Little Miss Independent - an update

Little Miss has grown so much in recent weeks! This year has been tough with changing schools and getting into the swing of a new school, with new rules and new friends. I am proud of her for the way she has handled the changes.

I am doing this update to remind us of  her specialness right now! This time and age passes too quickly as well, and I don't do enough updates!

- Little Miss seems to love maths more than languages, and the spelling is a pain. But she loves reading. One of the best things we are doing right now, is taking her regularly to the library, and letting her read in the evenings to us. She begs us to go to the library every two weeks, and starts reading in the car on our way home! She also picks her books from the Teenage Reading section, and not the beginner readers anymore!

- She still loves a few favourite outfits that she wears time-and-time again. I try to hide it in her cupboard, but she always finds it! The grey leggings and the crocodile t-shirt (size 3-4) is still the absolute bomb!

- She still struggles with making new friends, but somehow she manages to keep on telling us about a few girls at school that she plays with! For an introvert that's not too bad! She has not found a very special friend, but maybe it is a good thing if she plays in a bundle?

- She loves dancing at school. There's a free class every week, and she can't wait! I had her signed up for a dancing school in the beginning of the year, but it clashed with Voortrekkers. I need to find another dance lesson for next semester.

- She has decided not to do netball, or choir, and the drama is a pain! I told her to discontinue drama at the end of this semester. I think it is better to find her feat first and then decide what she wants to do!

- She loves doing my and her sister's hair, and doing make-up! I have batches of photos of hairstyles on my phone. (If I do a search for "dogs", the hairstyles also pops up. But it's not an indication of the classiness of the hairstyles. ;-) iOS needs to work on an upgrade in photo search!)

- She loves rollerskating right now! We have promised her an outing during the holidays!

Little Miss is becoming very independent. I see it in the mornings when she asks for an extra hug or kiss, but then running away without looking back! I feel that I should cherish her still sitting on my lap, and asking for us to lay with her in the evenings!

When it's gone, it's gone!

Thanks so much for the adventures with you, Little Miss!

We are looking forward to a weekend with the Voortrekkers and camping during the holidays! (#thingsyoudoforyourchildren) It will perhaps be our last, but we have an arsenal of Voortrekker stories already built up because of you!
Next time she says she will be ready to go on her own! Little Miss Independent!

In the Vredefort Dome

We spent the past weekend in the Vredefort Dome near Parys in the Free State. The meteorite made the biggest impact on earth of 300 km wide.

It is a lovely place to explore and we will definitely be going back. It is also not that far away from Johannesburg, and lovely to drive through for the weekend! I would love to go exploring and do more hiking in the area.

Venterskroon Camp

We went camping with the Voortrekkers (similar than Girl/Boy Scouts). We are still going with on the camping trips as they are still very young. Not one of the children in Little Miss' age group went on their own. The parents still tag along. (Not that the children appreciate it! "You can go now, Mom! I am fine!")

I was not looking forward to the weekend because we had a "survival" weekend the previous year at Doornkloof in the Northern Free State. This time around it was not as cold (although Friday night was also very cold), and the food was good. We sorted out our blankets and the blankets for for the children on Saturday night, and heated up the electric warm water bottles which helped a lot! Luckily the days were sunny and hot! It's summer already!

Littler Miss had such a great time! They were taught how to make bread over fire, which we call "stokbrood" (stick bread?). They had a camp concert which they enjoyed tremendously and they hiked with vigour up the mountain without any complaints!

The dust and the cold did not make a dent in the children's experiences!

The Art Gallery in Venterskroon

Vredefort Dome Information Centre

Old Imperial Inn

Venterskroon Inn Pub/Restaurant/Accomodation

Venterskroon Inn Saloon

Venterskroon Inn Saloon

Venterskroon Inn Saloon

Hiking up the mountain with the Voortrekkers

What did you do with your weekend?

A weekend in the Northern Free State #thingsyoudoforyourchildren

The things you do for your children...

We went "camping" with the Voortrekkers (something similar than girl scouts/boy scouts) at Doornkloof in the Northern Free State.

It was cold and dusty, without cellphone reception!

Little Miss loved it!
And that's all that counts!

Little Miss had a seat in the upper deck of the bus,
which was a real treat going there!

Our "Chalet" for the weekend
(It was much better than a tent, thank our lucky stars!)

Doornkloof is a place of history!
Grave of Sarel Cilliers, whose farm this was

One of the sessions with the Grade 1 Voortrekkers

First Aid lessons - not a real wound

The Grade 1 girls ready  for a night of discovery on the farm

A ride on a tractor

Exploring the indigenous people's housing

Such a beautiful place, even with the dry winter landscape.

It seems we are set up for 12 years of Voortrekkers

The *Voortrekkers had their first meeting last Saturday, and we realised that we are Voortrekker parents for at least 12 years more. The eldest had her Voortrekkers which she enjoyed (but not as involved as this), and we have to give Little Miss the same "exposure".

[It feels a bit like going down the rabbit hole...]

But it's not that bad! The enthusiasts are doing great things with the children, and they are having fun, fun, FUN!
(And learning something along the way!)

Little Miss is hooked, especially since they started again this year with water sports!

Last year we went camping with the Voortrekkers (#thingsyoudoforyourchildren).
It seems we are going again this year! (Unfortunately we feel that she is still to young to post on a bus for a whole weekend!)
Happy times! (Not that sarcastic!)

I was glad to learn that they stay in their same teams, and that we don't have to buy a whole new set of t-shirts and bags. We can carry on with what we have!

See you at the Voortrekkers!


*Voortrekkers - Think Girl Guides/Boy Scouts


Related posts:

- Road safety fun

- How to celebrate the start of Spring?

- At the Voortrekker Monument