Merry Christmas from the Walkers!

Getting Ready for Santa

To top off our Christmas preparations, the girls received another video message from Santa this year.  Click here for the link to Kaelia's video.  And here is her reaction to the video: 

Click here for the link to Taelyn's video.  And here is her reaction:

We Got New Jobs!

After a long and very stressful few months of job hunting, applications, and interviews, we have finally found a good fit for our family for next school year and have both accepted jobs.  Our next adventure will be Doha, Qatar!

Qatar is the richest country in the world, consisting of 250,000 Qatri, the rest expats. It is going to be hot and sandy, but a modern place with lots of building going on (World Cup in 2022). Housing is nice with a close community, exactly what we were looking for. This was actually the deciding factor as we battled offers between Qatar; Chennai, India; and Krakow, Poland.

I will be teaching MYP Humanities and moving up into HS English as the school expands, eventually getting IB DP. Justin was given the role as Student Support Services Coordinator, overseeing ELL, Learning Support, Counselors, and Admissions. This is such a great opportunity to work in administration at this point in hiscareer!

The school is getting overhauled, planning for the big growth and expansion of students. It will be a lot of work, some struggles, and in temporary facilities for a few years while they build a state-of-the art school to match the futuristic medical facility it serves, but what a great chance to help grow something awesome. 

Christmas Preparations

As we prepare for Christmas, our family took out our Christmas supplies and completed the necessary tasks: putting up the tree and making Christmas cookies.  The girls were eager to help decorate the tree as usual.  Taelyn wanted to spend time with each individual ornament and play with the decorations while Kaelia was a decorating machine.  One by one, she grabbed ornaments and went to and from the tree.  In fact, by the end of the decorating we couldn't find the star for the top of the tree.  We searched all over the house and eventually found it hung on the tree in the back as a part of Kaelia's mission to decorate the tree.  Taelyn did the honors by placing the star on top of the tree.

The girls' best friend, Arianna, then came over to make Christmas cookies.  Each girl helped cut out various shapes and then decorated their cookies with frosting and sprinkles.  The best part was, of course, eating the cookies afterwards.

Next, we took the girls to Sleeping Beauty on Ice to spark the Christmas spirit.  It was a fantastic ice show that also included acrobatic scenes similar to Cirque de Soleil and ballet on the ice.  The girls loved the show.  At intermission, they pretended to ice skate in the hallways outside the theatre and re-enacted most of the first half of the show.  Taelyn was especially excited about the fire on the ice, and Kaelia loved anything to do with the "black ones" (the bad guys dressed in black).

Taking on New Feats

Taelyn has been a bit of a daredevil lately as she takes on new challenges that she would never do before.  First, she started swimming from the shallow end of a pool to the deep end.  Before, she would only try to swim in the shallow end.  Just this weekend, she even jumped in to the pool from the deep end and swam all the way to the other end!

Taelyn has also attempted to actually ride her bike.  It is a training bike, meaning it is just like a regular bike, but there are no pedals at all.  Kids are supposed to learn how to balance on these types of bikes by pushing their feet off the ground and lifting their feet up once they gain enough momentum.  The process is supposed to bypass training wheels altogether.  Taelyn has been pushing herself around for about a year, but never really had the courage to lift up her feet.  But today we met up with Arianna at the skate park across the street, and Taelyn watched Arianna ride her same type of bike from a high ramp down to the bottom.  So Taelyn decided to try it to.  It was a bit scary as she went zooming down the ramp, moving her handle bars a bit from side to side with her legs flailing!  But she did make it to the bottom and continued the same process, getting a little more graceful each time.  I don't actually have a video of this, unfortunately, so I'll have to capture the feat at a later time.

Turkey Day at the Beach

It has become a bit of a tradition for us in South Africa to spend our Thanksgiving at the beach in Durban.  I didn't really realize that this was a tradition until Taelyn pointed it out to me the other day.  The beach is what she remembers from Thanksgiving, so we wanted to make sure we continued that tradition this year.

Sadly, the weekend was not a blissful as we had planned.  Justin drove seven hours down to Durban through heavy rains, terrible visibility, and car accidents on the side of the road.  He got us to our rented beach apartment safely late at night on Wednesday, but then I started to not feel very well.  I spent the night with a fever, chills, and a migraine and continued down that path for the next several days.  Bedridden on Thursday morning, it became apparent that Justin was going to have to cook Thanksgiving dinner all on his own.

Justin did a great job getting dinner ready and stepped out for a little while to go for a run.  My only job for the day was to take the pumpkin pie cheesecake out of the oven when the buzzer went off while Justin was gone.  So I got out of bed to complete this task, but as I pulled the rack a bit out of the oven, the pie dishes went flying out and crashed on to the floor.  One of the glass dishes shattered all over the floor while the other pie flipped upside down!  The girls and I just stood there in shock as Kaelia yelled out, "Mom, look at the pies!"  Just then, Justin walked in and saw the disaster.  Aside from the pie episode, dinner was delicious; we even ate the upside down pie even though it looked a lot more like crumble.

For the rest of the trip, I was still sick, but we all managed to get out each day to see some sights.  One day we visited the Durban Aquarium where the girls were fascinated by all of the fish, sharks, and turtles.  Another day, we went to a small water park and enjoyed the water slides and lazy river.  Taelyn absolutely loved the park while Kaelia struggled to stay warm.  She did eventually try out one of the water slides and the lazy river, and she seemed to enjoy it.

Other than some day trips, we spent most of our time at the pool, the playground, and the beach.  The waves on the beach were pretty big - lots of surfers took advantage of them each morning.  They were a little too harsh for the girls to fully swim, but they loved running in and out of the waves and playing with sand toys.

Overall, it was a nice, relaxing weekend with some difficult hiccups to overcome here and there.  I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of the weekend, but here are a few.

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On a side note, Taelyn also had her Thanksgiving feast at school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  It was a really nice celebration for all of the pre-K students, and they each chose to dress up as either pilgrims or Native Americans.  Taelyn decided on a pigrim girl because she got to wear a skirt.  Here are some pictures of the event.

