We welcome our new arrival.....

Evan finally got his dream fulfilled.... We got a puppy! Just picked her up today! We got an adorable 6 week old female yellow lab. She is so sweet and very playful. The kids love her! The name right now is Sadie... unless we seem to come up with anything else. Here are just a few of the first pics of bringing her home!

She is sooooo sweet!!



Going after Aiden's shoes

Cute picture except she moved so she is a little fuzzy...

July 4

Happy Birthday to the USA! We arrived home from Blanco on the 4th.... so we didn't have the parades or fireworks. The boys wore their Mickey american flag shirts courtesy of my dear friend Megan and both boys finally were comfortable riding their bikes without training wheels!! Look at them go......

Blanco 2010

We just returned from a wonderful 8 day vacation to one of our favorite places. Blanco Guest Farm just outside a very small town of Tarkastad. We went last year for a long weekend with the same group and had a blast.. so this year we went for a whole week to take up some of the boys holiday. There are animals for the kids, tennis, golf, bowls, squash court, playground, horse riding, hiking and plenty of space to run and play soccer, cricket, etc. I think in the 8 days we were there we saw Aiden a total of 24 hours. The great part is the kids just go and do what they want and when. They have their own dining room and meal times so we have some nice quiet meals. We had a nanny full time that entertained and just watched Evan to make sure he was ok. So there was lots of relaxing, reading, eating and drinking. You take your own beverages and at night after the kids are in bed we head to the bar and have a few drinks with the crew. We met so many fun people. For my South African friends that happen to read my blog -- you should definatly check it out!

On Thursday they had a soccer game between all the kids and the staff's kids. As well as the guys and the guys on staff.

Men trying to get prepared... they didn't have a chance!

Most of the group of kids we were with.

Our last full day at Blanco -- so sad!

So these are from the bar... we had alot of fun!

Ayoba Time!!

Soccer Fever has struck... We were able to attend two games here in PE. The new stadium is awesome! The first game we attended was on June 18 Germany vs. Serbia. We sat pretty much at center field and 27 rows up. Great seats!! For this game the boys went and had a great time. Vuvuzelas were in full force... the cheers from all the fans were so much fun. It was a great game with Serbia winning 1-0.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

The Boys..




We also were able to attend the England vs Slovenia game on June 23 here in town. This time we went with just adults and had a great time. A few friends of friends from England were here for the games and it was a great time! The England fans are crazy about their soccer. These are definately fans that travel with the team and support full force! England was victorious with a 1-0 win!

Paula, Gogo & Paula with South Africas Royal Guard (haha)

The massive number of England fans! This is just one section of the stadium!

Clayton & me..

The Mascot of the World Cup "Zakumi" meaning .. Za= South Africa Kumi = 10.

Paula and her mom.

Pat with our visiting England fans... GO USA :)


Fun was had by all!! We also got many pics of David Beckham on the sides lines... sooo cute! Very Exciting!!

Where has it gone?

The boys have finished their second term of school this year... wow half over! It flies by. They both have had a great first half of the year, with school, friends and activities. They both got wonderful reports. Aiden is getting closer and closer to reading and is very strong in math. Evan knows his letter and numbers.

I was just thinking about this experience the other day and how very lucky we are. The boys have learned so much more than I think they would've if we were home... they have realized there are other languages and are interested in learning and knowing the languages, they have come to understand so much about the animals that you would never get from a zoo, and recently with all the world cup hype the boys are actually able to point out flags from other countries (like Portugal, Mexico, Serbia, England, Germany, etc) I am sure there are children much older that wouldn't know the flags. It has been such a blessing and I know even though we really miss our family and friends we will be much better for being here.

Ok - now I want to share a few pieces of the artwork from the boys. Enjoy...

Evan's Artwork - Fire Truck

Tree

Ant

Flowers


Aiden's Artwork - Bus full of people

PE City Hall - they all drew these from a photo of the actual city hall downtown

Elephant

And my favorite - the donkey


Well to help the aspiring artists, we got them desks for their new room....



Now onto the long holiday!

Soccer World Cup Opening

The Soccer World Cup is underway and we are enjoying the festivities. The opening match was South Africa vs. Mexico. We went to a party at friends for the occasion. The weeks and days leading up to the world cup have been so much fun here. Looking around town and seeing flags everywhere.. on buildings, light poles, cars, etc. It has amazed me how much of a melting pot South Africa actually is.. There are people living here from all over the world. It is great to see the excitement of the SA people and the pride of what the country has accomplished. I am very proud to say I live here and was a part of the remarkable event. A newspaper article that was written by an American reporter about the World cup and South Africa has been circulating here and if you haven't read it .. it really sums up the feelings and excitement here. I have attached it in case you are interested.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shari-cohen/south-africa-rolls-out-th_b_611802.html

Ok - back to the party... we enjoyed watching the game and had a wonderful braai (bbq) with great friends. AYOBA!! (which is a word for hurray) Bafana Bafana (the south african team name) played well and tied with Mexico 1:1.

The Group ...


Our portrait taken by our photographer Evan.


In the middle is my dear friend Paula. To the left is her mother in the green and on the right is her mother in law. GO BAFANA BAFANA!!

Our New House

Well as most of you know now we were recently extended til June 2012. With the extension we were able to look for a new home...ours was lovely but was a little small so we were just looking for something slightly bigger. We hit the jackpot! The only house on the rental market was awesome and fit our needs perfectly. So we have now moved in and love it. Here are a few pics of the new castle!




The Back of the house


Pool


Trampoline and play house for boys...

Aiden Golf Day 2010

Well Aiden had his annual golf day with his dad at a "real" golf course! He had a blast! He also placed 4th in his age group. He loves his golf... especially when he can play with his daddy.

Games Evening

The yearly Games Evening fundraiser for the boys school was on May 15th. It is a fun evening with food and games for the kids to play. It was a great night.. I was busy most of the night with helping to run things but the boys hung out with daddy and had a great time. We raised lots of money for a great school!

Sad Day

Recently another US family headed back to the good ole USA. Although it is great for them it is very sad for us. The families we have gotten to know here have become family, so it is very hard to say good bye. Kim and Randy Stout are amazing people with amazing kids. Their friendship and support have been wonderful. I will miss them terribly!

Kristi, Kim, Megan & I


The whole family


The Stout Girls and their friends!



WE MISS YOU!!

Oh Baby

Ok - don't get that excited.. it's not me?! But a dear friend Kristi Fair is having a baby and we had a beautiful shower for her. It was a surprise and somehow she didn't figure it out! We had a sock monkey theme. We celebrated with food, cupcakes, gifts and fun! Baby things are soooo much fun!

The Cake ....


SURPRISE!!!!


Gifts galore...


Oh - since the shower we have found out she is having a boy!!! YEAH!

Rally to Read

There is a program GM participates in every year called Rally to Read. The program delivers books to schools in need. This year Scott went along and took Aiden. It was a great experience to see the schools that are in desperate need of everything. They delivered to two schools and were very warmly greeted at both. It was a great father son weekend!