Nerf Fest 2019 was the Nerf - in photos

Nerf Fest 2019

Nerf Fest 2019 was awesome! The girls had so much fun. The competitor activities was all the rage, and the stunning GOG Lifestyle Park added to the fun of the day! This is not a Wordless Wednesday, but here are some of the photos. The heat on Saturday was the only reason we left. It was a scorcher of a summer's day!

There was 4 competitor's areas that the children had to complete. They were in a team of 5 each, and the Nerf Monsters (each team had to choose their own name) did a few good rounds. The last round was in the water area, and it was perfect to cool down after the exercises. The smaller children could also play in a number of areas, but I think it would be great if they get their own competitor slots, with parents running alongside them. A fellow blogger told me her son was so disappointed that he could not yet partake! (Just a suggestion?)

Nerf Fest 2019

The social contract with your child - Think Ahead

Think Ahead is running great workshops with regards social media and your child. Teachers and parents will definitely benefit to attend. I listened to Having the Social Media Talk with your tech-savvy child, by Cayley Jorgensen.

Cayley Jorgensen - Think Ahead

We have been postponing getting a phone for our Miss Fine, although she is nearly eleven. "ALL HER FRIENDS" ("Yes, all my friends, Mom!") have phones already! She still has an iPad2 that she only gets to play on when homework is done, and she got a tablet sent from family overseas only this past weekend. She is also already very versatile on her parent's phones, and knows both our passwords. We have been having talks, and the school has been having talks. The school has forbidden the use of smartphones that can connect to the Internet. It helped to prolong the inevitable. But here we are!

The social contract by Cayley Jorgensen (shared below) is a great way to proceed.

Marnie's World pre-release screening - WIN tickets for family

Marnie's World - Ster-Kinekor

Ster-Kinekor is having pre-release screenings of Marnie’s World on 26 October. Check out the trailer, Marnie's World on YouTube.

"Pampered pussycat Marnie who does little more than eat and sleep all day is lured into becoming a secret agent. Marnie teams up with a bunch of runaway animals, including a crazy donkey, a chicken and all their friends and sets off on a dangerous mission to track down a gang of notorious thieves."

Jesse & the Thinkers, by Ken John - Book review

Jesse & the Thinkers (Jesse & Jake Book 1)

I love it when a book aligns with my understanding of the world: Thoughts create your reality is the main message that permeates in Jesse en the Thinkers, by Ken John.

I would love for my daughter to read it. I will wait two years, until she is 12,13 to introduce it to her. It is a fantastical ride into a world of dreams, but with believable characters whom we all can identify with. The Outsider is always the one who saves the world in the end? The positive message of your thoughts that creates your world, and the way you see and experience the world, is totally depended on the self! How I would love for my "half-empty-cup"daughter to know that she can change that! So much!

My GoodReads review follows below.

NERF FEST 2019 hits Joburg in a week!

NERF Fest fun 

NERF FEST - "the ultimate Nerf obsessed fan experience" - hits Johannesburg on 26 and 27 October at GOG Lifestyle Park! We remember last year and how much the kids enjoyed the fun! The excitement is high, especially because we see that the venue is larger, and there are more activities. Nerf fans are again trying out the latest Nerf blasters and going to test their skills against each other. The title of Nerf Fest 2019 champions and some amazing prizes are up for grabs.

Nerf Fest caters for the whole family, and there's a whole day of activities.

Pekingese, who knew they are so cute?

Ozo the Pekingese Fluff

My Eldest started with Pekingese. She got a pup when she was still living with us. The dog breaths multiplied and she now has three of them, and we got to know them really well. Especially after we were pet sitting two Pekingese for her pet service...

Pekingese Ozo and Lady

Turns out the two Pekingese we are looking after, are being dumped. We were waiting last night for them to be picked up, but nobody showed. The owner also paid us only for the first month. Luckily my daughter is involved with Pekingese Rescue and we are now fostering them until they can find owners for them. We are very fond of the two Pekingese, Ozo and Lady. They are both lovely dogs with great personalities, and they would make stunning companions. We can't keep them, as we are not planning to have more than one dog. (My husband also says he does not want a dog after our own dog dies. So, there's that!) We also have to be responsible, as we are not in a financial position to have the responsibility of three dogs. Vet bills are not cheap. 

