A Longstreet Christmas

Before we pick up on Sunday, here are a few pictures of us getting our first Christmas tree together!!  I think we were the last family to get a tree from this farm for the season!

And here it is at home!!! 

Alright, so picking up Sunday.....

What a crazy few days it has been!  Sunday began the Christmas festivities.  Per Nicolas’ request, we held off on going to church this week.  Instead, we decorated our Christmas tree, worked on organizing the tornado we had created in the house, and Nicolas worked on perfecting his driving skills on Mario Kart for Wii.  We made a pit stop at Menards for some hooks for the bathroom to hang his towels on and got detoured after seeing another shopper purchasing a sled.  A sled?  YES!  We need one of those!  Thank you random Menards shopper for the reminder. J  After Menards, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Longstreet’s house for the first of our Christmas parties.  We expected Nicolas to be shy for a while, but he warmed up very quickly to everyone and, in no time, was downstairs wrestling and playing games with his uncles and cousins.  When it came time for presents, Nicolas was a little uncomfortable with the family tradition of opening gifts one at a time in front of everyone, but compromised that he and his cousin Andrew could open their gifts together.  As we suspected would happen, he and Andrew (who is 9) are going to be best buds!  After staying later than we should have, we said our goodbyes to the family and headed home for the night.

Before we knew it, it was B-day!!!!  We had intended to wake Nicolas by singing him happy birthday, but at we were about to head down the stairs, there he was walking up!  He said, “I looked at my clock and it said it was 6:43, is it time for me to get up?”  We said “Yes!” and got breakfast ready.  He walked over to the dining room and turned on the light.  He looked at the table and said “Ooooh, look at this!”  His presents were stacked there.  Unlike most children who would tear in, Nicolas looked at them and then got ready to eat.  At breakfast, we actually sang him happy birthday twice which he seemed to enjoy much more when it was just the three of us.  After breakfast, he opened his presents from us.  We played and continued to work on cleaning the house.  Nicolas wanted to take a long bath, so he jumped in while I cut Kevin’s hair (which was SO LONG!!)  I got in the shower after that and I take about an hour to get ready.  When I was just about finished, I went over to see if Nicolas was ready and he was still in the tub!  Once he knew I was going to beat him, he sped up. J  What can I say?  It’s his birthday, he can play if he wants to!  Once we were all ready, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson’s house to celebrate Nicolas and Grandma’s birthdays and Christmas.  Once we arrived, Grandpa showed him around the house and gave him quick lessons in both pool and ping pong.  Holland still had snow on the ground (we had none in GR), so Grandpa and Nicolas went out for Nicolas’ first sledding adventure!  He thought it was AWESOME!  He tried both a long sled and a saucer sled and definitely preferred the longer sled.  He was not a fan of the saucer spinning him around.  After several runs, they came in and we had a delicious dinner.  We sang Happy Birthday and had ice cream cake and presents.  Continuing the festivities, we went into the living room to open Christmas gifts.  Nicolas thought it was pretty cool that Santa had filled his dad’s stocking with presents for him!  He helped Grandma find the presents under the tree with his name on them and opened them one by one.  Kevin and Grandpa kept telling him that Grandma liked to give underwear for Christmas and it was an ongoing joke while he opened his gifts.  Don’t worry, he didn’t get any underwear! J  That might have been embarrassing!  Uncle Kyle and Jules were on their way over, but had gotten held up in bad weather, so we looked at some of the pictures from our trip while we waited for them to arrive.  We opened gifts with them and then had to leave soon after in order to get Nicolas in bed.  He needed to be asleep before Santa came!

Make a wish!

His reaction when Dad and Grandpa teased him about getting underwear :)

And the fun just kept coming!!!  Christmas morning!  We went down to wake him up around the same time he normally gets up and he asked if it was morning.  We told him Merry Christmas and asked him if he wanted to see if Santa had come.  He was sleepy, but came upstairs and checked the counter to see if Santa had his snack.  Indeed he had.  He left only crumbs and a thank you note.  While we got breakfast ready, Nicolas took a peek to see what Santa had left under the tree.  Such self-restraint, he came to the table for breakfast.  Before opening presents, we sang happy birthday to Jesus (Nicolas’ idea – love his heart!).  Then, it was time for presents.  He must have been a very good boy all year because Santa even brought him special candy that he so desperately wanted from South Africa!  After presents, he played for a bit and then we all got ready to go to Auntie Beth and Uncle Ryan’s house.  He was so excited to see Sophia and Stella again and Stella greeted him at the door inviting him to their private dining room.  It was so cute!  They ran off to play while we caught up with family and friends.  When it came time to open gifts, Nicolas could hardly believe how many gifts were under the tree and how many were for him!  He, Sophia, and Stella had a ball opening all their gifts.  When they were done, you could barely see the floor!  We had dinner and then headed back to GR for our last party.  After dropping the dogs off at home, we drove to Grandma and Grandpa Longstreet’s house.  We ate and then opened gifts.  Again, Nicolas couldn’t believe how many gifts he got.  Sensory overload!!  He did so well on such an overwhelming day!  By the time we got home, it was after 10PM, so it was straight to bed for our tired guy.  Words don’t begin to describe how the look of joy on his face made us feel.  Thank you God.  He is amazing and so are You!

