The Quilt and other updates

Here is the queen sized quilt that I have been working on. I still need to put the borders on (3 separate borders), and then, make the quilt sandwich with the backing and the batting. Last of all, start machine quilting it. No hand quilting for me. The kids go to school for a few more days this week and then they are off for the summer/winter, so there will not be as much time to finish the quilt. It is strange for the kids to be off that long during cool weather. Christina will have her first "winter" birthday at the end of August as will I :) It is always so hot for our birthdays. Angela will have a "summer" birthday at the end of December and it will be hot.

Getting back to the quilt. I plan to finish it over the kids "summer" break in between vacations and sleep away camp at Sugar Bay in Durban for Christina.. During the 2Nd week in June we will be going to Italy for 10 days to see my Dad and Judy and to stay at their house. In July we are planning on going either to The Seychelles Islands, Mauritius, or Mozambique. So we will get the beach in Italy in June and the beach again in one of the 3 places listed above. Can you tell this family loves the beach. The South African Rand exchange rate continues to drop to the U.S. dollar. It was 10 Rand to the dollar when we arrived at the end of Feb. and now it is under 8 Rand to the dollar. It all makes a difference when you are planning vacations.

In December, My Mom and Auntie Jean will visit for about 2 1/2 weeks and will be here for Christmas and my Mom's birthday.

An experience of a lifetime!

Angela sees a giraffe while sitting in the Game Drive vehicle.


The welcome sign

A pair of rinos get a little too close to us.

This is inside the game drive vehicle. We are up really high so we can spot the animals.

Mother and daughter.

A very aggressive elephant that charged us.

An itchy elephant.

The elephant finally takes off down the road towards another vehicle.

A beautiful view

The Shilling family at a viewing shelter.

A watering hole.

Christina and Angela walking out of a protected viewing station.

An Impala

A bossy hippo

An warning sign as you enter the park/reserve.

The kids at the hotel.

A giraffe munching on a treetop.

Christina and the giraffe

A lion in the middle of the road after he almost jumped into my open car window.

Another warning sign.

Existing the park.

Stan and the girls in Sun City

Christina in a hammock at Sun City in the Cutural Center

Angela in a hammock

A zebra walking along.

A wort hog after he crossed over the road behind us.

The Shilling family just returned from Pilanesberg. The Park brochure states the following, "Pilanesberg exists within the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation, commonly referred to as "Bushveld". Unlike any other large park, unique overlaps of mammals, birds, vegetation occur because of this "transition zone". As a result of the range of habitats and vegetation, there is a wide diversity of animal species, from the "Big Five" to 50 other species, 18 amphibian species and thousands of other interesting smaller animals.

The Shilling Family saw the following while driving through the park: Baboons, Elephants, Giraffes, Hippopotamus, Impalas, Jackals, Lions, White Rhinos, Springboks, Warthogs, Wildebeests, and Zebras. When I saw all of these animals, I kept thinking how small humans are compared to these incredible animals. Seeing these animals in movies, pictures, etc. is just not the same as seeing them right outside your car window. In fact one of the lions caught me by surprise and almost jumped into our car through my window. He came out of nowhere. We had to wait while elephants and lions crossed the road in front of us (not at the same time). We watched while the pride of lions just played with each other like they were little kitty cats. Just amazing. We sat watching while a giraffe munched on the top of a tree. I will remember it forever. This national park is only 2 hours from our house. We plan to go back often. The kids were amazed and touched forever by what they experienced. I hope the above pictures give you a glimpse of what we experienced.

Paulette

No posts in over 3 weeks, Oh No!!! Here are some pictures!

Angela with kids from Soweto Kliptown. Angela gave a piece of candy to every child she saw at Kliptown that day.


Angela and friend on our way to Soweto

Stan with other parents getting GPS coordinates and maps to get to Kliptown, Soweto

Christina and other classmates getting ready to leave for Soweto

Stan celebrating his birthday in South Africa. Angela bought him the hat for his birthday.

Stan and his birthday cake. The Hearls came over to help us celebrate.

One of Paulette's 2 tires that she destroyed after getting too close to the curb on the passenger's side.

This is what the kitchen looked like after Christina made Sushi for Stan's birthday.

