At the Orphanage

For our Christmas family service project this year we donated shoes, diapers, etc. to the orphanage that Katie and the kids visit every other week. I thought the family would like to see some of the pictures from the two days we spent there.

For the life of me I can't get this "user friendly" iMac to publish pictures the way they display on the Mac, so you'll have to click here to see the pics.

While I'm here I'll make it so you can also click here to see some shots of Christmas morning and here to see some shots of Swaziland, Drakensberg and Lucy's latest random sleep spot. She refuses to take naps right now, but crashes randomly shortly after refusing. Today she fell asleep sitting up - kinda reminded me of her grandpa in church. :)

Merry Christmas, Grandpa and Grandma

Quick post for those interested in seeing the most relaxed Bill and Gayle you may ever witness. Thanks to all those that contributed to their time at Ivory Tree. The only thing that would have been nicer is a few more days. I don't think I've seen them so relaxed and pleased.

We Will Rock You

The stalwarts (or the terminally bored) among you will recall that while I was sick a while ago Lucy serenaded me with her version of We Will Rock You. It's her favorite song and she sings it constantly. With Brynley's coaching, we were able to get a decent version of it on video. Enjoy.

Go to sleep Lucy

I was digging through our pictures trying to find something and came across this gem I took of Lucy about a year ago. I think I was in the kitchen cooking and Lucy was playing on the carpet in the hall. When I noticed how quiet she had become I walked over to check on her and found her asleep, doubled in half from where she'd been sitting. If I did this I would disconnect ligament from bone in several places.

This is how I feel some days right now because Lucy has turned into a very sporadic sleeper. In fact, several of the kids are difficult this way right now. It seems like almost every night our sleep is interrupted by someone screaming, scared or peeing (sometimes even in the toilet). It messes up what little exercise routine we have and makes Katie and I look and feel like this picture most nights by the time we go to bed.

As an aside, I'm sure having teenagers/puberty will present it's own challenge, but so far I'll gladly take 6x college, weddings, terrible twos, dance recitals, birthday parties, etc., but 6x potty training is for the birds. I can't express enough gratitude for Katie, that she's the one that has to deal with this 90% of the time. I think the only one more grateful than me is Molly.

Mary Creesmus

What a difference a year makes. Last year I was frantically selling cookies - December was where we made all of our money. As we came out of the holiday season last year, we had a very disgruntled customer who got word from a recipient of a gift basket from her and was able to return the "custom gift card" to us that he had received. Every single word in the card was misspelled. I think you could shake up a game of Boggle and get a more coherent message. Call centers rock!

Now here I am in the southern hemisphere, living behind electric wire and enjoying summertime. We'll spend this weekend on the beach in Durban. We sent out our Christmas cards early this year in hopes that any cards we might receive, we might actually receive. We were concerned about our buyers in SLC getting a mailbox full of cards that we'd never see. As a result, I've started to notice a trickle of visitors hitting my blog since we published Katie's blog address on the card. Hers is the official version of the story - mine's a footnote. Despite the fact that my blog is on the Internet (by definition) I like to believe that Katie and a few others are the only ones that read it. Therefore, I felt a sense of panic when I realized that others may suddenly be reading my thoughts. You're reading my mind! Yikes.

Well, at this point I guess all I can say is welcome and I hope you have a vary mary chreesmush.

What I know about you

I've been tempted to bag this whole blogging thing from time to time.

Usually I give up because I realize that no one's actually reading my blog but Katie, so why not just email? Occasionally, I give up because I realize someone else is reading my blog and I've just offended them. oops.

Then I get back in the game. This usually happens because someone emails me and asks if I'm dead or something because I haven't posted in weeks. The other thing that happens is that I have something I really want to publish to the world, even if the world turns out to just be Katie.