Our first Christmas together

Wednesday was our first shot of reality.  Enough loafing around, it’s time to get back to being adults.  Bummer!!!  Kevin went into work first thing in the morning.  Nicolas and I took Penelope to the vet before heading to work with me to meet my coworkers.  After he received way too much candy, I dropped him off at Grandma’s for the afternoon and I headed back to work.  He had a blast at Grandma’s watching the Polar Express with Grandma and Jules, playing ping pong and sledding.  He was in awe on our way home as we drove into his first snowfall!  He told me “Now this is what Christmas is supposed to look like!”  He and Dad had to take advantage of this fresh snow, so they went out to try out our hill A.K.A. our driveway. J  Our road is pretty quiet, so after scanning for cars, he zoomed down the driveway yelling “Merry Christmas to all!!”  A happy ending to another awesome day!

This morning, we all got around and headed to work in the morning and Nicolas spent the entire day with Grandma.  When I asked him if he wanted me to come for lunch or if he wanted to stay with Grandma, he chose Grandma.  While I wanted him to ask me to come for lunch, I love how quickly he has grown to love his grandparents.  J  He and Grandma did one of his favorite things – they got petrol (gas)!  He even got to help and I think it made his day.  He and Grandma also went on adventure in the woods and had sled races.  And all I got to do all day was work…… J 

As we start to try to get into some semblance of a routine, Kevin and I are realizing how little time it seems we have in a day.  We knew it would be this way, yet it is difficult.  Going from spending all day with him to feeling like all we do is eat and put him to bed is tough.  We’re all adjusting.  I still can’t believe how well he has handled all the changes, the chaos, the multitude of new introductions and parties.  He is a rockstar and we are the luckiest parents in the world.  J

Days 43, 44, and 45: Our Journey Home

As I sit here in long pants under blankets with a Penel to keep me warm, I realize that I am home - IN THE COLD!!! :)  It may be cold, but it feels good to be home.

Let's back track a couple days.....

Thursday/Friday:

Last day in South Africa!  We were very grateful we decided to start packing on Tuesday!  I thought we would have room to spare since one of our bags had been full of donations.  HA HA HA!!!  Kevin knew better.  We had 3 very full check bags, one of which weighed 65 pounds, and one of our carry-on bags had all of the documents in it and likely weighed almost as much as the others!!  All I can say is....6 weeks!  We loaded all our bags into our teeny car, said goodbye to Stefan and the pups and headed to Auntie Bev's house one last time.

Can you find Nicolas?

We spent some time chatting and saying our goodbyes.  We had so much fun with them - now it's their turn to visit!!!  Next, we had lunch with Pastor Grant (from New Creation) and his wife.  I must mention that lunch was fantastic and Nicolas even got to top it of with a chocolate shake!  What a great close to our trip!

We headed back to the Oasis office for our last goodbyes (seriously hate having to say goodbye!) and we left for the airport.  We had booked Nicolas' ticket, but he didn't have a seat assignment, so we weren't sure what to expect when we arrived.  God was with us and the agent that helped us was able to get him a seat with us on both flights!  Thank you Delta agent!!  I did have to run away two different times to the ticketing counter to pay for things, but all-in-all, it went pretty smoothly!  Immigration was next, a minor wait, but moved relatively quickly!  Security was also quite simple, especially in comparison to the US!

Ready to go!

Once we were through all that, we grabbed some dinner and waited for our flight.  Learning from the nausea we experienced on our flight to SA, we proactively took dramamine this time. :)  We had received a text from Delta saying our flight was going to take 2 hours longer than they had anticipated due to strong head winds, but once we got on the plane the flight tracker actually had us getting in early.  We all stayed up until dinner was served and then called it a night.  We slept considerably well and knocked several hours off our remaining time in the air.  At some point, they came by with snacks.  I would have had no idea!  At one point, I remember a flight attendant holding a glass of water out to me and I remember thinking "Who is that?  I didn't ask for a glass of water, did I?".  I held my hand out and then pulled it back without taking the water.  She must have thought I was nuts!  By the time we were all awake again, we only had 4-5 hours of the flight remaining.  We occupied our time with cat naps and movies.  We did experience some turbulence on this flight, but we were so thankful that we were able to rest well and get back safely!  Flight one: complete.  Let's get home!

Nicolas is officially an American Citizen!! :)

We passed through U.S. immigration and customs within 30 minutes.  We had heard it could be complicated and drawn out, but that was not the case for us.  Praise God!  Next stop, security.  It was in the security line that we encountered our first inquisitive bystander.  He asked all the normal questions - Did you adopt?  From where?  What language does he speak?  How old is he?  Is this your first child?  How long did the process take?  Let the questions begin!  We rode the train to our terminal and settled in at our gate.


Of course, the entire trip couldn't be so simple.  Sometime right before we should have been boarding our flight to Grand Rapids, they made an announcement that the aircraft needed maintenance and our flight would be delayed by one hour and twenty minutes.  Oooook.  We ate breakfast at 8:30 and lunch at 10:00. :)  That's what happens when your body has no idea what time it should be!  After the delay and a gate change, we were on a plane and headed for home!  Another first, the pilot came on the intercom and let everyone know that it was going to be a rough flight and that we would want to remain in our seats.  Buckle up!!!

Ultimately, it wasn't that bad.  After his precautionary message, I was expecting some trouble.  Thankfully, the turbulence was tolerable and it was only our descent into GR that gave me the heebie jeebies.  We were lucky in that Nicolas seemed to enjoy the turbulence like it was a rollercoaster. :)

Landing in GR, FINALLY!

