Super-Heroes

Today was "Super-Hero" dress up day for Spirit Week at school. CW went as "Zorro" -- although he's not seen the movies, and I'm not even sure he knows who Zorro is. EW went as Snow White -- there is no doubt in her mind that Snow White is a super-hero. But I have to say, CW and EW are MY super-heroes!! These two kids amaze me!!! No, they are not perfect, and Yes, I do see their faults. But I am often amazed by their goodness. CW is endlessly patient and loving to his little brother -- at 20 months, RDW has NEVER heard CW yell at him, or be angry with him, even though RDW has done things that might warrant frustration and anger from CW. CW is thoughtful of people around him, and intently listens when they speak. He is popular with his peers, and easily accepted by adults. He is always the first to express gratitude for dinner, a fun outing, or a "Zorro" costume. He is obedient and genuinely tries to be the best person he can. EW adores both her brothers, and is kind to them. She shares her favorite doll with her little brother, and lets her older brother tell her how to play Star Wars (even though normally, EW is the one telling people how to play the games). EW is meticulous in her school work, and in her coloring-in, and in her choosing of clothing to wear. EW is confident and comfortable with herself and her own sense of fashion, and can therefore make any combination seem stylish. EW is sincere in all she does, so when she gives a compliment, there is no doubt that she means it with all her heart. EW is good at receiving gifts and kind acts, and responds with such enthusiastic gratitude, that the giver looks forward to the next opportunity to give EW something again. I love these kids!! I am so glad to be their mom, and to be in the company of "Super-Heroes" everyday!

Aquatic Wildlife

One of the main draws of coming to South Africa was the chance to see some outstanding wildlife. So far we have focused on the iconic land mammals, but we decided it was time to look for some of the iconic aquatic animals so we booked a long weekend in Hermanas.

Hermanas in known for having the "best land based whale watching on earth". At one point we got a great view of a whale not far from shore. After watching for several minutes I looked over at Evee to share the joy and she wasn't even looking at the whale. She apparently thought that whale watching was far from exciting. When I thought about it I suppose watching a whale bob up and down in the water really isn't all that exciting. They did look a lot like big black rocks. The penguins were more exciting than the whales, but they also had their drawbacks.

Herding Cats

My all-time favorite TV commercial is of cowboys herding cats. I can't remember what it is supposed to be advertising, but it is all these rough guys telling their stories and showing the scars they've gotten from "herding cats" then it shows the cowboys on horses herding 1000's of cats. Not sure why, but something about the imagery of it all makes me laugh everytime I think of the ad! I recently came across the S. African equivalent to "herding cats". See the picture below... Herding Ostrich!!!! No joke, this is an actual scene we witnessed while we were driving near St. John's Bay. I laughed nearly as hard as I laugh when I watch the herding cats commercial.

It really was quite a sight to see these men trying to get this group of Ostrich to not only go in the same direction, but also the direction intended by the men. A VERY amusing moment. Naturally, we pulled off to the side of the road and enjoyed the entertainment.

A Sad Farewell

Back in the end of September, we had to say a sad farewell to our dear friend, Kristie McMannus. As you can see from the photo, she is ADORED by us!! My first memory of Kristie is from the very first barbeque we attended on Groote Eylandt, Australia. Kristie had also recently arrived on the Eylandt and we had a short conversation about how we were finding things. She struck me as pleasant, and I was impressed that she had taken on the adventure of Groote Eylandt, as a single woman. Our paths didn't cross again for many months, but eventually, she started dating our good friend, Dan Bigney, and so she was dragged along on our weekend adventures and was at our house for dinners and picnics and such. It didn't take long for her to become part of our family! And when it was time for us to move from Groote Eylandt to S. Africa, we were all so sad to be leaving her behind. FORTUNATELY.... she accepted a job in Johannesburg a few months after we had moved, and so once again we were dragging her along on weekend adventures and making her trial our new dinner recipes. We were so lucky to have her here and to share some great times in S. Africa with her. Kristie was here for nearly two years but then she decided to go back to Australia and so, in September we had to say goodbye -- happy for her, that she was returning to be closer to her family, and moving on to a new adventure, but sad for us that one of our favorite people was leaving the continent.

WE MISS YOU, KRISTIE!!!!!

Halloween Gone Green

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We had a beautiful princess and a stealthy black ninja at our house. And what was RDW?

Well, despite the four hand-me-down halloween costumes that fit him perfectly, he went as a cute little boy in a cheeky halloween t-shirt because he wanted NOTHING to do with the hot, itchy, scratchy costumes! (and halloween dress-up is not a battle I'm willing to fight)

Being outside of the US can pose definite challenges to the traditional celebration of certain holidays. This year, the challenge presented itself in the form of pumpkin carving. (This is not a new challenge to us -- on Groote Eylandt, Australia the only pumpkins you could buy had a very tough, blue/green skin, and were 3 or 4 inches thick, which makes for EXTREMELY difficult carving!) But this year, although you can buy conveniently skinned and cubed pieces of pumpkin for cooking or roasting, it was COMEPLETELY impossible to purchase whole pumpkins. So we had to be creative......

Here's a hint!!

That's right, we went green and carved WATERMELONS!!!

