BelliSafari: Our Second Week!

Our second week here was spent trying to get our house in shape and beginning what would become a long search for a family car. Gio also had his very first sleepover (which was so successful that he now campaigns to have one every weekend!). We had our first guests over for dinner and discovered a huge plus of South African restaurants- that most cater to children with large, supervised play areas! Some images from week #2 in Pretoria....

I wake most mornings before 5. This is sort of my natural wake up time so it is fun for me to get to head out on the golf course with Enzo for a jog. I often get to see the sunrise as we race around the greens. South Africa really wakes up very early. Even at this hour there are lots of people out running, driving, biking, and, yes, even golfing!

Maria adores this shirt she was given by Paolo's Kyiv office.
She selects her own outfits these days and this is a particular favorite.

With such a big house (7 bathrooms!) and very little to fill it yet,
Pepperoni finds many good nooks and crannies for his naps.

Speaking of naps, it continues to be a real challenge to wake Gio each morning for his 6:50AM bus. Here I managed to drag him out of bed but not to wake him....

Taking M & G grocery shopping means allowing time to visit the rides outside of the shop.
Being in a rush with children is never a good idea....

...actually, shopping with children is not such a great idea.
I always end up with 1 or 2 or 25 extra things in the cart. These are African-sized marshmallows.
Still searching for graham crackers as these would make really fun s'mores on the braai!

Here is an example of these restaurant play areas. This is in the mall just across from our house. There is a soft area for younger children and a larger one for Gio-sized kiddos. Both areas are supervised by kind, patient women who keep track of the children, help them throw balls, go down the slides, build forts, etc. I see this at restaurants all over the place. With this kind of a break for parents who even cares if the food is any good?

Maria is beginning to try out her scooter.
And, yes, she always wears her helmet (at her own insistence!).

Another day, another wallow in the pool.

Maria loves all of Gio's hats.

We spent the weekend looking for a family car. Maria loved the pickup trucks most.

In between visiting used cars, we toured a bit around Pretoria.

The jacaranda trees were in full bloom which is a sight worth making the trip to Pretoria to see.
Any takers for visiting them next October?? The guest room sign up sheet is still pretty empty!