Nice smiles, eh?!!

 The quietest member of our crew

 A girl's best friend (rotate it in your mind 90 deg clockwise!)

 Sheep enjoyed hanging out near the canal

The fab three

 Step 1a - closing her half of the lock gate

 Step 1b - closing his half of the lock gate

 Step 2 - supervising the captain during the change in water level

 Step 3 - leaving the lock

Step 4 - away they go

 Letting water through the lock gate

 Beware the cill that can hang up the stern of the boat if it's too close

 One of the many tunnels along the canal (though not nearly as long a the 1 1/4 mile long Braunston tunnel) we travelled through

 The first mate in charge of steering

Beautiful scenery near Braunston

 Life inside the boat was just like home with hungry kids . . . .

 . . . . fed by a loving mum

 Kobi and our youngest enjoyed a good book . . .

  . . . . while this one devoured the 'Hunger Games' in 18 hours

She loves her brother, but he's just too macho to get a kiss from his sister

We rented a 69 foot canal boat from Black Prince from April 7-10, 2012 and set out from Napton along the Oxford Canal

Two beautiful ladies steering the boat

We picked up George of the Jungle along the way

Taking over from the captain for a while

The stick was used often to push off the bank and control the turns

 . . . . but lost their 2nd round game against the defending national champion, Manchester Magic

The Kestrels won their first round game in the 2011-12 national playoffs on the higher seeded Northampton court . . . .

 She never seems to get a word in, hence, the 'neglected child'!

 The birthday girl and her sister

In February, 2012, we celebrated the 12th birthday of our pre-teen. 

. . . as well as the friendships that blossomed while working together

Memories of the children will last a long time . . .

A lasting image of our time in South Africa . . .

Being tall came in handy!

The daytime temperature was between 37-40 deg C and took a toll on all of us who were not accustomed to walking in those conditions for several hours

Later in the day, we played with the children. The kids learned how to throw a frisbee and the older ones learned to play Ultimate Frisbee.

In the early afternoon we assisted in providing meals for orphan children after school
In February, 2012, three of the Stewarts and seven others from church spent 10 days in Belfast, South Africa with 'Hands at Work'. In the mornings we joined the volunteer care workers as they visited folks in the community and prayed for those who were ill or needed companionship.  'Hands at Work' subsequently posted a story on their website regarding our trip to the UK.  You can read it by going to 'www.handsatwork.org' and click on 'Making a Lasting Impact (UK)'.

Sprinting toward the ball in a January, 2012 netball match

You're allowed to take a step back in netball provided you shoot off of one foot . . .

One of the few girls in netball or basketball in her age group who leaves the ground for the ball. She's got hang time!

On Dec 29th, the Stewarts shot 5251 free throws and made 3002 of them in an effort to raise money for "Hands at Work." Thanks to the generous donations of "celebrity" participants and supporters, over 625 GBP (~$1000) was raised for the organization that encourages and supports local communities in Africa, visits sick patients in their home, and plays with orphaned children.

The Stewart family at home for Christmas, 2011

. . . . and her posse!

The cute couple . . . .

We visited Madejski Stadium in Reading for our first professional rugby game at the end of October, 2011. We saw the home team, the London Irish, defeat the visitors from Bath.

The world's skinniest house next to the Accademia Bridge

The Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal