2 more sleeps

We’re back in Nairobi now, hanging out and waiting for Saturday to arrive so that we can go back home. Good thing that Jocelyn and Judah are willing to hang out with us, so we’re not bored. :) We had lunch with them at the mall close by and now we’re hanging out at our guesthouse until we meet them (and Josh) for supper at an Ethiopian restaurant.

Our short holiday this week was only a few days, but I’ve rarely had such a packed-full, wonderful, exhausting few days. Today I just feel weary. Part of that is being tired of packing, unpacking and repacking as we have been moving around, and it makes me even more ready to get back home.

Here’s another few photos of our safari. The girls loved almost everything, and were overall very patient and quiet when we were looking for animals. I hope that they remember at least a few details for always.

Jambo!

Just popping in from the gorgeous Masai Mara to say a) we're having a wonderful time, b) it's possible to blog from the middle of nowhere, and c) I have tons of pictures to show you at some time.

I've been sighing happily multiple times a day.

Happy Mother's Day!

This weekend is so relaxing and wonderful that I don't want it to be over. :) Matthew had 5 long, hard days of work last week, and well, so did I. When he came home on Friday night, I sighed a great sigh of relief and said, "Let's go out for pizza." Ha.

Yesterday we just hung out around the house, except for me making a run to the grocery store and a second-hand store. It was very refreshing to hang out together as a family.

This morning the girls were so excited that it was Mother's Day. :) They had all made cards for me, and gave me money to buy the bird book I've been eyeing. I have to tell you about C's card for me. It was a blow to my self-confidence. (not really, but it cracked me up.) It said, "Mom, Happy Mother's Day! I love you very much! Do you know what to do with the money in the box? Buy "Birds of East Africa!" We put in enough money! Dad thought that you could figure that out on your own, but I wasn't so sure. Caitlyn" Hee hee. So sweet.

We only have two more weeks here in Uganda, a week in Kenya and then we are heading home! I am alternately so excited to get back to our own house and nervous about the continuing political drama there.

Jinja

We're back. Tired, happy and a little bit sunburned. It was a good time away, if you overlook minor details like the hotel not having recorded our reservation. Ahem. And not having a bungalow big enough for our family. And Larissa being made to sleep in a crib because of said oversight. Oh well. We overlooked it and had a good time. :)

This is a tea plantation that we drove by on the way to Jinja. It was beautiful.

When we got to our hotel, we parked under a tree and right away I heard birds. We got out and looked and the tree was FULL of birds and nests. I've never seen anything like it. They were Little Weavers, and they were building nests and making a huge commotion while they were at it. It was amazing. There were hundreds of birds and hundreds of nests.

We ate lunch almost right away after we got there, and while we were waiting for our food, the girls played "Mother May I."

The cute little "Mother" who likes being in charge.

We swam for awhile after lunch and then we went for a boat ride. The hotel was on Lake Victoria, but very near the beginning of the Nile. The hotel had boats for hire, so we found another couple there who also wanted to go and we all went together. Unfortunately, our camera isn't really good enough to take pictures in a situation like this, but we went onto the river and for one hour we just went up and down the shoreline. We saw about 12 different kinds of birds, monkeys and 2 monitor lizards. It was all just so fun and so amazing.

This morning after breakfast, the girls swam again before we had to check out. You can imagine that a pool like this was a big hit. :) They are getting very comfortable in the water now, and like to try new tricks all the time.

When we left the hotel we drove over the dam (hydroelectric dam in the Nile) and went to find the Bujagali Falls. The photo above is the dam, and the photo below is the lower side of the river.

Here we are at the Bujagali Falls.

In this photo you can see the rafts and kayaks getting ready to go over the falls. It looked like so much fun, and the girls begged to go. Someday. That's the sort of thing that makes me look forward to having teenagers. :)

We stopped at a little cafe called the DeNile Cafe. :) We ate fish and chips and couldn't resist the passionfruit cake and ice-cream. It was delicious! I think I might have to figure that recipe out now. I saw this tree as we were walking to the cafe, and thought it would make a good picture.

Larissa was so tired on the way home, and convinced her Daddy to stop the car (proof that he's wrapped around her finger...) and get her blanket out of the suitcase. :) She was asleep soon after this was taken.

We stopped for groceries on the way home, then came the unpacking/sorting/cleaning up that comes after a weekend away. Now the girls are bathed and in bed, and we are relaxing. :)

Carnaval

Last Friday was the fete de Carnaval at the girls' school. This was Larissa's first fete where she really knew what to do. Unfortunately, we didn't get the memo about the change to the starting time, so we only saw her last song. :(

This is the best picture I could get of L. She didn't love it, but she did sing nicely. :)

Aimee and Sierra were a bit confused about what they were supposed to be dressed as. Aimee told me she was a rabbit, so she dressed in white/khaki clothes and we made a fabric puff for a tail. (Sorry, no photo of the tail...) Sierra was sure that she was supposed to be a cat, and since we couldn't think of a quick way to make a cat costume, she decided to be a princess cat. When we got to school, I sure couldn't tell the difference between the rabbit mask and the cat mask. I think the cat had a lot of teeth showing under her long ears. :) The picture below is the girls saying a part of a poem that their class recited.

Valentine's Day

Matthew arranged for the Reach team to come and watch the girls while we went on our curfew-influenced lunch date for Valentine's Day. Two of the team are out in the bush, but the other 4 came over and had lunch with the girls and then baked cookies. This is the happy sight we came home to. :) Happy because the girls (and Judah, who had joined in) were very excited about such fun with their beloved and much admired Reach team. Happy because someone else had made a big mess with my kids. Ha.

Courtney is my cousin's daughter, so we feel very privileged to have a real-live-cousin here. :) Caitlyn finds it very exciting. (To be honest, she finds everything the Reach team does to be very exciting. She said so yesterday while overcome by the sheer wonder of such an amazing day.)

I wish I knew what she's thinking...

There were sprinkles everywhere!!

I love how he's not actually looking at the cookie or the sprinkles. :) I think one of the girls was talking to him.

They also made monster cookies with Valentine's M&Ms that I brought back from Canada. I think that babysitters that bake cookies are the best kind. :)

Oh yeah, Matthew and I had a very nice date, and thoroughly enjoyed having a meal without small people talking our ears off. (Not that that isn't refreshing, in its own way.)

Kansas, part one

Not the greatest picture of everyone, but this is Gran, Pappy and their grandkids (except for 2)

Mom and Aunt Kath and assorted kids

Pappy and Karla

The four in-laws in our family. I guess they figure they have to stick together.

We had Kim and Jose's names in our family gift exchange. Here are the girls giving the gifts, even though it looks more like they're attacking them.

I feel like I've reached a milestone...this is the first time I've found this sight on my camera. :) (If you leave your camera around Jose, it seems he finds it. :)

Christmas

New Christmas nighties. (And, before anyone freaks out...Aimee's knees are bent. She's not really that short.)

A webkinz puppy...and the sun shone, the angels sang and all her dreams came true. Or something. :)

We had some visitors on Christmas day...

Mike and Helen and the sweet grandbabies...

Yutzys and Slaubaughs at Stormer Lake

Good thing that we really didn't sit around looking this bored all the time. Ha.

Sheldon, Matthew, Derek

Cutie-pie Xander and Great-Aunt Rachel (don't you think she's looking wonderfully wrinkle-free for being a great-aunt? :D)

Above: Uncle Sheldon and Sierra were a team for the relay - here I think they are putting on a bandaid while holding hands.
Below: Uncle Dave and Aimee were a team for the same relay.

our little cabin in the woods

I am so cranky with blogger for not putting these pictures in the order I wanted them to be in. Why after all these years do they have to change things now??

We loved our little holiday in the cabin SO much. It was so restful and relaxing and, except for the fact that I was dealing with some painful digestive disturbances the whole time, it was just what we needed. We went in the hot tub at least once a day, played a lot of games and went driving/hiking on the mountains one day. Matthew took one afternoon and went horseback riding and then one afternoon I got to go get a massage. (Contented sigh.) It was wonderful. Most of the above pictures are from our hike up on Skyline Drive.

Long Overdue...Carnival

The girls had their Carnival concert at school back in February. I didn't have a camera that day, so my friend H took pictures and I only got them yesterday. (Yes. I procrastinate.) I must confess that I'm showing off a little, since I want you to see the costumes I made. And my cute kids. :) But most of you know that I am not really a sewing kind of person, since that requires accuracy. Guess what? If you make it up as you go along, accuracy isn't so important. :D Anyway...

S, the snail. (Margot l'escargot) They made their masks at school.

A, the caterpillar. (Camille la chenille)

A, and her friend the ladybug. :)

The caterpillar can dance. Actually, this caterpillar loves to dance.


The snail's shell.

If only all creepy-crawlies were so cute...