As I reflect on our time in Africa I fondly recall the amazing memories we made with wonderful people and awesome trips. The last few months in Africa were a whirlwind. We found out in September that we would be moving back to America in December, plus adding in a new baby in August made for a long "to do" list. We managed to spend as much time with friends and sneak in a few trips.
In September Adalyn celebrated her 6th birthday with friends at a Spa Party and another classroom party at school. She continued to enjoy swimming lessons and has done remarkably well with strokes. Dance class was an opportunity for her to try something new this year and I was not sure she would get on stage for the recital in December, but sure enough she did beautifully. For the end of her last year at Tyger Valley and grade 0, Adalyn has a school graduation day with a Christmas pageant. She has made some wonderful friends who she will remember her entire life I hope.
October came around and so did visiting family. Papa Walker and Steph visited for a week. We tried to visit all the places we loved during our time in Africa like the Kitty Hawk airport, Papachinos and even sneaked in some pumpkin decorating for Halloween. Adalyn dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid, a Sailor for Grant and a bumble bee for Everly. It was a super hot Halloween this year so Everly stayed at home with Dad giving out candy and I took Adalyn and Grant with Mrs. Nunan and her two oldest, Gemma and Keagan, out trick or treating in Silver Lakes. Mark and I got in a few more "date nights" and we went back to an animal park to pet more of the amazing wildlife.
In November, my mom, Susan, Jodi and her boyfriend Dave visited for a week. Mark was able to get in one last game of golf with Dave. We went to a few more fun restaurants like Toulas, Crawdaddy's, the Hazel Food Market and with that always comes a haircut for Grant. November also marked the last month of care at Ouma's for Grant. He loved his preschool and learned more than we imagined. He had a school concert and did great to play his tambourine and sit/stand with the other kids during songs. Adalyn had her end of school year Monkeynastics and Ballet performances as well. We managed to fit in a week in Durban, staying in a beautiful house on the beach with no one else around. It was an awesome week to relax, eat out, talk lots of beach walks and visit the Indian Ocean one last time. November was a big month for another reason as well, we closed on our house in Prairie Village!
December was a whirlwind. Everly turned 4 months, got her final round of immunizations for a while, became the chubbiest and cutest baby ever and said "good bye" to her wonderful nanny, Rose. We had a few farewell parties, one for friends with a giant blow-up pool slide and another the following day for the lovely people that worked for us over the years. This was the first year our gardener, Obit, who has been with us since 2013 joined us for a Christmas celebration. With Obit, Peter, Rose and Joyce, plus their spouses and children we had a great group to play in the pool with, eat a meal and open gifts. It was a wonderful send off for us and we were blessed to have know such touching people. On December 7th, we said tearful goodbyes to our staff and the beautiful house we called "home" for 3.5 years and boarded a plane to Paris. It's hard to fight off tears every time I think about Africa and the people we met there. I hope one day to return and see them all.
We spent December 7-13th in Paris, France. Since it was our first visit there, we saw all the major points possible with kids, Arc de Triumph. Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame de Paris, Museum of Natural History, the Louvre, road the big ferris wheel, saw a few churches, walked many beautiful streets and ate overpriced food. We had funny moments like arriving too early before our apartment was ready and hanging out in a cafe too long with our luggage on the street. I breastfed Everly everywhere including at the top of the Eiffel Tower and walking the streets. Disney was fun, bitter cold, but we road the tea cups, did Alice in Wonderland Maze and saw the parade of characters. It was a really fun vacation and I am glad we took a vacation before getting settled in America.
On December 14th we landed in America after a super long flight and moved right into our new home. After having picked it out online and only seeing videos of it, I am happy that it all worked out and we love it. Perfect location, great school for Adalyn and plenty of space for all of us. A few weeks after arriving in America, Mark changed jobs and is no longer with Black and Veatch, but works from home, so sadly our international family life has come to an end and we will just have to settle for awesome international vacations.
Africa was a life changing experience for us. I grew as a person, learned more about humility and needs and best of all we were blessed with a growing family. I fondly remember Africa and all the ways it changed our life for the good. My soul and who I am as a person is different for having moved to Africa. I am so thankful I kept this blog to help keep those memories alive each time I read it.
