Cape Holiday update 1

Here at last, 14 hours later!

The first day in Cape Town was rather hot! The sun came out and the wind died down. This meant going to the beach and the inevitable, getting burnt to a sinder. Okay maybe not so bad.

A visit to the Royale Eatery for a burger and a walk down the street to see Cape Town's city Christmas lights was fun and a special occassion for the kids.

The weather is great again today and so I'm off to the beach again.....

Dad's 60th Birthday

As part of my father's 60th Birthday celebrations, as mentioned before, we (the family) travelled to Umhlanga Rocks on Kwazulu-Natals North coast to be together for the celebration .

We woke up this morning with the sun shining brightly and an awesome day planned ahead. We had a photo shoot booked for 8am, breakfast to follow and later on, lunch. After lunch we (Hayley, Francois and myself) had to head off to the airport to catch flights home for work tomorrow. (The last two days of my current job).

We all got ready and headed down for the shoot. It turned out to be a whole lot of fun, and I cannot wait to these the photo's that were taken. they should be really cool. We then headed off to breakfast at the local lifesaving club and spent some time on the beach as the weather was playing along nicely.

I got burnt to the bone and then we all headed off to lunch. The food was exquisite! The day had all gone exactly to plan, infact I don't think we could of planned it better if we tried.

Then it was time to go to the airport. All in good time, probably with about 15 min to spare. Then all fell apart. Hayley locked the keys in the car that is supposed to take us to the airport. Their luggage inside. Spare keys I hear you asking.... it's a hired car that has to be handed back at the airport when we get there. Panic sets in as there are no spare keys.

The AA is called for help. We are rushed to the airport to check in, in the meantime . Hayley and Francois have to hope that there luggage arrives before they have to board. We can all laugh about it now, but at the time it was not so funny.

To shorten the story a bit, all turned out ok in the end. Luggage arrive on time, the car was handed back and we managed to catch our respective flights. Always an exciting moment in our households.

The down side is now I'm 600km away from my wife and kids for two days of work. At least when that is over It's holiday time for us all, and we'll be heading off to Cape Town again for more adventures and funny stories to share from those experiences.

P.S Happy Birthday again Dad! Thanks for an awesome day!

Drakensberg here we come!

My blog will become rather quiet over the next 10 days or so as we are headed to the Drakensberg Mountains for a holiday. I can't wait!!!! Work has been rather stressful over the last couple of weeks, and this holiday is exactly what I need to recharge the batteries for the remainder of the year, or until the next holiday comes around. So instead of blogging I'm going to be taking in the awesome scenery, strolling in the mountains, listening to the flow of water over waterfalls and plain old relaxing!

I'll be back with some stories to tell and some photographs to share in about 10 or so days.

A different weekend

This weekend was something different from the usual go to the shops on Saturday morning, watch sport in the afternoon and a Sunday lunch. Well coming to think of it, not that much changed in the latter part of the weekend but the begining was something different.

It started off with Friday night. The school that my wife teaches at have been practising ever so hard for a concert/production that they were putting on. I'll be glad when it is over as I may have my wife at home a little more. The concert was entitled 'Nogwaja - the hare who wanted to be king". This is what we did on friday night, took the boys to watch the production. Devon was beside himself with excitement! The highlight was seeing mommy on stage in the teachers item, doing a little dance....

Saturday morning brought about something different as well. We headed off to Pretoria for the Clivia show. I really enjoy seeing the different colours and varieties of these plants from year to year. There is always something new that someone has grown.

This was followed by a visit to the Pretoria Show Grounds for the Annual Pretoria Show. This a kind of market where you can by anything from tractors to pillows, or furniture to sweets, or caravans to puzzles. Anything you can think of in one place. I haven't been to one of these shows for years, so it was nice to see what was out there in the market place.

Before I continue with the story, I must share 'life as Devon sees it'. If there is something that Devon wants, and Mom and Dad can't or won't get it for you, Grandpa will!

