Elections

Well, the elections finally came, and have gone...

On 22 April 2009 we all went to the polls to cast our votes. We didn't have to wait too long to vote, because we went in the afternoon, but many of the reports from around the country say that the queues were only ever this long in 1994. So the country took this one seriously!

Our town hall where we voted...

The extent of our queue. The queue did carry on inside the foyer a bit, and into the hall, but it really wasn't bad.

Some people ahead of us casting their vote.

The mark (which is almost gone now) to show that I took part in this democratic process in an effort to make this country better.

The results are now official, and I personally am very happy with how it all worked out. The ANC got 65.9% in the national election, so they did not get their two thirds majority again. I think that we are all relieved about that, although they didn't make any major changes to the constitution in their last term, I feel it is better for one party not to have that power. Jacob Zuma will be sworn in as the country's president next week.

And in the Western Cape the DA got an outright majority, and Helen Zille will be sworn in as our new premier next week. She has been the mayor of Cape Town for the last few years, and I think by far the most effective mayor that we've had in years, so I think the future is bright for the Western Cape.

I also feel quite strongly that although there are a great many South Africans who do not want Jacob Zuma as our president, the reality is that he is. And we now need to deal with that fact, and look for the positives that will happen over the next five years. There will be positives. I know that. There will in all likelihood be negatives too, but there have been over all of the last 15 years, so we cannot say that everything bad that happens can be laid at his feet.

Despite Zuma's history, we need to give him a chance to govern this country. The people have spoken, and although there are many who are uneducated in this majority, there are many who are educated and who don't have anything to gain personally, and yet they have thrown their support behind this man. We need to stop holding onto the past, and have an open mind as we view the future. If we don't, we will only make ourselves miserable, and things still won't change. But if we can be positive, then I'm very confident that we'll find that the future is not bleak, and there is still much reason to be happy to live in South Africa.

I'm still very happy and proud to be South African!

Joshua moments - March 2009

Life is sometimes too hectic! With all of my good intentions, I still find myself with not enough time... But I've just got two weeks left of what is undoubtedly the busiest 6 weeks for me of the whole of 2009 (since starting at UCT), so then I should get back to posting more regularly. But more about my busy times another time...

So I have the whole of March to catch up on, and of course the April photos are piling up too. But one at a time. These are really just a collection of my favourite photos of Joshua during the month - so nothing specific.

After we bought our deep freeze we cut the box in half so that Joshua could have a little house. He enjoyed it for a while, but we've thrown it away now...We're not superstitious as you can tell...Joshua enjoys McDonald's just as much as Spur!My clever little boy can switch on our lounge light with no help from us. We have a remote for our light/ceiling fan, and for the last month now he knows exactly which button to press for the light, and he presses it first time almost every time! So now he usually switches on the light when it needs doing. And he likes to switch it on and off a bit, but these days he knows it needs to be on, so he always finishes with it on before he loses interest.Joshua LOVES sunglasses! If you put them on him he gets this very happy grin on his face, and then he puts his hands up to grab them. But doesn't he look cool? ;o)We had to buy a bigger car seat... Our next major expense... But I think this is the last major purchase for this age. I know there's lot still to be spent, but its on lots of smaller things... I think he's enjoying being in the back seat and having a view while we drive. But the first day we got it he wasn't too sure about it all...And talking of those other expenses! With the cooler weather coming, and Joshua's phenomenal growth we had to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe! So these are Joshua's new pajamas, which are too big at this stage, but I think he already fits into them better, just a month later...And he loves crawling around on our bed and climbing anywhere he can! So this is an almost daily scene.These are all photos from an afternoon that we had at home. Joshua and Andrew were playing all sorts of rough and tumble games!Josh was actually standing on his own here, but that penguin that he's holding got in the way of the photo. This is now old hat, but at the time it was still novel... Joshua was leaning right up against the ottoman here - and really enjoying the feeling of it against his back, I think... I made these rings for him to learn how to put them over his head, and then ultimately to be able to put a ring over a stick, which he can now do. But he had great fund putting them over his head... ... and taking them off again... We had this really nice colourful pompom courtesy of my mom... Well, we had it... Now it's been demolished... But Joshua still liked it ;o) So that's the pictorial history of Joshua's month... It's just amazing to watch him grow!