Little Ballerina

Kaelia has been taking ballet lessons at her school, and the culminating recital is this week.  Unfortunately, she is not able to perform because the recital is during our Thanksgiving break and we will be away.  So her ballet instructor recorded her last ballet session today so that we could see her in action.  Here is a clip from the session.

Kaelia has really enjoyed taking ballet.  She loves to get on her tippy toes and twirl around with her hands in a ballet pose.  She does not tell us much about the sessions, though.  When I ask her what she did in ballet, she usually tells me something like, "Teacher Jenny says not to pick my nose!"  Apparently that's all she really remembers from class.

A Gruffalow? What's a Gruffalow?

Taelyn has been in the spirit of stories and storytelling lately as she learns about this topic in her class.  The Gruffalow has been her favorite story, and she talks about it and recites the book all the time.  Here is one instance where she attempted to recite the entire book.  She forgets a part here and there, and Kaelia jumps in to help her.  It's pretty cute, because Kaelia constantly listens to Taelyn telling the story of the Gruffalow and has memorized herself!

Taelyn's Impression of a Gruffalow

I also received a video from Taelyn's teacher of a class performance of the Billy Goats Gruff.  It's adorable!

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween extravaganza began at the start of this week when we carved a pumpkin as a family.  The girls decided what they wanted the face to look like, and then I attempted to cut out their vision on the pumpkin.  We had to improvize a bit because it was a lot easier said than done when trying to cut a pumpkin with a steak knife.  I'll have to remember to add a pumpkin knife to my packing list for next year!  When we opened the pumpkin, the girls were both really excited to see all of the seeds inside, but they had mixed reviews about actually sticking their hands in there.  Taelyn was all about it and dug right in, helping me take out all the seeds.  Kaelia, however, took one look at the sliminess and decided that she wanted nothing to do with that part, so she just watched.  Afterward, both girls loved turning off the lights and watching the pumpkin glow in the dark.

The next night, Justin and the girls took the pumpkin seeds and fried them up in the kitchen.  Taelyn wanted to do this part all by herself, so Justin gave her free liberty to salt the seeds.  Needless to say, they were a bit too salty (I'm not sure there were any seeds in all that salt!), so I rinsed most of them afterwards to make them edible.  Taelyn made sure to bring plenty to school the next day so she could share with her classmates and teacher.

On Wednesday, Taelyn had her school Halloween celebration.  She dressed up as Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and walked in a little parade around campus where staff members passed out candy along the way.  It was the school's version of trick-or-treating.  Then Taelyn's class headed back to the classroom for a Halloween party.  She had a great time.  Once she got home, she also did a great job sharing her candy with her sister.

Finally, it was time to go trick-or-treating on Saturday night.  We went to a nice housing complex that celebrates Halloween by decorating their houses, creating mazes and activities, and hands out candy to trick-or-treaters.  Kaelia dressed up as a monkey because she wanted to use her costume from her recent school concert.  Before heading over to the complex, we went to a friends house so that she could get her face painted as a monkey.  Then she spent some time crawling around as if she were a monkey.  At the last minute, Taelyn decided to do a quick costume change and put on a Cinderella dress.  She said she didn't want her belly to be cold.  We also joined our friends, and Arianna came dressed as a black cat.

Trick-or-treating was fun, but we definitely had to walk a bit to earn candy.  The houses that participated were a little spread out; after about 1.5 hours, the girls had walked around 2.5-3 miles!  They were a little tired at the end, but they thought it was worth it (and they don't really have anything else to compare it to).  Their favorite house was one of the last ones that we went to where the girls had to walk in to a small, pitch-black garage that had neon lights inside.  They couldn't really see anything, and to all of our surprises, they came out with full ice cream cones!  That was a nice way for them to make the walk back to the car and call it a night.

We had a great Halloween week this year - especially considering that we got to celebrate when it is not really a South African holiday.  The girls still came home with plenty of candy, and they didn't mind sharing with us!

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Fall Break in the Mountains

Last week was our fall break, so we took a nice family vacation within South Africa.  We were looking for something relaxing and fairly low-key since we have been going strong for a couple of months now, and we definitely did not relax on our long weekend to Munich a month ago.  So we headed to the mountains and enjoyed two of our favorite South African destinations: Clarens and Drakensburg.

Clarens is a cute little touristy town that has great restaurants and an art, wine, and beer focused down town with lots of hiking nearby.  We took the girls on a small day hike to start, and they did incredibly well.  They loved following the trail and heading up the mountain.  Justin and I also took advantage of the many running trails that ran along the mountains and streams alongside of town.  Before we left, I made sure to get a nice massage at my favorite spa, and Justin went golfing for one morning.

Next, we went to Drakensburg where we stayed in a nice little cabin at a great camp resort called Dragon Peaks.  We had a great back porch that overlooked a lake and the mountains in the background.  It was beautiful.  The girls had a great time here because there was a lot of activities for them to do.  They went horse-back riding a couple of times on the property as well as a kids' zip-line.  Taelyn particularly liked the horses and became rather close with a small, brown horse that she named Brownie.  Each time we went to the stables, she made sure to pet Brownie and get plenty of hay for all of the horses to have to breakfast.  Kaelia was a star on the zip-lining.  She loved the experience and spent most of her time hanging upside down from the cord.

We also went on another hike in Drakensburg, but this one was significantly longer than in Clarens.  We made our way through trails at Monks Cowl Sanctuary until we found a beautiful waterfall.  It took us 1:20 just to get there, and the same amount of time to get back, making our journey a total of 2:40 on foot.  The girls were champs during this hike.  They complained about being tired from time to time, but for the most party, they were champs.

For most of the trip, the weather was a bit cool which was great for hiking and running.  By the last two days, however, it got a little warmer, and the girls were able to swim at Dragon Peaks.  There was a fantastic kids' pool with a waterfall, and a couple of water slides in the larger pool.  The girls had a great time splashing around for a while on those days.

