Christmas....

I know I have a ton of catch up blogs to do, but I guess Christmas is on my mind! I am so longing for a "traditional" Christmas; where it is cold outside, Christmas lights, Christmas PJ's, Christmas music on the radio, my mom and dad! Oh, I wish I was home for Christmas!
But just like always, we will overcome! We will have Christmas here in South Africa, differently but we will have it! I will try extremely hard to get everybody here in the Christmas spirit, when will they all learn it is not just about what happens on the day....but the whole month?!

September...A Whirlwind!

Wow, I can not believe it is already October! September was EXTREMELY busy for us...we had Hunter's birthday party, Claire had a ballet recital, went to the Hermanus Whale Festival, Franschhoek, and went to Zambia!

Claire as a sleeping butterfly, being awoken by the fairies!

Butterfly and fairy dancing!

Skinny little feet...doing it!
Hermanus is a small town on the Indian Ocean in South Africa; during whale season this is one of the best viewing spots for the Southern Right Whales! Every year they have a whale festival, and we decided to go with our South African family (our American friends, The Bells) this year! We stayed in a house overlooking the sea...gorgeous! 4 adults plus 5 kids equals great, but very wild fun! We spent 2 days in the town of Hermanus, and you can really see tons of whales! One day we ate at a restaurant that was built into the side of a hill on the rocky shore of the water....within feet of whales! While there, we tried a bottle of wine that had been buried in sea water for 10 months....Very salty! We had a great time in Hermanus...viewing whales, eating, drinking, craft shopping, and just spending time with friends all while surrounded by the most gorgeous scenery! At one point on our last day we where all sitting on a hillside watching the whales; and we (4 adults) all said what an incredible gift this ISP assignment has been for all of us! It will be so hard to walk away from all of this, especially my friends....it is amazing the bonds that can form in such a short time! Here are some shots of Hermanus...it is IMPOSSIBLE to capture what an incredible sight the whales are, as most times it is only their backs or tales that come out of the water...and so very hard to take pictures of!

Our Crew!


Cameraman Pat catches a few whales!

Hunter and Claire at lunch!

Restaurant by the sea!

After Hermanus, we went and spent the day in Franshhoek......it was so gorgeous and quaint! We visited 3 wineries, and each one was beautiful; then finished off another great day with a great meal at an Italian restaurant!
Gorgeous views of Franshhoek wineries...



We were home for two days from that trip and then off to Zambia! To be honest, I was not thrilled about going on vacation again; but wow was I in shock when I got there! We were greeted at our hotel with authentic African Warriors, and then we were shown around the resort....beautiful! Our first day there we settled in and took a quick trip to the Falls, only a 5 minute walk from hotel! Our resort was in a national park, so there where animals everywhere; no predators as this is one of the smaller national parks. We saw zebras, giraffe, monkeys, hippos and elephants(these two where seen on kids safari walk from across the river)! We saw the Victoria Falls and we were amazed, what an incredible site! The next day we took a much longer walk around the Falls, Hunter and Claire stayed behind in the kids camp at the resort! Unaware of what we were doing we went on the actual side of the Falls; and a local asked us if we wanted a tour, we bit! He was awesome and walked us through the top of some of the Falls,and then walked us up to the side of Falls where we got a bird's eye view of the Falls, we actually overlooked the Rainbow Falls! There is always a rainbow there! We hiked through the Zambezi river, it is not rainy season so the water is very low and there are many dry spots...during rainy season where we walked would have been completely impassable on foot! Pretty Cool! After our awesome hike, the boys signed up to ride Segways; they were in heaven! The rest of the day was lazily spent sitting by the pool enjoying some down time!
The next day....well let's just say at least we survived this day! Pat and I went White Water Rafting on The Zambezi River, an experience of a lifetime! We set out at 8:30, we met our "fellow" mates for the day! Let's just say Pat and I were by far the oldest, only three other people close to us...all the others were college kids and most of them from the States! So we get suited up... life vest, helmet and oar and we walk down to the "boiling point"! We had six in our boat and our guide, Tenga! Amazing, fun, crazy, scary, intense, laughable, hard and Memorable...that is how to sum this up! We rode through or paddled through 10 rapids ranging from category 3 to category 5! We did awesome our first few, and then the first cat 5 comes...our boat goes straight down into the rapid and flips! I came up and could not find the boat, I swallowed and ingested half the Zambezi, thought I was done; but put my legs in front of me(in case you collide with a rock) and finally a kayaker came to my rescue and we finished the rapid! So basically not only did I go on a boat through rapids, but I went through a category 5 rapid SOLO! We continued going through the rapids, we dumped on one more category 5 rapid, but we all managed to keep a hold of the boat! Yeah, we survived! At the end of our 1/2 day tour, they let our group out at the BOTTOM of the mountain, same size as what you see the Falls go down; and tell us to hike up! What, we had to go straight up on a man made ladder, made out of tree limbs...thought I was going to die...but again we conquered!

Our resort greeting committee!

Victoria Falls at sunset.

Local who walked us across Falls.

Looking down into Falls, notice rainbow!


Does not look like much, but that is our first rapid, category 3! The bridge is linking Zambia to Zimbabwe...while rafting, there was a point that we were actually on the Zimbabwe side!

Boys on Segways.


Pool!

Pool bar!


So that was our September, exhausting and wonderful! Now we are in October, planning for Claire's birthday party, Wizard of Oz, and our annual Halloween party! Time goes way too fast!

Who Builds US.....

"Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” Albert Einstein

This quote speaks to me in so many ways! Mostly tells me to show appreciation for who has helped mold me! Mostly there are my parents, my mom! They guided me in the right directions, I swayed off path many times but eventually got on the right path!! My mom showed me how to be a mom, and taught me what true unconditional love is! Pat, has always made me laugh and has showed me what it means to be a provider and a best friend! My friends, especially my ones here in South Africa, have showed me what TRUE friendship is! They have helped me come out of my bubble and enjoy a brand new world, and LOVE it! My parents, Pat and my friends have given me the opportunity to be myself, and love me anyways(or most days!) Thanks to all of you for molding me on the inside and out! Without you, I would be lost! I hope that I am able to give back as well, if only through my children I am able to use my knowledge!

To My Mom....

Mom
I love you so much and am so proud to call you mine! I am who I am because of you, Thank You! Happy Birthday!
Megan

Hunter is 9!

Hunter's birthday was last week, I can not believe he is 9! Hunter is still very sensitive, very focused on whatever sport he is playing, independent with his school work, good big and little brother, and is still a cuddler!

Love those sweet freckles!

Hunter is ALWAYS dirty, this after eating ribs!

In his school uniform!

Holding his sweet cousin!

Swimming, jumping...a favorite!

Loved being the goalie on the soccer team!


Two cuties!

Little brother!

Big brother!
We started celebrating his birthday long before August 2nd; while in the States my mom and dad had a birthday party for him at Shogun. All the family attended; and we enjoyed watching our food being cooked, sang Happy Birthday and ate cake!

Getting ready to watch our food being cooked with cousins, Cameron & Caleb!

Auntie Jess, new baby Cailyn, Poppa & Mimi celebrate Hunter's BDay!
We surprised Hunter the weekend before his birthday with High School Musical play tickets. We invited our close friends, the Bells, and we all went out to dinner and then to the show! The kids loved the play, and Claire is still telling everyone we went to see HSM!

The opera house!

High School Musical with Aiden & Evan! Notice Hunter's hat, he insisted on wearing this as this was his "new" look!

Claire ready for the show!
The day of his birthday, I cooked 30 cupcakes to take to school and he was allowed to wear anything he wanted. He chose his new Yankees jersey and his new Under Armour shirt, two of his presents! Hunter decided he wanted to go out to dinner just as family, instead of our usual family party(In SA, close friends)!

His birthday outfit!

Getting sung to!
I hope that sweet freckled face boy enjoyed his birthday as much as I did, I am so lucky to get to watch this guy grow up!

Blanco Guest Farms!

This weekend we joined three other families and went to Blanco! About three hours away from Port Elizabeth in the middle of nowhere, there lies the most awesome family vacation spot! We had heard lots of stories of how much fun Blanco can be, but until we experienced for ourselves did we understand! Nothing fancy; rooms are definitely not 4 or 5 star, maybe more like 2! It's the stuff that happens that makes Blanco so much fun!

View from our 4x4 ride, Blanco Guest farms to the right of the third mountain!

Cabins!

View outside of our cabin, owners house on far right!

The best part of Blanco for most everyone, the horses!

This is a zebra that comes everyday to stay with the horses, they say it thinks it is a horse!
We arrived on Friday night, and met up with our nanny for the weekend, Portia! She immediately whisked Claire away for dinner in the Kid's Dining Room! Portia brought Claire back for an hour, only to return again so that the adults could go for drinks and then to the Adults Dining Room! Bells ring to let you know dinner is served! Dinner(every meal) is a wonderful home cooked meal, and there is a set menu for every meal. After dinner the adults make their way to the bar to dance and party the night away!
Taylor and Hunter where free to do whatever the entire weekend; we maybe saw them all of one hour a day, literally!
A typical day at Blanco goes like this:
7am Hunter and Taylor race away on their bikes to milk the cows and let the horses out of the stables
7:30 am Portia comes to get Claire to take her to breakfast
8:15 am We meet up with our buddies; Paula & Clayton, Tami & Scott, and Bruce for breakfast
9:30 am Taylor, Hunter, and I ride horses
10 am Portia brings Claire to us so that she can eat breakfast
10:30 am Portia comes back to get Claire (they can ride horses, play on a playground, ride bikes, visit the cows, pigs, bunnies, horses and zebra)
One day girls and I went hiking, one day read or watched guys play sport; or guys went mountain biking!
12:30 am kiddies go to lunch with nannies
1 pm adult lunch
2pm Portia takes lunch, we play with Claire
2:30 pm tractor ride with nannies and kids
Adults napping, playing sport, played tennis with boys

Adults chilling!
5:30 pm Claire has dinner
6pm Portia brings Claire to us, so she can eat dinner
7 pm Portia back, adults to dinner and bar for party
1-2 am arrive home!
The whole day for boys:
WHATEVER they want; bikes, horses, tennis, golf, squash, soccer, and much more! Mostly freedom to do whatever they want to do, all they had to do was run to the dining room when the bell rang!

Claire smiled the entire trip!

Taylor ready to ride!

Fearless Hunter saddled up!

Taylor was VERY fearful on the first ride, and then loved it!



Off they go!

Hunter

Our friend, Matthew!

The twins, James and Matthew!

James and Taylor falling off the mountain!

Our friend, Evan(Claire's age)!

Our new friend, Ashley!
Claire crashed by 7:30 pm, boys usually by 9pm!
This is why this is a true vacation, we (adults) truly get a break!

You can see your children, you can not see your children! The best part, they are happy no matter what!