Well, I'm back, but for a different reason. A month ago I installed tracking tags on my blog. One advantage of working in eCommerce for a while is that I know about such stuff and have limited html skills (Napoleon's got nothing on me). As it turns out, 60 people have visited my blog this month, which is 20-60x more than I would have thought. Here are a few things I know about you (in addition to your credit card numbers, PINs, weight and other things that I can track but shouldn't share):

* (Obviously) Katie is my #1 source of visitors - 50% come from her blog
* I've had visitors from the US, Sweden and South Africa (thanks Katie)
* From the US, my visitors are from quite a few places: Utah, TX, WA, OH, CA, ID, WY, MT, IL, MA and so on. May I just tell the guy in WY that I don't like BYU either, so please don't throw beer cans at my house? I don't know for sure who you are, but suddenly I have a much better idea.
* 83% of you are still using Internet Explorer. Welcome to the 21st century: Use Firefox
* One of you is still on dialup. Email me and I'll send you $100 to get you started toward a future of broadband bliss. This is surely tax deductible. This is probably the guy from WY.

I know, you all want access to such groovy stats and want to see neato graphs like I can. Well, it's free since Google has taken over the world (and I, for one, welcome our limitless P/E multiple overlords). Check out Google Analytics if you haven't already.

And my sincere apologies to my cousin in WY for the jokes - no offense intended, I'd hate to quit blogging again so quickly because I've given offense.

And for the literalists among you, I can't really track your weight, at least not yet.

Lastly, yes Katie, I've installed tracking on your blog too!

Dare I Admit It?

The classic move of a family that has too many kids and is totally out of control is the "forgotten child". I think every large, Mormon family of my youth had this story somewhere in their family history. I only had one brother, so I always thought this was ludicrous and irresponsible. The story usually goes something like this:

"We were on our way to Disneyland in our 1977 station wagon when we pulled over for a rest stop somewhere in the Nevada. The kids all got out and ran to the bathroom and we broke out licorice and water bottles. We all piled back in and headed on, hoping to make it by sundown. About twenty miles outside of Podunk, someone asked where Jimmy was. Stunned, we all turned at once to Jimmy's vacant spot in the back of the station wagon. Well, the highway patrolman was very understanding when we returned to find him next to his car, with Jimmy sitting in the backseat playing his video game with tear-stained cheeks. And so forth."

I'd be really embarrassed if that every happened to me. Really, really embarrassed. I'd be mortified if it wasn't a rest stop, but my client's house. Please let such an embarrassing thing never happen to me (again).

*sigh*

I can die now.

Trip to the orphanage

I wish I could tell you about this wonderful experience, but I was at work. Katie and the kids will hopefully report in detail. Here are a couple of things I was touched by in the telling though:
* Trust had never been to an orphanage. He was deeply touched and could barely sleep that night.
* Madison had the kids giggling as they ran to her and then she chased them.
* Mason held babies the whole time lovingly.
* Bryn had the kids dressing up. She felt like an old hand in charge.
* The little kids looking sadly on while the older kids ate first because there weren't enough spoons - the orphanage pecking order.

What a nice experience to have regularly.

Sign of a busy man

I found Nelson Mandela's house underwhelming, which I think is the point. There are really only three rooms that he lived in inside his modest red brick house - front room, bedroom, kitchen. The house was burned on the inside so little still exists from when he lived there, but it has been filled with sundry memorabilia, honorary doctorates and the like.

This is what struck me. The rain gutters were atrocious. They were mostly rusted through and needed to be cleaned out. Noticing this made Mr. Mandela seem a kindred spirit. My rain gutters always need work. Isn't that a good sign that he was away doing more important things than cleaning his rain gutters? I'd like to believe mine look horrible because I'm busy changing the world.

The reality is that I'm probably just busy playing a boardgame.

Six kids

Any other questions?

I've Been Here Before

Katie and I finally go to go to Soweto. She'd been there before but I hadn't. Soweto's probably the first thing anyone should do that visits Joburg. Soweto is short for "Southwestern Township" also "So Where To?" - the ghetoo the blacks in Joburg were forced into in the run-up to Apartheid. More importantly, it's where Nelson Mandela lived in the years before he was put in prison, and where the members of the ANC plotted and schemed to get their rights. It's the epicenter of the dawn of South African civil rights.

We went to the Hector Pietersen Memorial (he's the boy that was shot and became the poster child - literally - for the global sanctions against the South African government), Nelson Mandela's home (then, not now), Wandee's (sp? "real African food" really not very good), and for a walk around a real township (the African euphemism for shantytown).

I think for most people, a walk through a township is a real eye-opening and potentially life-defining experience. We got to go into one of the small corrugated huts and talk to a couple of Xhosa women with a baby (shown above), ask them questions, and see how they live.

