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| Paolo and I attended Gio's back-to-school night and were amused (but not surprised!) by Gio's response. |
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| Salt's new favorite sleeping spot. It did take me a while to figure out why all of my running clothes were covered in fur. |
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| Olivia, one of Maria's favorite "big girl" friends made this sign for her. The unicorn crown came from our dear friend Gaelle. Singing to Oscar.... |
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| Ten minutes into Maria's first ever play date! |
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| Best buddies. |
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| Walking the |
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| Off to the dog park. |
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| The air mattress your friend uses on a sleepover makes a great floating picnic spot the next morning! |
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| The water was COLD. We were still at the tail end of winter here. Only Gio braved it. |
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| Our vigilant life guard crew. |
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| On chilly mornings it is hard for any of us to get out of bed. |
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| One Monday I had to take both Jagger and Oscar to GDA (Guide Dog Association) for operations (Jagger for a second elbow scope and Oscar for neutering). I knew Bruno would be miserable without another dog at home so I brought this adorable fellow home with me. Webster's Puppy Raiser was going on vacation so he needed a temporary home. |
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| Webster was an instant hit at Maria's preschool. Who could resist this face?? |
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| Oscar's face when he got back to GDA after his neutering. Not so happy about what just happened.... |
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| Bruno took an immediate liking to Webster. |
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| Bath time! |
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| Post-bath snuggling. |
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| And then we were off for a week in Mauritius! |
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| According to our well-seasoned 4-year old traveler this 4-hour flight was "so short"! |
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| Began the first full day at our resort with a cocktail on the beach. |
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| My view. |
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| Trying out the kiddie pool... |
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| ....and enjoying free access to ice cream! |
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| Maria took to the beach life immediately. |
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| Sea weed collection. |
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| Poor Paolo spent our 2nd day at the hospital with a nasty tooth abscess. Luckily the dentist was able to help him and, loaded up on antibiotics, he was able to return to the beach. |
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| And speaking of patients, here is sweet Jagger after his return to GDA following his elbow scopes. |
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| The snack shop at the resort where our kids could get yummy treats. |
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| The beach where we spent most of our days. |
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| Happy happy girl. |
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| Ready for a day on a boat. |
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| Exploring in the mangroves. |
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| Maria befriended these two Irish sisters and spent most of her boat time with them. Shyness is GONE! |
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| Exploring a deserted island after a yummy BBQ on the boat. |
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| Back at the resort and time for SCUBA lessons. |
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| Later they headed out to explore the reef. |
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| The week went by much too quickly. Gio declared he wants to live on Mauritius. We were sad to go but happy to see our beasts again. |
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| My first visit to Jagger. This boy is such a trooper to stay in a crate for weeks and weeks. He is due to come home October 20th. |
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| Wonder Woman ready to return to school. |
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| We got Oscar home after 2 weeks in kennels. |
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| My dear friend Nicola is fostering this wonderful senior fellow Nandi. He is 10 years old and has just retired as a working Guide Dog. GDA is working to find him a forever home. Isn't he adorable? |
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| Buddies. |
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| Another fun visit with Jagger. |
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| Gio and I took Oscar to a big convention on travel and outdoor adventures in Johannesburg. It was a great experience for Oscar to be around lots of unusual things! |
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| And he got LOTS of love at the GDA booth. |
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| Maria spotted a cloud just before our evening walk. And then after months and months of virtually no rain a huge storm arrived that night. Maria might have some fortune-telling skills! |
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| That sweet retired guide dog Nandi hung out with us for a night. He even came along to Maria's swim lesson. |
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| Oscar (left) loved having Nandi around but the one most excited about him was Bruno.... |
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| A favorite dress of hers. |
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| Gio played goalie for the first half of his very first soccer match. |
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| The team! Gio's coach is his beloved former teacher Mr. Nate (grades 1 & 2)! |
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| The reality of expat life is that new friends come and dear ones go quite regularly. This was a goodbye party for Gio's buddy Nino (front center in red-sleeved shirt) who was moving back to The Philippines. |
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| How I love my visits with Jagger. Counting down the days until he comes home for good. |
Slumber party antics....
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| Off to see LEGO Ninjango. |
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| Early morning water balloon fight. |
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| Maria had a blast at a climbing birthday party. |
Maria on the zip line...
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| Working hard! |
