Angry.

Day 44

Here's Tyler's birthday cake!  YUM!

I know most of you have seen it but for the few that are not my friends on Facebook or those who view from another country.

Hack hack cough choke.

Day 43

This was the view from the intersection just outside the estate gate this morning.

Since the dry season has started and it's gotten soooo cold, the dust and the smoke have just settled in.  Not good for Tyler's allergies!

Fun with the Spider.

Day 41

To continue from yesterday, Doug decided to go all Bear Grylls on us.

He didn't really eat it.

Posin'.

Day 42

Here is Clayton posing with a statue.

Just thought it was funny.

Technical Difficulties

Day 40

I had, what we'll call, "technical difficulties."

Anyhoo, here you go.

We had some friends over on Saturday night for a Meat Feast!  Smoked ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and kudu.  YUM!

Sunday morning Doug was cleaning up and he opened the doors under the counter out back and look at what he found!

Don't worry, he's ONLY about as big around as a coffee mug, and he's DEAD!  Doug about we himself when he opened the cabinet.  He was all reared up and looked like he was going to jump out and get 'em.

Family Photo Op

Day 39

A lot of folks really liked this almost family photo.

Tyler, Stephanie, & Doug

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Day 38

Today my oldest child turns 14! I think that is a little more shocking then 13. Maybe its the fact that he starts high school in August.

Tyler celebrated by hanging out with his buddies and playing xbox. He requested enchiladas for dinner. Yum!

Happy Birthday my BIG boy!

This was the "serious" picture! What a mixed bunch of kiddos!
Buddies from left to right: (Front) Yushi(Japan), Barrett(Washington DC), Hyun Jae(South Korea), and Greg(Kansas).
(Back): Alex(Spain), Seth(Virgina), Flores(Netherlands), Tyler, and Ricardo(Italy).

Monkey Business

Day 37

I am so used to being on the other side of the camera I often forget to have my picture taken!

I am a little camera shy.  Only because I am the one that gets caught with a goofy look on my face or my mouth open while chewing or the one person who is looking extremely bored.  That's just my luck!
So here's a picture with a not so goofy look.  Maybe you can focus on the adorable monkey?

We took the family to the Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary back in December.  We had such a good time!

Baby faces.

Day 36

To go with my post from yesterday, here are some of Clayton's beloved friends from our time in Hastings.  WOW!  How our kids have grown!

Don't you just luv their baby faces?

Remember when?

Day 35

These are the wonderful ladies who grew to be some of my closest friends when we were in Hastings.  Gosh how time flies!  Seems like it was just yesterday.

Shark Bait- OOO haha!

Day 34

Here we are in Durban with a roudy bunch of boys.  I believe the large feet on the left belong to Sam.

Pups.

Day 33

Hey ther PUP!  I guess she can see better from up there?

Crybaby!

Day 32

I am not sure where this originated, but thought it might be inspiring.  I thought it was FUN!

Thanks Omaha Kung-Fu for posting!

Happy

Day 31

Happy. That's how this picture makes me feel. This is one of the flowers from mothers day.

It's cake baby!

Day 30
My sweet friend Nikki's baby shower was today and Ashley asked me to make her cake. 

YAY!  This is the most complicated cake I've ever done, but it was fun challenge!  It gives me confidence to take on something else.

The bottom was two 8-inch chocolate cakes torted (split and filled), a fancy new word I discovered this week, and filled with peanut  butter icing.  The top was a vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream. The outside was blue and white marshmallow fondant.

Thanks to Royal Bakery (https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=268589843162323) for the idea and some notes on how to make this come together!  And thanks to Doug for backing up my stacking idea.  Just had to check with the engineer and make sure it was structurally sound!.

Happy baby shower Nikki!  I can't wait to meet baby Burke!

Slushies

Day 29

Clayton had a birthday party today and he had a green slushie.  Such a funny boy!

Lit.

Day 28

They had some great chandelier's at the venue last night.  I think Doug was a little embarassed that his wife was taking pictures of them.  That's why I go the camera right?  To take pictures!

Congraduation!

Day 27

We went to Tyler's 8th grade promotion tonight!  The theme was James Bond.  They know how to do it right here!

I'll have to post some more pictures later, but here's a good picture of him in his suit.  I think he was pretty excited to wear it.

Can you believe in 6 days he'll be an official high schooler?

Ferris Buehler's Day Off... Charles family version.

Day 26

We are sneaking up on our trip home for a visit and that got me thinking about Paris.  What a whirlwind trip!

This was day two at the Lourve.  We had to have some fun!

Sweet Baby.

Day 25

Took this one a couple of weeks ago at the park.

Isn't he just a cutie?  Can't wait to take some of him smiling!

Baby Silas.

FINALLY.

I'm back!

After feeling pretty icky for a few days I think I'm ready to get back up to speed!

So here we go...

FINALLY!  Tyler's volleyball team won their pool in the AISJ volleyball tournament.

Seems like he's played all sorts of sports and they have never won first place.

Here he is with his medal and team tropy.

Day 24

What you lookin' at?

