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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