The Melvilles

And while I'm about it...

2011-05-18T08:16:00.000+02:00

While I'm posting - Link to Chloe's Birthday Party Pics too.

Long Weekend in Paternoster

2011-05-18T08:14:00.001+02:00

It has been too long since the last post...!

Have posted some pics of our long weekend in Paternoster on my site. Pics are here.

The Clan at Pringle Bay

2010-04-04T16:57:00.001+02:00

All the Melvilles and Oosthuizens at Pringle Bay Easter 2010 - a very chilled affair!

Pumula, Continued...

2009-09-29T11:16:00.014+02:00

The rain has arrived in Pumula - optimistically, just in time to stop us from doing serious sun-damage to ourselves.

Chloe and Astrid said a sad goodbye to Nichola and Georgia, who they have played with day and night since we arrived.

But, we made use of the rainy day yesterday and headed off to see the Morey's in Mount Edgecombe - more than 100km just to say hi! Or at least Kaeli did, I did my annual pilgrimage to Gateway (once a retailer...) - still one of the best retail spaces in South Africa. Kaeli scored without leaving the Morey's house - I couldn't return empty-handed.

The kids entertainment continues, the slush-puppies are flowing (kids can sign for them - a financially scary thought), and the wireless internet is free... haven't made much use of it though, as we have had our noses buried in our books, and Kaeli has been learning what it means to lose at Backgammon. Chloe has just learnt how to play chess as well, with similar success to her Mom's Backgammon - so far...

Chloe has made a new friend, Beth, who as we speak has taken Astrid to play "Duck, Duck, Goose" with Aloma, who arranges all sorts of fun stuff and competitions for the kids. We're sitting in the lounge (along with other parents who looked too relaxed for parents of young kids).

The part that I enjoy most is the independence the kids have - they always know roughly where we are, and then roam all over the hotel in small very mobile packs. These packs often find their way to the dining room at night (kids eat dinner earlier in their dining-room), where they can pick up an extra pudding with their folks if they time it right. Kaeli on more than one evening has found the decision between the two puddings available on the menu too hard to make, so has taken the easy way out, and just had both...

We suppose if you're going to be cooped up in bad weather, this doesn't seem like too tough a place to do it, as a kid or even a parent...

Cheers,

Matt

Tough Life at Pumula

2009-09-26T13:49:00.000+02:00

We are on day three of a whole week at Pumula Beach Hotel.

Life at Pumula is tough.

Reading books while the kids play with their new friends tough. Cappuccino after lunch while the kids do Arts and Crafts tough. Five course dinners tough. Lounging round the pool whilst the kids swim etc...

Send your sympathy whilst we are still trapped here...

Cheers,

Matthew.

Dolphin Riding

2009-09-07T21:36:00.005+02:00

If we all could recognise opportunities like Dolphin-riding I'm sure the world would be a better place.

Astrid noticed that there were inflatable toys stuck away in the pool-cupboard. At first, she wanted the kiddies pool "blown up". When we explained that the only way that the pool could be blown up was with lots of icy water in it, she reluctantly focussed her attention on the inflatable dolphin instead. She asked for it to be inflated. She asked again, and again and again.

Finally, I relented. It was an absent-minded thing, sitting upstairs when she asked yet again. I didn't suddenly understand what use an inflatable dolphin could be in winter, I just relented because pressure from a six-year old is exactly what is it intended to be - relentless. Only one person was going to be doing the relenting, and it wasn't Astri...

Astrid disappeared downstairs. I heard her return before I saw her, a combination of grunts and bare feet sliding on vinyl as she dragged the dolphin, which is taller than I am, upstairs. If the Cheshire Cat ever dragged a blanket upstairs, this is what the cat would have looked like.

I challenged her to blow it up herself, but somehow I ended up lying on the higher landing on the stairs blowing up the dolphin. The lying on the landing was probably to stop myself from falling over while feeling faint - did I mention that the dolphin is taller than I am?

I don't know if blowing the dolphin up lying on the stairs had anything to do with what happened next. I left her alone for a while, and then heard shrieks followed by a thud. And then someone running upstairs again. Shriek, thud, running, repeat.

Our staircase has two turns in it. Unless you are right at the bottom, any piece of the staircase ends in a wall. The wall was the thud. The shrieks were Astrid riding the Dolphin. Not lying down on the dolphin as a sensible person might do. The only way to ride a dolphin down stairs apparently is sitting astride the dolphin, holding onto the handles that would normally stop you from falling off and getting wet. And then crashing into the wall on the landing, a kind of ride-and-airbag all in one.

