The parentals come for a visit- yay!

This past long weekend, I had my parents over. It was such a special time! It went too fast. Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye :( The deal was that because I couldn't see them over Easter, we would have fake Easter! Mom and dad, you guys never fail to make me feel loved and cherished. Thank you for showering me with love, hugs and kisses. I always feel refreshed and ready to take on the world after I've seen you!

I am proud to announce that I won the boiled egg fight for the first time in my life! Mine is on the far left and Phil's is on the far right (parents in the middle). First Phil went against dad on the right and I went against my mum. It ended in a final between Phillip and I.

easy mango ice cream

cut up 3 large mangos and place in a blender
add 400g sour cream (I used 500ml slightly matured double thick cream,let's see how that turns out!) and a cup of sugar (I used brown.) blend until smooth.place in a freezer proof container, and then
place in freezer until it turns hard. and you don't have to stir it at any time which is nice.

it tastes aMAzing. enjoy :D
love Rosie
xx

time for an update

Can you guys believe that 2012 is over. It has gone so fast it's crazy. to think that in 6 months time I will be 22 and Phillip and I will have been married for 2 years. WOW. that is CRAZY! so, SO much has happened since then and there is still a lifetime of memories to come. gosh.

After killing 2 live christmas trees in a year (I know, how is that possible. but we managed it.) - we decided that a fake one would be the way to go. we had our first christmas at the farm and it was lovely. first christmas ever away from my family which was totally new and a bit scary!

I got to spend 12 days in plett before the christmas festivities began, which was lots of fun. I loved seeing my fam dam, and what is plett without a casual visit to flash?? thanks hols and co for showing me a good time. I also think the fact that I made jam with my gran deserves a special mention, as well as the lady at the market who makes fruit ice cream who has never cut her hair EVER !! I also had a lot of fun styling my mum's hair into all sorts of crazy dos while she fell asleep on the couch ! haha.

christmas at the farm involved river rafting, mustaches, origami and carols. the andersons REALLY love christmas and they made me feel like part of the family. thanks guys.

to finish off the holiday, we had new years at breede river. I drove back with phillip,william and olly-dog. 16 HOURS. I'm not doing that again in a hurry. can't believe its all over and the world hasn't ended. which means I have a huge amount of unisa admin to tackle before I start the year so I better get to it.

so this is what I've been up to...

 Correct, that is ice. That came out of our HOSE PIPE would you believe it!! This is the coldest place I have ever lived in that is for sure. Can't get over how crazy this is :o

 Our poochies had to come in and hide from the cold. What cuties! Button is such a naughty little puppy- she just chews up everything! From plants to pipes to shoes. What a pain in the butt.

 These choc chip cookies are the shiz niz so let me know if you guys want the recipe. mmm.

 I'm so sorry I didn't take more photos of our sun city- pilansburg trip with my parents! My battery was flat and I couldn't charge it. all i can tell you is that is was out of this world and my dad doing a 360/180 degree flip in one of the slides at the valley of the waves was the funniest thing i've ever seen. If there's one thing my parents are good at, that's making me laugh till I want to bust! You guys are the best.

 Here's our little Lesotho adventure... check out our room isn't it just too cute?! love the fire place. I had the BEST time bonding with my homie Bronnie Brooks (haha still can't get over the awesomeness of that nick name).

 These 'Basoots' (I don't know how to spell it but I'm pretty much 100% sure that that is not right) were the topic of much consternation and fascination due to the fact that they are known to sit and watch you in the privacy of your 'bos kak'. This is unfortunate as there aren't really any bushes in Lesotho. The lates theory is that they think of us whities as a sort of TV in the middle no where. Not really sure if any one's ever asked them what they think.

 The boys caught a few fish here and there, and we managed to eat one. Here's the measuring of the fish against Struan's rod. (pahahaha nice one Bron)

the snow

 The snow was absolutely amazing! It was my first time experiencing proper, deep snow. It got into my boots and it was freezing but it was magical :)

 I couldn't believe how deep it had fallen. Every time I put my foot in the snow and it sank into it I was like " wooow !! " What an experience :) loved it.

 We got stuck a lot.

We were entertained by Charles throwing his dog Olly into the snow. It was hilarious. Every time she landed she basically disappeared into the snow. She is definitely not a fan of the snow.

My colourful Cape Town trip

wow! It has been waaay to long. this is just crazy hey! life has just got so full so fast. getting back to the farm after nearly 2 weeks in the cape has been a bit rough I'm not gonna lie :) I am absolutely pooped from that trip! Now I'm settling in again, getting back into the swing of things and thinking to myself: ' ok, I think I need a break from cape town!' never thought I'd say that! I guess I'm a country mouse deep down hey guys :)



Michelle [and Stef] , your 21st was a great intro to the trip. I had so much fun with you guys! Thanks for taking me into ur lovely digs haha :) ur bf Kyle is a keeper nice one michy! wombat, sam, helen and danno, was so good partying with you and just being silly and immature!! I have missed that :) Hols and Casey, it was really good seeing you guys too! Thanks for organising that lunch my friend :)




Quality time with the fam dam is always a must. thanks guys! and to my handsome little nephew who has just popped into the world [nice one Cand!!] , I cant wait to show you the farm and give you lots of hugs and kisses and tell u stories and give you sweets when mum's not looking [although your gran is already such a master at that haha] etc etc :) Love you lots!






Sofs, well done for hosting such an awesome 21st. It was so great catching up with everyone and bonding etc :) Solly, you are looking too gorgeous at the moment !!! Can't wait to see you all again.






Tegan Leah Catheral, I was so chuffed to be there on your birthday. Me, you, Se, Jos [and who ever else can't remember] under the table at ur mom's was hilarious and only you could create a memory like that!



 Tams and Suz, you two girls are really one in a million! thank you for that wonderful day we spent together. Can't wait to make more memories with you guys. And what a way to end the trip with Lucy's stunning 30th birthday party! Well done Luc, the venue was absolutely stunning, and all the brides looked so beautiful!

mum's visit so far :)

 It's been great having my mum to stay for the next two weeks to help me with my 21st planning! We've been DIYing and arts and crafting, as you can see. So chuffed with how my mosaic table top turned out.








The orange trees in our veggie garden have been giving us yummy oranges to make fresh juice with. We eat home-grown veggies, farm milk and soon enough we'll have our own chickens for eggs :D yay.









And Olly came for a sleep over on Milo's birthday on account of Charles leaving her behind. Here she is making herself at home on my mum's lap! hehe.  Those who know my mum would find this funny, cuz she's not exactly what one would call a dog person.

Salmon roses, my mum and my hubby. What a nice combo!  This was on a Maritzburg shopping day. We've been kitting out the spare rooms. I must take a photo of them to show you guys. The house is coming on so nicely!