Our trip to the mountains was the perfect getaway to relax and still enjoy the outdoors.  Take a look at the link below for some pictures and videos.

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Dale's Birthday Party

After Kaelia's concert today, we also went to a special birthday party.  Taelyn's little boyfriend, Dale, celebrated his 5th birthday.  Taelyn was quite adamant about what she wanted to get him as a gift: a Power Ranger because the two of them always play Power Rangers at recess together.  Then she spent a good hour making him a card last night.  It contained some Power Rangers, Taelyn and Dale together, and lots and lots of hearts.  She wasn't quite finished when dinner started, so she brought her card to the table, took a bite, and then added another heart, took a bite, added a heart, etc.  I have never seen her work so diligently on a drawing before.

This is the outside of her card.  The left is Taelyn and Dale together, and the right is the pink Power Ranger, Mirage (that's why there is an M on the head).

This is the inside.  It is full of hearts, a flower, another pink Power Ranger, and Taelyn's name.






When we got to the party, all of the kids enjoyed some entertainment by a group that puts together shows and obstacle courses.  Taelyn was, of course, seated next to Dale throughout the entire event.  Eventually when the entertainment portion was over, though, Dale wanted to get away from the big party and play with his closest friends.  So he asked Taelyn and his brother to play Power Rangers with him in the back yard, and that is where they spent most of the rest of the party.

It was really cute to see how well Taelyn and Dale play together, and I got a few nice pictures.  Here are a couple to recap the party.

Kaelia's School Concert

This morning was Kaelia's first school performance - a little concert centered around an African safari theme.  Kaelia's class, the Puffertrains, were monkeys and performed two songs: 10 Little Monkeys, and the Chimpanzee Song.  We didn't know quite what to expect from Kaelia because whenever we asked her about the songs over the last couple of weeks, she wouldn't tell us anything.  We assumed she knew the songs and routines, but we didn't really know for sure.  But at the concert, Kaelia was a star!  She did a great job with the songs and motions.  We could tell that she really liked seeing us in the crowd as well, and she waved to Taelyn quite a bit.  We are so proud of Kaelia because she is rather young compared to the rest of her class but clearly fits right in despite her age.

At the end of the concert, Kaelia took a bow with the other kids, stepped off stage, and ran right toward me.  Once she got to me, though, she gave me a hug and just started bawling.  She said she wasn't sad or hurt, so I think she just got a little emotional about the whole performance in front of a big audience.  It was so sweet.  She quickly recovered once she saw her closest friend, Arianna, who came to the concert to watch her, and we all celebrated Kaelia's performance by going out to lunch at a restaurant with a great playground and bouncy castle.  Kaelia kept her monkey costume on the entire time!

An Afternoon with the Monkeys

Today we decided to head over to a monkey sanctuary that is just 1 hour away.  This is a great reserve where abused or pre-owned monkeys are rescued and brought up in a wild-life type setting.  We got to walk all throughout a forest along high rise paths and bridges while a guide pointed out several different types of monkey breeds.  Those monkeys that had once been someone's pets even came up to us to interact.  On monkey jumped up on to the hand rail of the walkway and started playing with my hair.  Our favorite, though, was a spider monkey named Sarah who insisted that we pet her.  She would grab my hand, tucked it under her arm, and pulled me close so that I would hug her.  After she freed my hand, she would wait a minute and then do it all over again.

The girls also loved seeing the monkeys.  They liked petting the ones that had once been pets, and Kaelia even built up the courage to hold one of their hands.  By the end of the visit, when a monkey would pass us by on the walkway, Kaelia would reach down to pet it on her own.  She was really excited about that.  Taelyn liked to just stand close to the monkeys, but was hesitant to really interact.

After our visit, we went to a local microbrewery next door and enjoyed a couple of brews and dinner.  The girls played on the playground and the trees surrounding the restaurant and pretended to be monkeys!

Oktoberfest in Munich

This past weekend was a long weekend away from school, so we took a little trip.  When we first saw the scheduled weekend last school year, we noticed that it aligned with opening weekend of Oktoberfest in Germany.  It seemed like a crazy idea to go, but we didn't know if our holidays would match up again, nor do we know where we will be after our time in South Africa and whether Oktoberfest will ever be an option again.  So we decided to leave the kids at home with their nanny and go for it.

Yes, it was a crazy weekend, between sleeping overnight on the plane Friday to get to Munich and on Sunday to get back home.  But it was worth it!  We arrived in Munich Saturday morning, quickly dropped our bags off at our hotel, and took the subway to the tents.  While on the subway, almost everyone was dressed in traditional German clothing: lederhosen for the men, and dirndl for the women.  We felt a little out of place for not wearing the same, but we carried on anyway.

Once we got to the tents, tons of people were lined up to watch the opening day parade.  We, however, did not have a reservation for a table in any tent, so we went straight to the Winzerer Faehnd'l tent to try to get in.  After the help of a very nice waitress, we found a seat with a Germany party that had a couple of seats empty at their table.  Here we learned about the traditions behind Oktoberfest as our new German friends taught us about the various things that we saw all around us.  And of course, we ate the infamous half chickens (hendl) drank the 1-liter sized beers.  Justin was definitely faster than I was, but it took me two hours to finish my first beer!  Oddly enough, it was actually still cold on the last sip.

A view from inside the Winzerer Faehnd'l tent

After leaving our first tent, we discovered that the other tents are drastically different from one another.  The biergardens are loaded with younger tourists who could not get reservations in to the tents.  Many of the ones we sat with were from Canada and were staying in tents that night as they celebrated Oktoberfest in the backpackers way.  The Hippodrom was set up to look like a circus, and it was absolutely crazy.  People were dancing on tables along to a rock band, and no one new could get a seat.  Augustiner was a little more similar to the first tent that we went to, with traditional music and a low-key atmosphere.  We went here at 9am on Sunday, though, and I wasn't quite ready to drink another 1-liter beer.  This time it took me over three hours to finish it!  But we did enjoy another chicken here too!  While we were in Augustiner, we actually met a guy from Michigan and sat with him for a while along with some Austrians and Italians (one of which was a professional soccer player for Italy).

