oh dear...

I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging and am completely overwhelmed with the thought of squeezing the events of the last two weeks into one meezly little blog post. I feel sure that most of you reading this are not so broken-hearted that I'll have to spare some details, but it stresses me. My goal is to have the posts from our trip bound so that I can save them...and I have simply stunk at making sure I document everything lately. Oh well...life will go on, I guess :-)
So...life in Cape Town lately...hmmm...full of emotion. Anxiety, excitement, sadness, and so much more. Last week was an incredibly stressful week for Jesse and his colleagues as they finished up their projects...and when they're stressed...we're stressed. It meant lots of long hours and them being away from us for one last weekend. But, guess what? We survived and we packed as much fun as we possibly could into those couple of days! Excitement [as mentioned above]...I'm feeling because we're coming home in only a week and will have tons of special people to see and catch up with! And, sadness...because we're leaving behind lots of people who have become very special to us here.
The last two weeks, with the exception of the four days that Eli was sick with a yucky cold, have been really nice. In a nutshell...we've visited the West Coast, where we saw tons of animals and beautiful flowers...we've visited some beautiful gardens, a new park, and a new farm...spent more time at the market and on the beach with friends...enjoyed a slumber party with my friend Neha and her daughter V...took Eli and V ice skating for the first time...spent some time at the Cape Town science center...enjoyed a date with E on Tommy the Tugboat...ate at some more really yummy restaurants...and I just enjoyed another great ladies' night out last night. Whew...no wonder I'm typing from bed tonight at only 9:00!
I mentioned before that Jesse had his last retreat this weekend. It was held in Stellenbosch at the Spier Hotel and Conference Center. The hotel is part of the Spier wine farm so you can imagine it's surroundings are just beautiful. On Sunday, several of us headed up to have lunch with the guys and enjoy the afternoon in the area. Jesse had also made a reservation for us to stay with him there on Sunday night so I was really excited about that. It was a chilly and rainy afternoon/night so it was perfect for sitting by the fire and having a fun dinner at Moyo with my friend Jessica and her family. We had already eaten at two different Moyos during our trip, but it's hard to pass up. The decor and set up of the restaurants is amazing. You'll notice lots of details from the restaurant in my collages. My favorite is the big tree with the colorful couches and lanterns underneath. We ate in a huge tent and there were little what I called "tree houses" all around with tables for guests. So...you can eat in the trees if you want...how cool is that? I could go on and on about the place...really, on and on and on...it was incredible. Anyways...after dinner came the best part... drifting off to sleep by the fire in our room...it was such a nice break from our apartment!
The next several days before we leave are already filled with plans for a few more new adventures and many returns to our favorite spots one last time. They will be bittersweet ones, that's for sure :-)
Hope all of you at home are still doing well...can't wait to see you!