Although its not exactly traditional, there were lots of advantages to carving watermelons instead of pumpkins: 1. since it is summer here, watermelons are rather inexpensive. 2. As Evee showed in the previous picture, watermelon carving is MUCH tastier! (And the air is filled with a sugary, sweet smell rather than the pungent, foul smell of raw pumpkin.)

3. As Joe and Evee discovered, carving out the flesh of a watermelon is "Easy, Peasy" 4. Not a single person complained about having slimy, sticky pumpkin guts stuck to their hands. (Although I will admit the floor was MUCH stickier post watermelon carving, than post pumkin) So we had a GREAT time carving watermelons -- at least most of us carved. One little person found other ways to amuse himself....

Nothing better than emptying out a full kitchen cupboard!

Here are the finished products and the artists responsible for them:

Watermelon carving or pumpkin carving -- based on our personal experience, it doesn't really matter what you use. As long as you have fun, and we sure did!!!

Breaking the Silence

I can't believe its been nearly 4 months since my last posting!! I can't say that I regret my hiatus, because the last 4 months have been packed full with a lot of important fun. But... kids are back in school, and its time for me to get back to my neglected blog. There is no real way to fully report all that we've done the last while, and if I were to try to catch everything up in entirety, I know I'd end up so overwhelmed that I'd probably just give up on the blog altogether. So... I'll give reports of what we're doing now, and as I have a spare moment I'll throw in some "catch-up" posts. It will be out of order, but eventually, I'll get it all in. As you know from my last entry, we went to the States in June for a much needed home-visit. It was FANTASTIC!!! We played, played, played and loved, loved, loved catching up with so much of our family and a few friends (we hope our next Stateside visit will correspond better with friends' schedules so we can see more of you). Because of JW's dad's 75th birthday, we got to see ALL of JW's siblings, and since my youngest sister conveniently timed her wedding, I got to see ALL of my siblings!! What a rare treat! In addition to all the family time, the highlights of the trip included climbing Independence Monument, EW's 5th birthday, RW's 1st birthday, lots of hiking and rock climbing, a quick trip to Utah for Independence day, and an even quicker aniversary trip to Ouray for JW and I. (See the photos below.)

White Family Clan (missing just a few)

What a good-looking group!

Huff family siblings (also good looking, of course)

That little blue speck at the top is us!! REALLY!!

This was SO fun!!

EW's #5 -- a "garden tea party" on the White House lawn

RW's #1 -- A belated (but still yummy) celebration in Crawford, CO.

RW, CW, and MW hiking to the Micah Mine

The proverbial "T-Shirt" family photo! Happy 4th of July!

MW hiking Mt. Sneffels (sadly got snowed/hailed out of the peak climb)

JW scouting rock climbing routes in Ouray, CO.

THANK YOU to all who hosted us, and played with us,

and helped us still feel loved and welcome in the US!!!

We love you all!

The Journey

After a very BUSY and hectic week of preparation, we began our journey to the States for our home-leave visit. I had developed a sinus infection but thanks to an after-hours clinic doctor who gave me a very effective decongestant and even more effective pain killer, I was optimistic about our trip. Things went smoothly to begin -- RW even went to sleep around the time I hoped he would -- but five hours into the flight, CW woke suddenly to throw-up. And he continued to throw up another 8 or 9 times (I lost exact count after 6) over the next 4 hours, and had a high fever. Between the fever and the energy expended on throwing up, the poor guy was so weak and MISERABLE. When we stopped for the mandatory security check and re-fuel in Dakar, Senegal I wonedered if we needed to have a doctor check CW, but Joe pointed out that we were already halfway done with the 19 hour flight, and it would be far better for a doctor to check him in Washington, DC than in Northern Africa. I agreed, so we just did what we could to help CW be comfortable - which on an airplane, over the Atlantic Ocean, isn't much! About 3 hours from landing, CW was finally able to sip on Ginger Ale without heaving it up again, but was enduring a lot of ear pain. I cannot tell you what I would have traded to have my boy safely down on the ground and in the care of a doctor at that point!!!! I was so worried about him, but also so impressed by how well he was handling it all. Many an adult would have been in tears through the whole experience, but he braved it out with just an occasional tear and a weak "I just want to be in my own bed, mom." (To make the long story at least a little shorter, we were able to get CW checked a couple of hours after landing in Washington, DC, and found that he had a "severe" ear infection in both ears!!! Poor boy!! Luckily we had already planned to stay in DC for a few days, so it gave him a chance to start feeling better before we headed on to Colorado.)

Fortunately, RW faired the journey much better than I had feared, and EW was a STAR traveler, so despite CW's misery, the overall trip actually could have been much worse.

We spent a few days in DC, not seeing enough, but enjoying the company of my sister's family, and JW's cousin. (I'll maybe post some pictures of our visit there, soon.)

And then, it was back onto the airplane to complete our journey to Colorado. However, after a 19 hour flight, everything else seems like cake, and even the 4 hour flight from DC to Denver was a BREEZE! Of course, it did help that RW slept for a good bit and NO ONE was throwing up or feverish.

RW sleeping the time away

EW sleeping the time away

CW playing the time away on his new DS

(As you can guess, the photos were all taken on the DC to Denver portion of our journey. I really should have taken some photos of the bedraggled group from the first bit of travels, but they all looked SO pathetic, that I didn't have the heart to photograph them.) And now (FINALLY), we're here in Colorado and SO happy to have made it!!