It's been a LONG time. Chickenpox, my last week at the State Department (!), and strep throat managed to derail my plans to start blogging immediatly upon reentering the wifi-saturated world after our return from South Africa.

Our trip was pure magic. If I tried to fully and wholly sum it up here, I'd never actually get back to everyday blogging because there is simply way too much to say. The family time, the wildlife, the beach time, the bonding. It felt so expansive and so full.

Harper fed elephants, wild birds, chickens and tortoises. She swam in the Indian and the Atlantic oceans, and perfected jumping in off the side of Granny's pool. She learned how to be properly mischievous with her cousins, whom she absolutely adores. She came home with an additional couple inches and a South African accent

And Royce! He doubled in size and went from a newborn to a giggling, gurgling, grabbing little guy.

They were both showered with so, so much love, and our hearts were overflowing with love and gratitude for our SA family and wonderful friends by the time we boarded our flight home.

I posted a gazillion photos on Facebook (184, I'm embarrassed/ shocked to report), so I won't repeat them here. Even an effort to add "just the favorites" would be too many. But here are some of my favorite videos from the trip, with a couple more to come in future days.

Harper got sick of saying "cheese," so we started to ask her to say "sausages"! Here she is "taking pictures" with her toy binoculars...

When dadda had chickenpox...