The kids and I were invited to a party on Sunday morning at Farmyard Frendz close to Northgate.  Another photographer did the main photos for the party, so I just had some fun with the camera and took photos of my kids and the animals.  We’ve never been to a party there, and I was quite impressed with the venue, and we all had a great time, although I think the venue would be chaos on a Saturday if there were 3 parties going at the same time.

These cupcakes were the the main reason I actually got my camera out of my bag.  They were STUNNING!! They were made by Magnolia Cakes (I’ve taken photos of her cakes at other parties) and this was the first time I’ve seen a cupcake tower from her.  I just had to take photos of them to show Angel (who is a cupcake fundi of note).

It was so nice to see Bradley enjoying his horse ride, but it always makes me slightly sad that he stopped riding… he used to be so good at it.

And this place had emus! Which is more than a little strange to see in this country, so of course I had to take some photos of them.

Fiona organised a “surprise” lunch for Sue’s birthday, that didn’t end up being much of a surprise as it seems quite a few people gave it away… but we had a good time this afternoon at Tres Jolie anyway

The restaurant was a lovely place to take the kids.  The service could have been better, in fact, it was not good at all… but the food was divine (albeit a little expensive for some items ito what you got) and the play area magnificent.  It was really nice not to have to worry about the kids too much and have a good natter with friends

And last but not least… my favourite photo of the entire week…

Go to Sarcastic Mom to see more blogger’s Weekly Winners links

A whole load of random images from our Ballito holiday are just perfect for Lotus’ Weekly Winners challenge today

First up, are some images from the afternoons we spent fishing on the rocks with small nets.

Bradley made friends with a little boy who was a whizz at catching fish, and he even caught this squid in the rocks.  Please note that all creatures were returned to the sea

And on the subject of creatures, we went to the Flag Animal Farm one morning, and the kids had a ball feeding all the animals and milking the cows and riding ponies.

And what’s a holiday on the coast without watching the sunrise over the sea…

These have to be my Weekly Winners! Lance took me to Forum Homini for the night of my birthday.  What an incredibe experience! It’s a five star boutique hotel in the Cradle of Humankind (less than an hours drive from home).  It’s set in a game reserve, so we couldn’t walk around after 5:30pm because of the hippos (which we sadly didn’t end up seeing).

It’s an amazing place that is so unimposing to look at, and it was designed to blend into the surroundings with grass on the roof etc.

Ooh and the restaurant!! Wow! We rolled out of there yesterday morning after all the amazing food.  On Friday night we had a 6 course dinner and we decided to have the wine teasers that went with it.  Basically they served South African wines specifically for that plate of food.  It was awesome, and we had rose, white, and red and a mixture of dry and sweetish wines.  And the food!! Wow! We started with a tomato and anise seed soup with a mussel in the middle, then it was an artichoke salad with crisp ham, then kingklip with oxtail wonton, then pork belly with apple tart tatin, then slow roasted lamb shoulder, then it ended with coffee cream pavlova.  And if that wasn’t enough, they then presented a plate with Happy Birthday written in chocolate and a gorgeous sorbet.

And then yesterday morning, we had a 5 course brunch before leaving the hotel! I didn’t eat for the rest of yesterday!

Here are some of my photos from our short trip, I think I’ve gone a bit overboard but I haven’t posted in a few days

First, our room…

This gorgeous bath was in the lounge and overlooked the veld and a little stream.

The shower was incredible… it was a double shower with a glass roof and glass doors that opened to a private garden – it must be awesome in summer.

Now for some photos of the hotel itself…

We went for a walk in the reserve in the afternoon, and we managed to get some photos of the hotel rooms from the front.  Note the grass that’s grown on the roof.  You actually can’t see the hotel from very far because it blends so well into the surroundings.

These were taken at sunset over the dam with Roots restaurant on the left.  You can see the roofs of the hotel rooms just to the right of the restaurant.

Some random shots from our walk on Friday afternoon and the drive back home yesterday.

And my favourite shot… hehe I love it!

I spent a wonderful afternoon on Saturday with the M family in a park close to their home north of Johannesburg.  I hope they had as much fun as I did in the end… the younger 2 girls were not quite pleased about the prospect of the photos but they soon warmed up to the idea.

I started the afternoon by taking photos of the girls with their pets before we headed off for the park.

Their dog was quite funny, and was talking to me while I took photos of him.

and the last one is my favourite one of the day… hope they like it too!