The township experience is set in the backdrop of a day of learning about Apartheid. I think many people define the township as a relic of Apartheid. As I learned about the Apartheid years, I felt sorrow for the atrocities committed by whites against blacks. However, I had a different take on the township. You see I've been there before.

I've met, loved and taught so many people in abject circumstances that don't know what Apartheid is. I've sat on their floors, eaten a few morsels of their humble dinner, talked with them and learned from them. I don't believe the poverty I see is a relic of Apartheid. Katie saw more extreme poverty in Haiti, I've seen it in Costa Rica and Mexico, and I'm sure you'd see it in any country south of the Sahara. The people of South Africa are not unusually poor - unfortunately, poverty is not unusual at all. They've suffered unusually. They've been treated unequitably. They were once trodden upon. But that is not the source of South African poverty, only its disparity.

Today I feel for the people living in the townships. I feel for them as I feel for any that live in such poverty and struggle to rise above. I feel for them as they try to find a few rand to feed their children, without speaking English, without clothes and transportation. But I also feel for them because they have to live life believing that this is their legacy - that Apartheid did this to them. That has to be very disabling. As crippling as poverty can be, it seems it is far more crippling when it destroys hope because one believes that it is a legacy, something handed down and must be suffered, if not with anger then at least with resolution - misplaced resolution - not the sort of resolution that moves one's family out of the townships, but the sort of resolution that takes fate as it is unquestioningly.

I understood a different sort of resolution on the drive home as Trust told us about his family, about how his father was beaten and killed by members of the Mugabe regime. As an 11 year old boy Trust watched his dad slowly die of his injuries and then lived with a resolve to take care of his family. That's the sort of resolution I can most admire. The gospel eventually gave Trust the peace to leave the anger behind and the satisfaction that his father awaits him and is well-pleased. How beautiful to see the stark contrast of different resolutions.

I've made a few of my own.

Not too cute, but kinda dorky

My dad used to say that when he was a kid playing baseball he wasn’t very fast, but at least he couldn’t throw very hard either. I thought this sort of assessment could be applied to me and my dating prowess during my single years. How I look doesn’t matter so much now that I’ve locked my starting pitcher into a long-term contract, but I’m still plenty dorky.

I have a habit of getting really interested in a hobby, buying a ton of stuff to support it, and then moving on. My latest fetish has been quite long-lived though. I’ve been overly interested in boardgaming for like four years.

Now see, if I was single and made that statement you’d hear the screech of chairs on tile and the pitter patter of all the single women leaving the room. At this point in life all you hear is the barely audible sigh from my wife as she hangs her head in shame and the knowing nods of fellow wives and sisters-in-law.

To feed the fettish, one of the web sites I frequent is the aptly named Boardgamegeek. BGG is a site where each geek can rate games he owns, comments on them, post pictures, whatever. I mostly use it to find new games I might like and try to contribute to other geek’s search for The Next Game so I don’t feel like a total taker. As it turns out, I currently own nine of the top 10 rated games and 13 of the top 15. I will soon have to trim either shirts or pants from my wardrobe to make room in our closet for more games.

The reason I bring up this indiscrete little habit of mine is that I posted some time ago about the withdrawal symptoms I’d been having since my friends and family that I game with are at least eight time zones away. Well a couple of weeks ago we figured out a way to play one of our favorite games across the Internet. I know, I know. Videogaming is totally geeky. Boardgaming is even more geeky. So isn’t boardgaming on the Internet the apex of geekiness? I now hang my head in acknowledgment.

But it’s been fun.

A game that might normally take an hour or two, a couple of 2L bottles of Dr. Thunder and a bag of M&Ms now takes over a week, and the good-natured banter now happens over email or IM. But we’re having a good time. It is a pleasant break from the day to decide where to place my king once Craig finally crawls out of bed. It is a welcome addition to my morning to wake up and see if Dean’s attacking my poorly placed priest. And it’s cool that Ty’s finally back at the table since his move to SoCal.

So mock if you must, but the withdrawal symptoms are subsiding and my breathing has returned to normal – if you can call any of this normal. And if you want to get in on a game, send me an email - I won't tell your wife or girlfriend.

