Welkom in Suid Afrika!

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend Christmas 2013 in South Africa!  We spent the time leading up to Christmas, as well as Christmas day, with Barramie, Sharon and Bryan & Gail and then on Boxing Day we went to a Chelsea Football game at Stamford Bridge and then left for SA the day after.

We spent about a week in Brakpan, a suburb of Johannesburg which is the capital city.  Lloyd's family is from Brakpan and we were busy visiting new people all the time since he has 16 aunts & uncles and around 26+ first cousins!  

Brakpan family - just a 'small' gathering!

While we were in Joburg we also went to some animal parks and got to some real-live African animals.  

The lion park was really spectacular, we saw so many different lions and were able to get really close to get some fantastic pictures.

We even saw this guy chewing on a big bone

We were able to drive our cars through the lion park but we had to keep our windows up at all times.  Luckily we were able to roll down the window for just a minute, to take some awesome pictures.  A bit risky but I think it was worth it!



After several days in Brakpan we hopped a flight down to George, an area west of Cape Town on what's known as the Garden Route.  The Garden Route is beautiful and boasts beautiful beachy coastlines, lakes, lush hills and vegetation, almost a rainforest-like climate.  Lloyd's cousin Theresa lives in George and was a great hostess for us all weekend.  We went to all sorts of fun places and saw the true beauty of the Garden Route!

Climbing around the rocks near Mossel Bai

Fritz, Tess, Theresa, Estelle, Lawrence, Lloyd 

The winds off the coast are often called a 'Gentleman's wind' because they blow up the girls skirts! 

Dassie - a small lil' rodent native to South Africa

Game night at Mario & Theresa's

Family dinner in Grootbrak

Theresa lives in a beach house right near the beach and were able to wake up early around dawn and go for a walk and take pictures in the pretty morning light

A beach we stopped at on our way to Tstisikama Forest 

Lloyd jump

Jen jump

On our last night in SA we had dinner at a beachside restaurant hostel with the family and were able to see a gorgeous sunset.  It was such a treat to see the sun dip into the ocean, hopefully people who live there know how lucky they are to be able to see it regularly!

Last dinner in George

SA was amazing and we can't wait to see the family again in March 2015!

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 was sad and happy at the same time - I was sad that I wasn't able to be with my family...but we were happy to see our South African parents, the Solomons, in London!

We had lots of fun events planned before Christmas and Barramie were excited to show off their new place so they hosted everyone for Christmas Eve.  Since they live above a cute pub, The Boilingbroke, we decided we had to have a quick drink downstairs to introduce Bryan and Gail to the place.

Family drinks at The Boilingbroke

 Dexter was excited to open his presents, too!

Jamie & Barry's pretty living room

Kids on the couch 

 We all got pajamas for Christmas so we laid them over our clothes in preparation for Christmas morning

The next day was Christmas morning so we all dressed up in our new pajamas and went over to Jamie and Barry's so that Bryan could cook us his famous egg & bacon rolls for breakfast.

Pajama party! 

 Later that afternoon we had Christmas dinner at our place (I had promised Bryan a brined turkey) and it didn't disappoint.  The skin was nice and crispy but the meat underneath was juicy and tasty.  I was so excited to have everyone over...but was even more excited at the big pile of presents under (and around) the tree!

Yummy Christmas dinner...plates cleaned!

Caught smoochin' in the kitchen! 

 After dinner we had a special guest make an appearance..

Bryan and Peter

We all had a great time listening to Christmas music, hanging out and opening all our presents.

Lloyd is clearly pleased with his haul 

Bryan & Gail enjoying their Christmas goodies 

After a fun evening eating and opening presents, it was finally time for dessert!  Ever since I made Dad's cherry cranberry pie for Lloyd he has insisted that we have that pie at every Thanksgiving and Christmas (and birthday, and holiday, haha).  

PROOF that Jamie knows how to wash dishes!! 

Jamie is excited about her new granny cart! 

Jamie proudly showing off her purple onesie as we prepare to Skype with Len

On Boxing Day Lloyd and I celebrated by going to a Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge.  We were headed to South Africa the next day so it was nice to have an outing with just the two of us before the craziness with the South African family.  

Hanging out at Jimmy's before the game

Look how excited we are about the game! All in all it was a bittersweet Christmas but super fun and special having the Solomons around.  Can't wait till we get to spend the next Christmas with everyone in Texas!

Sing it Together Clapham Choir, Winter Concert 2013

Singing in the choir made the winter of 2013 a bit more bearable, as it helped take our minds off of the cold and dreary weather.  Please enjoy the Sing it Together Clapham Choir performing our winter 2013 concert.

After the Christmas concert we had a chance to sing at a festival on the South Bank of the Thames in front of some popular shops and restaurants.  We were all looking forward to the event but unfortunately it was pouring down with rain....so much so that Lloyd the cameraman had to put away his camera :)

Enjoy the rain-soaked performance on the South Bank!