Angela gives out handmade menus and waits on us during the sushi meal that Christina made.

This is a close-up of one of the slashed tires from Paulette's accident.

This is the other tire's close up.

Christina making sushi in the kitchen for her Dad's birthday present.

Stan and Angela eating lunch at a Botanical Garden.

Stan and Christina at lunch at the Garden.

Angela lounging on a rock by the waterfalls at the Garden

Christina sitting below the waterfall.

Angela at my quilting friend's Llama farm

The Shilling Family at the Botanical Gardens waterfall

One more picture of Angela and the Llamas. Try as she might, she could not catch any of them.

Angela's Simple Machine project at the 2nd grade Expo at school. It was a PetShop fishing pole that picked up her toy Petshops after she played with them. The PetShops have a magnet on them as well as the end of the fishing rod that she made.

The Philharmonic came to the girl's school and performed, "Peter and the Wolf". Stan and I went to see it. It was wonderful!

I cannot believe that I have not posted in over 3 weeks. Where has the time gone? The girls will be finished school in a month and we will be heading to Italy for a 10 day vacation to see my Dad and Judy. We are all trying to learn as much Italian as we can.

Tomorrow, I will start attending BSF as a class member only. The SA Gov't school schedules are so different here, and BSF uses that as a guide (The new school year starts in Jan. no school the month of April, etc.). The kids' American International school continues on the U.S. school schedule, so if I were to lead a class, I would be on a different schedule. I have also joined a gym and walk daily with my friend, Leeann.

Christina is doing well with her new ice skating coach, but misses Miss Jan (her coach in Kansas). Hopefully she will be in a competition soon. There is not as many of them here as in the U.S.

Angela loves school and is making friends as is Christina.

Stan continues to work hard and will soon have additional help as new people begin to arrive from the U.S.

Note: There are pictures above, of a trip that our family attended to Kliptown with some of Christina's classmates and their families. We all donated food from money raised from bake sales at the school, all done by Christina's class (about $800). This all went to the Youth Center at Kliptown. Here are more details about the Youth Center and what it is doing to help the children of Kliptown. While we were there, some kids put a cultural show on for us to thank us for our support and help:

SOWETO KLIPTOWN YOUTH
Soweto Kliptown Youth (SKY) provides hope and services to some of the most neglected children in South Africa.SKY's exemplary leaders and programs are the glue that connects people in need to support and opportunities. Name the need a child has and SKYwill be there to meet it.The results are obvious! The minute you enter their neighborhood, the children are joyful an warm despite the many hardships they face everyday. They have pride, energy and talent and they abundantly share it with others. They have a chance to make it with SKY at their side.Bob Nameng, SKY's founder, was a neglected street child who was given a second chance. He says, "I won't let any child suffer what I had to. They are our Kings ans Queens."
PROGRAMS
"Visiting SKY in Kliptown with my daughter was the highlight of our trip to South Africa."Youth ProgramsFounded in 1987, SKY has formal and informal programs to support children and teens including sports, performance arts, support groups, girls empowerment &life skills classes. City Year has provided a team of afterschool tutors and mentors. The NBA has funded a new youth center complete with computers and books.Care for the Aged & SickTheelderlyare also supported by SKY. They are driven to appointments. the women infected with HIV/AIDS have a crafts project. They make beautiful handcrafts witch are sold to the visitors to Kliptown.Visitors and TourismVisitors to Johannesburg hoping to connect with Africans will embrace the chance to visit Kliptown. Children will greet you with singing, dancing and smiling. If you are lucky, you will watch one of their powerful theatre productions. You can visit with the residents, see a home, and be touched by it all.
CONDITIONS IN KLIPTWON
Lack of infrastructure: Shanty-type homes lack electricity and plumbing. No school, clinic, or library.Lack of opportunity:Unemployment is very high. Most adults lack education or source of incom. Youth have few productive outlets–school is not free and jobs are unavailable.Health Crisis: The HIV/AIDS epidemic leaves many children orphans. Low life expectancy.Linited access to health care.Wealth of spirit:Thanks in large part to SKY, Kliptwon is blessed with hope and a caring community. Ubunthu–an African word meaning "humanity to others".