The crazy Hippodrom

The opening ceremony at the Augustiner tent

The Hofbrau tent was slightly milder than the Hippodrom in that people were only standing on the table instead of dancing, but this was mostly because they had spilled too much beer on the benches to sit.  We sat in this test for a little while before heading out on Sunday and met some Australians (which this tent seemed to consist mostly of Australians).  What a contrast from our first tent where the waitress eagerly helped us find a table to here where the waitresses were mean, yelled at the obnoxious people around us, and even kicked some people out of the tent.  The behavior of people in this tent certainly warranted this type of treatment, but it was all the more reason why the tent was different than the other.

The trip was certainly a whirlwind, but it was incredible to be a part of Oktoberfest 2013.  I particularly liked the culture of the lower-key tents and the vastly different experiences that we found in all of the other tents.  And in the end, with 1-liter beers, we didn't need more than two days at Oktoberfest; two were plenty to get the experience and check another item off our bucket list.  Prost!

Kaelia Endorsements

Kaelia loves everything these days, and that is exactly what she tells us.  "Mom, I love green beans" or "I love that show" or "I love Daddy's haircut" are just a few endorsements she made just yesterday.  Our favorite is when she does not like something at first, has a complete meltdown, and then comes out of time-out happy as a clam and immediately loves whatever she threw the tantrum about in the first place.  This happens at dinner sometimes when she doesn't want to eat what we made.  The other night, I made a chicken dish that Kaelia normally really likes.  But she sat down at the dinner table, did a slow motion cry, and said "I don't like chicken!"  Twenty minutes later of crying and taking a time-out in her room, she came out fully of smiles, sat down at the table on her own, said hello to everyone with her sweet, little charm and said "Ooh, chicken.  I love this dinner!"  Another winning endorsement from Kaelia!

Taelyn has a Boyfriend

Today Taelyn was telling me about playing at school with a little boy in her class named Dale.  I noticed that she talks about Dale quite a bit, so I just asked her if Dale was one of her good friends at school.  Then she said, "Mom, there is something I have to tell you," and she told me about a conversation that she and Dale had.  Here is what they said:

Dale: Taelyn, will you be my girlfriend?
Taelyn: Of course I will.  Dale, will you be my boyfriend?
Dale: Of course I will.

So I guess Taelyn now has a boyfriend.  How cute!

The Big Slide

Every day when driving to work, we drive by a huge slide that kids to go to ride down in an inner-tube.  And every day Taelyn asks when we can go on that slide.  Well, today was the day.  The girls had an awesome time on slide.  Taelyn insisted on going down all by herself every time, and then she started racing us at the end.  Kaelia attempted to go down on her own at first but got a little scared, so Justin and I took turns going down with her.  Then she was thrilled to slide down.

Searching for Treasure

Last week the girls and I went on a little walk in a nature reserve behind our house while Justin was off running a marathon.  As we packed up and got ready for the hike, though, Taelyn told me that she had to first make a map so we could find the hidden treasure.  (She has been really in to pirates lately.)  So she took a marker and some paper and drew a map of the nature reserve; it contained a body of water, a bridge, a forest, mountains and an X for the treasure.  Taelyn didn't actually know whether these items were at the reserve, but she drew what she thought should be on a treasure map.

As the girls and I hiked around the reserve, Taelyn stopped periodically to check her map and make sure we were on the right track.  Along the way, we saw tortoises, blesbok, and large rodents called capybaras until we suddenly came across a little pond and a bridge.  The girls were very excited to find the bridge on the map and navigate where we had to go next to get to the treasure.  After several more looks at the map, we eventually ended up outside a friend's house that backs up to the nature reserve; this is where Taelyn announced the treasure was.  We called and called for her friend, Rowan, to come out, and when he did, we apparently found the treasure!  The girls were excited and fulfilled, so we headed home afterwards.

Taelyn looks at the map to find out where to go.

The girls spot a tortoise.

Kaelia sees which way to go next.

We found the bridge!  Now Taelyn looks for the way to the treasure.

Rowan's house is the treasure!

Then just yesterday, Taelyn spotted another buried treasure that is worth sharing.  While walking out of a restaurant, Taelyn immediately ran to an X in the parking lot that indicated no parking.  So she stood over the X and used her best pirate voice to yell "Treasure!" over and over again.  She was pretending that a buried treasure was under the X, and it was pretty cute.  Here is the video.

First Days of School

Kaelia's first day of school

Today Kaelia started her very first day of preschool.  She has been waiting for this day for a long time now as she saw her sister go to school last year, and she has been more than ready to go.  The school is a local South African school within walking distance from our house, so our nanny, Maria, will take Kaelia to school each day.  However, today Justin took the morning off of work and I took the entire day off so that we could take her to school and then so I could pick her up.  The three of us then headed out the door and walked up to Kaelia's preschool.

When we got to the school, Kaelia's teacher was ready and waiting to show her how to get started.  First, Kaelia put her backpack in her little locker cubby, and then she walked around the classroom, exploring all that it has to offer.  She especially liked the princess kitchen set.  Once she was settled, though, she waited on the carpet with the other kids for class to begin, and Justin and I said goodbye.  Kaelia certainly did not fuss when we left because she was so excited for her class to begin.

After lunch time, I drove up to the school to pick Kaelia up and found her waiting for me with a book in her hands.  Her teacher said that she followed the routine of the day very well and that she is a very happy and clever little girl.  The first thing Kaelia told me was, "Mom, I LOVE that lunch today.  I had chicken and rice, and I love it!"  Apparently the lunch left a good impression on her.  Kaelia also tried out ballet class today to see if she wants to join the activity.  She had a great time and even showed us the moves that she learned; she will try out a few more activities throughout the week, however, and decide on the one that she likes best.

