MACK attack!: January 2014

New Year

To see the old year out and the new one in, we invited my whole family to join us at the Vaal. That is 18 people, for those who do not realise the size and scope of that invitation!!! Our lovely neighbours kindly allowed us to sleep some adults there (swiftly named Calm Cottage), while Carl and I and Heidi and Darrell got to share our house with 8 kids and 2 puppies!. Swiftly named Chaos Cottage!!! It is a wonderful thing that the kids are old enough and water safe enough to pretty much disappear. Which suits both kids and adults alike!! We attended the annual NYE party at the club house and surprisingly, even the adults managed to stay awake. It did help that we braai-ed late which meant we only had a couple of hours left until New Year. The kids were given a curfew of 1:30am, which turned out to be perfect timing because that was when the drunk party goers really started getting out of hand.
Apart from the party, we lazed about, went on the boat (record: Darrell and I and 10 kids!!), went paddling, fished, swam, rode bikes and played with the puppies. After the gang had left, we stayed on for a few days and had a time of real peace and calm. The weather was just perfect and we had a chance to ski/wakeboard. Carl and I are doing well with our slalom skiing (I am actually enjoying it now, rather than just hanging on for dear life!!); Ali is a fabulous wake boarder and Megan managed to slalom ski for the first time. No small feat! Trust me, I know!!
It worked out so well that our last few days were restful, so we got home energised and almost ready to take on the New Year with its many challenges that lie ahead.

Loppe on the boat. Not too happy!

Our new baby...

Alistair got a puppy for Christmas. It was not something we were able to take to Howick & wrap up and put under the tree for him, so he had to wait until we got back. We found a breeder who had a female puppy for us, who was on the way to the Vaal. So after a lightning turn around (arrived home from Hilton on Sunday, and left for the Vaal on Monday - 4 loads of washing, unpack, shop, repack in that time!!) we headed off to pick her up. There were 2 females from which to choose (We don't do male dogs), and it was a nearly impossible decision for Ali. He finally decided he preferred the one with the darker coat. So, this little bundle of joy has joined our family. She spent a week with us at the Vaal, and is now trying to make our Jack Russells like her (not succeeding!). A chew monster of note, but really, who can stay cross for long. Her name is Loppe (pronounced Loppa), which is Norwegian for flea.

Christmas

I am glad that I am about to report a whole lot of interesting things that ARENT HOUSE RELATED!! No small miracle that! Yes, my past year has been all about the house, but now, seeing as builders went away and no activity would happen until mid-Jan, we could relax and really enjoy our December.
This year, it was a van der Riet Christmas, so we all descended on the KZN midlands for a week. We (our family & Carl's sister Sarah's family) rented accommodation on a farm just outside Hilton College. It was so beautiful and served us perfectly for the time we were there. Christmas eve was at Laurie's house in Hilton, and Christmas day was at Selma and Bruno's place in Howick. It was a wonderful time for us all to be together and for the cousins to catch up. Far too much eating went on, but plenty of exercise too (not by me, I'm sorry to say!).
Christmas Eve at the Keysers: