The Fey Family

Ok, I don’t know how many parts this little series will end up being and I will probably end up writing stuff out of order and making a mess of things, but I know I need to just start writing before I can’t even remember all the fun we had! (Well, I will always remember, but you know what I mean!) Grandma Karen arrived on November 20. Grandpa Rick couldn’t get quite so much time off work, so he didn’t join the party til later, so no worries if you don’t read anything about Grandpa at this time! Grandma arrived at a very, very busy time…moving time! She quickly stepped into help wherever help was needed, and that help was invaluable. Tyson and Jori were still in school when Grandma arrived, so she spent a lot of her day helping me wash walls, clean floors, paint, sort, carry, organize and all the other stuff that goes along with moving. I’d disappear for the afternoon and come back to a freshly painted bedroom. It was pretty awesome. Not only did Grandma help with the move, but...

Lately, I have been tasting summer. There are sweet mangoes, with a scent so heavy and ripe that I can smell them as I lay in bed at night. These mangoes are small enough that I peel and eat 2 or three while I stand over our kitchen sink. The mamas and papas have been bringing them from their own trees and there is something extra good about eating this fruit that has been shared by friends. We have also been enjoying ripe, red watermelon. I will eat it warm from the sun or cold from the fridge. I’ve always enjoyed watermelon, but there is something about eating it here in South Africa that is just so much better. Maybe it is just the taste of sweet juice and crisp bites of fruit being eaten on the hottest of days. I’m not sure, but it is delicious. I have been smelling summer as well. Not only in the scent of fruit, but in the plant life all around. The scent of grass, standing tall or freshly cut is a delight. The smell of earth after a heavy rain makes me want to be still a...

It is a new week. I am still covering books for school and already dealing with book covers that have broken. Let’s just say, this does not make me happy. My mom had partial corneal replacement surgery on Tuesday. The surgery went well and now she is in the recovery time. We are hoping everything goes smoothly and that she will be able to clearly see our big smiling faces when they arrive here on February 26!!! Dimpho, aka Pontsa, Thato’s sister keeps falling, and falling and falling. She has fallen over 5 times just today. Her face bears the brunt of the scrapes and bruises giving her quite the tough appearance for such a little girl. She is already 3 ½, but looks to be only about 18 months. She does have a nice round tummy, so maybe that is throwing her off balance and causing her to fall so often J Our swimming pool is finally blue! Darin is so proud of the clear pool, which has taken him a long time to sort out. Broken pumps, storms, and a host of other things have kep...

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new school year. Tyson and Jori have already attended Jabulane for a year and a half, Tyson completing the second half of Grade 2 and all of Grade 3 and Jori completing the second half of Grade 1 and all of Grade 2. At the end of last year we talked with Tyson’s teacher and the principal and decided to move him on to Grade 5, so that is where he will be starting tomorrow. He is really excited about heading back to school and is especially looking forward to Science and Afrikaans. Jori will be starting Grade 3 and is a bit nervous, but she is excited that she gets to go to Assembly this year. This year when I was shopping for uniforms and school supplies I felt like I kind of got it. I now know what koki pens and Flip Files are, and I also know the difference between Feint and Margin and Irish and Margin notebooks. I will be honest, there are parts of the education system that are still strange to me and will probably always seem not quite right, but ...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with Tyson, just the two of us, which hasn’t happened for quite some time. Darin and Jori were in Pretoria; she was going to a sleepover birthday party and Darin had some errands to do in town. Tyson and I started out with a stop at the library. We had some books to return and were hoping to find a book on how to care for a parakeet. We found books on caring for koi, rats, guinea pigs and puppies, but nothing on birds. Tyson did however manage to choose ten books that he wanted to check out, books on dangerous animals, African games, reptiles, rainforests and more. His eclectic reading tastes remind me of my brother Danny who used to pore over our set of blue encyclopedias with a good deal of wonder. After the library we headed to Jubilee mall. Our first stop was McDonalds for an ice cream cone. I handed over R10 (about a dollar) to my 9 year old and he went in and bought our treats on his own. A plain cone for me and a “fla...