At first we tried "No! You'll brain yourself!"

Then we tried "Be careful!"

And then we did the most sensible thing, which was packing the wall with couch cushions so that the impact of dolphin and wall, especially if it became dolphin, girl and wall, was minimised.

Since then, it has become a freestyle sport. Riding backwards, lying down upside down, as well as sister-assisted. Sister-assisted involves having your sister ride with you, sitting astride the dolphin, but facing backwards. The reason for this is simply "it makes the dolphin go faster!"

I loved this. Opportunity, creativity and pig-headedness makes for a lot of fun.

Cheers,

Matthew

New Pictures Posted

2009-01-18T08:30:00.003+02:00

We've just posted some new photos on our usual web Album on Picasa - links to all our other albums are on the right.

Cheers,

Matthew

Ballet Concert

2009-01-18T08:25:00.003+02:00

Chloë and Astrid's ballet school did a version of the Nutcracker during December - a link to the album is on the right of this page or directly from here.

Chloe and Astrid

2008-10-04T08:27:00.003+02:00

We finally got round to sitting down and choosing photos for printing for our album last week.

We found these two pictures of Chloë and Astrid we really liked.

Cheers,

Matthew.

The Ballet Girls

2007-07-29T12:30:00.001+02:00

Astrid made her Ballet debut at her first Ballet Concert, and Chloe did a solo in a "grown-up" tutu. She says she can't figure out this "stage-frightening" thing...

The Holidays Came and Went!

2007-01-14T10:40:00.000+02:00

We spent Christmas out at Pringle Bay where we joined the rest of the Melville side of the family - some of the greatest weather we've experienced there at this time of year - not much wind at all in the place that seems to be the birthplace of the South-Easter. We've graduated from going to the lagoon at the end of the beach (what the kids call the Coke Lagoon because of the black mountain water) to the Real Sea - Chloë learnt how to boogie board in the shallow water this year, and we struggled to get her out of the water as soon as she had the hang of it. Astrid's not ready for that yet, but still has a great time getting airborne over each of tiny waves that comes to shore, and trying to return as much sand to the sea as possible. It's a great break for parents out there - the four cousins get together and play continuously - adults are still needed at mealtimes, and tend to be annoying when they insist on a bedtime.

We broke with our usual tradition, and had New Year at home in Cape Town - a quiet evening with the Willards and the Le Roux's that turned out to be a great way to see in the year. (Also makes the following day much easier, definitely not as a result of reduced alcohol intake, but rather that no-one feels shy to get to New Year and then go to bed immediately - young children don't seem to respect the need to sleep late on the first morning of the year...).

We otherwise did what we try to do each year this time, and be on holiday in our own town. It's not a great time of year for travelling, but we still try to spend as little time at home as possible. We did our annual train trip from Newlands to somewhere along the Simonstown line. This year we stopped at St James(strangely quiet!), and then wandered round Kalk Bay in all the little antique shops and had lunch at one of our favourite spots, Cafe Matisse. Also did the best kind of picnic at Kirstenbosch and Spier - arrive with nothing but your picnic blanket, and get all your supplies almost ready-made at the Deli!

Chloë starts Big School at Oakhurst this week - seeing her trying out her school uniform is both a proud and scary moment - how did we get here so fast? She's filled with nothing other than enthusiasm to get started - she wasn't impressed that her last day at Garfield was separated from her first at Oakhurst by a holiday.

Astrid starts at Robyn Tait this year - if Chloë's experiences here are anything to go by, it will be a wonderful, magical year for her - a tiny class of 12 kids and a teacher that hasn't forgotten the magic and creativity of being a child. Robyn is one of the few people that Chloe will still see today two years later and just run up to and hug!

Drop us a line in the comments if you like.

Cheers,

Matthew

First Post - Welcome

2006-12-31T08:23:00.000+02:00

Welcome to the Melvilles Web 2.0! We decided to get back onto the web with what seems like the rest of the world, and have gone for the Really Easy Approach - we have a photo album on Picasa Web (a link above), and we'll add a bit of news every now and then on this blog.

Comments welcome - hope you enjoy the updates.

Cheers, Matthew, Mikaela, Chloë and Astrid