Tag: family

Easter 2015!

Easter is one of the Miller’s favorite holidays. As “grown ups” we get to live vicariously through the kids’ hyper excitement (chocolate fueled, no doubt). This year we did some fun crafts leading up to the big egg hunt -making paper bag animals, dying eggs, etc. Dying eggs was a first for us and we had a lot of fun making it happen. The kids also participated in an Easter baking class to keep things fun.

When it came time for the big Easter egg hunt, we hunted in our yard way earlier than desired because Claire and Rhys’ hype could not be contained. We sometimes call Rhys ‘Roo-roo the Rooster’ for good reason…he wakes us all up everyday around 6am! We made a special breakie early on Easter morning. By 8:15am all the eggs were found and we were forced to explain why portioning/rationing one’s sweets is a virtuous goal.

We ended our long weekend with a great visit with old friends and we finally met their new baby boy!

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Hallowe’en

We love Hallowe’en! We had a lot of fun this year getting costumes together, carving pumpkins, school dance for the kids, doing hallowe’en crafts and going trick or treating.

Rhys went as a werewolf and Claire a witch. Jimmy was a punk rocker and I was a bat. Wendy, Chris and Senna (who went as Cleopatra) joined us as we ventured out on a cold night to a great neighborhood where almost every house was taking part in the hallowe’en fun. The kids received way too much candy and all-in-all had a great time.

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Thanksgiving in Victoria

We hosted thanksgiving this year which was great since last year we did not celebrate it in Africa. The Miller clan met up at Galey’s farm for some pumpkin patch fun. They have a giant corn maze and a train that goes around the property. You even get to take a tractor hay ride out to the pumpkin fields to pick out a pumpkin. It was great fun!

We then came back to our house for drinks, appies, and a yummy dinner. It really is nice living close to family again 🙂

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Canada Day – July 1, 2014

Canada just turned 147 years old on July 1st. To celebrate we hosted a BBQ at our new home with some of the Miller clan.

The weather in Victoria has been very sunny and hot lately; record setting temperatures in fact. Thankfully we have adequate backyard shade as well as two inflatable pools, so we all kept cool enough to enjoy ourselves.

Our recently purchased Weber barbeque proved its worth and it was a fun gathering with good food, laughs and splashes 🙂

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Australia 2013 – Perth!

At times it felt like our global story would never end regardless of chapters ending. Due to travel agent error our previously arranged flights home required re-booking. No longer stuck to a European route home, we opted for a slightly longer path; one via Australia.

Visiting my Uncle Mike and Aunt Christine in Oz has always been on my personal to-do list. I recall discussing a potential visit with my Mom (Mike’s Sister) as far back as high school -as a post grad course of action. Alas, fate finally set the course.

Our flight from Johannesburg went great and the kids once again proved their traveler-prowess. We departed during an electrical storm so the first 20 minutes of our flight was very bumpy which Deanna did not like at all. We arrived in the early evening into Perth after an eleven hour flight and some extra customs grind. We were greeted with warm temperatures similar to Jo’burg and hugs from Mike & Christine.

We spent our time in Perth on the beach, adventuring around parks, a Christmas festival downtown, the Aquarium etc. We went to a lot of places and got a good feel of the city thanks to Mike driving us around our whole stay. The kids really earned their gills as Mike & Christine are avid divers and their personal pool and passion certainly rubbed off. Incidentally, Rhys is also more comfortable around dogs now too. Seems their dog Mitchy left a great impression as Rhys still mentions/misses him to this day.

Even after a ten day visit, Mike and Christine remained gracious hosts. Normally we’d cut any family related visit to a week at maximum for everyone’s sanity, but we were at a loss for flight times due to Aussie schools being let out for the busy Christmas holidays. Rest assured we escaped with necks narrowly un-wrung and hugs still shared upon departure… all the while unsure when we’d be down-under again.

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Visiting Reabold Hill and its view of downtown Perth:4First playground visit of many, just a few steps from our door:5

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Visit to Kings Park:8 9

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Perry Lakes played host to a skateboard demo/ reunion with Jimmy’s cousin Michael-David and his family:17 18

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Mandatory ‘Roo & Koala photo-op at Caversham Wildlife Park:24

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Claire has no fear and loves snakes!39

Our best family photo ever!… ? Complete with wombat:40 41 42

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Day trip to Fremantle aka Freo:47

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Playing in the surf was a favorite activity:52

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“Aqua” aquarium in Hillarys:57 58 59 60 61

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Quick visit to downtown Perth’s chaotic Christmas festival:69 70

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Saying goodbye is never easy…74

Art on Four – family funday!

As we’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, we drive A LOT here in Jo’burg. On our travels we often pass an art studio that appears too cool not to visit. Unfortunately, every call we’ve placed ends up unanswered or with no booking spots available. Not this time though!

Art on One is a unique place for families where you paint for social fun rather than instruction. You pay by canvas size and are given two hours to complete your painting, drink coffee, eat treats or go outside and play on their great playground.

It turned out to be a beautiful and warm sunny day for our visit. Claire & Rhys love being creative so we knew this would be a big hit with them. Jimmy even joined in the painting fun. We spent a very fun and leisurely two hours painting several canvases, leaving us plenty of time to run around outside with the kids while the paint dried. What a great Saturday!

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Gold Reef City

When it comes to family fun time, a visit to a traditional amusement park is near the bottom of our to-do list. The thought of enduring long line-ups and rude people, etc. is not appealing to us.
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Recently, my company’s CEO showed me pictures of HIS visit to a local park and it looked really fun, in contrast to our preconceptions. Knowing he brought his daughter and she enjoyed the rides coaxed us into giving it a go.
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Built upon an old mine site, Gold Reef City offers a glimpse into history as well as traditional amusement. Restored older buildings still stand, mine shafts can still be toured and a museum touts vintage equipment, etc. Nestled between all the education are rides suited for both the tame and the daring. An adjoining little kids area proved perfect for avoiding energetic hordes of thrill-seekers. The line-ups were manageable and although Claire & Rhys were timid at first they ended up having a lot of fun testing out rides just their size… even a roller-coaster. Our kids are becoming quite courageous in their adventuring! We imagine we’ll end up visiting Gold Reef City again as the kids sure enjoyed it –maybe even as much as us adults.
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Best Friends:7 8
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Rhys and his many funny faces:22 23
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Claire tired & ready for a break:
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