Finally, HOME!!!  Feeling so absolutely unclean, we headed off the plane.  Our family will tell you we were the LAST ones to come through.  Even the pilots came out before us!  Sorry fam, potty pit stop!  We were very warmly greeted by a big group of friends and family as we came past security.  What an awesome homecoming!  Thank you so much to everyone who interrupted their day to come greet us!!  A few tears, lots of hugs, and an overwhelmingly awesome rush of the love that surrounds our family!  It was so nice to see them all in person!  Skype, while awesome and much appreciated, is just not the same.  Nicolas was an absolute rock star.  He walked into that crowd of people ready to hug and be hugged!  Any nerves that he had seemed to disappear almost immediately and he was smiling and chasing after Sophia and Stella.  It was such an awesome sight to finally see them together!

After chatting for a bit, we packed our truck and headed home.  After six weeks, you can imagine how weird your home looks.  I went in quick to let  the dogs out to avoid any accidental excited piddles.  While I did that, Nicolas went out to do what he has been waiting to do, throw a snowball!!

Are you ready for this?

We all went into the house together for the first time as a family.  Nicolas, of course, was most excited about the 'man cave', the game room, and his room. :) We were also so excited to discover that we had dinner (well dinners) groceries, and gift cards waiting for us!  Thank you to our family and our church for saving us from having to go to the grocery store when we were exhausted!!!  You guys rock!!!!   Nicolas played with his trucks for quite a while (they are the original, metal Tonka trucks that was Kevin's as a child.  Thanks Grandma Mar for keeping them all these years!) and of course had to have a snowball fight with Dad!

We sorted our mountain of laundry and started attacking it.  The time change began to wear on us after dinner and by 7:00, we were all feeling it.  By 7:30, we were all in bed for the night!

Saturday:

As you can imagine (since we went to bed in the middle of the day!), we all woke up earlier than normal.  But, our exhaustion kept us asleep through the night and for that we are thankful.  We got up and had breakfast and then kept picking away at cleaning up the tornado that came through our house yesterday!  While Nicolas got ready, I sorted through all the clothes that we needed to return and we decided to go to the mall (crazy, I know) so that he would have warm clothes and shoes that fit!  Since we went in the morning, it wasn't awful.  Plus, when you are used to how busy the malls are in Joburg - it just doesn't seem so bad! :)  Again, Nicolas was a trooper, and made it through all of our returns and exchanges.  We then went to Target to restock the basics and ran into Bob and Masha Hauch!  Were they stalking us??? :)

We went home to have lunch and then went out to Allendale to get our Christmas tree!  Man, when yo wait until the weekend before Christmas, you get the entire tree farm all to yourself! :)  We wandered a bit, staking several trees as the one before we found it.  We, of course, had to ride around in the sled for a bit!  When he had had enough of the cold, we cut down our tree and headed for home.  On the way home he asked, 'Mom, when are you going to show me Wendy?'.  LOL.....we had told him in SA about Wendy's and he wanted to see it!

We got home and set up the tree and started making dinner.  After a quick visit with some friends from church, we had dinner and then hopped in the car to go see the Christ Lights display.  The fact that it gets dark here so early is affecting all of us.  Nicolas was practically down for the count in the backseat by the time we got to the front of the line.  Thankfully, Mandy and Alexis came to the rescue with candy canes!  We came home, read a bedtime story, and that brings us to the present!

It's amazing that this journey has brought us here, a family of 3 for Christmas!  While we expected that to be the case a long time ago, God's timing is indeed perfect and we couldn't have planned it better ourselves!  As we begin to celebrate Christmas tomorrow, we are reminded of how blessed we are and that we are cared for by a truly AWESOME GOD!

Merry Christmas!!!

The Longstreets

Day 42: Our Farewell Dinner

The internet was down last night, so here's the update:

Today was our last full day in South Africa!  Thankfully, it was another sunny one!  Kevin woke up early this morning, but Nicolas and I slept until 9AM!!!  That tells you how worn out he was from last night because he has not slept past 7:30AM at all since we have been together!  We spent one last morning by the pool (and somehow Kevin and I both managed to get a little burned).  It wasn’t quite as warm this morning, so I think that is the reason we didn’t realize we were burning.

We came in and got ready and then stopped to grab lunch for the kids on the way to Auntie Bev’s house.  Nicolas stayed and played with Bev’s kids while Kevin and I had lunch with Bev and Sarinah.  We had a great lunch chatting about Nicolas’ past....funny stories and memories and such.  And….bonus!!!  Oasis received a new little one this morning only 3 days old!!  I got to love on him….so adorable!!  I wish we could bring him home as well!  We are so very thankful for the opportunity to know so much about Nicolas’ life up to now.  It will be priceless when he is older and is trying to put all the pieces together.

After lunch, stopped back at the office and said our goodbyes to Sarinah.  She is such an amazing person and we are so thankful for her!  Bless her heart, she has had to say goodbye to Nicolas, and will let 3 more go within the next week.  I can't imagine how hard that must be.  Please pray for her!

We went back to Bev’s house to hang out until dinner.  We watched a myth busters episode about surviving on a deserted island with duct tape.  I know now how to make a duct tape canoe – valuable life skill!!  Of course, since we are about to leave, we also had a minor incident with the monkey bars.  Nicolas caught his leg somehow and got two pretty good size gouges in the back of his calf.  Amazingly, he didn’t seem upset at all.  He let me clean it up and went on playing.