When it was time to go, Kaelia insisted on first showing me the "Naughty Step" on the playground, and she ensured me that she would never have to sit there.  I guess a few boys had to visit the step during recess that day, so Kaelia thought it was worth showing me.  Her teacher told me that Kaelia was a pleasure on the playground and played with kids of all ages.  It really was a perfect first day of school, and we are all so happy that Kaelia had such a great day.

Taelyn's First Day of School

Last Wednesday, Taelyn also started her first day of pre-K at our school.  It was a very exciting and exhausting day for her.  For the first time, she got to ride with Mommy and Daddy to school, and then we got to drop her off at her classroom.  She chose her sparkly pink dress and heart tights as her "first day of school outfit" along with  sparkly shoes and a  headband to match.  When we got to her class, she said hello to her teacher, Ms. Cate, and was instructed to put her bag in her cubby and park her lunch in her spot up top.  She located her name in both areas, and did as she was told.  Then she went inside the classroom and played with Legos and puzzles while she waited for class to begin.  About halfway through the day, her teacher sent us an email saying that she was doing very well and was enjoying her snack with another little girl in the class.  We even got a picture of this!

After school, Justin and I met Taelyn at her classroom and walked with her to the buses.  There was a little chaos here with trying to find the correct bus and then finding out that her bus was full.  But Taelyn didn't really seem to notice because she was so exhausted - I have actually never seen her so tired before!  Justin held her while we tried to figure out the bus situation, and she just lay her head on his shoulder and camped out.  Eventually, she got on a new bus and took her first school bus ride home where our nanny, Maria, met her.  The first thing she said to Maria was, "I'm so tired, and I just want to take a nap."  So that is what she did.

To celebrate the beginning of school, we took the girls to our favorite family restaurant, Pappachinos, where we met up with Arianna and enjoyed great playgrounds and the kids' pizza-making studio.  The girls had a great time that night and had absolutely no problems going to bed when we got home!

I am so excited for this new stage of life and how well my little girls are growing up, but I also have to admit that I am so sad about how fast the last four years have flown by.  I sing a song to the girls before bed that reflects this feeling well, so I recorded the song this summer with our good friend, Rod, and have chosen the song for the slideshow below.

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Summer Time States Side

Once again, we had a very crazy and chaotic, yet really fun summer in the States.  After travelling to Italy and Florida, we camped out with family for most of the rest of the summer in Michigan with a few weekend trips here and there.  During our first weekend, we went out to Chicago to visit our good friends, Liz and Mike, and their daughter, Evie.  The girls had a nice time at the zoo and also enjoyed playing with the baby and the dog.  The next weekend, we also flew out to New York City so see our college buddy, Dave.  Here we spent late nights out catching up and seeing some Broadway shows.  Justin surprised me with tickets to Annie the first night, and then we experienced Wicked the second night.  Both were incredible.  We ended the trip with some karaoke in Atlantic City.

While in Michigan, the girls LOVED all of the time that they had with their cousins.  Kaelia especially bonded with Jacob while Taelyn was attached to Jayden every moment he was around.  She adores him and had such a special time when they were together.  Lots of cousin time was spent in Canada at the cottage where the kids played and swam all day long.  One day, they were at the beach for five hours!  Taelyn perfected her swimming by diving in and out of the water like Ariel, and she even had the courage to ask her daddy to through her up in the air and land in the water.  Kaelia loved playing in the sand for hours.

We also took quite a few trips to the mall this summer for the girls to play in some of their "Michigan favorites."  The ferris wheel, food court, Jeepers amusement center, and the Disney Store were all on the list.  Another highlight was Cooks Dairy Farm where the girls got to pet and feed some cows and pigs.  Kaelia experienced what it was like to get kissed by a cow while Taelyn was convinced that the pigs were going to eat her.

The girls also had a wonderful time with their grandparents and aunts and uncles.  They got to go swimming at the wave pool with Uncle Joel and Grandma and Grandpa Pepera, and they had lots of snuggle reading time with Grandma and Grandpa Walker.  We spent a couple of days with Uncle Matty and Aunt Brandy as well, and they had plenty of visits from Aunt Katie throughout the summer.  We all had a great time with friends and family while the girls also got to freshen up on their American culture - especially the food.  The girls are now obsessed with mac and cheese and Lucky Charms!

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Lucky Little Lucky

While we were in Florence this summer, Kaelia unfortunately lost her favorite stuffed animal, Lucky, from the 101 Dalmatians.  We told the girls they could each take one item with them from South Africa to our summer travels;  Taelyn chose her blankie while Kaelia chose Lucky.  Lucky went everywhere with us in Itally until we woke up early in Florence to head back on a train to Rome and could not find him anywhere.  We checked our camera to track where we had last seen Lucky the night before and then had the hotel call around to all of those places, but no one had Lucky.  Justin even ran around that morning to check some of the places himself while the girls and I waited in route to the train station.  We were all devastated that Lucky was gone.

A few days later, we stopped by an IKEA in Rome and found a new stuffed dog for Kaelia, hoping to ease her pain.  She called him Brown (because he is brown) and was very excited, but of course, still missed her Lucky.  She knew, though, that Lucky was lost in Italy forever.

Ironically, a few weeks later in Michigan, Justin got an email from the hotel in Florence saying that they found Lucky behind the dressing closet in our hotel room.  So they mailed Lucky back to us in Michigan, and we got the package just a few days before heading back to South Africa.  Kaelia's little Lucky certainly is lucky!  Here is the video of Kaelia getting her Lucky back.

Cross Country Racing

While playing at Grandma and Grandpa Pepera's house, the girls decided that they wanted to race, so we set up a little cross country course in the trails for them to try.  The entire race was probably about 300 meters long with a little hill in the middle.

During the race, Taelyn took the early lead and never looked back.  She ran the entire distance and crossed the finish line with a huge smile on her face.  Kaelia, however, had to face some difficult times and needed some perseverance during her race.  She got a little tired and even took a walk break when she got to the hill.  With about 100 meters to go, she didn't think she could even finish the race.  But Taelyn stepped in like a good big sister and went back through the trails to run alongside Kaelia and cheer her on.  I also joined in, and the three of us led Kaelia to the finish line.  The girls did a great job and had lots of fun!

