ladies and gentlemen, Sam has come out of retirement and is going to do a blog! i know i know! you dont have to listen to me anymore! here she is ...

ah ha ha - i get so much flack for not signing on here - but Luke is great - I mean really - do you wanna hear the same stories twice???

Life is great - how could it not be?? residing in a winery at the base of one of the most renowned climbing areas - I'm a lucky girl, and I know it. especially with teachers like Luke and Josh ... Learning lots - pulling hard (sort of) and loving every moment. I am skeptical about the grades here though - it seems that I am climbing 5's - whatever that means but i'm noticing that when we look at the 'V' conversion there's probably no way - ha ha! I sure do miss the 'C' gradign system at home ...

The quote of the week is "BATS ... BATS ARE ATTRACTED TO LIGHT!!!" - I'll let you all imagine which of the three muskateers that came from - but lets just say that I know better than to shower in the dark outside at night and Luke isnt' afraid of anything ...

This trip has been amazing - I'm so lucky to be here experiencing the world with Luke - stories we'll tell grandkids one day ... stories I can't wait to tell people when we get home. I struggle for stuff to write here though, i have to admit - not because i don't want to but just because for one you all get great descriptions from Luke and so i could tell you about my feelings, but whenever I ask the boys to talk about feelings they aren't very receptive ... ha ha. j'k ... seriously though.

I find that I ... we ... are missing peoplefrom home like crazy - People here know Etienne from his recent trip and especially when we are climbing we think of friends and what they might have to say about a problem or a funny anecdote ... (see this is why i don't write - I reminisce far too much) - Anyways - I shouldn't stay on too long because we are expecting a new fridge for our cottage. the one we have now is painfully warm on the inside and poor luke has been eating cheese dangerously close to the expiration for far too long now.The food here is amazing - by that i mean the food that we have been cooking. Luke has manufactured this amazign salad that he puts together almost everynight that has us fighting to lick the bowl and Josh ventures out after dark with a headlamp, fightign off bats with a stick to bbq the boerwars (sausage) ...

The Biltong (jerky of sorts for my family who dont' know what it is) seems to be a staple in our grocery shops - i hate it - ostrich, springbok, beef ... CHICKEN - WTF!!! it looks like freeze dried salmonella!! - so freakin' gross - but the boys ... they will eat anything - Apparently the biltong is dried down 80% of its original size so in total I'd have to say that since Josh's arrival they've consumed one cow, two springbok (deer) and at least a gaggle of ostrich ... so uncool - ha ha!!

Ok - well I'm off - will write soon - (promise)

Much love to all - and thanks for taking the time to read about our adventures - Misses and Kisses ...

Sam