Hughes Media Week!

It has been a whirlwind here, many families have departed South Africa so we have been busy sending them off, new ones have arrived and we have been helping them get settled.

We also had media week, where the kids were on the local Afrikaans TV station for International Youth Day.  (video above)  The girls were disappointed though because they thought someone was going to do their hair & makeup!

Then the same week they did an exhibition ice hockey game at a mall where they opened a new synthetic ice rink.  Having once taken them to the Jordan's Furniture in Avon, MA to skate on the fake ice there, we knew that fake ice is much less fun than the real thing!   It was funny watching the tv cameras film them lacing up skates & putting on hockey gear!  In the video on the website below, the girl with the long ponytail showing off with her twirls is Katie, Kelly is the girl who makes a save on defense, and Charlie is the little guy who keeps banging his stick on the ice calling for the puck!

http://www.forestknights.co.za/2015/08/hot-ice-opening-at-southgate-13.html

We have also had some great visitors, first our DC neighbors from when we owned our very first house in Falls Church, Tom & Maggie.  They were on a fabulous trip that included Paris, Cape Town, a few days with us in Pretoria and finally a fancy safari near Kruger.  Maggie is a photographer so we can't wait to see her pictures!  It was so great to catch up with them again and let our kids become as big of fans of them as we have always been!  We showed them some great Pretoria restaurants and markets and they got to meet some of our friends here.

Finally, as I write this we are happily chatting with Greg's sister Joanne who arrived with her husband Mark this morning.  We are so excited for our next week with them, we have some trips planned to Swaziland, Pilanesburg and finally Cape Town.  Stay tuned for all of our adventures!

Nerd convention & Reliving our Glory Days

We went to this event called "ScopeEx" it was put on by a stargazing group to teach you more about telescopes, they had telescope building contests, sundials, science shows.  (Kelly and Katie decided it was a nerd convention)  Here are the kids wearing camera obscuras that a lady made.  Kelly got a birthday telescope so we thought it would be a good way to learn more about how to use it.

It was held at the South African Museum of Military History so Charlie liked seeing all of the tanks, and climbing on some of the things.  They even had a "War Store" that Papa O'Brien would have loved!  We went with our German friends and it was interesting to go through the store with a native German speaker who pointed out all of the various uniforms and things.

We also went to a Christmas in July party and Charlie was one of three Santas in attendance, who knew there were so many in July?

Charlie (8) & Katie (16) got to play hockey together, this was the game Katie figured out she could dominate and she scored a hat trick.

I also made the news at Charlie's school, Greg and I played in a parent's soccer game awhile back, I made quite a stir because they never had a lady play before-so strange still that girls don't really grow up playing soccer here!  You can see Greg and I in the top step in the photo, with one of our teammates between us.

Here is a link to the school article: http://www.whpsschool.com/whps-old-boys-events.html
We did well and made it to the final round.  My knees felt it for about a week!

Katie has had a three week mini soccer at her school, we watched her play at another South African school, here is what their bleachers look like, pretty cool with the thatch, huh?

Charlie & Kelly like the playground, those are classrooms in the background that all open onto the playground, South African kids are very close to the outdoors!

Lots of random updates, but I haven't written in awhile!