We went to Spur for dinner, but this one had a huge outdoor play area with trampolines, slides, and all kinds of fun things.  The kids played for hours and Nicolas was still bummed when we had to go home!  Since his birthday is so close, they brought him a birthday sundae and sang to him.  It was very fun!  They played a drum, sang, and put sparklers in his sundae.  Woo hoo!  After dinner, we headed home to get a good night’s rest to prepare for the big flight home!

Here is Nicolas when they were singing Happy Birthday to him.  He said "It's not my birthday!" :)

\

This was our waiter telling wishing him a great birthday and many more.

Ice cream!!!!!

Now that thew singing is over he looks a little happier!

Here's the crew!  

Starting front left and moving clockwise: Mary, Simone, Amy Rose, Me, Kevin, Johan, Bev, Nicolas, Kieran

Funny quotes of the night: 

From Bev: Speaking about a time when she picked up a South African bug called a Park Town Prawn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parktown_prawn) and how she would have "shrieked" if she knew what it was.  I thought she said "I would have streaked!"  You can imagine the confused look on my face!

From Kieran (Bev’s son) – I'm pretty sure Kieran was talking about a past event, but it was funny!  “Monobrow alert!.  It was like a headband!  I kept waiting for her to take it off! 

From Simone (Bev’s daughter) This came from the same conversation with Kieran – “Aye aye eyebrows!”

Another great day!!  Now hopefully we all sleep well and we’ll be home before we know it!

See you Friday!!!

The Longstreets

Day 41: Happy Birthday Johan!

It's hard to believe that 6 weeks has gone by so quickly and that we will be leaving in 2 days!  Thankfully, God blessed us again today with another beautiful morning!  We hung out in bed for a bit playing games before we decided to start packing.  We thought it better to be proactive now than to be scrambling around on Thursday trying to remember all the stuff that has been in drawers for 6 weeks!   We then did homework, had lunch, and went in the pool.  Since we are running low on time in the sun, we are trying to soak it up as much as we can!!!

We got around mid-afternoon and went to Home Affairs one last time to pick up Nicolas' permanent South African passport.  There wasn't a line, so we were in and out in about 5 minutes.  Next, we headed to the store to pick up some essentials for coming home: mentos, gum, tic tacs, chocolate. :)  We also picked up oil for Nicolas hair and skin since it is about 1/4 the cost here that it is in the states.  After that, we headed over to Auntie Bev's house.  We hung out for a bit, ran to get dinner for the kids (who stayed with Uncle Johan's sister) and then we headed out for dinner to celebrate Johan's (Bev's husband) birthday.  We went to an awesome Indian restaurant.  Kevin has never eaten at an Indian restaurant and his only basis for comparison is Along Came Polly (of you haven't seen it, you must!), so I think he was nervous even though I told him it isn't like that. :)  The food was fantastic!!!  It was so much fun and they even sang happy birthday to Johan - which he loved....lol!!  Seriously love the Beukes family!!  We are going to miss them so much!

Bev and I with our foo foo girlie drinks! :)

After dinner, we went back to the house to check in on the kids.  They made gingerbread cookies while we were gone and they turned out great!  We had tea while the kids played a little longer and then  we headed home.  Only one more full day here....cannot believe it!

We will be home in........3 days!!!!  Bring on the snow!

The Longstreets

Day 40: Botanical Gardens and Flight Details

Woo hoo!!!  No rain today! :)  It was a warm and beautiful day!  We got up this morning, had breakfast, and went outside to play soccer.  We decided to do homework this morning since we knew we wouldn't be home tonight, and then we had some fruit and went swimming in the pool.  Nicolas enjoyed us throwing him into the pool and we also did some races.

We came in and the boys got ready while I made lunch.  Once we were all ready, we headed to Cresta to exchange money since our attempt on Saturday was unsuccessful.  About half way there, we were reminded by the radio that today is a public holiday.  Grrrrrrr.......forgot about that!  We were hoping the American Express currency exchange place might still be open, but it wasn't.  Ah well.....at this point we only have 3 days left, so we will wing it and use our credit card for purchases.

From there, we left to meet Auntie Beth and Donovan at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens.  Beth and Donovan took us on a tour around the gardens.  The landscaping was beautiful!  The weather today definitely made up for the rain we have had.  The sun was shining and the clouds were like fluffy cotton balls in the sky.  Our first stop was at a huge waterfall:

And here's a family picture :)

We walked further into the gardens to the bird sanctuary.  As we were walking, we came across these beautiful butterflies.  The tips of their wings were clear! 

Next, we went into an bird-watching enclosure.  Such a beautiful view!!

We made a loop back around to the entrance.  On our way, we had to pass over a bridge where it appeared there was a modeling shoot going on.  Beth and I restrained ourselves from jumping in the picture. :)

Amazing!

We headed out for dinner at Nando's.  We had a delicious meal and great conversation.  We also had a great chat about shoveling and snow blowers.  Foreign concepts to people from the warmer regions (Beth is from southern California and Donovan is South African). :)

After dinner, we came back to the guest house and watched a movie before heading to bed.

After weather forecasts of rain through Thursday, we were so grateful to have the sunshine all day today.  We are praying that they weather will remain sunny for our last few days here.

4 days until we get home!!!  And it looks like we might be coming home to snow after all!!  Let's hope that it doesn't cause flight delays!!!

