I hope you like it!

That´s me!

Hi, I am back! I had a figure skating competition last month. It was called the Primavera Cup and it was held here in Johannesburg.
By the way, I came in first in my group (Chicks under 10), yay!

Click here to see the video from the competition. I hope you like it.

My cement painting

My "wild" painting.

Hi, it´s been a long time! I´ve made a new painting. I used acrylic paint and crack filler stuff/cement. My art teacher´s name is Vicky. She is very funny. She is also a very good painter. You should see the leopard she is painting!

Hey, if you wonder why Layla is not in the photo, it is because she took it. The painting is heavy and fragile like glass so I couldn´t ask Layla to hold it in case she would drop it. So ya, bye bye!

Photos from latest figure skating competition

Here´s Layla and Teddy on their way to the ice-rink to see me skate.

I skate to music from the Annie movie.

My friends Danika and Diara were there.  <3

On the podium.

I am writing a book

Author at work.

It is going to be 29 pages. It is about this giant who lives in Australia. He is very sad because his best friend Gaston is moving to New York. Gaston´s father got a new job there.
It´s a bit like me and my friend Lulu who had to move to Mozambique when her dad got a job in Maputo. 

Layla can skate (with a little help)

Layla trying out her new skates.

The outfit is sooo cute.

It was my birthday earlier this month. I turned 8. I got a new bag and Layla got an ice-skating dress plus her own skates. It is so cute!
Me and my friend Kai took her for a ride on the ice.

My favorite jump is the flip

My favorite sport is figure skating and my favorite jump is flip. I train at the Northgate ice-rink in Johannesburg. I´ve been skating for just over a year.
If you want to see me skate, click here.
PS: It was my big sister Musa who shot the video. She was trying to record and cheer for me at the same time. :-)

Me and my pets

Me and Emma.

I have got four pets: Two dogs (Emma and Nana), a cockatiel (Tweety) and a hamster (Bophelo).
I wish that I could have a bunny, but my dad and big brother say our house is already a zoo.

Skateboarding with Tweety after school.

God´s Spare Part Animal

My poster!

I´ve been working on a school project about animals. I chose the wildebeest (gnu). I saw ten of them when I was on safari with my mom and dad. The game ranger told us a funny story:
"When God had created all animals, he still had spare parts. So, he decided to make one more animal; Our Wildebeest. The bum and backlegs are from an antelope, the tail and mane are from a horse and the head is from an ox. Sadly, there were no spare brains left and the wildebeest is not the most clever animal."
Clever or not, I think wildebeests are great.

Wildebeest in progress.

My favorite book

I like reading. I go to the school library every week. My favorite book is "Madison the Magic Fairy" by Daisy Meadows. What is your favorite book?

My Brand New Painting

Happy giraffe!

This is my brand new painting. I call it "Animals on the Savannah Smiling Together". I got the idea when I was on safari with my mom and Layla in the Kruger Park.

And I´ve started a new painting.

OMG! A brown doll!

One brown.

I went to CNA in Sandton to buy nappies for Layla. Something caught my eye. A brown Baby Born! OMG! Layla´s twin sister!
You don´t see them often. It is actually very difficult to find brown dolls in South Africa. People are surprised when they see me with Layla. Some doesn´t even realize she´s a doll! They think she is a real baby. Sometimes they ask if they can hold her.

A waitress in a café wanted to keep Layla. :-)

Two Unlikely Friends

Finally, baby Layla is friends with Tweety, my bird. 

Yes!!

But, please, don´t nibble on her ears.

It´s Hard Work

Layla clothes were really dirty. Now I have to clean them. I also change Layla´s nappy every day and feed her a special porridge that I buy in the toy shop. It´s hard work to be a mommy!!

Kai and I on ice

Kai, me and Layla getting ready to skate.

School holidays!! I´ve been skating with my friend Kai. He is 9, almost 10 years old. He is one of few boys who do figure skating in Johannesburg (I only know of two). I think Kai is very brave. Sometimes, boys can get teased if they do other sports than like soccer, rugby and ice-hockey. That is so unfair. That is so stupid.
Kai and I practise pair skating together. Later this year, we might compete in Rising Stars.

