Too long....

Wow guys, it has been a LONG time since we have updated the blog :( Sorry!!! Hmm where to start....

August was a great month for us! We celebrated our one year anniversary, which made us think about all of the adventures we have been on over the past year....Crazy!!! Mark and I both spent time back in the States. I was there for a little over a month. Mark made it back for a very quick 8 days. Throughout the month we were involved with weddings, we gained an awesome brother in-law, got to see many friends and family members, traveled the Midwest, and got to spend time with our dog Kacey! It was nice to be back for a little bit but by the end of my stay, I was ready to come back to our home in S.A.

September was the start of Spring. I came back to green grass, flowers blooming, and warm weather! It was another great month!! We took in the beauty of South Africa by going to the botanical gardens, hiking to the top of a waterfall, and to the beach! Our friends and I took a long weekend trip and went over by Durban to a place called Tinley Manor/Beach. Eleven of us stayed in a beautiful house off of the Indian Ocean. I have never experienced the sound of the waves crashing 24/7...it was amazing. The dolphins and whales were also enjoying themselves as they swam past our house.....so cool to see! Pictures from the month of September are up....follow the link below.

The braai season has begun! Yep, I said braai (see I am learning Afrikaans!). It is similar to "grilling out" or having a "BBQ". We have spent many nights with friends at gatherings enjoying the warm weather and company while having braais. Did I mention how warm the weather has been? It has been up in the 90's....sorry to all of those who are freezing and sitting by their heaters! The rainy season has also started (which isn't as bad as it sounds)! The storms are very different here. It will be sunny and then all of a sudden the wind will pick up and it will rain for maybe 2-5 minutes. It has rained all night once or twice...which was needed! We did go hiking last Sunday at a place close to our house....it is always nice spending the day outside!! Otherwise, next weekend we will be taking a trip up into the mountains and staying at a place with a golf course, rock climbing walls, hiking trails, and more! I am thinking I will have TONS of pictures to share from that weekend and I promise it wont take us so long to post it this time!

We recently got a Minnesota phone number from Skype. This means you can call us from your cell phone just like you call any other number with no extra charge. If you are interested in getting that number, please email me and I will send it to you right away! (powalishamyl@gmail.com)

Link to pictures from our trip to the States:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2197114&id=63901203&l=c1e4ee758c

Link to pictures from the month of September:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2198815&id=63901203&l=39b9acffbd

We miss everyone and hope all is going well!!

Safari Weekend

Hello! We can't believe that the month of July is already coming to an end. Mark planned a birthday get-away weekend for my birthday! He did great! It started with me picking him up from work at the job site. WOW, it is truly a huge project. I was very nervous driving around all of the big trucks and workers....but in the end it was just really nice to finally see where Mark spends most of his time!

The first night we stayed at a lodge in Dullstrum (Mpumalanga region of S.A.). Upon arrival, we found out that we were going to get to celebrate Christmas in July! The town was a very cute small town with lots of shops and places to go fly fishing. We hope to return there for another short weekend trip. We then continued on through the mountains and made our way to a private game resort close to Kruger National Park. We were in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Back home when we are driving, we are so used to watching out for deer running across the road.....on this trip we had to watch out for baboons!! We saw two run across the road :)

We stayed at Tshukudu Game Reserve. It was Awesome!!! This reserve allowed us to have close encounters with rehabilitated (orphaned) and wild animals. We went on two Safari game drives (one was at night) and a bush walk with two lion cubs. The game drives consisted of tracking the lions and searching for them for at least two hours......when we finally found them, it was so powerful! The roar of a lion really can leave a lasting impression......you could feel the vibrations from it!

On the way home, we stopped at the Potholes of Mpumalanga......what a great site to see. It was a beautiful day, we got to do a little hiking, and of course we got to shop at the markets!

Here is a link to all of our pictures from this trip!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2187300&id=63901203&l=e0dacc89a5

Panoramic Route

Mark and I took a short weekend trip that showed us the beauty of the country. We drove along the "Panoramic Route" of Mpumalanga and stayed in the Flycatcher Castle in a town called Graskop. The scenery on the route was amazing. It took us along the Blyde River Canyon which is said to be the 3rd largest canyon in the world. Each attraction along the route had a market. We were able to do some bargaining and get some great deals on South African crafts! At the castle, we were treated like royalty! Each room had decor from the 17th century, there was an art gallery displaying the owners work, and there was a chapel with seats and decor from an original church in Bethlehem. The food was also amazing and over whelming! We can't wait to go back (hopefully with family and friends!).

