She Makes Us Laugh

Some of my favorite family moments are when Kaelia gets really silly and makes the rest of us laugh.  Just this past week, for example, I got out the shower to find my two girls cracking up on my bed.  Taelyn was singing a song from preschool and trying to teach Kaelia the words, but she was stuck in silly mode and wanted to make us laugh.  The scene went a little like this:

Taelyn: Harry, Harry, drive the fire truck. [Then she looked at Kaelia for her to repeat the words back.]
Kaelia: Harry, Harry, drive the bicycle.

Taelyn thought this was hysterical and kept trying to over and over again to teach Kaelia the correct words.  Kaelia would respond with "drive the car," then "airplane," blanket," "cereal," etc.  She of course knew the correct words all along, but just wanted to be silly.  Finally, in the end, she said "fire truck" and we all cheered for her.  Little funny moments like this happen at least once a week!

Easter Weekend

The girls write a letter to the Easter bunny

Our Easter weekend began on Friday when we all decorated Easter eggs in preparation for Sunday.  Then before we went to bed on Saturday, the girls put their decorated eggs in the baskets and left the Easter bunny a little note, asking him to hide the eggs at Arianna's house.  The next morning, they found out that their eggs were gone and their baskets were hidden somewhere in the house.  So they searched around until they found the baskets - and they were full of small presents!  They got things like stickers, chocolate, fancy tights, cozy socks, and robes.

Special treats from the Easter Bunny

Next, we headed over to our good friends' house where the girls got together with their best friends, Arianna and Rafi for their Easter egg hunt.  They loved hunting throughout the yard to find eggs - especially when they found some that they had decorated themselves.  To top the event, we ended with an Easter feast and some NCAA basketball.  It was a great day!

Family Fun Day

Today was our school's annual Family Fun Day.  Family Fun Day is very similar to a small carnival, and this was the first year that the girls were really old enough to take full advantage of it.  They got to play on the playground and several bouncy castles, and they got to ride a few rides.  They really liked the big trampoline, and Kaelia loved the swings.  She cried for a bit after it was done because she wanted to keep going.  One of the highlights for Taelyn was an enormous bouncy castle water slide.  She really wanted to go on it but wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be too fast.  So we watched other kids go down it at a very slow pace until Taelyn decided that she wanted to try it.  Apparently little, little bodies go down at a different speed, though, because she flew down the slide and in to the air about half way through!  It was definitely not something that she wanted to repeat, but she loved that she tried it.

Kaelia on the trampoline

The girls on the swings

Taelyn's Waterslide Experience

Running & Wine

This weekend was the big Two Oceans ultra-marathon where Justin and the girls all had races in Capetown. So we flew there for a nice weekend trip.  It was actually Easter weekend, but we will celebrate Easter next weekend when we are back at home.

To begin our Capetown trip, we visited a couple of our favorite sites there.  First we went to Bolder's Beach to see the penguins on the beach.  We have been here before, but love coming back.  The girls love how close they can get to the penguins.  They even tried to imitate the penguins by walking like them as they followed them around.

Then we headed over to the race site where the girls each had their own races; Kaelia was in the 56m Nappy Dash, and Taelyn was in the 300m Toddler Trot.  Taelyn was so excited for her race - she even chose to do a warm-up run without any prompting on our part!  Kaelia race was first, though, so Taelyn diverted some of that energy trying to get Kaelia pumped up.  Unfortunately, Kaelia was having a 2 year-old moment at the time and decided that she didn't want to run a race.  I brought her over to the starting line, hoping that she would lighten up when she saw all the other boys and girls.  But she insisted that she wanted to anything other than race: "I want my daddy," "I want my pie," I want my jacket," etc.  Finally she said she would do the race, but she WOULD NOT run it.  So the gun went off and I tried to get her to jog with me, and she would only walk.  When we crossed the finish line, she got a medal and a track bag full of toys and treats.  She was NOT happy about this.  She asked me why she got and medal and a bag, and I told her because she ran the race.  With her angriest voice, she said, "I didn't run the race; I walked!"  It was pretty funny that her defiance even continued when she got those special prizes.

Post-Race Pose

After Kaelia's race, Taelyn ran up to her, congratulating her and telling her that she did so well.  Taelyn was so excited about the entire racing situation.  Then Justin took her over to her starting line to prepare for the Toddler Trot.  We really weren't sure if she was going to be able to make it the whole 300m, but she surprised us.  When her race started, she shot out and started pumping the arms.  She slowed a bit shortly after but kept going and going and never once complained.  She made it all the way to the finish with a smile on her face.  We are so proud of her.