Joshua's first birthday

Isn't nostalgia a funny thing? I feel like I've spent a very nostalgic few days... I can't believe that it's been a whole year since we first met Joshua. And it's been a very good year on the whole! I am very happy to be in this part of my life and enjoying these experiences. And having the son that I have certainly makes things even better!

So here's how his first birthday went...

Most mornings when Joshua wakes up Andrew is already awake, and brings him to our bed where we have some really nice family time before we start the day. So Friday was no exception... This was just a cute shot of Joshua with one of his favourite toys... ;o)

...and then we got out his present... He managed most of the unwrapping himself.

Once he'd made a bit of a hole he just wanted to be sticking his hands into the hole to see what was inside. It took some help to then get the rest of the paper off...



Just a couple of him kneeling and standing during the day. He's gotten very confident at standing and kneeling - he can even stand up without pulling himself up against something - but his walking is still few and far between... But when he does walk he'll be very well balanced!

(Friday was another really hot day - in April! When will this heat end?!?)

And then on Saturday we had Joshua's party. This year we just had our families over, but that is quite a big group... He got a couple presents, and again, he is so cute opening them. The first one (a Pooh bear cup and plate) he got this really interested look on his face while he was trying to peer inside the wrapping...


And then books he always loves!

This is most of the people that were there - but my brothers and sister tend to mill between their house and ours, so they weren't all there when I took the photos...


For some, our computer still remains the main attraction... ;o)

And then there was singing to Joshua. We didn't do a full cake this year, but Andrew's sister and mom did cupcakes for the party, and we were given this big "1" candle, so it came out very disproportionate, but it will make for cool memories!

When we actually sang Happy Birthday Joshua was completely entranced with all these people singing to him. He absolutely loved it!


And so now it's all over, and we begin the second year... So many challenges, but lots of exciting things too! I'm looking forward to it!

Fires on Devil's Peak

A few weeks ago there were major fires again in Cape Town, and this time on the slops of Devil's Peak, which was a problem for traffic, and it also threatened Rhodes Memorial. On the way in I could actually see the flames on the higher parts of the mountain, and there was smoke billowing from the area...
You can actually see the smoke columns just below the peak between the buildings on campus...And I had helicopters flying past my office window all morning. Quite a day!

Ward picnic at Wiesenhof

On 14 March our ward had a picnic. This is probably one of the biggest activities our ward has done in years, and it was so amazing to see how most of the ward attended, and we all had a really great time. It was on a farm out towards Stellenbosch - Wiesenhof, and they have a forest area on the farm which they've turned into a major activity venue. There are a few pools, parks, open fields to play sport, there is a 4x4 trail, and you can see game if you go on the trail, and other things as well. So a really nice venue.

And of course just in a really pretty area too - here are a couple of the views on the drive out: And then we arrived:
Our picnic area was next to a dam area, and these are some of the views from our spot.

As people started arriving, the lawns filling up:

They were playing soccer or something at this point
The other pools on the farm were nice blue pools that I would possibly have swum in - but this was the pool by us. So I didn't swim, but once it warmed up some of the youth did... Crazy!
That pool above was fed by this stream:
Joshua really enjoyed the day...
We took Joshua for a walk to explore the area around us.
After the soccer, the frisbees came out...
We did spend a lot of time just lazing around on the blankets, and of course eating. Joshua really liked the eating!
Blowing bubbles with his milk. He REALLY likes spitting at the moment!
The hammock was an interesting experience, I think...
And where there are balls, you'll find Joshua. He extended that to frisbees and anything he could get his hands on!
Then the volleyball started. And Andrew played a couple games. The volleyball in mid flight in the photo, but difficult to see...
Those crazy youth I told you about!
And then of course Andrew always hates a photo, so he was trying to hide behind Joshua, but I got him anyway!
So we had a really fun day, and the best part about it was that there were so many people, and we all enjoyed it. I think it did help to build some unity in the ward.