Looking upward

As I was rifling through the pictures we took at last week’s Halloween party, I found these two pictures of Trust’s children, Candace and Tobin, to be symbolic on a few levels.

After so many years of being less-educated, less-privileged and simply overlooked, the black children of South Africa now have the chance to look upward at new opportunities, dreams and responsibilities. It has saddened me to witness the way that power shifting in South Africa has not necessarily led to more peace, more understanding and more equitable treatment for all people. (“we have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men…”) But the dream is not dead; it is very much alive. I hope these kids continue to have much to look forward to. I hope that those that now enjoy power don’t forget the principles that put them there so the children of South Africa might continue to live with hope.

It also struck me that this is the look Trust sees each day as he greets these beautiful children. They look up to him with amazement and reverence. So do I. I marvel at his integrity, goodness and testimony in a country where so few in his circumstance have even a fraction of the same. Selfishness and greed are rampant. Life is worth less than a few cents to most – murder is commonplace; chastity is valueless – rape is prevalent. Yet a strong and good heart is able to shine through the darkness and be a light to so many, perhaps the least of whom am I.

Finally, I see in Candace’s eyes a ray of hope. Not just hope in the future that I mentioned above, but hope for me and that I will remember and find ways to lift those that look upward, that I might forget myself and reach down to lighten a load, comfort sadness or lift a discouraged or lost soul. Those that look heavenward might often find themselves looking upward into our faces if we don’t forget to look down with a smile and a steady hand. I had this same feeling and envisioned the same caption when I saw the final photo in Sebastaio Salgado’s exhibit – a child looking plaintively at the camera. I didn’t see pleading eyes; I saw a noble, emotionless call to remember. Remember.

If I recall correctly, when Brynley was asked the other day what her favorite experience so far in Africa had been, she said going to the orphanage. More than lions and rhinos and beaches and beautiful scenery, I hope this is what we all remember when Africa is a fading memory – that we came to serve, that there will always be someone to serve, that when we serve we serve our God, and in that service we find our greatest joy and fondest memories.

A Most Unusual Yankee

Lately I've taken up a new hobby - finding ways to contradict the American stereotype. Don't get me wrong - stereotypes exist for a reason. I'm not saying the average American isn't a bit too thick around the middle, a bit too oblivious to the rest of the world, a bit too focused on Nascar and the "World" Series, etc., etc. I just find it enjoyable to contradict these notions, leaving people with a confused look in their eye.

I don't think I'm really a most unusual Yankee, I just think it is fun to appear unusual to those looking for blatant conformity with a stereotype. The reality is that in a large group, every member of the group is inherently unique and unusual when compared to the average (at least when it comes to people). Hasn't the Democratic party taught us this lesson in spades? So when one appears unusual, the result is that people start to wonder whether the stereotype is correct or not. In Stockholm I had a few friends tell me they thought American TV, especially shows like Jerry Springer, are psychological warfare aimed at making the rest of the world underestimate us, to make them think we're a whole lot dumber than they are. I suspect they do underestimate it us, though it's possible we're every bit as dumb as they think we are.

So here are some gems I drum up in conversations these days. Hi I'm John. I'm American and:
* I speak three languages. I've worked on two or three others, but they kinda stink.
* I'd like to learn Zulu.
* I can drive a manual transmission
* I can see my shoes
* I don't watch much TV
* I don't like Bush either (this one's a trick statement - this actually makes me quite American at the moment)
* I wrote my congresswoman asking her to vote against war in Iraq
* I prefer rugby. I dislike cricket.
* I'm fine driving on the left side of the road. I just hope I don't have to "react" - not sure I'll swerve the right direction.
* I wish I was being paid in Euros or pounds instead of the American peso right now
* I have six kids (ok, this one draws looks of disbelief regardless of nationality)
* I believe in chastity before marriage (I don't bring this one up often, but it is probably the most staggering departure from American cultural images)
* I don't know your cousin that lives in New Jersey (this is actually a useful one in Latin America - most don't have a great sense of distance in the US)
* I don't really like McDonald's or KFC. I think I've eaten them more abroad than in the US. I'm pretty sure the last time I ate KFC was in Vietnam. If you had Wendy's and Taco Bell you might have me though.
* I have Muslim friends. And Jewish ones. And black ones. And Mexican ones. Even some Christian ones, but they think I'm going to hell.
* I have a passport. In fact, it's almost full (big goal of mine).
* I would like to use less gas.