Day 23

We saw this guy at the Ranch last September.

I think we've seen giraffes on every game drive but this guy is looking right at us and the light was pretty good.  

They never amaze me with how graceful they are.  It always looks like the are running in slow motion.

Sickies.

Day 22

It's been a bad week at the Charles house. Tyler was on ten different meds for a sinus infections. Clayton ended up with a cold by the end of last week. Then he had the stomach flu on Sunday, missed school on Monday and Tuesday. Now he's doing better and I've got a dandy case of the cold flu. Boooo!

I am definitely not "cute" when I'm sick, but guess who is? This was from September 2010. Clayton and I were both super sick then too, but he was way cuter!

Happy Easter from 2006

Day 21
Clayton would be about two and a half.  Tyler is eight almost 9.  We were still living in the house in Raytown.
This was the first year that Clayton really got into Easter.  We hid eggs over and over and over for weeks afterwards.  He thought it was a a great game.
Back when problems were much easier to solve.  Tyler didn't talk back and Clayton was always lovie dovie.

Weren't they darling?

Tweet! Tweet!

Day 20

When we were living in the old house here in South Africa, the wall outside the scullery window was covered in thick vining jasmine. There was a family of birds who built their nest in the wall of vines.  Doug was just so curious to see the baby birds, he climbed on the counter and half way out he window.

What are those little birds sayin' honey?

African Jesus Bird

Day 19

I took this picture when we were in Chobe Park in Botswana.  Probably just before we saw the lions kill the buffalo.

The actual name of this bird is the African Jacana bird.  They locals call it the Jesus bird because it looks like it's walking on water.

4X4 Baby

Day 18

It doesn't get more South African than this!

A lot local Afrikaan's (white South African;s) family's either own one of these setups or rent them for weekend adventures!

We picked up one of the rigs, which is a Land Rover Defender D110, and took it to Golden Gate Highlands Park.  We stayed at Rebellie Game Reserve and did some 4x4 while we were in the park.  We also did a day trip into Lesotho (pronounce La-soo-too).  We had to cut our day trip shot because the starter went out on our truck and one of the break lines broke on another truck!  Yeesh!

It was one of my favorite trips and what a beautiful area!

Happy Mother's Day

Day 17

Since we can't be home to pass out roses to all our moms and grandma's, here's a rose for you!  We love you all so so much and can't wait to see you in a few weeks.  Can you believe it's only a few weeks?

This was one of the first spring blooms in the rose garden at The Ranch Hotel last September.  It is a beautiful red and yellow.  I am so glad I can take a picture and save it!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love you!

Doug, Stephanie, Tyler, & Clayton

I christen thee... Rainbow Roop!

Day 16

In honor of our Cub Scout, who is now a Wolf Cub! 

They had our Cub Scout advancement ceremony today.  All the boys get their patch for completing the den that they are in and it officially marks their advancement to the next den.

We had a nice ceremony, lunch, and what was almost a trip to the hospital!  Clayton was on the jump house outside and was running into the building with no shoes on- South African style- and bashed his big toe on the concrete!  Boys did he split it open!  Thankfully it didn't need stitches and didn't break anything but boy was he hurtin'.

Back to Scouts; they have a race called the Rain Gutter Regatta.  The boys and their adult helper build these little balsa wood boats from a kit.  Then they have to use a straw and blow them to the other end of the rain gutter.  Clayton didn't win the big race but he did get honorable mention for his design.  He christened his boat the Rainbow Roop.

Three Musketeers.

Day 15

Here we are, the three musketeers!  I have shared the last two years of my life with these wonderful Christian women.   I love you both dearly and am so happy the the Lord brought you into my life.

We have been on some crazy adventures through the mountains, in the sea, and through airports!  You ladies were the best to share happy moments, stupid moments, and sad moments!

As they move on, back to the US and hopefully back to NORMAL, I wish them the best of luck in their new adventures and I hope to see you soon.

Puppy Love.

Day 14

I've got an old one for today.

Can you guess who this little guy is?  That's right!  It's Tyler and our teeny tiny little Tina.  This was right after we got her.  She was probably about 10 weeks old and he is around 8.  Can't believe he was the same age as Clayton!

The Smallest Lizard

Day 13

I was out one morning having my coffee when this little guy showed up.  I just couldn't resist him! 

I know the dear little lizard nearly had a heart attach when I picked him up, but the coffee cup just didn't do him justice.

Blankies.

Day 12

There are SO many babies being born here in the next few months!  I had to start making baby blankets double time!  Here are two that I have finished in the last month.

I tried to personalize them a bit.  I put Baby Zoe's name on the corners.  You can't see it on this picture, I should have done a close up.  For Baby Silas I did his initals and a cross.

One for baby Silas...

And one for baby Zoe

Bon Appetit.

Day 11

For Christmas 2010 we took the family to Victoria Falls.  We stayed at The Kingdom Hotel.  We did all the tourist-ee things.  Including a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana.

We drove into Botswana from Vic Falls and spent the morning doing a river safari.  We just happened on these lions that worked and worked on wearing this cape buffalo out.  They got hot and lost interest for a while so we went off to see some of the other animals.

