April - the next installment

Grand Canyon It's a deep ditch man...

In the back of the FunBus.

The BoPowKol kids perched on the edge of the Grand Canyon in age order from L to R.

The Powells with their hosts - Jack and Prudy

17th Birthday on the road with lots of gifts from ENGLAND!! Birthday lunch at Dairy Queen

Sedona National Park

That rare species, the Rock Ledge Posers

Bone chillingly cold water , but they all went down Slide Rock

Here she comes!

Just passing through Las Vegas in afternoon rush hour traffic

Roadside picnic somewhere in Arizona...or had we crossed over into Nevada by then?

Give us a honk! The passing motorists joined in their game of "honk begging"

One good reason to live in America...Frozen Yogurt!

Anita joined us at Christa's birthday English Tea Party

Sunny day at the Mission San Fernando Chocolate fondue time More of the Mission

So this is the volcano that stranded us in California??

Best buds

One pound Hamburger at Fuddrucker's - and yes, he ate it all up!

Last group hug...

Goodbye!!

March

March means Shepherd's Conference, when 3000 men from all over the world come to Grace Community Church for a week of spiritual refreshment, teaching and strengthening friendships.We had our dear friends Matt and Tina Viljoen visit with 2 men of their church leadership. Here are the original 3 Musketeers and their Mrs-keteers along with Chris and Fanie who became instant friends of ours!

Together again after too many years... me, Christa and Tina. Sadly no Lyanne :(
We took a trip to the Getty Villa with friends and kids, while the men were happily conferencing all day.

Beautiful building in a beautiful setting. John Paul Getty certainly was a very rich man with a love for art and antiquity. If you'd like more detailed and exciting information, you can Getty it yourself - that's what Google is for :)

Hannah, Marise, Christa and the Kolkow girls - Linda and Grace

We had all the South African families over at our house during the conference for a braai (how typical). Here the boys are :Robin, Frans, Wayne, Lonngren a.k.a Tom Cruise, Alvin, Andrew and Matt with Ryk and Ryan in the front.

We had 3 guests stay with us in our Hillbilly Hotel for the duration of the conference : Hanro from Malawi and Chris and Fanie from South Africa. Chris got up early every morning to make us the most delicious mielie-pap!

Shekinah, Makeila and Marise tucking into Frozen Yogurt in Burbank Town Centre

At Master's Kids it was Daniel's turn to be Special Child for a Day- he had patiently waited for his turn since last September so you can imagine his delight! Here he poses with Summer Hernandez. King of the playground.

They also celebrated America Day on the same day because the toddler group will be closed by the time it officialy happens: July 4th.

February

Ooh! Valentine's Day... I got spoiled with that thing that every girl dreams of....a heartshaped box of chocolates with a satin bow - my first ever! The kids also made me a sweet treat. Chocolate brownies topped with melted marshmallows and heart-shaped sweeties.

I now weigh a lot more...

The Seminary Banquet was held at the beautiful Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley. A night for students and faculty members to dress up and hang out together. Include good food, a fantastic guest speaker - Jerry Bridges - and great company and you have the making of a wonderful evening! Here I am with Lisa and Lai, two friends who I came to know and love in the past 6 months. Mr. President posing by his trusty winged steed : Air Force One. We had a tour of the plane on the inside but were not allowed to take any photos.

Sharing a banquet table with Dr. Bill Barrick and his wife Barbara. They are two of the most well-travelled and well-read people I have ever met! He is one of Ryk's Hebrew teachers.

We finally got round to having "official" photographs taken to mark our 20th wedding anniversary. I was a bit wary of doing it as I do not like my picture taken, but we had such a fun time in the studio - or rather - Lukas van Dyke's sittingroom corner! He has an annual photo-fundraiser for Missions, you pay him what you can and it all goes straight to the fund for missions trips.

note to self...must update this blog sooooon.... x x

Anywhere, everywhere, all the time...

I suppose it is the main reason for being here in America - Ryk's studies - but I do sometimes wonder if he shouldn't take more breaks. He has always been a very diligent student and is able to study for hours and hours on end, in any situation. Just the other day, he took a bath WITH his Hebrew flashcards...oops....and here you can see them on my dressing-table, drying out :)
Luckily the vocabulary words were written with a black Sharpie and were not washed off , but all his extra notes and explanations in red and blue pen, were but a blurrrrr. I tried to dry them with the hairdryer but in the end he had to re-do them all!

Most of the time Ryk is in class or in his study (a small space in the middle of the garage) but sometimes he can be lured out to enjoy the fantastic weather. Even these times will be used to keep up with his reading assignments!