One full year for Amy!

I suppose the title of this post could once again be along the lines of "Too Long". It has been since last fall since I have updated...yikes where has time gone! If you are friends with us on Facebook, you have been able to see how we have been doing in the wonderful country of South Africa. Everything has been going smoothly for us! We were blessed to have family come for visits and then Mark and I also took an amazing holiday to Mauritius. I will break down our last 6 plus months "just now" (a common phrase used here).


Our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were spent with our great friends here. We made great use of our pool and the grill! It was strange to have holidays without snow! Mark's side of the family spent Christmas in the airport, hoping to finally make it to South Africa. They landed with big smiles...It was great to have them here! We spent a nice amount of time in Cape Town, enjoyed great wine and food, and great company. When we got back to our house in Pretoria, we enjoyed seeing some animals and spending time around the house! Time went to fast though and soon they were on their way.

A month later my sister Chris and her husband Adam showed up. They forgot to put Mallory in their carry-on luggage but we all still managed to have a great trip after all! We spent a weekend up in the Mpumalanga/Limpopo area hiking, quad-biking, and going on game drives at a safari lodge. It was extremely warm but worth it! Then we headed to Cape Town to make sure they could experience the beauty it had to offer. Once again, time went to fast and they were on the plane to go home.

A month later, my parents came for a visit! Again, we enjoyed seeing all of the tourist areas of South Africa. We walked with elephants and ran all around to see the most that we could while they were here! Mom and Dad really had a good time and it was sad to see them go.

As soon as my parents left, Mark and I jumped on a plane and flew to Mauritius. It was a very tropical and relaxing vacation. We enjoyed the sun, water sports on the ocean, laying by the pool, and not having too may responsibilities!

The rest of April and May involved staying around our house....something new to us! We relaxed, went on some hikes, did some dog sitting, and went to movies. All right, we did go away one weekend though. We went up into the Drakensberg Mountains again with a group of friends. Mark got to do some kite boarding and I got to enjoy a nice hike with our friend Alicia.

Now that it is June, we are getting ready for the World Cup and the madness it is going to bring to SA. We will be going to one USA game with our friends. Otherwise, we will watch the rest of the games from the comfort of our own home!

In conclusion, life is going well for us. Mark continues to work hard every day and I pass the days with reading, going to the gym, meeting up with the other ladies, and volunteering. Our time here is going extremely fast. Before we know it, we will be back in the States! Oh yeah, and we can't wait for Mark's brother to come back for another visit!


Cheers :)