Gorgeous Mountains

We loved being in the mountains again! We loved hiking and breathing in and out fresh air.

This is called mushroom rock and the picture of Jay above is here he is standing.

There were several water falls that we played in.

Gwen found her pony. She would take a guided pony ride every morning. She wishes so bad that she could have a horse of her own.

Maren and Jay had a blast doing archery.

Gwen said the quad bike was hard to steer. She liked driving herself.

Some R&R in South Africa

It was really nice getting away for a few days. We were so happy to be able to wear coats and hats again! We stayed a couple of days at a private reserve that used to be a hunting reserve. The scenery was gorgeous! We didn't even mind that it rained one day. Apparently, animals don't much care for the rain so they took cover under the trees.

We still saw plenty of animals and I find them absolutely breathtaking. I just marvel at the diversity of each one.

We stayed in "tents" I told John I would camp like that anytime. We were the only people at the reserve and it was really wonderful. We ate really well and drank a lot of hot chocolate. The kids had their own tent which made me a little nervous being away from them. The staff assured me that no one had been carried of by wild animals. I think there are a total of 12 tents at Nkomazi Reserve so it is quit small. All the tents over look the river. It was very beautiful even in rainy weather.

Gwen's Baptism Day

Gwen had a wonderful day. We boated to the little island not far from our house where the water was cleaner. Her friend Denise in our branch was also baptized. Gwen thought it was interesting that most swam in the ocean before and after the baptism.

Gwen's 8th Birthday

I have no idea why the other pictures wouldn't post so I'll try again. Playing musical chairs.

The adorable cake my friend made.This is the picture frame that I got as a white elephant at Christmas.

I love this fabric!

1 inch in 3 weeks!

Sometimes I look at him and wonder where my little boy went!

Then there's times when I still see the little boy in there.

I don't know who's loosing more teeth right now Jay or Gwen.

He is wearing a size 10 shoe and he no longer fits under my chin when I hug him!!

The Rainy Season

Our branch building is under construction again so we have been meeting with our old branch on Sundays for the past 4 weeks. It has been nice seeing old friends.

But it has also made us remember how difficult it was to get to church during the rainy season.

This is the street right in front of our old branch building. The good thing is this water is still fresh because it rained only the night before but in a few days it will be a murky blackish color.

This is at the corner where we turn to get to our building.

This is the front of our building with the youth going to the side building for Sunday School. We have been here before when the water goes all the way to the door.

Nathan Hale in Angola

The past couple of weeks Gwen's class has been studying all kinds of different books. Since I help out in her class with reading anyway I thought it would be fun to take along some of my nephew Nate's books that he has written and illustrated. They looked at his blog,

I read them one of his stories and showed them his other books that he has illustrated.

They had some questions they wanted to ask him:

1. How long do you write until you know it's going to be a good story?

2. When were you born?

3. Do your books come in other languages?

4. Have you ever received an award?

5. Where do you get your ideas?

6. How do you send it to your publisher?

7. What do you enjoy more writing or illustrating?

8. How long does it take you to write/draw a book?

Last year when Gwen's class was studying animals I took along Nate's book Yellowbelly and Plum.

Then the kids all made their version of Plum out of bread dough.
It is so fun sharing Nate's talents with Angola!