January 3rd, 2013

For the last few years I have tried to do a quick review of what our year was like in pictures.  We have had another busy one and looking forward to 2013 it looks like it could be just as busy!  Here is a quick recap of our 2012.

January

The twins came to visit for a week.  We enjoyed playing with them and chasing three toddlers around the house!  We (by we I mean the sisters) also got two new puppies to replace the dog that was killed by a snake.  They often take up residence on our porch so they sometimes feel like our dogs.  Mikayla named them Lady and Tramp like one of her favorite movies.

Boy's Mamba 014

Lady and Tramp, Letter P 014

Lady and Tramp, Letter P 015

February

We took a family vacation to St. Lucia, South Africa to celebrate my birthday.

St Lucia 2 043

March

Ben traveled to the states for three weeks while Mikayla and I hung out in Swaziland.  Mikayla and I had a lot of fun celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday while Ben was away.

Dr. Seuss dinner 008

April

Celebrated Mikayla’s 3rd birthday, Mickey style!  We also took a long weekend and went to visit Blyde River Canyon in South Africa.

Mickey party, swim and swing 071

Blyde River Canyon 199

May

Ben turned 30!  We celebrated by having a pig roast the first of June.

Pig Roast 051

June

We went to Bush Fire with some friends.  We experimented with some food stuff, including making our own ravioli.  Sunday has become a day of cooking and relaxing for our family and we love it!

Bushfire 005-1

foodie stuff 002

July

We hiked Execution Rock here in Swaziland.  We hung out with Katie, one of our favorite long standing volunteers!  We also celebrated our one year anniversary of living in Swaziland!

Execution Rock 051

August

Mikayla finished up the last of her letters in our Toddler School.  We hosted our very own Summer Olympic Games.

MLK Olympics 006

MLK Olympics 052

September

We spent several weeks in the US visiting friends and family.  We also got to welcome our new nephew, Reid, into the world!

BG, tree pictures 074

BG, tree pictures 110

BG, tree pictures 111

Somerset 047

Somerset 119

October

Ben and I celebrated our 8th anniversary.  We also found out we were pregnant with Baby #2!  Mikayla started her first year of homeschooled Preschool.

Baby 2 015 (2)

November

We hosted our second Swazi Thanksgiving.  This year the crowd was over 20!  We also had a dessert themed birthday party for Joe.  I had several baking classes with some of the high school students.

Feast, Thanksgiving, SAC 053

Pizza making, Thanksgiving, Hostel Christmas party 028

December

I baked over 500 cookies for the hostel Christmas party and popped enough popcorn for 150 bags!  We also Christmas crafted and did the traditional baking of Grandma’s Cinnamon Rolls.  We headed to Nelspruit, South Africa for Christmas.  While there we visited Kruger Game Park, went to the doctor for our first ultrasound of Baby #2 (everything looks great) and a week of relaxation and eating!

Christmas at Kruger 012

Christmas at Kruger 146

Looking forward to another exciting year in 2013!

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