March 30, 2025
We had a slow Sunday morning and then snuck in a session of homeschool. Our attempt at offsite homeschool yesterday was a dud and the days where we follow our routine seems to go smoother all around. We had to battle the balloon dinosaur and sword from Lenny and Ollie before we began but otherwise, there were no protests today.
After homeschool, we had a few hours before our brunch reservation. We debated playing outside or taking a dip, but it was super windy today and unpleasant to be outdoors for too long. We learned the strong wind that blows in Cape Town is known as the "Cape Doctor" as its believed the wind clears the town of pollution and illness.
Our backup activity to outdoor play was teaching the boys how to make lemonade. After a quick simple syrup tutorial, the boys had lost interest. We then turned the lemon juicing portion into a competition and this brought them back. We drew up a scoreboard, each picked our winners and got to juicing. The boys were thrilled that their lucky lemon (#4) won by yielding 9 centiliters of juice. We’re adding “make it a competition” and “put them on the same team” to our homeschooling playbook going forward.
We were then on to Jazz brunch at Kloof Street House down the road. The restaurant was set in an old Victorian house with an immaculately furnished front patio and garden. We sat inside due to the wind and were luckily sat next to the Jazz trio.
The meal was tasty, but definitely paced for adults enjoying a leisurely Sunday brunch. Len kept himself entertained by playing tricks on Kyle. Out of nowhere he said, “Daddy you have an extra toe” and we were confused but moved on. A few minutes later, Kyle realized Len had place a french fry into his sandal and it did look like he had a 6th toe.
We were all (save for Lenny) big fans of the oysters from Knysna, South Africa. We’re heading east along the Garden Route after we leave Cape Town and will be a stone’s throw from Knysna in a few weeks. We’re excited to explore the coastal towns and for more seafood.
After the nearly 2 hour brunch, we wanted to get outside and let the boys run around for a bit. The wind seemed to have calmed some, so we went back to De Waal park. As I was pushing Ollie on the tire swing, I overheard a conversation he was having with a South African girl.
Little girl: “Wait, how do you say ‘cheese’ in your language?”
Ollie: “We say ‘cheese’. We speak English you know.”
Little girl: “You do????”
I missed the intro to the cheese conversation but tried to imagine each sounding heavily accented to the other. The friendly banter was soon interrupted when the troop of kids made their way over to the roundabout. Ollie and Lenny have been enjoying the ‘new to them’ park equipment in Cape Town like the seesaws, recycled tire swings (tires that have been cut up to make single seat swings) and roundabouts/ park spinners. Unfortunately, the roundabout love likely fizzled today when both boys took moderate to severe headers off the apparatus during some intense spinning.
