South Africa

We went to South Africa for a month from mid-February to mid-March. It was the most wonderful month imaginable. Every day since then my children have talked about our time in South Africa and how they want to go back and how they miss the people there. I also love how I can talk about family in South Africa and my boys know exactly who I am talking about because they have met them and love them.

We flew into Johannesburg. It was a long flight. We flew from Salt Lake City to Atlanta to Johannesburg. I felt so much excitement in me as we got off the plane and I could smell the African air and hear the familiar accent. My mom had flown up to Johannesburg to help out and so we were greeted by my mom and my grandparents and Chris. None of us wanted to sleep that night because it was so much fun catching up after so long. We also got to see my aunt and uncle (Cicely and Martin) and my cousins (Tiffany and Candice) and their babies, which was fun.

Two days later we got on a plane again to go to Cape Town, while Rob got on a plane with Chris for Zimbabwe to do some volunteer work for the Liahona Children's Foundation. My dad and my brother Rob picked us up from the airport. It was so good to see them again. The next day Andrew came over and I got to meet the gorgeous Sasha (Andrew's wife) for the first time.

My beloved children in front of my favorite mountain

Over the following ten days we went to a few beaches, swam in my dad's pool, went to the Waterfront, saw lots of friends, took the kids to various parks, visited UCT, went to Hout Bay Harbor, went curio shopping, spent time with my family, and so on. My mom came over every day to help out with the kids. She really made it so much easier for me to cope with the kids without Rob. In addition, my dad did a phenomenal job helping out in the mornings (so I could sleep in), at nap time (I think he liked the idea of taking a nap with whoever was napping!), and bed time. The time just flew by.

Friends for over 23 years

Then Rob flew to Cape Town and I picked him up. My parents looked after the kids while we went to Tarragona Lodge for some time alone. It was incredible being without kids for a whole evening and night.

We did a lot of swimming

I also had my birthday while in South Africa. My high school friends took my to the Arabella spa at the Westin Hotel and Resort in downtown Cape Town. We each had a full body massage and then had a delicious seafood lunch. It was quite extravagant and I felt totally spoiled! Then on my birthday I had lunch at one of my favorite sushi restaurants (Cape Town Fish Market). It was so delicious. Rob also took me out for dinner at Primi Piatti and then we went and sat on Clifton Beach as the sun set. It was really the best birthday ever!

Eating sushi on my birthday

Eventually our three weeks in Cape Town came to an end and it was time to leave. It was a really difficult thing to do. I love that city and my friends and family so much! At least we flew to Johannesburg and got to spend more time with my grandparents and Chris, which was nice. While there Rob and my uncle Martin took the boys to the Lion Park which they loved. Then after a few days it was time to head back to the US and I cried a lot. It was so hard to leave my home in Africa. But, we had a marvelous time and I will always treasure the memories of that trip. It really could not have been better. (The kids were even very well behaved on the long 22 hour flights between SLC and JNB.)

Thomas at the Lion Park