Disney World Weekend

After months and months of planning and anticipation, we finally had our trip to Florida where we celebrated Kaelia's birthday in Florida (and Disney World) with our good friends from high school, Adam and Michelle, and their two beautiful little girls.  It was a wonderful trip.  We started off by having a very small, low-key birthday party at Adam and Michelle's house followed by a trip to the beach.  Then we headed over to Orlando for Universal Studios and the Magic Kingdom.

Our first day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios, and we had an amazing time.  We went straight to Harry Potter World to avoid long lines; it was definitely worth it.  We never waited for more than 10 minutes for any ride, and we took advantage of the Kid Swap room where Justin and I could take turns riding the rides while the girls sat in a little room and watched Harry Potter movies.  The rides were awesome, and the girls were even allowed to go on one of them.  It was the Hippogriff ride, and it was pretty intense for a 3 and 4 year-old.  The girls thought is was awesome, though.  Taelyn rode with Justin and screamed the entire team with pure joy while Kaelia rode with me and just giggled throughout the entire ride.  This was actually Kaelia first roller coaster ever, and it was quite a big one for her first experience.  Afterwards, we enjoyed some delicious Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice and then headed over the Jurassic Park.  The rides were not quite as intense as Harry Potter World, but the theme was great, and the kids loved the hands-on dinosaur center.  We then ended the day in Dr. Seuss Land for the girls to play.

That night, we checked in to our Disney resort and went down to the pools to swim.  Unfortunately, the pools quickly closed due to thunder and lightning and we had to call it a night.

The next day, we went to the Magic Kingdom which was just as big and magical as we had dreamed. The girls were certainly dressed the part; Taelyn came as Princess Aurora, and Kaelia was Cinderella - both absolutely beautiful.  We decided to head to the back to the park to see Ariel first, so we walked through Cinderella's castle to get there.  Kaelia immediately fell in to character and talked about how we were going to her castle.  Then when we were inside, she showed me all of the paintings on the wall and said, "Look at my pictures.  I did them all by myself!"  It was adorable.  When we got to Ariel's grotto, we rode her ride and then got in line to meet the princess herself.  Taelyn was completely enamored because Ariel is her favorite princess.  Next, we rode a few rides including Dumbo and the teacups and then caught a dancing and singing show back at Cinderella's castle.  Here, the girls saw Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White dancing with their princes.  This was actually the only time we saw these princesses because we turned down waiting in line for an hour later on to see them in person.  Instead, we saw a line to meet Merida from Brave, and it didn't look too long.  Little did we know, that this line continued on for a while once we got inside the gate, so we actually waited for 45 minutes.  Fortunately, there were tasks to keep the kids entertained: archery practice and Merida coloring pages.  The girls were great at archery and both hit the target.  Finally, when it was our turn to see Merida, the girls were quiet and cranky, and when we left, Kaelia was really mad and said, "Mom, that wasn't Merida.  That wasn't her face!"

To end our time at the Magic Kingdom, we went to a Pooh bear character breakfast where the girls got to hang out with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore while they had their lunch.  They really like this experience - especially bouncing with Tigger.  Kaelia was so tired, though, that she ended up laying down on her chair and tried to get some rest.  We took that as our cue to head back to the resort.  Once we got there, though, the girls were wide awake again and went straight to the pools.  This time rain did not get in our way, and we spent four hours swimming and sliding down water slides.  Both girls worked their way up the bigger slides in the park, and eventually Taelyn even went down without arm floaties.  They were so happy and fun to swim with!

Our trip to Florida was everything we had hoped it would be and the perfect way to celebrate Kaelia's birthday and spent time together as a family.  Here are some highlights of the trip.

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Kaelia's Birthday

We celebrated Kaelia's birthday a few days after her actual birthday this year, so that she could have her birthday party in Florida.  We stayed with our good friends from high school, Adam and Michelle and their twin girls, Kaley and Ryley, where we got Kaelia a Cinderella birthday cake and opened a few presents.  We also spent the afternoon swimming in their pool.  All of this fun was a prelude for the weekend where we continued Kaelia's birhtday celebration at Disney World.

Kaelia had been waiting for this day for quite some time.  She knew that she would have a small party, and she couldn't wait until we went to Disney World for her birthday.  She had heard about this wonderful birthday for so long that when the weekend actually came, she couldn't believe it was finally her birthday.  After we picked up her birthday cake and told her it was time to sing, she looked at us and said, "Is it my birthday?  Is that my Cinderella cake?"  Then she started to singing happy birthday first while everyone else chimed in a little late.  She even sang "Happy birthday dear Kaelia" to herself during the song.

Next, Kaelia opened her presents.  She got some Disney clothing for Disney World, including a Cinderella nightgown and a beautiful Cinderella dress and crown to wear to the theme park.  She also got a couple of Cinderella carriages and figurines that she absolutely loved.  The day was a perfect start to a magical weekend.

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When in Rome

Before heading back to the US for the summer, we stopped by Italy for a trip to Rome and some smaller trips outside the city.  Quickly we learned that when in Rome…be ready to walk, stand in lines, and eat.  Huge props go to the girls who walked miles each day without every complaining.  There were true stars during the trip with just a little bribery with gelato!

Our 1st apartment was a solid find just 1 block from the Colosseum and Forum. From here we easily caught the metro or buses to all sites. A quaint place in a cute neighborhood, it had a dishwasher, washing machine, wifi, and all the space we needed. They even left us wine, bread, cookies, and other food! We immediately set out to Open Baldini, a burger joint with over 40 beers on tap. While the Belgian brews were delicious and the food tasty, the service was poor. When we got the bill we decided that sit-down meals might not be a daily occurrence when in Rome. On to the Pantheon and a free trip around the huge interior dome which includes the Tomb of Raphael. We then pushed on to Piazza Novona where three amazing fountains were seen. But not to be missed was the gigantic Trevi Fountain, which it is said it you throw a coin into you are certain to return. The girls enjoyed their first gelato while Justin battled with food poisoning and spent most of the night refunding lunch.