I'll have to think of others. This whole thing started one night at dinner when the senior partner on my case, a German and head of our high tech practice in Europe, said to me sometime during dinner, "You're most unusual." I felt unusual. He's a huge wine drinker. His wine cellar is probably worth more than the house I just sold. I told him I don't drink. He was dumbfounded. After several seconds he replied, "But wine is drinking." In that case, I am definitely unusual.

True Chaos

Katie's blog has chaos in the title, but I've been thinking lately that the word is far more appropriate in describing mine.

Most blogs are written routinely, have a theme, a tone, a consistent voice. Mine has none of the above. My writing is at best conversational, bordering on glib. I post frequently at times, extremely infrequently at others. I write on things serious, possibly funny, possibly irresponsible.

Most other blogs I read give me what I'm expecting. When I read Dean's post I know not to take a drink of milk. When I read Katie's post I prepare to be enlightened. Etc. etc.

Every amusement park and carnival seems to have a few rides in common and one of these was known as the Wild Mouse at the amusement park near my childhood home (ah, Lagoon). It's the ride that looks like a miniature rollercoaster, but is really just an excuse to grab each rider by the collar and jerk him back and forth, up and down until he cries uncle. Nice touch of irony - this is the ride Porter wanted to most go on when were at California adventure with Tyler. Porter cried a lot of uncle during the ride, but afterward wanted to go again.

You, my reader, must feel a lot like this at times. I'd apologize, but it's the way the ride's designed. I hope after calling uncle, you might want to go again.

Halloween in Africa

Halloween is not a big deal in South Africa. Few celebrate it and those that do don't trick-or-treat or carve jack-o-lanterns. However, Katie wanted the kids to still have a great time and perhaps have a chance to meet new people and serve them in a small way.

Katie is very good at throwing parties and loves to do so, but I don't think she's ever bitten off something quite this big. Friday afternoon we had 50 kids in our house, along with many of the parents. What a crowd. She organized a Halloween party, complete with traditional activities - trick or treating, bobbing for apples, ghost in the graveyard, decorating cookies and donuts on a string. Most of the kids had never seen anything like it.

My favorite part was the idea the kids came up with for costumes (well, at least the girls). They decided to dress as different Africa tribes, in traditional dress. Here they are:

Katie was Pedi. Legend has it that the Pedis were defeated by a Scottish army because they didn't attack, believing they were women. Now they wear kilts like the one Katie's wearing. The men are actually the ones that wear the kilts. The women don't wear much at all. Katie was willing to let authenticity slide a bit. Note the boots - those are traditional Pedi (and Basotho) as well - they were some of the first to work in the mines



Mason and Porter were rastafarian. I guess. Not so traditional, but they felt cool.





Bryn was Zulu (the most common group here in Joburg). They actually usually wear a different dress hat, but she liked this one better.



Madi was Ndbele, who are related to the Zulus and are on the border with Zimbabwe. Trust is Ndbele. They are known for their beads, their colorful homes and the metal bands the women wear on their arms, legs and necks so they won't run away from their husbands. I've thought of getting some for Katie - just in case. The loin cloth Madi has on is a big deal - handmade by an Ndbele woman, this would be framed in the main room of her house.



Molly is Basotho, which is the tribe that lives in Lesotho. They wear these conical hats (feels like Vietnam) and the gummy boots like the Pedi, who are closely related.



Lucy's costume is my favorite. We didn't have one for her earlier this week. Evie asked what all the girls were going to dress as. Evie loves Lucy. Evie's also Xhosa (so's Nelson Mandela). She asked if she could make Lucy a costume. This is what she made. Absolutely wonderful. I wonder if she felt a bit miffed that none of the kids had chosen to be Xhosa.



We had a bit of an adventure last weekend. Trust took us into downtown Joburg. Since the end of apartheid, the whites have almost entirely left the downtown area, so we stuck out like a sore thumb. Two white people holding hands with their six kids, walking along the hustle and bustle of a totally black city center. We got the rest of the items we needed for the costumes and took off. I wish I would have felt comfortable taking my camera out to take a picture of the family in the midst of this, but I didn't think it wise.

