The Waterfalls and God's Window

The first weekend that we were in South Africa my Mom, Dad, sister and her family and myself and the kids went to see a couple of the places that I enjoyed as a child. I fully expected my children to be in awe of God's creation, but unfortunately kids are kids and loved playing in the rocks and sand instead. Perhaps when they are a little older they will see the beauty in the waterfalls and the vast scenery. We saw 2 falls: Lisbon Falls and Berlin Falls, both of which bring back very fond memories of growing up in South Africa. Josiah loved looking at all the trinkets and wood carvings at the roadside stalls and asked every time we stopped if he could buy something. Naomi loved spending time with Granny and Grandpa and did not want to go see the waterfalls again. For lunch we ate at Harry's, our favorite pancake place. Eating there was one of the only requests that Greg had and so we knew we were going to have to go back when Greg arrived.

Kruger National Park - Day 1, South Africa

The first week in South Africa the kids and I spent a lot of time resting, playing and just hanging out with my parents. It was a good time for Josiah and Naomi to bond with them and enjoy their company. We weren't going to do a whole lot before Greg arrived, but my Dad offered to take us to the Kruger National Park and so I jumped on that right away. The Kruger National Park is a wildlife park (preserve). You drive in your car and when you see an animal you stop and observe it. All the animals are in the wild in their natural habitat. It was a wonderful learning experience especially for Josiah. We got to the park around 10:30am in the morning which is usually quite late to go into the park, but circumstances had it that that is when we got there.
On the whole we did not see a large number of animals, but it was by far one of the most exciting trips to the Park that I have ever had. Shortly into our drive I saw a Waterbuck and her baby very close to the road. We stopped to look and take pictures. The children were hanging out the back window and I was taking pictures out the front window when all of a sudden we heard and felt a large bump on the back bumper of my Dad's truck. Next thing a female lion shoot past us chasing the baby Waterbuck. Man, my heart was racing. We lost both the Waterbucks and the lion. A few minutes later we saw the mama Waterbuck on the opposite side of the road looking over to where she had just come from. We could not see the baby or the lion. My heart sank, thinking that the lion may have gotten the baby. We sat watching for a while and then we saw the lion again. She was sitting in the grass very close to us. Wow! That was way cool. The rest of the day we saw several different kinds of deer, warthog, elephant and baboons. We got home much later than we anticipated and were really tired. It was a fun day though.

Our South Africa Trip Update.

Wow! How time flys. I can't believe we have been back from South Africa for almost 3 weeks already. We are back into our busy routine and ready for another vacation. I still maintain that 5 weeks is just not enough time to spend in South Africa with my family. Next time I will have to go for longer.
The trip there by myself with the 2 kids was really uneventful.
It was not as hard as I thought it would be and my kids were so very well behaved I almost thought they belonged to someone else. We had prep'ed them well for the trip and they did a great job. Josiah was a big help in pushing Naomi in the stroller and Naomi was quite happy to be chauffeured around. We flew Delta from Louisville to Detroit then to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam we switched to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. They did a wonderful job with the children on the flight. The flight attendants provided us with games for the kids and took good care of us. We were also allowed to board first. Even before 1st class. It was nice. I had ordered children's meals for them which was great. The food the children got was both healthy and kid friendly - BONUS! It was also served first, so I was able to help them with their meals before I got mine.
When we reached South Africa we had been traveling for close to 30 hours and we were exhausted. I was afraid that Josiah and Naomi would not want to be very friendly when we met my Mom and Dad, but that was far from the case. I was so excited that they both just ran up to Mom and Dad and gave them big hugs and kisses. From that very first instant all through our time in South Africa Naomi and my Dad were best of buddies. It was so good to see. She still says that she misses them and wants to go visit again.
After meeting my parents at the airport we had a 4 hour drive to their house. Which I might add my Dad did in 3 hours. I know we did some low flying and I think we hit some turbulence along the way. We arrived at their house at 2 in the morning at which time we all went straight to bed. Dad woke us up at 10 the next morning saying we needed to get up so we could get over jet lag. ARG! Jet lag is the pits and always worst on day 2.

T minus 18 hours

Tomorrow afternoon the kids and I will board an airplane headed to South Africa. It has been 3 years since I have been home and I can't wait to get there. Please pray for travel safety and that we make all our connections. Also pray for patience for me with my children. See you on the other side.

July 4th

We had a fun July 4th. Went to church then spent the afternoon taking naps. After nap time we went to Melody's house to swim and celebrate her birthday. While Greg and the kids stayed and swam at Mel's house I headed off to the airport to welcome home some friends and their 3 new daughters. It was a fun day.

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

I am a little behind with blogging to say the least. On June 26th, our little girl turned 3 years old. Where does the time go to? I can still remember coming home from South Korea with her 2 1/2 years ago like it was yesterday. I remember sleepless nights and lots of laughs. I remember many days of speech therapy with Miss Laura because she wouldn't talk and now she doesn't stop. I think I am going to like 3 years old. She is communicating and playing such elaborate fantasy games and she is so very excited about going to pre-school in the fall. We celebrated her birthday with Greg's family. Lunch, cake and then swimming in Aunt Melody's pool.

Orange Belt

On Saturday Josiah was invited to test for his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do. Part of the test was to break a board with his foot. Here it is