Pics of the warthog, hippos and the girls

Tala Game Reserve

 
 
 
 

Today, we spent the day at Tala Game Reserve. A game park that is about 45 minutes from the house. There are many different animals there and you can drive for hours looking. The girls enjoyed it. It is the second time they have been there. The first time I took them was back in December. We saw a lot of different animals- hippos, zebra, warthog, wildebeest, springbok, ostriches. We couldn't find the rhino and giraffe. Everything is very dry. It is very different from when we were there last in December when everything was green! The girls got out of the truck often so I could take their pictures. Sofia wasn't too sure about getting out when there were wildebeest around. It was a very, very warm day. The weather right now is so hard to predict- the days can be either hot or pretty cool. Most nights are always cold. We don't have a heater in the house so we stayed bundled up in the evenings. Getting back to the game park- we went off the main roads a lot in the hopes of finding the rhino and giraffe. We didn't see either. But we did see quite a bit of fresh rhino poo so I know we were close. But Sofia didn't like it too much that we were off the beaten path- she kept asking for me to turn on the GPS so it could help us find our way back. They call the GPS, JoAnn because of the woman's voice that talks.
Today is Father's Day. The girls talked briefly to Sal but they were pretty preoccupied with their legos they were playing with. We miss Gary today- the first father's day without him. I know he is sitting up in heaven eating a big bowl of chocolate in rememberance of all the times we gave him candy on Father's Day.

My Rainbow Ponies

My Rainbow Ponies

Rainbow Ponies- Hillcrest Winter Wanderland Ballet Show

And here is the opening night show of Sienna and Sofia's ballet performance.

Just like a wavin flag

When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me FREEDOM, just a wavin flag, a wavin flag. So, wave your flag....

Sofia and Sienna are obsessed with this song by K'Naan- one of the official songs for the World Cup. They listen and watch the video constantly and know all the words!

Today was a holiday- Youth's Day. We stayed around the house with Mavis and Emmanuel. I sorted through their toys for about 4 hours straight. They had gotten all jumbled up and I needed to get them all separated- barbies, polly pockets, little pet shop, etc. And they all have such little pieces. The girls are always putting odds and ends in plastic bags and purses and the stuff never gets back where it belongs- they just shove it in a drawer. This was what I would find in the purses- rocks, sunglasses, crayons, bottle caps, chapstick, beads, empty medicine boxes and other odd strange things. Now, everything is back in order.

This morning the monkeys came to visit about 9 o'clock. We watched them for about 30 minutes. They are hungry because it is getting colder here and they can't find food as easily. So, the girls feed them bananas and apples. Both monkeys and girls were happy. The monkeys would come down the tree and fence and get the fruit then climb back up and sit and watch us while they ate. There were about 5 of them. The alpha male was not with them so they weren't too nervous or aggressive. They just sat and peeked around at us. They stayed for a while then they climbed back over the fence and took off.

These past few days have been cold at night. Yesterday, during the day it was rainy and cold. Today, it was sunny and warm but tonight it is cold again. The house does not have a heater so we have several shirts and sweaters on to stay warm. I need to get a little oil heater or electric blankets.

The World Cup games continue. Tonight, South Africa (Bafana Bafana) is playing. The game is starting now and the vuvuzelas are going off all around from the houses here in the neighborhoods.

Sienna continues to tell her froggy stories. It is non stop. She said today she went with Froggy to Mr. Grinch's house to watch the Bafana Bafana game. But Mr. Grinch's tv was broken and froggy got mad and broke all of Mr. Grinch's furniture.

Rainbow Ponies- Dress Rehearsal

Here is dress rehearsal of the girls' ballet show this weekend. I was laughing so the video was a little shaking. Will post the actual show later this week. Sienna and Sofia are on the left hand side of the stage.

 

 

 

 

Here are pictures from the ballet shows last night and today. The shows were precious. The girls really enjoyed doing them and being with their friends.