Sienna on the pier at Umlanga Rocks Beach

Sienna was so excited on the pier because she saw a rock covered in crabs. Sofia was fascinated by the grate on the end of the pier. You could see the water below and she kept laying down and watching through the grate. Note- froggy is never far behind. He goes with her everywhere. As does moosey with Sofia

Umlanga Rocks Beach

Here the girls are today on the pier at Umhlanga Beach. It was very windy!!!!

Lion Park- up close and personal to an elephant!

Here the lions are carefully watching us.

It was so exciting to be close to this elephant. It was HUGE!

Here the girls are hanging out at the house.

Lions and Elephants

We had a pretty busy weekend. The girls had two birthday parties this weekend. One for Ronan and the other for Jaryd. On Saturday, I had to go to Johannesburg to meet with Thandi Tutu. She is Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter. He is an amazing man- very instrumental in ending apartheid in South Africa. She is very nice. I was meeting with her to see if she would be interested in coming on the board. She is very interested. I flew there in the morning and met her in the airport. Then I was back in Durban by 2pm. Tammy watched the girls. She took them to Jaryd’s party and then let them swim in the afternoon.
Then today (Sunday) I had wanted to take to girls to the beach but when we got up it was rainy. So, I decided to take them to a lion park that is about an hour away. It was pretty hard to find. The directions on the internet were not right so I drove in circles in some little villages for about ½ hour and then as I had almost given up, I got on the right road and found it. It is in the middle of nowhere. When we got there, the game warden told us that the weather was making the lions very “naughty” and to be careful. He said if they chase the car, just keep going. He said that they had been chasing many of the cars that morning. I guess the cool air makes them feisty. We drove for about an hour through the bush. We saw zebra, guinea, mice, birds and then this huge elephant. We came up on this hill and a guy who worked in the park was standing there. He asked if we wanted to see an elephant and the girls said yes. And then here one came out of the trees. It was absolutely huge. The girls said he was tall as uncle boo but I would say he was twice as tall. He had two huge tusks too. I tried to get a picture of him from the truck and the guy told me we could get out and get our picture taken with him that he was not dangerous. He said that he was born there in that game park and used to people. So, the girls excitedly got out and we went near him. The guy got some pictures of us. The girls wouldn’t stand too close to it. They were eating some candy and the guy said that we could give the elephant a few if we wanted. So, I held my hand out and he put his wet slobbery trunk on my hand and inhaled the candy. It was pretty neat. After a few more minutes we said goodbye to the elephant- he had already gotten tired of watching us and started to leave anyway. And we drove until we finally came to the lions. They have the lions in this huge fenced area. You drive up to the gate and a guard opens it. You drive in and it closes and another gate is opened by another guard. There were about 5 lions standing guard in front of the gate and the guard had a bit of trouble trying to get them to move. Once we were in, one of the females was trotting beside us. Then we came up upon about 7 lions laying the grass in front of us. Before we had reached the lions the girls had been saying all along that they did NOT want to see the lions. It was because they had heard the game warden warning me about them being naughty. Sofia particularly was not happy we were going to see them. And Sienna told me I had two choices- to turn the truck around or go home. Anyway, once we were in, they were so excited. They didn’t want to leave. We stayed with the truck parked for a while just watching. And we drove around for a while. Then they did really start getting a little too frisky for my liking so I decided it was time to leave. They were pouncing on each other and rolling in the grass fighting. And then one male acted like he was going to charge a car. The car back up real quick and the lion lost interest.
After driving back towards Hillcrest, we went to the mall for lunch. Big mistake. It was so full of people, that you couldn’t even walk. The girls wanted to eat at McDonalds so we did. Then we bought a few groceries and came home. They were very tired and went to bed just after 7pm

Another week has gone by

The days go by so quickly here. I guess because I stay so busy. It hasn't been an eventful week other than the girls really acting up. Not sure why, they are just going through a stage of testing their boundaries. Today they had a birthday party in the afternoon. It was for Ronan- his 5th birthday party. It was really nice. His mother, Janine picked the girls up at school since it started at 2 pm. And I arrived around 3:30. They had been swimming. I didn't know they would be swimming there so I didn't pack their "cozzies" (costumes or bathing suits). So, when I got there, they had on some of Ronan's swimming attire. So cute! There were lots of kids there and lots of family and friends. The girls were pretty shy and played mostly with a little black girl who has cerebal palsy. She was by herself so Sienna and Sofia went to her and were trying to teach her to jump and play with them. She is in their class at school. The them was firetrucks. Everyone already loves the girls and gravitate to them.
I had a parent teacher conference this week. Janci, their teacher, said she is also having problems getting them to obey. When it is time to do something, they just run outside or lay in the floor. But she said she thinks it is getting somewhat better. And they are also really trying to get the girls to integrate with the other kids. They will hardly leave each other. They are learning to ride bikes at school. And some of their friends are Holly, Zoe, Quinn, Tai, Jaryd and Ronan.
Tomorrow (Saturday), I have to fly to Johannesburg for the day to meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu's daughter. She is interested in coming onto our board. That would be incredible. He is such an icon- even at almost 80. He was instrumental in helping end apartheid here in South Africa. I leave at 7 and get back at 4. I'm not sure what we will do on Sunday. I keep wanting to take them to the beach. We'll see

Birthday pics from Makaranga Lodge

Sweet Birthday Kisses

My birthday

Today is March 7, 2010. My 37th birthday (or my 5th according to Sienna and Sofia). I think I like their proposed age better. It has been a hectic week and I am usually pretty tired in the evening and don’t have the energy to write. On Tuesday, Sofia woke up in a horrible mood and didn’t want to listen at all. So, I put her in time out in the bathroom. Well, in her attempt to open the door, she turned the key and locked herself in the bathroom. I was panicking. She couldn’t get it unlocked. She tried and tried to turn the key but just couldn’t. After about 30 minutes (which seemed like hours), I decided to get a screwdriver and try and dismantle the handle of the door. As I was unscrewing it she finally was able to turn the key just right and unlock it. It was so stressful!

On Thursday, they started ballet class. It is once a week at school. They are really excited. There is a play in June.

Yesterday, we went and visited the Bracken’s. Where we stayed for 2 weeks when we got here. The girls wanted to see their cats and dogs and play a little there. Afterwards we went to the Hillcrest Aids Center. The first Saturday of the month they have a fundraiser and it is a nice place to go and spend the morning. There was traditional dancing and singing. They also have beautiful beadwork made by women with HIV/AIDS. The women come to the center once a week on Fridays and sit together and work. It is a steady income for them. Afterwards, the girls were hungry so I took them to Wimpy’s. one of the little places they like to eat. We did a little shopping and then came home.

Today, we spent the morning at church (where the girls also go to school). The girls went to Childrens Church and then to class. They did pretty good. Until Sofia lost a little frog she had taken. In the afternoon, we went with Gavin, Kirsty and their kids to Makaranga Lodge. There are some very, very beautiful gardens. This place is very near to where we live. It is like a sanctuary. There are parts that are jungle and other parts that are little ponds and statues. You could walk around in the park for hours. I took lots of good pictures of the girls. Later, we had some yummy milkshakes and snacks. It was a nice afternoon