Here are our flight details:  Our flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta is scheduled to arrive at 6:00AM and the flight number is DL 201.  Our flight from Atlanta to Grand Rapids is scheduled to arrive at 11:20AM and our flight number is DL 2113.  

We can't wait to see everyone!!  Please feel free to come to the airport if you are able!  We will likely have a tough time adjusting back to the Eastern time zone, so we might be in hiding for a bit when we get home! :)

The Longstreets

Day 39: What is THAT????

This morning was our last Sunday at New Creation.  It is amazing how many people we have gotten to know over the last few weeks!  As we walked in, people asked us if this was our last week and wished us well on for our trip home.  Pastor Grant met us in the hall and asked if we were ready to head back home.  Yes…..no……maybe??  Yes!  We are ready to be back with family and friends.  No!!  We are not ready for the cold!! J  We also had a chance to chat with some of our friends both before and after church and make sure we are connected before we head back home.  We had our last delicious post-service tea and scone and we said goodbye to New Creation.  What an amazing church!! J

After church, we headed back to the guesthouse for lunch.  The skies were clear and the sun was hot, so after lunch and a concert from Jeff the Giraffe and Chocolate the Lion, the boys put on their suits to take advantage of the sun in the pool!  Yes, I am a chicken and didn't want to freeze. :)  I also got a bit of a sunburn on my head in Pretoria the other day, so I didn't want to add insult to injury.  Nicolas had a great time in the pool, especially because it's been almost a week since he was able to go in!  They played in the pool until just before dinner time.

We ran to the store to grab a few things and then Nicolas opened the restaurant again for the evening.  He took Kevin's order and prepared his regular table.  Thankfully, he had a reservation because it was a busy night! :)  Our 'guest' said that he food was so delicious the cook should receive a raise of double her pay.  Go me! :)  Another bonus, he brought his credit card so he could actually pay for his dinner tonight.  Nicolas charged him $4900 rand (about $612) for his meal.  I don't think his restaurant is going to make it........

After dinner, the boys did homework and then we asked Nicolas to write a story.  He was struggling to find his inspiration....and then it flew in through the slider door.  It flew round and round our room......I thought it was a bird.  I thought it was going to finds its way out on its own, but then it landed right outside the door to our room.  It remained still long enough for Kevin to confirm that it was not a bird, it was a small bat.  Nicolas had run over to me on the bed, so the two of us were snuggled on the side of the bed.  It wasn't until I knew it was a bat that I was freaked out.  Before that I was telling Nicolas that it was okay and he didn't have to be scared.  I'm not sure why bats are so much scarier than birds (maybe because I can remember my parents trying to get a bat out of our cabin when I was little?) but it made all the difference.  Kevin grabbed a plastic bag and a spatula to try to pick it up and get it back outside.  He got it to crawl onto the spatula and was almost to the door when I thought it would be a great idea to get a picture of it for blogging purposes.  BAD IDEA!  Just as I was taking the picture, it started flying again and it flew over by us.  I freaked out and hid down the side of the bed with Nicolas.  It then proceeded to land on the bed, which I did not approve of.  By this time, Kevin had the spatula in one hand and his phone in the other to record how ridiculously I was acting.  I was yelling at him to make it go outside and then it started flapping on the bed.  Again, I am freaking out.  Nicolas, in the mean time, is just sitting next to me.  It did fly out after that, so I yelled at Kevin to hurry and close the door.  Unfortunately for the reading audience, the video is too large to upload until we get home.  Stay tuned for that.....

What better way to end the night, right?  Nicolas was wired after that (as you might imagine), so he hung out with us for a bit before getting ready for bed.  He made sure to take his flashlight to the bathroom with him to brush his teeth to make sure there were no more bats. :)

On that note, it's bed time.......hopefully I will not be haunted by the creepy little bat eyes in my sleep......

Goodnight!

5 more days until we come home!! :)

The Longstreets

Day 38: To Rain or Not to Rain?

This morning, the skies looked questionable once again, but cleared around lunch time and the sun was out in full force.  We spent the morning at the guest house.  We read and played soccer for a bit before getting ready and having some lunch.  After lunch, we headed to the mall to exchange some money.   On our way to the mall, one of the robots (traffic lights) was out and was flashing both red and green at the same time.  So do we stop or go??  Ha ha.  I was going to take a picture, but the other direction was only flashing red on the way back.

We have yet to figure out whether there are free-standing banks.  We have only seen them in the mall.  We decided to go to North Gate (yet another mall! J) since it is close to our guest house.  We parked in the ramp and headed inside to try to find the banking area of the mall.  As with Cresta, this mall was also crazy busy!!  We found the area with all the banks and headed toward the Western Union foreign exchange place.  The doors were locked, but the girl behind the counter just looked at us and went on doing what she was doing.  We thought maybe there was a limit of how many people they would allow in at one time, so we waited.  One woman came out and, thankfully, she was willing to tell us that they were closed.  Oh yeah, it’s Saturday….banks close early.  Grrrrr.  We missed it by 10 minutes.  But wait!!!  Ned Bank is open until 2PM.  Yes!!!  So, we went over there.  Their banks have security doors, so there is a breezeway you go into, then wait for the first door to close before the second one can be opened.  There was a bit of a line, but we were in no hurry, so it was okay.  After we had stood there for a few minutes, the teller (the only one working) was explaining that apparently whatever she had been doing had caused her computer to crash and she wasn’t sure if she could fix it.  Apparently, the other people must have been waiting for a while because they were yelling at her.  At that point, we decided we didn’t need to exchange money today after all. J  As we exited the bank, we noticed a guard standing along the railing holding a machine gun.  Nicolas was walking along the railing, so I quietly rerouted him.  Now that’s something you don’t see at home!  We were going to pick up a few things, but quickly grew frustrated with not being able to find any of the stores we knew, so we left North Gate to go to a different mall that we know better.  Whew!!!  It was still busy, but not as bad as the first.  We looked around a bit and then picked up some groceries at Woolworths before heading back to the guest house.

