I just can't share one class from the preschool so in the coming weeks you will be seeing lots of them! I am starting and ending this next class with my favorite preschooler, Oscar. He was not given any special instructions of what to wear but of course he had to pull out his finest attire (sans the bow tie that he lost in S. Africa). These kids all did amazingly well given that it was FREEZING out. They are off to kindergarten next year...oh the places they will go!!

Many of you are probably wondering if I am still actually working in Seattle. The first quarter of the year is always quiet for me and I try and take advantage of the that time w/ travel and family but it is time to get back to work and my camera got back into action last week when I started school pictures. I think this is my fourth year doing pictures for this preschool. I always look forward to the challenge of working with little ones for just a few minutes each and seeing if I can get them to open up. Here is the first class. They are four and five years old, full of spunk and life and oh so adorable!

I am back...we landed last week but it seems to take me a little while to get my feet back underneath me and re-enter my reality of work. We had an incredible trip covering the northwest area of South Africa & into Lesotho. On the world map it doesn't look like much but we did LOTS of driving, covering over 2,500 miles. Everyone has assumed I must have tons of pictures but surprisingly I did not take many at all. I didn't realize that I actually needed a vacation from my camera too. And this trip really was about being with my family and watching our boys get to experience the third world and wildlife for the first time. The best part of our trip was just being with my family for 3 weeks. I feel so lucky to have gotten the time and then to be in such beautiful places.
The biggest highlight for me was getting to watch the boys meet & play with kids that they couldn't communicate with but still have unforgettable experiences with. Cooper was fearless looking for ways to connect. He grabbed rocks & taught boys tic tac toe and then went on to make up a totally new game that kept everyone enthralled and laughing. It was so great. The other big highlight was getting back to our villages and seeing a few old friends. I am sharing lots of pictures here and you will see a series of images that show my husband's close friend running up to him when he heard we were in the village. We had not had anyway to notify them of our visit so it was a complete surprise. Their reunion was incredible to witness. The embraces & smiles were endless. And I have just one of me w/ some of my old neighbors as I shared pictures from the past with them from over 15 yrs ago. They couldn't believe we returned and remembered them...how could we ever forget??!! We traveled to the high school to find my neighbors daughter who was in her last year there. I was so thrilled to learn that she had made it through school.
Lesotho is such a beautiful, remote, rugged country that has remained, for the most part, unchanged over the past 15 years, still one of the poorest countries in the world. The best description of what it is like is what I envision the wild west being like. I wish everyone could visit Lesotho!