So here's out festive Halloween crew.

Dance, dance, dance

Bryn and Madi choreographed this dance yesterday. Crappy video, but there you go.

Family night

We try to spend Monday evenings together as a family to have fun and take the chance to teach the kids a thing or two. This week Katie was trying to teach the family about the importance of serving our neighbors and the kids were all over the place. I was sitting on a few, had a couple of others in a headlock, but just couldn't get them to relax for a few minutes and listen. Finally I gave in and decided I should just record this for posterity. No one will ever blame our kids for being too quiet. I call this like clip "Reverently, Quietly".

Maybe Texas isn't so bad after all

One thing Katie and I dread about Texas is the suffocating summer heat and humidity. I saw in the Trib today that Utah is contributing to and suffering from global greenhouse warming more than any state in the union. Perhaps we got out just in time? Enjoy the drought back there! :)

My Favorite Weekend

Most belief systems seem to have certain times of the year they hold special or sacred - Ramadan, Lent, Hanukkah, Dawali, March Madness, etc. I love several different holidays. Some I hold sacred (Christmas, Easter) and others I really enjoy (Thanksgiving, Halloween, playoffs). But this weekend is quite unique for me. Twice a year I get the chance to listen to men I believe to be inspired and try to find nuggets in their messages that will make me a better person.

I've spent the last week or two reading the 21 messages from April to prepare myself to learn more this time. Each conference seems to have a central theme or special event. Last time the tabernacle was rededicated. Today we'll sustain a new apostle and member of the first presidency.

As I've read, I've been struck by how profound many messages were last time. I'm a sucker for ratings, so here I give you a short thought from what for me were the top five discourses given last time.

5.
"What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is evidence of his trust." - Scott

4.
"The best way to avoid divorce from an unfaithful, abusive, or unsupportive spouse is to avoid marriage to such a person."
"Often the cause [of divorce] is not incompatibility but selfishness. The first step is not separation but reformation." - Oaks

3.
"I make you two promises. Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire. But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in the flesh so He would know how to succor you.
"The other promise I make you is that by choosing to serve Him this day, you will feel His love and grow to love Him more." - Eyring

2.
"Hearing of this tragedy, many people sent money to the Amish to pay for the health care of the five surviving girls and for the burial expenses of the five who were killed. As a further demonstration of their discipleship, the Amish decided to share some of the money with the widow of the milkman and her three children because they too were victims of this terrible tragedy." - Faust

1.
"No misfortune is so bad that whining won't make it worse."
"Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." - Holland

Honorable Mentions:
Decade of Decision - Hales
Pickles - Bednar
Repentance and Conversion - Nelson

My Picks:
H. David Burton
L. Tom Perry

Kung Fu Man

Today's big deal is that Porter got to start karate lessons, taught by none other than our kind bishop. I don't think he's ever been so psyched. Check out how mean this guy is.



And of course whatever's cool for Porter must be really, really cool for Molly and Lucy.




You know how Macs are supposed to be so user friendly and great with images? The sideways pictures above beg to differ. I'll be blogging on my own computer from now one. Edit: OK, I got the pictures rotated, but the video's still sideways. *sigh*

Anyone know how to rotate a video on YouTube? *grrr*

This could easily be me and Ferg

The Risk reference was only saved by the fact that he considered staying for Kamchatka.

How Can I Get Any Work Done Around Here?

Not only is South Africa in the elimination rounds of the rugby world cup, but they are practically a shoe-in for the final the way things worked out. First they get Fiji (patsy) and then the winner of Argentina/Scotland. Are you kidding me? Sweet! Tangent - did anyone else see that dude with the ridiculous name outrun Brian Habana for the US try? The US could have lost by 100 points and it would have been ok after that. Huge respect points here in the RSA for that run (of course, I believe he's from Zim as are half the people in RSA). I wish they could field a team from the NFL for this. They might not win, but surely you'd see more sick runs like that if LaDainian Tomlinson and Randy Moss were your flyhalf and wing, no?