Warm-up.

To town, to town

Me and Layla in Commissioner Street.

I live in Johannesburg. It is the biggest town in South Africa. Some say that there are 1,5 million people here, others say 3 or even 5 millions.

On Saturday afternoon, I went to town with Layla to visit my brother Nils. He studies at university and has a flat in city. We had brought Oreo cup cakes and we played Yatzy. I won.  

I like Johannesburg because there is an ice-rink here. I wouldn´t like to live anywhere else because I have friends and family here. I also like looking at grafitti when I am in town. 

The monster is cute.

Here´s a mystery! Who poured pink paint over Shakespear House?

Me and my red dress

On the first March 2015, I participated in my first figure skating competition, The Gauteng Provincials. My mom and dad were very nervous, but I was mostly excited and was looking forward to skate in my new red dress. People thought I look like Annie (from the movie) and my music was "It´s a hard knock life".
It was really fun. My most difficult jump was the flip. I didn´t fall and I came second in my group, Chicks under 9. I also won a prize for being the most promising skater.

My skate-on.

After landing a salchow.

Spiral.

The end.

Watching the senior skaters with Layla.

Who wants to eat some cake?

I made yummy cupcakes after school, all by myself. I call them Island Cupcakes. I used pink icing in the middle and yellow around the edges. Then some sprinkles in shapes of sea horses, shells, sea stars and dophins. And voilà! Ten of the best cupcakes I ever made.

Crazy photo.

Not so crazy photo.

PS: Cake Boss is mine and Layla´s favourite TV programme. One day we want to go to his bakery in Hoboken, USA. Hello Cake Boss!

We adopted a chimp

Both I and Layla love animals. I have visited Jane Goodall´s Chimpanzee Eden in Mpumalanga,  South Africa, three times (once with Layla). It´s a wonderful place and home to 34 chimpanzees.
One cute chimp called Dinka followed us every where we went. He seemed to be crazy about Layla and the keeper said that they might buy him a doll of his own.

Dinka is keeping an eye on Layla.

We adopted a female chimp named Jessica who used to be kept in a South African circus (Boswell). She was locked in a small cage and when she tried to grabbed people through the wire net, they cut three of her fingers off. I´m so happy that Jessica and the others chimps can live happily ever after in Chimp Eden.

Our Jessica.

Did you know? Chimpanzees are one of the closest relatives of humans (the others are gorillas and orangutans). We share 98 percent of our DNA. The number of genetic differences between humans and chimps is ten times smaller than that between mice and rats.

You can read more here: Chimp Eden

Wild friends

I want to tell you more about the animals we saw in the Kruger Park. My favorite animal is the rhino. This is a white rhino mom and her baby. White rhinos are very friendly. We sat a few meters from them and they just continued grazing. Sadly, many rhinos are killed. If it doesn´t stop, there will be no rhinos left in the wild when we grow up. I think hunting is extremely stupid. 

Last year, 9 white rhinos were killed in the reserve. Only 8 remain.

 I also like giraffes a lot. This mom and baby came walking next to the road. So cute!

Hello up there!

Watch out! Hungry lion ahead.

Elephants walk very quietly.

Layla´s favorite animal is the zebra.

Did you know? White rhinos can weigh more than 3.500 kg and run 50 km/h. The African elephant can weigh 7.000 kg!

Love from the Kruger Park

We went on safari in the Kruger National Park.

We stayed in a cool place called Makalali Game Lodge.

Layla came with us in the safari jeep.

Luckily, Layla was allowed on the game drives (though you have to be at least 6 years old). Our kind game ranger Amos said it was okay as long as she didn´t cry.
Next time, we´ll tell you about the animals we saw.

Fun time with Layla

Hello doll,  

It is very hot in Johannesburg. We have been spending a lot of time in the pool. Layla really loves swimming.

Love from 

Tholakele & Layla