The sun was shining on our way home, so Nicolas was excited to be able to go in the pool!  By the time we got back home, it looked as if the rain clouds off in the distance were quickly approaching.  We decided to play memory on the patio table to see if it would pass.  After 2 games, the thunder rolled in, so we headed inside.  Bummer!!  We colored for a bit and then Nicolas wanted to fly.  So, we took turns flying him on the bed (meaning we lay on the bed and he lays on our shins or feet and flies over us).  Of course, Kevin is better at it than I am and can get him higher as well.  That somehow turned into this game where Nicolas jumped off the bed at Kevin and then Kevin would throw him back onto the bed.  I thought it looked like whiplash waiting to happen, but Nicolas loved it!  I can’t help but be nervous when they play that someone is going to get hurt – fall of the bed, go head first into the floor, or what have you – but the boys just keep going!  After they were both good and sweaty, Nicolas and I made dinner – and he was a great helper!  He helped me cut the veggies for the salad, put the boerevors (brats) in the oven, and stir the pap.  Then he made a menu and brought it to Kevin, asking him what he would like for dinner.  Then, he made him stand in the bathroom (waiting room) while we got his table ready.  We seated him and then tried to take his magic blue card (credit card) to pay before eating. J  He served his drink and salad and then we all ate together.  Our guest complained that the woman he was seated next to was smelly, so my boss pulled me into the kitchen and told me I had one more chance or I was ‘out of here!’.  Geez, tough crowd! J  But despite all that, we said he enjoyed his meal, then proceeded to try to run off without paying the bill.  What nerve!  Needless to say, we had fun with our restaurant game!

After dinner, we did homework and then watched National Treasure 2 on DSTV (like Dish).  Today was a fun day, but we are hoping for the sun tomorrow!!  Tomorrow is our last Sunday at New Creation (boo!) and will be our last goodbye to many of our South African friends!  The church has made us feel so welcome here, it will be sad to go!

Only 6 more days until we arrive!!   Will we have snow??

The Longstreets

Day 37: Adventures at the Pretoria Zoo

This morning looked questionable to start, but after double checking the weather which stated a 'slight chance of showers and thunderstorms', we decided to risk it and head out.  We got up and around and then hopped in the car to head to Pretoria (which is about 45 minutes from our guest house).  The drive there was pretty uneventful.  A little traffic, a little construction, but nothing too crazy - until we hit downtown Pretoria.  We got to see the crazy street signs that Bev had told us about.  She mentioned that South Africans like to rename streets (which wreaks havoc on GPS!) and that in Pretoria they just leave up the old sign, cross it out, and put a new one above it.  Can't make this stuff up.  Seriously, see?

The traffic was a little chaotic ans we managed to miss the parking entrance, but a scenic around the block lead to a successful second attempt! :)  We got our tickets and our map and we were off!  One of the first things we noticed (beyond the animals, of course) was that there were golf carts.  Assuming they were for workers, we moved on.  But no my friends, they aren't for workers....they are for people to drive through the zoo.  What happened to good old fashioned walking???  This picture is priceless.  Maybe he couldn't walk and eat ice cream at the same time??

Also, notice what side he is driving on.....at least they got that right! :)

We had lots of fun wandering around (on foot!) and seeing the animals.  We were especially excited to see the elephants, and they gave us a show!  Apparently it was too warm, so they were giving themselves a mud bath.

It is a pretty large zoo, so we backtracked to the restaurant for lunch.  After refueling, we headed toward the back of the zoo where some of the larger animals were.  Being mid-day, we did catch a lot of animals sleeping.  We were bummed that the kangaroos fell in that category!  There was even a baby joey!

My boys :)

In addition to the big hippos, they also had these pigmy hippos which are much smaller in comparison. We weren't sure if he was mad at us for interrupting his afternoon swim or if he was showing off.

Pygmy Hippo

Headed to Australia!

When we got to Australia, I immediately thought of Ingrid (one of my coworkers) who loves koalas.  She asked me if I would bring one back  if I saw it.  Hmmmmm.......do you think they would notice? :)  There were two of them who were also napping, but so adorable!!!

Another fun stop was the seals.  They were showing off - jumping up on rocks and flipping in the water.  Then this guy (or girl) started talking to another seal who was on the back of the enclosure.  It was so loud!

Here's Nicolas giving a little lesson on South Africa.  The test will be after we get home.  What are the national bird and mammal of South Africa?

Next stop was the Bird Gardens aviary.  We didn't really see that many birds and those we did see flew too quickly to photograph, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Nicolas will tell you that I faced my fear of heights!  I definitely had sweaty feet (yup...I know it's gross), but I did it!  See how high up I had to start???

It's high, really!

Our last stop was the reptiles and aquarium.  Nicolas was excited to see the komodo dragons and both crocodiles and two giant alligators!  Just as we headed into the aquarium, we felt a few raindrops.  Nicolas' favorite part of the aquarium was definitely the two sharks, but we also spotted Nemo, Dori, and Gil from Finding Nemo.  Kevin already wanted to get a fish tank, so after that visit he is excited to get home and start researching.  It did, indeed, rain while we were inside - and quite a bit I might add.  We figured we missed it.  So, we hopped in the car and set the GPS for the guest house.

