If you peruse my home page you’ll notice that Disney’s Frozen is scheduled for review today.  I’m afraid that will have to be postponed until next Friday as I simply haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I mean, who wants to sit and write a review if you could rather look at this?

Yep, the Kokkies are on vacation again.  I mentioned on Sunday that it was my niece’s birthday and we all journeyed down to my dad’s beachfront timeshare for the big event.  That, by the way, hopefully explains Monday’s nautically themed Song Title Challenge.  (While I’m on that, be sure to go check out Matthew Wright’s attempt at Epica’s Storm the Sorrow).

The appearance of a siren in the story was no accident either, as we were inundated with mermaids of the weekend.  As mentioned, the little brat’s (a term of endearment in our family) mother had decided the first birthday’s theme would be Disney’s The Little Mermaid and mermaids abounded.  They were on banners on the wall, the tablecloth, the cups, the plates…one could scarcely turn without being confronted by King Triton’s favourite daughter.

The two aunts promptly rose to the challenge with their own mermaid creations.  The wife whipped out needle and thread to provide the little one with her very own mermaid friend (which was a great hit, if I may add)…

…while the sister took it on herself to provide the birthday cake.  It had Sebastian…

…and Flounder…

…and of course, Ariel herself.

You might notice Ariel has a broken arm that didn’t feature in the movie.  Tip:  fondant icing and moist ocean air don’t mix.  By the time the cake was presented Ariel was well on her way to become the next limbo world champion, but thanks to some quick thinking with toothpicks and sticky tape we were able to prop her up long enough for the candle to be blown out and the photographs taken.

And it tasted great as well.  Under all that icing was the moistest, most delicious chocolate cake you’ll ever taste (Secret family recipe, passed down from mother to daughter for generations, ever since my gran discovered it in a recipe book).  It did feel wrong, though, cutting into this artwork.  (What’s worse is that my sister asks only about thirty bucks for one of these.  No entrepreneurial sense in that one, I’m afraid.)

As we were already in the region, we travelled up the coast on Wednesday and are now visiting with the wife’s brother and his family, which includes my other niece.  She’s now started talking and never shuts up.  I don’t have a problem with that, as such, but she’s talking in three languages at once (Afrikaans, English and isiZulu), making it a bit difficult to figure out what on earth she’s saying.  She seems to be happy as long as we respond, though, so all’s good.

Oh, yes.  In case you’ve never experienced it before, sharing a bathroom with a three-year-old in an advanced stage of potty training can be quite the adventure.  Aside from the booster seat and step stool that has to be removed before an adult can use the facilities, there’s also the little issue that when she needs to go she needs to go, whether you’re in the shower or seated on the throne yourself at that minute (exacerbated by the fact that she hasn’t figured out knocking yet).  Also, if adult assistance is required any nearby adult will apparently do, even the uncle who just yesterday you were still too shy to greet or say goodnight.

Ah, the joys of growing up.  Resist as I may, I can’t seem to avoid it…

• A Bit Of Silliness
• Photo Diaries