Not only did the Cubs win the pennant (perhaps it would be more appropriate to say the Brewers lost it), but they are playing Arizona (I thought that was just where the Cubs had spring training - apparently they have their own crappy team). If the Cubs' bats keep blazing this could be a great second season.

But I can't watch the Cubs in South Africa! And the Boks are playing on conference Sunday. Ack!

Fun time for sports around here. If the Jazz would just trade the crier for The Matrix I'd have the trifecta going.

Blank Canvas

Katie mentioned on her blog the other day (or perhaps it was Jessica?) that when she was at the Cape of Good Hope she realized there was nothing between her and Antarctica. That came back to me this weekend while Mason and I were out hiking.

I grew up my entire life in the same house. I never vacationed outside of Utah and Idaho as a kid other than two bus trips for high school to California and Oregon. I don’t think I ever really cared. Then I served a mission to Costa Rica and the world opened up to me. I think the moment that changed me forever happened while I was serving in Nicoya, Guanacaste. I was speaking with a couple of guys and it was clear they were treating me exactly as they would another Costa Rican. They weren’t speaking slowly or avoiding slang. I soon found that one of them didn’t realize I wasn’t Costa Rican. To be treated as an equal, as part of a group totally different from my own, completely changed me. I had a desire to see the world and have people around the world affect my life.

When I read Katie’s blog I realized that she had now staked down her canvas for us to paint on. There are lots of places to see and lots of things to do, but she has her canvas.

In the South, she staked it down at the Cape of Good Hope.

In the North, she staked it down watching the Northern Lights with me, north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland, Sweden.

In the West, she staked it down celebrating our tenth anniversary hiking in Kauai (at least I think this is a great West).

In the East, she staked it down when we brought home our sweet Lula from Vietnam.

How cool to have a canvas! I can’t wait to get to the Cape of Good Hope so I can stake mine down as well. And I look forward to painting by numbers all across this beautiful canvas. The world seems so small until you try to see it all.

Ups and downs in Drakensberg

Warning: Long Post Ahead.

Mason and I snuck away from the chaos of Joburg this weekend to do some hiking together in Drakensberg. I had never heard of Drakensberg before we moved to South Africa, but when I read that Steve Davey had named it one of forty places you must see before you die, saw that it was a World Heritage Site, and was within a few hours of Joburg I decided I had to find a way to make it down there. Drakensberg is basically an enormous geological escarpment that creates the border between South Africa and Lesotho. It is the reason Lesotho has been able to maintain isolation from South Africa through the centuries.

It is easier said than done to find this massive wall, especially in the dark. Mason and I finally got to our “chalet” at 11:30pm. The reception was closed. They had a pegboard with keys for late arrivals on the wall, but our name wasn’t on the board. We did the only moral thing to do in such a circumstance – we took the keys belonging to S & I Stever. We got up at 6am, made the bed and put the keys back on the board, grateful that Mr. and Mrs. Stever never showed. No one even knew we’d been there until we returned later in the day during business hours to let them know they should probably wash the sheets and take our R700.

Since we had arrived during the night, we had no real idea where we were and what to expect. When we opened our window, this is what we saw – the Amphitheatre – a four mile long, one mile high solid rock wall. Very hard to get a sense for its grandeur from a photo on a blog.



We decided to hike what is called The Gorge through the Royal Natal National Park since it is supposed to have the best views of the Amphitheatre and the Tugela Falls that plummet from it, the second highest waterfall in the world. It was awesome to set out up the canyon that morning. No one else was awake and the birds were singing their lungs out. About 30 minutes up the trail I had opened up a bit of distance on Mason when I noticed that the singing had changed. I stopped to look around and realized I was traversing a hill that was absolutely crawling with baboons. We had heard bad things about the baboons, that they could get quite pushy because hikers feed them, so I showed Mason what was going on and then kept moving. I only got a couple of pictures of them, none of them showing the entire hill. There must have been 20-30 baboons. This one was five or ten feet from us.



This is a shot I took of Mason shortly thereafter. Mason was absolutely awesome on this trip. It is so much fun to have a son old enough to go hiking with. I’m in heaven.



Here you can see how close we were to the Amphitheater, and that we had climbed up pretty high to get a bird’s eye view.



This is where we had come from.