On with the show... We spent some time looking at the caravans on display and Devon was running in and out of all these caravans, having an absolute ball. He walks a little way with his Grandpa and asks, "Can we get one?" Grandpa in his stride says, "What?". Devon adds, "a caravan". Grandpa just laughs and continues walking on. The funny thing is I think he just might..... get one that is, as we came home with numerous brochures and a business card.

From there on in, the rest of the weekend was pretty much the norm. The Saturday afternoon sport and the Sunday lunch with the family.

Spring Hat - Part 2

So Spring Hat Day came and went, and flip it was freezing! Why is it that Spring Day every year is soooooo cold? But hey, excitement was is the air and Devon went to school proudly displaying his creation, or rather our family creation.

I said in part 1 that I was not over optomistic about winning this year, and i was spot on. No prize. The prize was the look on my son's face when he parades his hat. That sense of "it's mine" and how proud he is of it, is all I need.

The Hat has got a prime spot in his room (for now), right next to his bed on his side table....

Spring Hat Time...

Devon is 3, going on 30, and tommorrow is Spring Hat day at school for him. Every year we need to make a spring hat for him to display and parade in his class. Last year was the first time we had to take part... and we managed to be the best! We got the prize for the best spring hat. So in a way the pressure is on this year.

So we set off for the shops yesterday in search of ideas and materials to make "The Hat". I think this years effort is pretty good, but not a winning one. So off he'll go to school tomorrow and proudly display his hat with the rest of his mates, and we'll be wondering, with the rest of the parents, how we have faired this year.

Tagged!!!!

So I'm not so techno savvy as the rest of my blogging family. I get this message on my blog to say I've been tagged- so I get ready to wrestle, WWF style. (Just kidding I'm not that bad!)

Tagged, what the .... So I contact the person that tagged me, Hayley, to find out a little more.
"Oh it's a fun thing..." she say's. I have no problem with this. I can do this. Basically all I need to do is share six things about Millers mind that nobody knows. A breeze! Then comes step two, tag six other people on my blog. HELL, I can't do that. I only know two other people that blog, and they are the two family members that read my blog, and besides, one has tagged me. I can't really go and tag her back! So I'm in a bit of a blogging bind.

I'll give it some thought though and I will share six things about Miller that you don't know.

Mountain Removal

Operation 'Mountain removal" is nearing the end. All I have left in my backyard is a hill. It's still a hell of a lot of sand but hey, nowhere near the flippin mountain I started with.

So after wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of sand being carted around my yard I now have biceps pretty similar to the fellow in the pic.

Okay, maybe not so big but it feels like they have done enough work to look like that.

I got a chance to jump on the trampoline, hey what a way to work out. I was nackered after about five minutes of jumping. maybe it was about two minutes but it definitely felt like five. it must of been five! My heart was racing my legs felt like jelly and my abs, well lets just say they also had their years share of exercise in those FIVE minutes. If I continue to jump at this rate and workout like this maybe I can have some of these abs.

The only problem is I don't think I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning. All this exercise and hard work tends to make one pretty stiff. This I don't mind, as the saying goes no pain, no gain! So the stiffness is not the problem . The problem is he flip'n back. My back feels like a back I have borrowed from a 90 year old with acute arthritis. If I do manage to get out of bed tomorrow, I'll proberly end up walking around like this fellow...

Jumping for Joy

How spoilt are the kids? As we have birthdays coming up in house (Kyle and Devon), the kids have been given a trampoline as a combined gift, thanks to Granny and Grampa. The kids were not aware that today was installation day. At around 10am today the team arrived to put in the trampoline. The kids were both at school and oblivious to what was going on. By the time they arrived home, the trampoline was in and ready for its first test drive.

I was not home at the time, but I hear that there was much joy and excitement. I think for the next while a timer of sorts is needed to control whose turn it is to jump. The Olympics is on at the moment and Devon watched the Woman's Trampoline Final last night. All he wants Kyle to do are those turns and twists that he saw on TV. Not to mention jump HIGH.

I can see that the trampoline is going to be winner!

So while the kids jump away I'll be cleaning up the mountain of soil left behind by the installers.