Let the adventure begin.  First, taxis do not care if they practically take you out - person or vehicle.  We watched a woman practically get hit crossing the road.  Minutes later, we sit in traffic because there is a stalled vehicle.  Turn corner - go one block and stop again.  This time, a semi trailer is stuck in the middle of the road and the middle of an intersection.  Turn left - go one block.  Now another work truck is stalled out in the middle of the road.  Geez!!  We are less than 2 miles into our drive home.  We finally get moving and the rain starts.  Then it gets a little heavier.  Then, monsoon downpour!  I wish I had taken video of it was heaviest - it was insane!!  Tons of cars pulled off the highway to wait for it to let up.  People had their hazard lights on and we slowed down to a crawl.  I took this video after it had let up a good deal.

Of course, the rain caused accidents - lots of them!  We saw a few going the other direction, but soon we also slowed almost to a crawl.  We couldn't tell if it was one accident or two, but the front end of one of the cars was barely visible.  Yikes!!!  Once we got past the accidents, it was pretty much smooth sailing home.  Nicolas had been drawing most of the time in the car, but piped up when he knew the song on the radio.  While he didn't know this one, he liked to dance to it!

Love this!

Whew!! We made it back from another adventure in South Africa in one piece!  We went out into the garden to see how high the river had risen from the rain and this is what we saw.

Wow!

Reminder, this is what it normally looks like:

It's amazing how heavily the rain comes down here and how it seems to flood everything!  It rained a little more while we ate dinner as well.  Even if the skies clear and bring us sun, I wonder if the pool will warm up enough for Nicolas to go in anymore before we come home.  I guess we'll see!!

One week left!

The Longstreets

Day 36: Fun at Monte Casino

Today was another cloudy day.  It rained a little first thing this morning, but the rest of the day was dry.  This morning we lounged around (okay, I slept in and Nicolas and Kevin read) before getting ready and having lunch.  After lunch, we were going through some of our bags in preparation for next week and Kevin found Nicolas' reading glasses (in the bottom of his backpack of course :))  Nicolas had been drawing pictures, so he put on his glasses and proceeded to tell us stories about the pictures he had drawn with his glasses half way down his nose.  It was quite funny!

Telling his story

Serious face!

After our story time adventures, we went to Monte Casino to go to a movie.  We went and bought our tickets for Finding Nemo in 3D and then went to the bookstore to kill some time until the movie started.  We picked up a South Africa book as well as the children's version on Nelson Mandela's 'Long Walk to Freedom'.  By then, it was time for the movie to start.  We got our 3D glasses, popcorn, and pop (which I might add was only $8!).  This might seem trivial, but the movie theater doesn't have napkins.  You serve sticky slushies and greasy popcorn, but you don't have napkins.  And it's not as if we just didn't see them....I asked and they literally don't have any!  So, I thought to myself 'maybe they have paper towel in the bathroom'.  So, I went to check.  Fail.  Adapt to the environment Laura.  Toilet paper it is! :)

The movie theater was quite large and there were maybe 15 people there.  As in the States, they play previews before the movie starts.  A few played and then this music video came on.  Within about 15 seconds, Kevin and I looked at each other with this 'What in the world is this?  Not appropriate!' look on our faces.  It seemed to be some sort of awareness campaign for domestic violence.  It lasted for what seemed like forever and showed both men and women with bruises and gashes on their faces.  More than once, it showed a woman lying in bed battered and bruised with a pool of blood next to her.  This is the Finding Nemo crowd - what is up with this?  We had to ask Nicolas not to watch it.  Seriously, what were they thinking??  Okay, I've said my peace.  Moving on......the movie was great!  Very fun in 3D!

We poked our heads outside after the movie and, to our surprise, the giant hot air balloon was flying today!  This is something the guys have wanted to do since we were at the Bird Gardens a few weeks ago, so they were pumped!  I, of course, being super afraid of heights, stayed on the ground.  We weren't sure how Nicolas would do since he had told us at one point he was afraid of heights, but he loved it!!  I could tell he was okay because I saw his arm come out pointing at things a few times in their flight.  The balloon is attached to a cable, so it goes straight up a gazillion feet in the air and then comes straight back down.  When they got back down to the ground, Nicolas said 'That was awesome!!!'  So sweet!  He later told me that he was brave and faced his fear.  A.K.A. 'Mom, don't be such a wimp!' :)

Here they are - my brave guys!!

And the view!  I am sitting down there in those chairs that you can barely see!!  I'm glad I stayed on the ground!!

After the balloon it was about 5:30PM and we decided we didn't want to sit in rush hour traffic, so we stayed at Monte Casino and went to Spur for dinner.  If you have been following our journey, Spur is considered a 'steak ranch' and Bev describes it as South Africa's attempt at an American steakhouse with a Native American flair.  It's a nice family restaurant and Nicolas loves it!  We enjoyed a nice dinner before heading back to the guest house.

Here is the view of the balloon from our guest house!  It is huge!

At home, Nicolas played a little bit and then he and Kevin snuggled in bed to read his new book about Nelson Mandela.  Nicolas did an awesome job reading with lots of African names and places and probably read half of the book before asking Kevin to finish.  It was very neat to watch Nicolas' reactions as he was learning things about Mandela and the impact he has had.  Definitely, a good purchase!

