Meyer's Halloween Party

Jacques and Natasa held a Halloween party on Saturday night. Halloween's not really our thing (especially Sara!) but we went to be with good friends and had a great time.

Sara - the Egyptian Princess.

Clark - the Egyptian Prince...yes, Sara did put make-up on his eyes (just to achieve the full effect!)

The group (don't exactly know what Clark is up to!). Pieter and Paula came as a Shiek and Marilyn Monroe, Jan and Christine came as a hippie and a pregnant nun, Jacques and Lou-Ann (who are currently visiting Jacques and Natasa from South Africa) were vampires, Jacques was Zoro and Natasa - well...don't know exactly what she was - but it was freaky!

A much needed birthday presie!

Our friends, Jacques and Natasa, came through to visit us on Saturday and brought over a belated birthday gift for Clark:) He was sooooooo happy to get a drill! So yesterday, Clark was renovating all over the house! Will show some pics later on of some other projects he got stuck into (he hasn't finished with them yet!). Here he is putting a shelf into our armoire for the cable DVR box. Thanks so much Meyers for the drill - you have made Clarkie VERY happy!

Our Housie (first interior glimpse!)

Many of our family and friends have been asking us to post some pics of what our house actually looks like inside and Sara has been reluctant to do that since she is still in the process of "featering our nest" (as she puts it!). Anyway, the lounge area is starting to look more or less the way we want it so we decided to show you a little part of our house:) We are trying to create an African atmosphere so there are lots of African type ornaments and pics that you probably can't see in detail:( If you look closely at the mirror on the wall, you will see our armoire which stands against the wall that is not included in the photo...

Clark the Cook!

Clark is becoming quite proficient in the kitchen these days:) Yesterday he made banana bread muffins and today he cooked lunch for our friends Jacques and Natasa (who stopped by on their way from Palm Springs to LAX). Clark knows his vegie loving wife doesn't cook meat so he has made chicken in our slow cooker three times now and he's getting quite good at it according to
Clark and, now, Jacques and Natasa! Sara still hasn't tasted the ACTUAL chicken but the gravy and vegetables taste yummy:)

Our Orchid is Growing!

We are so excited to see that our orchid is blossoming again! We thought that another plant was going to die on us but today Sara noticed the orchid opening when she went out to check the post and Clark noticed it coming home. You would think it was our baby or something cause the first thing we said to each other when Sara opened the door to welcome Clark home was "the orchid is growing!" It's really beautiful and we were starting to feel disappointed at the prospect of it shriveling up!

Remembering the Zambezi Whitewater

While visiting with our friends Ken & Crystal a couple of weeks ago, Ken & Clark ended talking quite a bit about the whitewater of the Zambezi - for those who do not know it is simply put the wildest one-day whitewater rafting experience anywhere in the world! Ken is a veteran of 4 trips down the Zambezi, while Clark had his first attempt on our honeymoon to Vic Falls and Botswana. His rafting expedition was on New Year's day, and it was the most fun he had had in a LONG time!
Here is a pic of the rafting "buddies"! Pen (far right) was the guide - very knowledgealbe of the river and an expert at rafting. Together with Clark (middle front) were 2 other South Africans - "dik Frik" standing on the left with his wife standing on the right, 3 Aussies, and 2 Texans.

Gulped a bit of water at a few spots - believe it or not, this was one of the "milder" rapids!

Trying to back paddle to get out of an eminent doom - a 10 foot sheer drop into the next wall of Zambezi water!

This might look like shear madness - but it was such an adrenaline rush! If lots of water and waves crashing over doesn't scare you, then whitewater rafting is the way to go!

Or this pic might be giving you second thoughts???

Paddling hard to make sure we get through a rapid and don't get caught "bronco riding"! If you don't know what it means - well, let's just say that you don't really want to find out either!

Santa Monica & Venice Beach

We drove out to LA today and walked along Santa Monica and Venice Beaches. It was nice to get out into the sunshine and fresh air and see some sights.

The memorial to the soldiers who have died in Iraq. They have something similar at Santa Barbara as well.

Clark walking next to some of the info regarding the casualties of the war in Iraq.

Sara on the beach!

On the Santa Monica Pier...we were watching out for somebody famous but didn't see anyone except corny street performers!

Some of the scene along Venice Beach. Sara didn't enjoy Venice Beach at all - there are a lot of wierdos hanging out there...from tarrot and palm readers to regae for children and proclamations of the benefits of marijuana!! Not a nice place!

The Kritzingers come to visit!

Sara's good friend Devo (who also happens to be Clark's second cousin!) came over for dinner last night with his wife, Leilani and little girl Lia (and a little baby in mommy's tummy!). We had a great time together and loved watching Lia happily explore our home:) She is talking more and more and mixes up her English and Afrikaans words - so cute! Clark especially loves hearing her Afrikaans since that's how he wants to raise our kids - bilingual.

The happy Kritzinger clan - especially since they are 14 weeks pregnant! Yay!

Lia making faces trying to say "cheez" for the camera:) she's so sweet - when daddy plays the piano she does a happy little dance around our lounge table - we were quite entertained by her!

Dinner with the Drs. Pierson

Our friends, Ken and Crystal Pierson, are missionary dentists on the island of Saipan (part of the Northern Mariana Islands). They recently visited Loma Linda on their annual vacation and we had the privilege of taking them out to dinner. It was great to see some friendly faces again and have a good chat:) We wish you guys were living closer!

Happy Birthday Ma!

We just want to wish Ma a very happy birthday! We wish we could be with you today:( Just know that you are in our thoughts and prayers and that we love and miss you loads!

Our two moms:) Aren't they beautiful?

Clark with his parents - Ma looked really lovely at our wedding in December and she did such an amazing job with our cake (check out the archives).

Sara loves her other mom! "I'm so blessed to have such a loving mother-in-law who treats me like her own daughter:)"

Rite Aid

Sara paid a visit to Clark at work today and we went out for a lunch date:) So took some photos just so you can have a little idea of where Clark works.

The Yucaipa Rite Aid store.

Sara took this pic especially so that you can see her car on the right hand side! It's the silver RAV4 in front of the Pepsi machine.

Clark hard at work! He doesn't always get so lucky to be off his feet - most of the time he's at the counter dispensing and counselling. Don't know exactly what he's up to here????

Sara's visit to the Lansdowns

Clark had to work this weekend and so Sara decided to travel to Camarillo and spend the weekend with her family. It was great to see family again but the girls are getting sick so we just had a quiet weekend resting with a little bit of shopping:) Girls will be girls! The highlight of the weekend was when Janine decided that we should go the pet store and play with puppies:) We had so much fun!!! They are all so cute - you just want to take them all home! Anyway, by the end of the weekend - their poor little dog Angie had been decked out in a sweater - so here are the pics:)

Carly shows off Angie's new sweater:)

Janine and Carly with their little doggie.

Just Chillin'...

Just to show you what we do when we relax and just hang out! Think this was Thursday night...

Sara (the bookworm) with ONE of her latest books (you should see the pile of books that she's currently reading next to her bed!). This one is written by Dr. Phil's wife - Robin McGraw - just basically a biography - Sara loves reading about people's lives - everyone has a story!

Clark watching the tele! Shame, he's been working hard - he needs time to just veg:)