Day two required a trip to Vatican City. After a botched attempt to use the buses and trains, a pricey cab ride got us to St. Peter’s Square in time to see the Pope. He makes an appearance every Wednesday when he is in Rome for an address in the square. We stood with thousands as his motorcade paraded the area, then we headed in by guided tour to the Vatican Museums. This is Rome’s most popular attraction that sees nearly 20,000 visitors per day. Filled with more art than you could imagine owned by such a small city-state, they say if you spent 20 seconds looking at each item it would take you 5 years. Luckily, we were most interested in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. No pictures are allowed but it is a spectacular site. Luckily we had a guide who explained a lot about it first so we knew what to look at because it is dark, hard to see, and extremely crowded. You cannot talk. After exiting the chapel, we hooked in to St. Peter’s Basilica. The sheer size of this building was enough to humble Christian and non alike.

Not to abuse the location of our lodging, we started day 3 at the Colosseum. While much destroyed and rebuilt over time, it is still quite a sight to behold, and all the better when you arrive early in the morning and not only beat the crowds, but don’t have flocks of tourists in your pictures. The girls were fascinated by the fact that animals used to be housed there and haunted that they were forced to fight; this was by far their favorite site from the entire trip. We meandered across the street into the grounds of the Roman Forum (a ticket into one gets you entrance into the other). From here we saw many remains of the ancient seat of government, including the treasury, the steps where orators would preach, and the senate steps. Most notably, the temple dedicated to Julius Caesar on the site he was cremated.

After a rest, a quick train ride took us to the very busy Spanish Steps. While nice to look at, be prepared to be in the mix with a couple thousand of your not-so-closest friends, Italians and Roman’s alike. Keats is said to have died in his apartment overlooking the plaza. Taelyn had a great time playing on the steps while Kaelia was fast asleep in Justin's arms after another full day with no nap. Afterwardwe walked all the way back to the apartment, using gelato (and the Irish pub) as a motivation to make it. The girls are troopers.

Day 4 and a side trip. All girls and luggage hauled to Rome termini and the mess of trying to figure out how to find trains that don’t have platforms or the correct city on them (note: this was our train, not all trains!). We made it and took the short, beautiful ride to Tuscany and the city of Florence. Narrow, twisting, one-way cobblestone streets made for a pricey and difficult cab ride, compounded by the hordes of tourists. It was like these were walking malls/streets, yet a car would still come down them. We soon learned the lay of the land and ventured past the Duomo, an immaculate church spanning many city blocks, and on to the Accademia Gallery, the home of the great David statute. A hefty entrance fee and hour’s wait later, we stood at the base of the enormous carving, awed by its size (no pun intended). Everything else in the museum just wasn’t as cool. More gelato and a rest took us to a rainy afternoon and a walk past the Uffizi Galary and onto the medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge.

We were up early the next day and heading for the train station, this time on the walk. The train to Pisa was only 1 hour and we arrived, hopped the bus, and arrived at the leaning tower. The tower was pretty cool to see, listing as it does to the side. However, the tourist trap that it is was a turn off as more people were selling stupid shirts, crap items, and peddling watches and sunglasses here than in all of Rome together. We took the obligatory pictures and headed for lunch.

The return trip was hectic starting with a 2K walk back to the train station. It had started to get hot and the kids tired, and we took longer than needed to make it. A 1 hour train and a near miss of our connection in Florence as Justin had to grab the left luggage and Sarah took the girls to McDonalds for the bathroom. Another 1:30 train ride and back to Rome and a 10 min walk to the apartment. However, when we arrived at the address, nothing had the name of the confirmation on it. We waited, asked for help, and even talked to people coming out of the building – no one had heard of the name. Finally a woman we asked earlier came back and said, “That’s my apartment.” Oh. Ok. So in we went. Smaller and with none of the amenities of the last place, it was a bit of a letdown for a more expensive place, but close to Termini so transport wasn’t an issue.

Pasta and Pizza’ed out, we made our own dinner to cap day 5. Day 6 dawned with an early run in Villa Borghese park. Lined with many sculpture gardens, the girls enjoyed a playground and a turtle and duck-filled lake while the adults ran. Then it was off for an afternoon of travel. When you have had your fill of pasta in Italy, where is the best place for meatballs in Rome? Ikea. We followed this with German brews and pretzels at a Bavarian place before heading to the trendy neighborhood of Trastavere. After several hours of failure in getting there, we stumbled in destroyed from the walking. Yet we were met with a great beer join in Ma Che Siete Vente a Fa where world yummy beers are poured. After some street shopping in the maze of markets and avenues, we sat for organic pizza and Italian craftbrews at the Bir and Fud.

Day 7 was no shorter. Again a run, then off. We failed in our destination (a metro then train ride out to a town, long walk only to fine the site closed on Mondays). So we hustled back and made our way 30K out of Rome to Frascati. This cobblestone -filled town is famous for its fresh white wine so we enjoyed a carafe of it on the piazza with some antipasti and some Belgian beers. Done spending money and eating the same dishes, we hit the store to make dinner again. The last day we spend returning to Ostia Antiqua, a 4th century BC Roman city. The ruins were extravagant and vast. We ended with an Irish pub, pizzas on the street, and of course, gelato which we had at the oldest, largest, and cheapest (and best) parlor in the city at Giovanni Fassi just around the corner from our place.

Final impressions – Rome has much to offer and isn’t entirely difficult to get around to the major sites. Beware shortcuts and off the beaten path as roads twist and turn and are unmarked. The size of many of the buildings – especially when taking into account when they were built – make for some great sights, not to mention the history. The roads are a cobblestone mess, an artisan driveway that needed to be redone long ago. Its streets like ashtrays, full of butts and stinking of smoke from the every Roman citizen puffing away at all moments of the day. It is a dichotomy of old and new, 2000 year old views by horse-drawn carriages yet the drivers are on cell phones and charge $200. Florence is very small in comparison and a nice getaway, but lacks the grandiose appeal of Rome. Pisa is a must for the iconic tower but is otherwise forgettable and out of the way.