Next, we went to the aquarium to see various sea life.  Kaelia especially liked the starfish and was thrilled that she got to touch one!  Taelyn's most memorable tank was the sting rays where the top was completely open and at waist level.  She thought it was fun to run away when the sting rays got close to her.  We all really liked the shark tank as well.

The next day was Justin's 56k race.  He got up very early in incredibly strong winds to take on the hilly, difficult, yet beautiful course.  The girls and I showed up at the finish line and waited for daddy to run in and get his big medal.  Justin had a fantastic run, going much faster than he planned - so fast that we actually missed him finish.  Taelyn was really upset by this, but Justin's great excitement after his run cheered her up.

Justin actually felt so well that we immediately hopped in the car and headed out to Stellenbosch - one of South Africa's most famous wine lands.  There we met up with a friend and started touring different vineyards while taking advantage of the wine tasting.  The wine lands were gorgeous, and the wine was tasty.  One of the wine companies even had face painting, an Easter bunny and an Easter egg hunt for all the kids that were visiting.  It was a wonderful end to a busy and fulfilling weekend.

Create a scrapbook

Ukutula Lion Park

Yesterday was a South African holiday and day off of school, so we took advantage of the great weather and headed to the Ukatula Lion Park.  We have heard great things about this place but had never been.  Our expectations were definitely not disappointed.

First, we stepped in to an enclosed area where the four of us got to pet, hold, and play with lion and tiger cubs.  We have pet cubs before, but never have we had so much interaction with them.  The girls LOVED this part of the day.  The lions were so mild and tame and loved to have their bellies rubbed.  The tigers, on the other hand, were a bit frisky and a little too playful for young children.  They liked to leap on to the girls and were really strong, so the guides held them off for a while so that we could enjoy the lions.

Next, we went in to the 1-2 year old lion pen to sit and pet the next age up of lions.  These lions were definitely not as tame as the cubs and stalked the girls a bit.  We had to hold them while petting the lions which was difficult because the lions liked to gnaw on fingers and clothing.  So after a little while, I took the girls out of the pen, and Justin stayed in to get some good pictures.

The cheetah pen was next where we went inside and pet one particular cheetah that was rescued when she was a baby.  Our girls were not allowed inside this pen, so Justin and I just took turns.  Taelyn was quite disappointed that she couldn't go inside too, but she knew that it wasn't safe.

The day ended with the mature lions.  We walked alongside their pens which really stirred them up a bit because they wanted to go after the girls.  They jumped at the fencing from time to time and paced back and forth.  The girls thought it was a little funny (and scary too) because they knew that the lions wanted to eat them.  One of the pens, however, was very calm because a female had just given birth to five cubs seven days prior.  Three females and the male were laying down together with the cubs in the middle.  They were adorable.  They had their eyes open but couldn't see yet and could barely walk without stumbling.  Kaelia especially loved these cubs.

Top O' the Morning to Ya!

St. Patrick's Day is not just a holiday in our household.  Justin absolutely loves this day and ensures that it is celebrated at the highest level possible.  This does not mean drinking green beer and wearing gaudy green.  Instead, Justin looks for more traditional fare such as Celtic singers and good old Guinness.

Unfortunately, Justin has been sorely disappointed with South Africa's version of St. Patrick's Day.  That is why this year he decided to throw his own party and do it right.  We rented a clubhouse at a friend's complex on Saturday and brought in some decorations from the US.  Then Justin bought a keg of Guinness with a real Guinness tap like you would see in any bar.  To top the evening off, he hired Highland and Irish dancers while a few people sang some traditional Irish songs.  I even performed a little Danny Boy with a friend.  Justin also hired a bagpiper to come, but sadly he fell ill and was in the hospital that day.  He also had a hard time booking a traditional band, so he made his own mix of music that included nothing but Irish, old and new.

One of the best parts of the night was Justin's attire.  He surprised everyone by wearing a kilt and even showed off his dancing skills with a little Irish jig later in the evening.

On Sunday, the actual St. Patrick's Day, we also continued the festivities by going to a local brewery.  There we shared some great Irish local brews while relaxing in the grass in front of a mountainside.  A guy performed traditional music in the background  and a band of rock bagpipers made an appearance to play a few rock Irish songs.  It was perfect because whatever Justin could not pull off at his party was there the next day.   It really was a great weekend, and St. Patrick's Day was finally "done right."

Here is Justin showing Taelyn how to do an Irish jig.

Vacation in Kenya

For our Spring Break this year, we travelled to Kenya and had a fantastic vacation.  We started in Mombasa for a safari experience where we saw Tsavo East and Tsavo West.  This is where the movie, The Ghost in the Darkness is based on, when many people were attacked and killed by lions when first building a railway in Kenya.  And it was not hard to believe that such an event could happen because we saw lots and lots of lions.  At one point, there were five lions following the scent of some water buffaloes, in hopes of a good lunch time meal.  This hunt was early in the morning, though, so we were not able to see the kill, and I'm not so sure we would have really enjoyed seeing that anyway.

Elephants crowd the water hole just
outside our room at Tsavo West.

The highlight of Tsavo was by far the game lodges, though.  We stayed in a resort lodge right inside the game park.  We took advantage of the beautiful scenery in the room, at the restaurant, the pool, and the cliff-side bar that overlooked a watering hole just 10 meters away.  After our first game drive, we spent some time at the pool with many elephants just below us, and at sunset, we hung out at the bar, watching the migration of hundreds of water buffaloes passing through.  Four of the water buffaloes actually gave birth that evening right in front of the bar, but unfortunately, we were in our room at the time taking care of some potty breaks. We apparently missed the births by only 10 minutes.  We did get to see the little calves amongst the herd, however.  They were simply walking on all fours along with the crowd.  It was amazing.

The next evening, we stayed in a lodge inside Tsavo West.  The watering hole here was even closer than in Tsavo East, and there was a branch beside it where the management attached meat at sunset each night to bait leopards over.  We sat on the front deck waiting to see if any would show up, and sure enough, we saw two leopards that night.

After our safari experience, we headed for the beach and stayed at Turtle Bay Beach Club.  Turtle Bay was amazing for everyone in our family.  We spent most hours of the day swimming and relaxing beside the pool while the girls also took advantage of the kids club.  Every day from 10am-9pm, the kids club posted different activities for each hour, so the girls would pick 1-2 different ones that they wanted to go and hang out with other kids from the resort.  They ended up making some friends that are the same age and played together as kids club and at the pool.  One really nice feature of kids club for us was that they had movie night every night just as the adult dinner was starting.  So we would get the kids some dinner just before and drop them off for the movie while Justin and I had a little date night for an hour and a half each night.  At Turtle Bay, we had the perfect combination of family and personal time.

We also went on a couple of day trips from Turtle Bay. First, we went to a falconry and crocodile farm.  At the falconry, the girls got to ride a tortoise that is 130 years old.  He was friendly and awesome!  It was amazing to see how prehistoric he looked.  The girls also got to hold a bird on their arms and pet a very old, blind owl.  Taelyn loved the tortoise experience; she kept talking about how squishy he was, and Kaelia was fascinated with all of the owls - especially the smaller ones that she thought were the babies.  At the crocodile farm, the girls also got to hold smaller turtles as well as view various aged crocodiles.  The most intimidating part was the fully grown crocodiles; some of them were captured from rivers because they were too problematic.  The crocodile with the biggest resume had eaten five people prior to being captured!

Another trip we took from Turtle Bay was to a local orphanage where we spent time with some orphans and donated money and kids' items.  The girls even picked out quite a few toys that they don't play with any more to give to the orphans.  We had a great time playing with the children, but it was also very sad to visit the orphanage.  It is located in a rural area of Kenya, and the orphans do not really get adopted.  Instead, they usually stay there until they are 18, and then leave and start their own lives.  We spent a good amount of time with the 2-4 year-olds, and they were desperate for our affection.  Various children immediately ran to us and wanted to be held.  One little boy wrapped his arms and legs around me and wouldn't let go the entire time we were in the room.  Taelyn had a nice time playing with these children too.  She ran around with them which turned in to a little game of chase.  Later on, we also visited the babies, and Kaelia and I fell in love with a little 4-month old named Abby.  She was full of smiles, and Kaelia really liked holding her hand.  To end the trip, the girls each brought a toy over to the owner and asked her to give them to the orphans.

The rest of our trip was spent mostly in the pool and on the beach.  We liked going crab hunting on the beach and also finding crabs throughout the resort when they lost their way off the beach.  Taelyn also started to learn how to swim without her arm floaties.  In the beginning of the trip, she finally had the courage to jump in to the pool on her own with arm floaties.  But by the end, she not only would jump in without floaties, but would them pop her head back up out of the water and start swimming (or more like doggy paddling).  Justin even taught her how to jump in and then turn around and swim to the ledge as a little survival tip if she ever accidentally fell in a pool.  Kaelia also loved her time in the pool, and spent a lot of time swimming with her new friends from kids' club.

Our trip to Kenya was the best family vacation that we have taken so far, and it was really hard to leave.  The girls were devastated when the time came.  On the plane ride home, Taelyn asked if we could turn around and go back.  Then we were in our own beds in South Africa that night, she said she was sad that we weren't in Kenya any more.  It will be pretty tough to top this vacation for the girls, but we will do our best to give them many more fantastic vacations!

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