We're back!

And just like that, our time in the US is finished and we are back home! Here is a quick recap of our time away:

Darin flew out to Germany at the end of May and a few days later the kids and I headed to Oregon. We saw one nephew graduate from high school and another get married. We also got to help out behind the scenes with a graduation open house and rehearsal dinner, which were a lot more work than I had remembered! The kids went swimming with their papa, out for smoothies with their cousins and shopping with their aunties. They rode bike around the neighborhood and hung out at a local park. Family dinners were plentiful, with different groups of people around different tables almost every night.

Next stop was Michigan, where the kids and I met up with Darin who had been from Germany to Honduras while we were with my family. It was SOOOOO good to see my main man again. If you know both Darin and me, you are aware that one of us can be kind of high strung while the other one of us is a bit more grounded and stable. Michigan was a bit of a whirlwind full of trampoline jumping, bike riding, ice cream eating, thrift store shopping, marshmallow roasting, dog walking fun. We stayed at the Huismans and visited with church friends, college friends, work friends and life friends. The time there was short, but packed full of people and things that we love.

At the end of June we left Michigan for Minnesota, but stopped for an overnight in Wisconsin. This was one of the smartest things we could have done. Our family of four had been separated for the first two weeks and living on top of other people, out of suitcases and outside of our normal routine for almost a month, so having a night alone at a hotel where we could just chill was amazing. It helped prepare us for the next three weeks of living away from home. We arrived in Minnesota and spent one night in Edgerton before heading to South Dakota for a family reunion. The reunion was hot (hooray for AC) and fun (tubing, swimming, game playing, eating and lots of catching up).

(um, if anyone from the reunion is reading this and has pictures of our family, please send them to be at thefeyfamily@gmail.com. Apparently neither my husband or I had our cameras out!)

We wrapped up the reunion and a family wedding and then spent the next week going from Sioux Falls, SD (Darin's brother) to Sheldon, IA (my friend Tami) to Sioux Center, IA (Darin's sister) and wrapped up the week with the Dutch Festival in Edgerton and a special visit from Miss O who lived with us at Tshepo ya Bana. The next week was Luverne, MN (Darin's other sister and another visit with my friend Tami) and Edgerton with lots of family coming and going. The kids road bikes constantly; to the grocery store, library, bakery and hardware store. Darin and I went on motorcycle rides and walks around town. We visited with his grandparents, had a big family dinner with aunts and uncles and cousins, Darin spoke at his parents' church and the kids soaked up as much time with cousins as possible.

We arrived back in South Africa the day before I turned 41. We've been up at odd hours in the middle of the night, taking naps during the day and sleeping in late most mornings. Today the kids dipped into home schooling and tomorrow they are going away for a sleepover while Darin and I enjoy a night with Amo. We are happy to be in our own house, with our own beds and our own dog. We are adjusting to the dust and dry air and easing back into our life here in Hammanskraal.

We are thankful for the time we could spend with so many of you and sorry to those of you we missed! Happy Monday from South Africa!