Disney Descendants are back with Series 3 - WIN

Disney Descendants 3

In celebration of Disney Descendants movie premiere on Disney Channel on Friday, 11 October, Disney Africa has made available a cool hamper to win.

Catch them on DSTv Channel 303 at 17:25 today!

Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart and Cameron Boyce return to Auradon
and the Isle Of The Lost in the dynamite new Disney movie, Descendants 3. 

Some cool facts from Descendants 3 that makes us look forward to it!

L.O.L. Surprise Boys - add the brother! Review

L.O.L. Surprise Boy

The L.O.L. Surprise range continues to "surprise"! (Sorry! ;-)) They have brothers as well. L.O.L. Surprise Boys is a range of boy dolls which also needs unwrapping. Now the boys can also unwrap their own surprise boy doll! It adds that extra special element to your L.O.L. Surprise Doll collection.
Each Surprise Boy character has a similar fierce style to his sister character, but with his own unique
twist. With eight characters to collect, the surprise unboxing fun continues.

The festive season is around the corner, and this is a great toy for the girls and boys who love collectables.

Celebrating OUMA on Grandparents Day

Ouma en Oupa

It's International Grandparents Day on Sunday. OUMA Rusks is running a cool campaign to coincide with this. Who doesn't know the popular phrase "Dip 'n Ouma", or hearing from expats searching for Ouma Rusks? This is one of our proudly South African products that everybody enjoys with a cuppa.

CELEBRATING ALL THE GOGO’S, GRANS, NANI’S AND NANAS THIS GRANDPARENT’S DAY

OUMA Rusks

Look out for the limited edition OUMA Rusks packs showcasing some of the many names South Africans use to reference their grandmothers. So cool! 

‘’Whether it’s your uGogo, Nana, Gran, Ouma, Nani or any other name you use to refer to your Grandparent, we wanted to continue to acknowledge the powerful impact grandparents have had on our lives, not just on this one day but throughout the year,’’ says Nerina Singh, Assistant Brand Manager, Ouma Rusks.

We are so lucky to still have grandparents on both sides of the family. So blessed that Miss Fine has them, as well as a very involved aunt that enriches her life so much. She loves visiting them, and staying with them when the parents want a break, or the school holidays seems to long to go to aftercare all the time! They are also always cheering from the sidelines. The Eldest also had the best time growing up with the grandparents in her life. Thank you so much!

A memorable date night, especially with Simmi Areff

Simmi Areff

We do not get that much opportunity for a date night, but last week was one for the books. Simmi Areff gave the proceeds of his comedy nights at Auto & General Theatre on the Square to Femme Projects. We were invited to media night on Thursday, and we are extremely happy we went.

Simmi Areff is funny, and he "works" the audience. Looking at the social media engagements I know not one of his nights or jokes are exactly the same. I bow to that, because how is it possible to stay funny for two hours with an audience that you do not know? Well, he does it really well! Check him out and sign up to his podcasts on his blog. Apparently he is a very big deal on TikTok as well. We laughed for two hours straight!

"Let’s tackle the tale as old as time….love! Simmi Areff is the Agony Uncle for the heartbroken; the love guru of the modern era.  He seemingly has all the answers – but take them with a pinch of salt – because he wouldn’t be sharing his story if his love life was better than yours."

Nelson Mandela Square

As always, we enjoyed Nelson Mandela Square, and had to make a stop at Hard Rock Café. The Entertainer app still has the two for one burger deal, which is really tasty. I had their vegetarian burger made with cauliflower.

Nelson Mandela Square

This was an epic date night! (My husband was smiling, just not on this photo, I promise ;-))

Hard Rock Cafe

Date night at Hard Rock Cafe

Jimi Hendrix booth 

Thanks to MS Publicity for inviting us to media night!
Thank you, Simmi Areff, for the laughs, and for donating the proceeds!

Follow Simmi Areff online:

Twitter: @simmiareff

Facebook: Simmi Areff

Instagram: @simmiareff