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Kaelia - 3 Years Old

It is amazing how much Kaelia has grown in to her own little personality during this last year.  She is incredibly funny at times, sweet at others, and angry and sad in between.  To show off her sweet side, she loves to give hugs and kisses and will frequently say "I love you."  This is countered by her angry side where she crosses her arms and says things like, "You're naughty!" or "I'm not playing with you" when she's mad.  This usually happens when someone doesn't share.  When Kaelia gets sad, she usually does a very slow motion sad face until she is in tears with her head buried in her arms.  This typically occurs when she is told no or if she loses a game.  Kaelia can be rather literal and matter-of-fact as well.  Here are a few conversations we have had in the last few months:

Taelyn: It's morning time because the sun's out.
Kaelia: No the sun is in.  The sun is not out, so it is in.

Kaelia: Mommy, you make me laugh.
Me: Kaelia, you make me laugh all the time.
Kaelia: No I don't.  You're not laughing right now.

Kaelia is also full of wisdom from her 3 years of age.  She often tells us profound statements. In fact, there are times where I actually repeat what she says because it just makes sense during certain times in life.  One time, for example, Kaelia wasn't really talking and was acting pretty lethargic while we were all trying to play in the playroom.  Justin and I kept asking her what was wrong that day and why was she acting like that.  Finally, once everyone left the room except for me, she came over to me and whispered, “Mom, I’m just not feeling well today, and I want to be sad.”  It was so well-said and so understandable that I told her she had a great reason to be sad.  A week later, I also got sick and found myself saying the exact same thing.

One of the most dominant parts of Kaelia's personality this year has been her imagination.  She loves to play make believe with her sister as well as on her own.  When playing this Taelyn, they often act out the latest movie that they watched or will play some type of mother-baby scenario.  They take turns being the mother or the baby, and the baby will also cry while the mother will call her "honey" and try to get her to stop. Tangled is one of their favorite movies to re-enact because they are a mother and daughter in this situation too.  The mother will brush Rapunzel's hair while she asks if she can go outside.  Then the mother tells her that it is a very dangerous place and she must never leave the castle.  Again, they take turns in these roles, and they are adorable.  However, the biggest part of Kaelia's imaginary world has been the addition of her two imaginary friends, Jack Frost and Blue.  These two friends are from two different movies, but they have entered in to Kaelia's world, and she plays with them every day.  Jack Frost is often quite silly while Blue is mischevious.  Just this past week, Kaelia ran up to us and then fell to the ground.  When she got up, she said, "Whoa!  Jack Frost just hit me with a snowball!"  We managed to get her to re-enact that one on camera too.

Jack Frost hit Kaelia with a Snowball

To give a little example of Blue's personality, Kaelia was painting one of her arts and crafts when all of a sudden, she started to destroy the pattern that was painting.  Then she started screaming, "NO, Blue, stop!  Mom, Blue just ruined my picture!"  What we love most about Kaelia's interaction with her imaginary friends, though, is the voices that she makes up to go along with them.  Here is an example of a typical conversation with Jack Frost:

Kaelia: Oh hello, Blue.  You can't come in yet because the party is not ready.
Blue (Kaelia's deep voice): Ok, Kaelia.
Kaelia: Come in Blue.  The party's ready and Jack Frost is here!

Kaelia's Chalk Self-Portrait

Other things like Kaelia likes to do is play "dollies" (Barbies) - especially Cinderella and Rapunzel.  She also likes to play on playgrounds.  Her favorite playground equipment is the swings; she would swing all day if she could.

Aside from her imagination, Kaelia has also advanced with her academic learning.  She can count up to 20, knows her letters, and has been working on writing the alphabet.  She has also loves arts and crafts - especially coloring and painting with watercolor paint.  And she has been practicing cutting paper to use on her arts and crafts projects.

Kaelia is now 28.8 lbs. and 37.5 inches tall.  That puts her in the 29th and 50th percentiles respectively.  She is also fully potty trained except at night where she is usually dry but wears a pull-up just in case.

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Sailing Away Party

Today was Taelyn's last day of school at her South African preschool.  We leave next week for our summer travels, and then Taelyn will start at our school in August.  To celebrate her last day, Taelyn's teacher put together a going away party for her and her friend, Rafi, who is also ending at the school.  We work with his parents, and they are now moving back to the US this summer.

In preparation for the going away party, Taelyn has been asking all week, "Is it my sailing away party today?!"  After correcting the word "sailing" a few times, she would still ask the same question but then stop and ask, "Wait, mom, what's my party called again?"

At the party, Taelyn brought in cupcakes that we made the night before, and gave them to her classmates, the "Rockets."  Taelyn and Rafi were the guests of honor and performed a little song before cupcake time.  After cupcakes, they got to play with their friends on the playground for one last time.

It has been really interesting (and heartbreaking at times) to hear Taelyn's thinking process out loud as she puts together what it means to leave one school and start at another.  It all began when she learned that Rafi was moving back to the US.  For a couple of weeks, she told us how she didn't want him to go.  We took that opporunity to talk to her about how someday we will move away from South Africa too.  Then at the start of this past week, it hit her that she would not be going back to her school any more and that she wouldn't be able to play with her best Rocket buddies, Michael and Kale.  Taelyn has been excited to come to our school all year long, but last week she started to mention that she didn't want to go there and leave her school.  So we took her to her new school over the weekend to show her her new teacher's classroom (Ms. Kate) and her new playground.  She LOVED the school and was thrilled that she will be going there.  That definitely helped for this week as she said goodbye to her current school.  She was completely okay with and is now ready to join the American school when we get from our summer vacation.

Here is a look at Taelyn's "sailing" away party and some of her schoolwork and artwork from the school year.

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