 After a few hours we went back, and got there just in time to see them bring it down.  It was amazing how close we were.  The ranger pulled the boat up on the shore and it kept scraping on a log in the water.  Every time the boat would scrape these guys would look at us.

 

Beautiful Ladies!

Day 10

I have to tell you about my wonderful hairdresser and her assistant!

Naomi is on the left-in the pink dress.  What a wonderful, wonderful creative gal she is!  She is so full of spunk and beauty.  I had the privilege of meeting her dad, sisters, and niece.  Her niece was getting confirmed on Sunday and they were all in town for the ceremony.

Miss Mandy is in the middle!  Isn't she just glowing with baby and her beautiful hair?

Cecilia is on the end.  She is Naomi's assistant.  She is the best hair washer on the face of the earth!  That is my favorite part of my salon trips and I just want to sigh with contentment just thinking about it.
She also lives away from her family and has to plan for a long trips home.

Cinco de Mayo! OLE!

Day 9

What a fun night!

Lots of margaritas, tacos, and enchiladas!  We had our party at Kyalami Sports & Convention Center.

We had originally thought we'd invite the whole list and maybe get a response for half, or maybe a third.  Boy were we wrong!  We had 99 people!

Wowza!

This is a picture of me with two beautiful senoras, Alicia and Cristiana.

Photo courtesy of Andrea Andering.

Bang bang on the Drums.

Day 8

They had a fall art and music festival at school this week and here is my little man.  He also got to play the guitar. 

This was my favorite picture!

Dancin' in the Street!

Day 7

I have a good one for you today.

Kristie, Mandy, and I were on our way to a ladies tea at church one afternoon and we came to an intersection  WAY out on the edge of town.  There was a traffic jam and we couldn't tell for a while what was up ahead.  This is what we saw when we got there!

We THINK they were "advertising" for a restaurant that was up the road a little ways.  Either that or they were just crazy.

Mr. Chameleon

Day 6

Mom came  to visit back in January and we went on a safari at a wonderful lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve called Motswiri. 

We were out tracking some lions and one of the other drivers managed to pick up a non-human passenger. 

Meet our friend, Mr. Chameleon.

Happy Ten.

Day 5



We got to spend last evening at Melrose Arch for an early 10 year anniversary getaway. It's one of our favorite areas in Johannesburg; very clean and modern architecture.  Great shopping and so many yummy place to eat.

We had dinner at Pigalle.  It's probably one of the nicest places we've eaten at since we've been married. We had fried Camembert cheese with cranberry sauce for a starter.  Doug had a 600 gram prime rib and I had chicken breast wrapped in parma ham (prosciutto) with apricots and roasted veggies. YUM!  We shared a bottle of delicious red wine, I'm glad we were walking!  And we had coffee back a the hotel for dessert. 

We ate, we drank, we reminisced.  What an amazing ten years it's been!

Itsa Classic.

Day 4

To continue from yesterday, he pulls out a "classic" 1981 fiery red Lamborghini.  That's what he called it "a classic."  I was born in 1981, does that make me "classic" too?  ;)

Not quite as flashy as the Ferrari but still pretty cool.  The interior was perfect and bucket seats you had to literally roll out of!  

Nothing like starting your Christmas break with a hundred thousand in sports cars.

Itsa Ferrari.

Day 3

We took this picture the day Alex and Christian got here for their Christmas visit.  I had just been telling them about all the awesome cars that the neighbor had.

We pulled in and had some lunch.  Sure enough we here the whirl and rumble from the garage next door and he pulls out the shiny red Ferrari. 

Clayton runs out the front door to go gawk and the guy pulls up and parks it, with the windows down, right in front of our house.  Since he parked in front of the house, Clayton thinks, "Well he must be my new best friend!"  Next thing I see is Clayton climbing in the drivers seat.

Our neighbor is super nice and let everyone sit in it and take all the pictures we wanted.  What until you see the classic he pulls out next!  Turns out he was shuffling all the cars around to get to the Mercedes van; the family car.

Day 2: A Long Way Down

Okay so maybe it's not so far down, unless your afraid of heights!

We went to the Drakensburg Mountains over Thanksgiving break. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was cool, which was perfect for hiking. The food was excellent but the best part was the kids ate in their own dining room at a seperate time.  Then they got to play at the play ground and watch a movie. It was also the last vacation we had with the Keeling's.

Here's my handsome Doug contemplating the height.

Day 1: Cheers to 400 days!

I picked a good day to get started here.

 We have exactly 400 days until we head home for the final time from Africa. 

Cheers!  Here's to 400 days!

I took this picture a couple of months back, but it's one of my favorites!  It took me weeks to work up the guts to take this ladies picture.  She is always so sweet when we go in the shop and the flowers that come out of the shop are spectacular. 

She works/worked across the street at a local flower shop, that has since moved.  She is almost completely deaf and her cataracts are pretty bad.  I framed up a print and took it over to her.  She wasn't there the day I dropped it off but the gentleman behind the counter said she would be very excited as she doesn't have many pictures of herself.