World of birds

We spent a few hours at World of Birds today! haha it was fun at first but it got really old by the end....birds are just...birds. But the best part was going in the "monkey jungle". It was full of little monkies and they would just jump all over you! Kinda scary but fun!

I love EARTH!

So yesterday we spent 10 hours driving and visiting the coasts and southern parts of South Africa. We visited Houc's Bay, Simonstown (where colonies of penquins live on the beach), Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Point. Every second was something I just had to take a picture of. The views never stopped. It was possibly one of the most incredible days of my life. I decided that this country is THE most beautiful country in the world. If anyone thinks differently, we can fight later!

Baboons on the side of road. Only here could you see penquins one minute, baboons the next!

I'm pointing to the most south-western point of Africa! cool!

A BEAUTIFUL sunset to finish a beautiful day :)

Kirstenbosch Gardens

A few days ago we went to the Kirstenbosch Gardens right by where we are living. It was huge and had so many paths to roam around. We ended up seeing an owl too which was fun! It was so pretty and peaceful just walking through all the green. Gotta love nature!

Aloe flowers. I thought they were cool

Sneak peak of my babes!

So...I wasn't supposed to bring a camera to placement yet but I accidently did the other day! I made sure I was so sneaky bout it so they all didn't go wild. Haha. They love cameras, so they all couldn't know I had one there! These are just some of the angels I get to be with every day! Maybe "angel" isn't the best word...they are absolutely crazy every second of the day! But their spirits are so alive and they make me so happy every moment I'm with them. I just finished my
halfway mark here and I'm already having moments where I just sit and stare at each of them--trying to soak everything in and engrave every part of this experience in my mind. I know I am going to miss them so much when it is time to leave. One girl, Leletu, has taken a fancy to me and I got a great video of her singing this song I made up for her! One day I was dancing with her and started singing, "La la la letu. I La la love you!" She loves it and sings it every time I am anywhere near her. I love these kids!!

The playground they have in the back of the building. They are very lucky to have this!

This is Alutia! The one who I first taught my name to. LOVE her smile!

This chubby boy is Unga. He is like an old man in a little body and his facial expresses are so histerical all the time! haha oh my gosh!

Skubudu (on the right) is always beating people up. He's short, but huge and is always causing trouble. His smile usually helps him get away with it though...

Can you see the snot? Mmmmmhmmm! Gotta love it :)

Hiking Table Mountain

About 8 of us hiked up Table Mountain yesterday (while the rest of the group rode in the wussy cable car) It was the hardest hike I've ever experienced! It was constant incline, litereally climbing up rocks. Like we even had to use our hands and crawl on all fours to get up several parts of it. There was no dirt trail to easily follow--just rocks! It was a good hour and 45 minutes of straight climbing, and my legs were about to fall off! But it felt SO good once we got to the top! I felt so good bout myself and the views throughout the whole thing and at the top were absolutely amazing! Pictures really don't do them justice at all. It was spectacular! One of my favorite parts of the trip so far!

Safari!

Today we woke up at 4:45am and started our 2 hour drive to a safari! We were so excited! We slept most of the way and woke up to a gorgeous african sunrise! This place is the most high class safari I've ever heard of. They even served us champaigne when we arrived (I got the grape juice don't worry). Then we had the best breakfast we've had this whole trip! Then we went on about a 3 hour safari and our guide said we were really lucky to get to see everything we saw. It was absolutely freezing though, but these people were prepared and provided us with blankets. It was so amazing to be surrounded by such beauty. I feel so lucky to get to see such amazing parts of the world that I've never experienced before. I love it! The drive home was also full of amazing views! Faried (our driver/guide) stopped a bunch to let us take pictures. I never knew that South Africa would be so mountainous. There are waterfalls, miles of winelands, and green mountains everywhere! We are so tired, but it was such a great day!

Sunrise...yum

Me and Annie. Mine is white apple juice I swear!

Freezing our buns off!

Wineland Tours

We spent all day Saturday going around to 5 different wineries. Of course I dont drink wine, so I did a lot of sitting and watching as everyone did about a million wine tastings. They all know I don't drink and everyone was really nice to me. I didn't get hastled too bad for not participating. One place even gave me a glass of sparkling white grape juice :) yum! It was a fun day though and the drives were gorgeous! Each winery was so unique and had it's own special feel to it.

Pretty winelands!

We were gonna get a picture with the grapevines then all of a sudden her foot was missing in the mud! I probably shouldn't have laughed! This picture isn't even posed...dang I'm a bad person

Our drivers who take us on weekend excursions! We love them! They are hilarious and so fun to be with.

Ibby and I basically have the same rain jacket so we always look like twins...we don't like each other very much ;)