Beach Boys and Water Babies

So we are in Houston, well technically The Woodlands, and since we can't ski or go rock climbing, the boys favourite activities, we have to come up with something else.  The hiking is limited, it is pretty flat around here, and it is hot and there are a lot of bugs but we have a pool and we can head down to the gulf coast.  Galveston is about 85 miles from our house and while the water is kind of brown, not exactly Caribbean blue, the waves are small and there is a light breeze if you stand 5 feet from the waters edge.  So, for 4 or 5 consecutive Sundays we loaded up the car with cold drinks, lunches, towels and beach blankets and headed down to Galveston.  We bought a small tent awning to provide a little shade, mostly appreciated by Lhotse and also a casting net.

The casting net was a huge success, with it we could catch grey mullets, gulf shrimp and even a catfish.  In a single cast we would bring in anywhere from 3 to 8 fish.  For us the fun was in dumping the fish into a large sterilite bin filled with water and watching the fish.  The kids would then try to catch the fish with their hands and release them into the ocean.  Little did we bargain with the other occupants of the beach, there were many who wanted the fish to eat and not wanting to seem frivolous or incapable I found myself many a sunday afternoon in my bikini at the waters edge killing and cleaning the mullets.  All the while I was furiously trying to think up reasons that I could not possibly take home more than 1 or 2 of the fish, while the cat could eat some fish, the family rejected the strongly fishy tasting oily mullets.  The shrimp were fun to eat but the catfish we released.  When not chasing the fish the boys were busy boogie boarding, a sport they also tried in the pool.
Reidar trying out his boogie board in the pool.  He was determined to stand on the board when we first got them and no one could tell him that he needed to lie down on his tummy.
The little waves in Galvestson were perfect for the boys.

Off to School

Kindergarten here I come. The end of August brought some big changes for the family, Brig was going to start elementary school!! Fortunately, Scott had chosen a house here in The Woodlands that allowed us to be able to walk Brig to and from school, no (dreaded by mummy) school bus. He was super excited for the first day and even more excited to inform his teacher Mrs. Pisciotta that he would be only coming for a few days before he flew off to the "wild". School starts at 8 am so he has to leave the house by 7:45 am, not a problem for us as we have a house of early risers. The problem came with the twins seperating from Brig - they were desparate to go to big boy school too!! The first 4 days, before we left for South Africa, Soren and Reidar would scream and cry from the moment Brig went into the building and for a good 5 minutes afterwards. I think the trip gave them all a chance to renew that bond of brothers, spend lots of time together and for the twins to realize that Brig would always come back home to them. The reunions at the end of the day are really touching, lots of hugs and "I missed you's" and then a few minutes later back to the normal play.

Brig's First Day

Wild boys in the Wild

After spending a few months in the blistering heat and humidity of Houston, Scott and I decided one day that the time was ripe for a trip.We debated Disney, maybe Mexico and then thought why not Africa. The twins were getting older, they would soon be three and by the time Brig was 3 he had been to Africa twice. We were torn as where to go; Botswana, South Africa or Mozambique. In the end we chose Kruger, we felt here the camping would be safe for the kids. By traveling to RSA in the winter we hoped for cooler temps than we had been experiencing here in Houston, we could minimize the malaria risk and with the bush not yet in full bloom maximize our animal viewing. After an 18 hour flight we arrived in Jo'burg, picked up our truck with roof top tents and all the camping equipment we would need: on board engel fridge (the best), dishes, gas with a "tete", table and chairs and room for everyone. The boys had been prepped for this trip by watching Madagascar, so for the whole drive to Kruger they kept asking "are we in the wild yet?". They had unpacked their new binoculars and were eagerly looking around every bend for a lion or giraffe. We spent the first few days in the Southern part of Kruger, basing out of the Skukuza camp. We would get up early in the morning fix coffee for us and oatmeal for the boys, pack a giant lunch pack filled with food, drinks and snacks for the day. The kids each had their own backpacks filled with books, crayons, binoculars etc. The camp had to be broken down; roof top tent folded and packed away, table and chairs stowed, clothing bags repacked in the truck and then we would head off. Usually we traveled with all the windows down, Brig was free to move around and everybody had animal they wanted to see that day. Reidar always chose the monkey(the similarity is remarkable), Soren would choose whatever Brig chose, usually crocodiles - maybe because they are green.

There are many picnic spots located around the park and we would stop at one for lunch. The boys made friends easily and would eat ice cream and play with the other kids. I think, when you are little, language is a one way street - you just talk nonstop- because, not once did the boys question why the didn't understand the other kids. The boys played with kids from the Netherlands, Afrikaaners and Germans, everyone just babbling away, laughing and running around. The early morning game drives were the best, and although it was possible, due to the boys schedule it did not make sense to take them on a night drive. Instead, every evening when we would return to our campground we would take the boys to one of the unheated pools. Then they would run around, finding bricks, sticks and other found items to make their toys for the night, I would make supper and then bed. Scott and I would eat after the boys were up in the tent and have a chance to talk to each other without the roar of Soren shouting "mummy, I need something eat".

 Every campground that we stayed at had a swimming pool, and all the camp grounds had instantaneous boiling water for coffee and tea, and a small number of electric cooktops, plus great washing up facilities and showers and baths. The boys thought it was funny that the zoo concept was reversed, we were the caged animals in the campgrounds and the animals were surrounding us. We were able to travel the length of Kruger from south to north, staying at

Satara, Letaba and finally the Punda Maria Camp. Most of the roads we travelled on were dirt, we seldom saw more the 3 or 4 cars during our game drives and we met some wonderful people along the way. We all slept in the same tent, the kids piled up like puppies at one end, and hopefully made some wonderful memories for everyone. And in the end we did see all the big 5, lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and cape buffalo, but somehow, that goal became secondary.