Happy Birthday, Maya!

Since mommy and daddy were gone out of town for my birthday, we had a party just last weekend. Grandpa Tim and Grandma Shelly came all the way from Indiana on an airplane just for my birthday. In the morning when I woke up, mommy and daddy had a birthday present for me. It was a big girl bicycle. I tried riding it a little bit; I like it, but I will have to get used to it.

Mommy and Grandma Shelly made some special birthday cakes for me--they were shaped like bugs. My favorite ones were the ones shaped like ladybugs. After the morning I went to my room to take a nap, but I didn't go to sleep. I was too excited. After a couple of hours, my other grandma and grandpa showed up, and grandpa came to get me from my room. Pretty soon after that, all of my friends started to come to my party. Some of my friends from school came, Addie came, Mahrukh and Mahnoor came, and Anila came. There were lots of other people, too.

At my party, we played games. We played find the bugs, put the spots on the ladybug, and a bubble machine. Then we had hot dogs, fruit, and carrots. Then everyone sang Happy Birthday to me, and we got to eat the ladybug cakes. They were good. Here are some pictures from my party, look at my special ladybug dress from Grandma Shelly.

South Africa Day 13

Saturday morning, we got up early and crammed everything in the car. After yet another delicious full English breakfast (seriously, after dinner the night before I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat a bite, but I managed to down it all), we headed into Cape Town to drop Miryung at the airport. She had a relatively early flight, so the remaining three of us headed to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which we had missed while we were in Cape Town. They are reputed to be one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world, and they did not disappoint. Not only did they have a huge variety of interesting South African plants and trees, but the setting at the foot of Table Mountain was unbeatable. As was the weather—the sun made a grand appearance on our last day to enable us to fully enjoy the garden and a lovely lunch on the restaurant’s patio. Then it was off to the airport to await a return to the real world. In summary, visit South Africa, it’s truly beautiful, the people are nothing but warm and welcoming, and there is a great wealth of history. Oh. And the food’s fantastic.