It has been another very fun day!!  8 more days until we come home!

The Longstreets

Day 35: Visa...CHECK!!!!

We have had a couple busy days in a row, so it was nice to have a day to lay low.  This morning we lounged around for a bit before getting ready.  We had scones with jam (sounds British doesn't it?) and Nicolas drew in his notebook.  We dropped by Bev's house to pick up Simone (she works in the mall we park at to go to the Consulate) and headed to Sandton to pick up Nicolas' visa.  Since we had such an awful time finding our way around the the mall the other day, Simone kindly showed us where the food court was.  Yup......we were right by it on Monday, just one level too high.  Oh well....live and learn. :)

We decided to go to Nando's for lunch.  Nando's is a chain restaurant that specializes in chicken.  We chose it because it seems healthier than a burger and fries (though I do love burgers and fries!).  We sat down at a table to wait for our food and a man walked up and said "Longstreet's, right?"  Um......yes.  How does anyone here know us???  It took Kevin and I each a second, then we recognized that it was our contact from the U.S. Consulate office.  He was also having lunch and saw us sit down.  In a mall that big with lots of restaurant choices, what are the chances???  Anyway, we enjoyed our lunch and then headed to the Consulate.  There was no one waiting outside this time, so we got in quickly.  They did have to check my bag three times because they thought I was bringing in headphones.  I explained that it was the strap of the cross-body purse that's inside the backpack, but they had to run it through a few more times to be sure. :)  Better safe than sorry.  We had to wait a little bit once we got into the second building.  There was an older couple going back and forth with the lady at the window about what paperwork was necessary for her to immigrate to the States.  Yes, we are glad that we have had so much help in this process!  Once they sat down to fill out paperwork, we were able to request his visa and received it quickly.  We verified the info, thanked Nicholas (our contact that we ran into at Nando's) and were on our way!  We tried to stop in and say hello to Simone at work, but she must've been in the back room.  Sorry Simone!!

We went back to the guest house and Nicolas changed into his swimsuit.  Once again, with rain yesterday, the pool was cold.  So, he spent most of his time on the tiles drawing with water and his finger.  He could do that for hours.  So fun to watch!

After the pool and a bath to warm up, we had dinner.  It has been a few days since n home at night to do homework, so we made sure to get back on track tonight.  We did subtraction cards and some activities with following directions.  After homework, we had chocolate mousse for dessert and finished Flat Stanley.

Tomorrow is another day with no agenda.  We are going to look at all the suggestions we have received on what we should do with our remaining time here in South Africa and try to make a plan.  The time is going to fly and before you know it, we'll be home in the snow!

Here is a picture of Nicolas with his visa - ready to fly!!!

Wooo hooooooo!!!!!

9 days left in the sun!

The Longstreets

Day 34: Gold Reef City

Today was finally the day for us to go to Gold Reef City amusement park!!  It was sprinkling when we woke up, but the weather said the rain would clear by noon, so we decided to risk it and go.  We got ready and met Auntie Bev at her house.  The clouds did look like they were clearing on parts of our drive!  Auntie Bev lead the way and lead us on a bit of a scenic tour :)  After almost getting run off the road by a semi truck (traffic was stopped for something and the wouldn't let us merge in.  It was not a near-death experience), we got headed in the right direction.  We came to a one-lane bridge right before we arrive at the park, as you can see below.

No signals, just a one-lane surprise!!!  Thankfully after a couple minutes, the other direction stopped and let us cross!

When we arrived, it was definitely different than what we are used to!  There were very few cars in the parking lot!  Yay for us....that means shorter lines!  We started in the kid's area and let Nicolas, Mary, and Amy Rose go on some rides and then we headed into the main park for the bigger rides.  Here are some pics:

Ride #1: the carousel

Racing in the antique cars!

They put me in jail!

The log ride take #1: Mary, Kevin, Amy Rose, and Simone

(Can you see Mary leaning over in the front??  Uh oh!!  She was ok!)

Log ride take #2: Nicolas and Kieran.  Nicolas loved it as you can see!

This was the Thundering River Rapids.  We all had wet bums after than one!!!

And what trip to the amusement park is complete without an old time photo.  We were hunters on an African safari!

We were also able to go to the circus while we were there!  They had a magician, the acrobatic brothers, a girl who flipped on the long pieces of fabric hanging from the ceiling, a trapeze artist, tigers and horses, a clown, fire-eating, and juggling.  They did a skit where the ring leader acted like their juggler was missing, but then he took his coat off and did the juggling.  When he took his coat off, he had a vest on underneath.  He also had a large tattoo on his shoulder.  Amy Rose said "Oh wow!!!" as he took it off.  It was hilarious!!!!

Right before we went to do our photo, it started to rain.  Ok.....I can handle sprinkles.  Then is started really coming down.......this is when my newness as a mom comes out.  No rain coats!  We got wet, but thankfully we didn't melt!!  The rain stopped while we were taking our photos, so we had a chance to dry out.

Another difference from American theme parks, they close at 5PM.  So....we rode until they wouldn't let us ride anymore!  Everyone had a great time!  We headed back toward home and had dinner at Auntie Bev's.

What a fun day!!!  Tomorrow is a lazy day for us.  Our only real plan is to head back to the consulate to pick up Nicolas' visa.  Hoping for sunshine!!

The Longstreets