More Disney World pictures

So this is my second post with pictures from Disney World. These are the professional pictures that were made throughout our time in Disney World. We had a great time! Look and see....

Group shot from the first day

Sofia holding baby Simba

My nephew, Charlie Wells

Fun times!

Disney fun with Lita

Sofia had fun with Tigger and Pooh

Charlie had fun with Tigger and Pooh

Lita had fun with Tigger too!

Look Sofia caught Tinkerbell

I had a great time with my mom!

Sofia in her Minnie Mouse costume

Disney has some really neat pictures with added items.

Apparently Stitch is eating her ice cream!

My sweet girl

This was an excellent trip and I am so glad that we did it. Stay tuned...the next post will include information on our next assignment.

Until next time...

Summer 2013 Update

So, I realize that it has been a while since I posted anything and for that I apologize. Honestly, before our vacation, we hadn't done anything worthwhile or exciting for me to talk about. Well, all that has changed now. We just returned from R&R (vacation in the Foreign Service) and I have tons of pictures to show and some stories to tell.

We left the day after school ended for Sofia. Can you tell that we were itching to get away. We spent 2 days traveling to get home and our first Air France experience was really good (not so on the way back, but that is another story). We stayed in Philadelphia, MS for a few days visiting my mom and the rest of the Philly family and doing really boring stuff like going to the eye doctor and dentist and getting hair cuts. These things are important and most people take them for granted, but we were so glad to have clean teeth and short hair. 

Next it was off to Biloxi, MS for a short visit with Dad and Deb. We enjoyed doing really normal stuff like going to Walmart and Sams. We got to visit with great friends (thanks so much to Felica, Marie, Cheree, Carla, Ashley and the guys for making us welcome). I had lunch with a great friend and mentor, Krystyna and we checked out Margaritaville for some average food and pretty good live music. Sofia got to visit with some of her friends and even spent the night with a couple of them while we were in town.

It was back to Philadelphia for a few short days where we got to see even more great friends (thanks for swimming and making a wave pool with us) and had a nice meal with my brother and his family. Mom makes the best ribs ever! We got to spend time with Grandma Sue and Papa and played lots with Anna Katherine, who was very small when I left for Washington in 2012.

Our next adventure began with a trip to Walt Disney World. We took Sofia and my mom and my nephew, Charlie, came along. It was busy and not particularly relaxing, but we had a great time! 

The kids enjoyed swimming and we got some fun shots with our new underwater camera. The camera was a gift from my sweet husband. 

We stayed at a neat resort at Disney World called the Art of Animation. We took this fun shot with Rafiki right outside our hotel building.

Up next, here are some random pictures that we took. 

We went to Epcot and got these fun shots. 

Sofia playing in a fountain in the rain in Germany

Al and the kids enjoying the mariachi music in Mexico

Last up, here are pictures of the kids with some of the Disney characters. There will be more Disney pictures to come, once we get our disc from Disney World in the mail. Wait until you see the ones of Mom dancing and singing with Tigger.

Sofia and Charlie with Chip and Dale

Sofia with Tigger and Pooh

After a busy week at Walt Disney World, Mom and Charlie headed back to Mississippi and we left for a few relaxing days on the Disney Cruise. My dad and stepmom, Deb, came along on this leg of our vacation. It was a bit more relaxing than Disney World. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the cruise.

We took a ride on a catamaran.

Sofia went snorkeling!

Sofia liked snorkeling. I always call her my little fish!

Disney Cruise Line took some professional shots and I wanted to share those. They turned out pretty good. We had a lot of fun on Pirate night!

After our Disney trip, it was time to head back to Yaounde, after a short stop in Philadelphia. We stayed for a couple of nights in Paris to try and get over the jet lag a bit before returning to Cameroon. We saw Notra Dame, the Louvre and took a Seine River cruise. We were really tired and I don't know that Paris is really a city for kids, but here are some good pictures that we got.

We all had fun on our vacation, but we are glad to be back home. We have another year here in Yaounde and then we will be off to our next post. Stay tuned for information on where that will be...I will share it soon!

Until next time....

Catching up for the last month or so...

I realize that it has been a long time since I posted anything new, and I am truly sorry for my absence. July was a pretty slow month for me, so I didn't have anything to post. Sofia on the other hand has been really busy. Al and Sofia spent a few weeks in Mexico visiting his family. It was a great time for Alberto and Sofia got to meet her brother and sister so the trip was worthwhile all around. Here some great pictures that Al took while he was there.

Sofia and her cousin, Sofia

The palapa and pool that Al's family owns outside of San Luis Potosi. 

Sofia and her sister, Gaby

Sofia and her brother, Didi

Once they returned from Mexico, Sofia had 2 days of rest and then was off again. She took her first unaccompanied minor flight back to Jackson, MS to visit the Wells crew. 

When I talked with Sofia, this is an abridged transcript of the conversation.

Me: Sofia, how did you like flying by yourself.

Sofia: Momma, I got to sit in the big front seat and there was no one for me to talk to.

Now, you and I know that "First Class" is a pretty cool thing. Especially since we didn't pay for "First Class", but what Sofia focused on was that she didn't have anyone to talk to. And yes, for Sofia, not having anyone to talk to for 3 whole hours, is a really big deal. 

Here is a shot of her reunion with Jake and one with Nona and Buelo.

She went to Philadelphia just in time for the Neshoba County Fair. It was really hot so she ended up spending a big part of her visit in the water; swimming at the Country Club and at the Water Park.

Here are some pictures of her visit.

Sofia's home away from home

 

Grandma Sue, Papa, Anna Katherine and Sofia

While Sofia was gone, Al and I "packed-out" the apartment. I will be honest. I have no idea why it took 6 hours to pack out this tiny apartment. We only have two bedrooms and none of the furniture in it is ours. I realize that these guys get paid by the hour, but let me tell you, they did not have a bit of "giddy-up" in them at all. So on August 1st, all of our stuff was boxed up and moved out of the apartment. What we are left with is the stuff that we think we are going to put in our luggage. We hope that it all fits. If not, we can always mail it to ourselves. 

On August 2nd, Sofia flew back to D.C. with Mom. Unfortunately, since she was not an unaccompanied minor, she didn't get first class and neither did mom. While mom was here, we didn't do anything too stressful but we did play mini-golf. We went to a couple of different places. One of them was really incredible. It had a jungle theme. Here is a shot of us before we went through the "Temple of Doom".

We also went to visit my Great Great Uncle Cliff and his wife Angela. We got some pretty good pictures. In the first shot, it is the whole family and in the second, you might recognize Virginia. Yes, yes, I know, applause is in order. I actually got mom into a picture. It is such a rare occurrence, that I feel the need to share it with the world. Besides, it is a really great picture.

So here we are, counting down the days until departure. It is coming up soon and we are very excited. We are nervous, but it is definitely time to get moving. The next time I post, it will be from Cameroon. Please keep us in your prayers. 

Look out, the adventure is about to begin!

Until next time...