To see more pictures from our June adventures around South Africa, use the link below!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2183948&id=63901203&l=e624999ecf

Amy's experience so far

Hello! I am going to have to admit that Mark has been doing all of the updating of our blog so far. Surprisingly, time has been going really fast for me. I love being able to be here with Mark. The country is absolutely beautiful and it is such a great feeling to make the people here smile! During the day, my favorite thing to do is sit on our balcony reading a book and looking at the beautiful mountains in the distance. I also enjoy going on walks in our development looking at the other amazing houses. There are several other wives and their families that live close by. Often we will get together during the day to do our grocery shopping and lunch. I have met a lot of great people here so far! I also have mastered (well maybe not completely) the art of driving here! A favorite thing for Mark and I to do is cook on our new grill and then have a fire afterwords. We also just purchased a ping-pong table that will be arriving on Friday. I am also in the process of setting up volunteer opportunities for me that would start in September. I believe I will be getting involved with the Down Syndrome Association and going out into the community with the SLP students from the University of Pretoria to get exposed to the culture.
More to come....

FIFA - USA vs Italy

On Monday night we had the opportunity to go to Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria to watch the FIFA Confederations Cup (South Africa 2009) USA vs Italy. It was nice to here the national anthem of the United States of America in South Africa. Amy really enjoyed the blow horns and wished we didn't ban them in the US. However, they sure can do the wave! USA lost 3 to 1 but it was still fun dodging soccer balls behind the goalie.

Apartheid Museum

We went to the Apartheid Museum this weekend and learned
the history of Mandela, the rise and fall of the Apartheid, and
the first democratic election. What a great history experience.

Skype

Do you miss our stunning faces and voices? Want to talk to us and see us in person? Download Skype and make free calls over the Internet to us for as long as you want. It is free to download!!
http://www.skype.com/

Rhino & Lino Park

We had a great Sunday hanging out with the lion's, wild dogs, and cheetah's. It was exciting to see them being fed in the safety of our car. After seeing the animals being fed we drove around and spotted many zebra, antelope, ostridge, and rhino. Next time we go we will have to go into the cave, see the reptile show, and be part of the Cheetah run!


No worries about safety here!

4X4 Trip

We had a fun 4x4ing trip this weekend. We did some intense convoying with our friends and had fun being in their Land Rovers. I don’t know why we don’t sell these models in the USA. We had a full day of going through crazy obstacles, braaiing, and watching the animals on the game reserve.

Together at Last

Hello Everyone! Our house in Kansas is finally packed up after three days of very hard work and now we finally arrived back in South Africa TOGETHER!! (6 months apart) Now the real adventure can start :) Our flight was very enjoyable with no problems at all; we arrived early, our luggage made it too, and we had plenty of room the entire flight. We came back to the SA house with a few upgrades from the landlord. Our house now has an awning over the downstairs patio. We can enjoy sitting outside and making a braii (bbq) rain or shine.
We spent most of the weekend unpacking, relaxing, catching up on sleep, and playing Wii. The weather has been great for it being winter. It is a little cool in the morning and evenings but beautiful during the day! More exciting things to come….don’t forget to check back!

Here is a link to pictures from graduation weekend back in Kansas: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178551&id=63901203&l=3ba4a9f9f9

Amy's Visit

Amy took the long journey over to South Africa to see what it was all about. She had no problems with the 20 plus hour flight in the air. We wasted no time when she arrived and flew down to Cape Town. When we were there we did wine tasting, Cable mountain, penguin watching, and checked out the nude beaches…he he. When we got back to Pretoria we continued the exciting adventures and did a zip line canopy tour, checked out Jo'Berg, and did a South African Brewery (SAB) tour. Amy really enjoyed the tasty fillet steaks and great wine South Africa has to offer. I think she will come back in May when I go get her! :-)

Here is a link to pictures from Amy's trip to South Africa in March: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2170993&id=63901203&l=4b67d5f81e

Getting Settled In

Hello! Mark is now back in South Africa. He has been busy with work and learning the ropes! He also is working on getting everything figured out with the house such as internet and phone. The weather has been in the upper 80 -90 degree range with very little humidity. The pool in the back yard is being put in as we speak. He has met the neighbors and they seem to be pretty nice and are eager to teach Mark how some things are done in South Africa. They have offered to show me the best places to shop when I get there! I will be visiting in March for two weeks and then will be moving there in May.

Thanks for checking out our blog.

Here is a link to pictures of the house:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=63901203&k=62FU6YQ34X6M5FDCRF56WQ