This entire hike was a bit of an obstacle course. Much of it was very fun, like climbing ladders such as this up rock faces (not sure Katie would have been very comfortable with some of the stuff we climbed). However, there were also parts that were frustrating. In cowboy movies, the cowboys always ride down/up river a ways to so the Indian trackers “lose their scent”. This trail did the same thing with us. From time to time the trail would drop down to the rocky creek, where we’d be expected to hop from rock to rock up the creek until the trail comes out somewhere a few hundred meters upstream. I’m quite sure we never made it all the way to top of this trail, but we certainly gave it our best. We chased several forks and deadends and finally gave up. On the way out we lost our way (rock hopping again) and had to climb a few hundred meters up the side of the hill to regain the trail.



The next day we decided to head down into the “Central Drakensberg” area around Cathedral Peak and see if we could get all the way to the top. The drive there was really cool because we drove through myriad Zulu villages. Here’s a shot of one.



Here’s a series of shots that show you how long a hike we took to get to the top of the wall. The road at the bottom is where we started. I ended up summiting without Mason. Unfortunately he forgot to take a picture of me on top, so hetook this lame one of me with the summit in the background. You can see me climbing the final shoot.









It was a great trip. The scenery was beautiful, the exercise felt great, and most importantly, I had awesome company. I look forward to many more years hiking with Mason.

Sadness in Joburg

Jessica was supposed to go home yesterday but missed her flight. She didn't miss it today. We all miss her, but Brynley in particular has been difficult to console. She loves Jessica so much. Plus I think she felt like J was her last tie to Utah and she's now slipped through her fingers. Good luck, Jessica. Come back soon.

Kids' new blog

Check out the kids, now posting at blue-rhino.blogspot.com.

A Day of Victories

Today was a good day. Katie and Jessica are in Cape Town having a wonderful weekend away. "Didn't you have to work today?" you ask. As a matter of fact I did. The plus side of living life behind electric fence is that the kids can't get out. Mason, Brynley and Evie were in charge today. And everyone's ok. Huge victory #1.

My consolation was that I got to spoil them. So we went to McDonald's. What the heck. Molly crapped and Porter locked himself in the men's room and freaked himself out, but we made it ok. Victory #2.

After that I went to my client's house to watch rugby. He's a nice guy named Martin and he's British. So he had a bunch of South African friends over to watch South Africa vs. England. The kids behaved themselves very well. Everyone there was amazed by the six kids thing and couldn't stop talking about it. They also used some very colorful language to describe their thoughts on my intelligence relative to my wife, since I'm here with six kids and she's in Cape Town. But the kids were awesome and all were impressed. Huge victory #3.

Finally, South Africa beat England. Nay, they utterly crushed them. And England is the reigning champion. This is suddenly getting quite exciting to be in South Africa for the Rugby World Cup. There basically certainly the top seed from their group and look very, very strong. I'm now a huge Bryan Havana fan. He's a wing for the Springboks and is lightning fast. Very fun team to watch.

I've got the gang tomorrow all day long - the ladies come home late tomorrow night. We'll see if we venture out again or if we just chill and try to stay alive.

Oh the Places You'll Go

The other day Katie asked me to make a list of places I'd like to see while we're in South Africa. It struck me that most of the places I feel are "must see" are for the most part places I knew almost nothing about before I came to South Africa. Check out the great things there are to see. OK, so some of these images came out ridiculously big. Ugh. Oh well. This was my list:

Cape Town - colonial architecture, amazing geography, marine biology


Soweto - where the end of Apartheid "began", South Africa's most famous township


Drakensberg - the escarpment, one of 40 places Steve Davey, the British travel photographer, says you must see before you die


Victoria Falls - apparently makes Niagra seem like a silly trickle


The Lion King at Monte Casino - apparently a killer version of the Broadway musical (the girls are going tonight)


Ride an elephant - easily done locally


Pilanesberg - again

Kruger National Park - how about a park the size of England full of African animals?


Sossusvlei - also on Steve Davey's list



Okavango Delta - beauty in Botswana, just a bit north of here. Did I mention that between 40 and 60% of people in Botswana have HIV - very sad


Durban - think San Diego, but full of fourth generation Indians


Lesotho - the country inside our country. Actually we'll probably just see the escarpment


Swaziland - why not? It's so close.