Christmas etc

Stephen really enjoyed having a month off over Christmas and New Years.

One of Samuel's funny faces.

A very strange license plate.

Christmas morning family picture.

Christmas Eve dinner.

Esther rocking her new shades and pjs from Uncle Dan.

Yankari - A Game Reserve

While Dan was visiting, we went to Yankari, a game reserve. It has safaris and Wikki Warm Springs which stays at 31 C. Here is Esther and her Daddy in our room.

This was my, Janice's, first ever safari. We were able to see a herd of elephants. Twice. Here they are crossing the "road".

This elephant was flaring his ears which made me a little nervous. He didn't need to worry about us bothering them!

The kids spent all day in the springs. They wouldn't even come out to eat lunch! They did a great job improving on their swimming abilities while we were there.

Dan giving the safari a big thumbs up!

Fun times with Uncle Dan

Waking up "early" for presents. Again. Why do I not have pictures of your birthday Dan?

A leisurely hike up a mountain in the village with big brother Jono.

Even made it to the top! Our village is hiding in the Harmattan dust.

We made salt dough ornaments and a Christmas paper chain. The chain got hung up right away but the ornaments are still sitting in a bowl on the counter. They will still be good for next year, right?

I guess the rest of the pictures are on Jono's computer. Part 2 will be coming at a later date.

Samuel's 5th Birthday!

The 5 year old blowing out his candles.

The morning of his birthday we went to the Wild Life Park with some friends. He shares a birthday with one of them and we all shared an ice cream cake. Funny thing was it was so cold that morning that we couldn't get it out of the pan! Here are the kids cleaning the platter - one wouldn't want to waste one little bit of ice cream!

With one of his presents. We finally made a rule that the scooter could NOT be ridden in the house!

Opening his present from Stephen - a hockey card! What could be better?

And eating cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing at his request. What could be better?

Esther's 2nd Birthday!

These pictures are in random order, sorry! Above is Esther "backing" her new baby. She only did it that day but I did have to retie baby numerous times.

The birthday girl had lots of help to open her presents before school.

Her birthday cake that we ate at Play Group. Thanks Aunt Julie for the decorating help.

Eating the icing from her cupcake. She would not eat the cupcake. We also took a picture of her with her friends on the compound but Esther was not sitting so lady-like so I don't think I can post it! I guess I need to work on teaching her about how to sit in a skirt!

And here she is with her new necklace from "My Valerie." Esther has a special relationship with Valerie and we are so thankful for it! We will also try not to think about living here without My Valerie's visits next year.

Happy birthday Esther! I know you want to be 3 like Silas but we pray that you enjoy being 2!

Life Goes On

One night Stephen started to spell people's name with our fridge magnets. Here is his picture of Oma Great's (Jono's grandmother's) name.

I bought a sewing machine from a friend with the hopes that I would become crafty. Well, having a sewing machine hasn't made me crafty. Stephen was quite entertained by me trying to fix Jono's pants. I was trying to make them into shorts since he put a whole in them. I think I now know why my mom stopped teaching me how to sew!

Here are our two super men ready for bed. They may have the same shirts on but they definitely have different personalities!

And our Esther. She keeps growing.

I've been trying to think of something interesting to write about. I couldn't find anything. I think life here has become routine and normal. Its hard to think of interesting things to write about or take pictures of. So, I guess these random pictures of the kids (and me) will have to do.

A new addiction!

So a couple months ago I heard about Pinterest. It has become a small addiction and given me something to do in all my spare time. The first thing I ever made from Pinterest were these capes. The kids loved them for the first few days and they have been hanging on hooks ever since! At least they did use them! I have since saved many recipes and craft/sewing ideas for future use. I have made some pretty wall decorations that actually match my living room! I think some friends have also become addicted!

Our farm and the First day of School!

Here is our farm. It only has Irish potatoes in it if you don't count the banana tree that hasn't given us any bananas. The plan is to plant other vegetables after we get the potatoes out of the ground. And yes, I have been slack with the weeding. You would too if the weather and mosquitoes are working against you!

Being from Ontario, it is very strange to have school start in August. I was so not ready for today! It snuck up on us all! I did our first day of homeschooling Samuel after we got Stephen to school and attended Chapel with him. A little bit of a late start, but it went fairly well. Keeping 3 busy at the same time does pose a bit of a challenge but hopefully it will work well.

And here is the big 2nd grader. It was a wet, rainy morning which was probably why we got to school on time. The traffic was unusually light! I do think I will miss the big yellow school bus picking the kids up and dropping them off every day. But thankfully, we are trying to carpool with our neighbours to save us all time and gas!

All dressed up!

We were invited as special guests to a Send Forth. Our neighbour is getting married in August and had her Send Forth today. I guess it could be compared to a North American bridal shower. There was lots of loud music, dancing, and food.

A shot taken by Stephen. Not sure it is our best angle...

And one of the 4 kids - nope, can't get them all smiling at the same time.

And the two youngest by Daddy's car.

May and June - a little bit of everything

Silas turned 3 on the 22nd of May. He is excited to be a big boy now and had cupcakes and a cake!

Samuel is our dresser upper. Can never be too safe while playing hockey or riding a bike.

Lego is a constant source of entertainment and frustration in our house. Here is their latest creation in progress - Lego City. Hard to tell from Stephen's picture, but there is multiple living levels.

The end of May was also Jono's birthday. We celebrated it (along with Memorial Day and Victoria Day) with our good friends by having a grill. Then we realized that this was the second birthday he celebrated at their house!

This is where it feels I spend most of my time. A couple weeks ago my neighbour and I hosted 20 adults plus children for a pizza dinner. Our guests had been working at a workshop and were quite excited by our pizza, veggies and dip, brownies and fudge sauce, and green mango crisp and (bad) ice cream. If you look close enough, you can see the flower that Samuel gave me to wear so I can look pretty.

Hard to believe but this house has a lot of activity in it and around it most days.

We finally had our grass cut this past week and the kids used it to make a fort.

Esther loves to talk on my phone. "Ello? Daddy?"

This is Daddy's car. You do not climb on it. You do not throw stones on it. You do not put your shoes on the seat. Not really a child friendly car but will do just fine for Daddy to take to the village. That's where the two of them are right now!

Here is an exciting blanket train created before breakfast. The kids had a lot of fun with it on what turned out to be a tough day for Mommy and Daddy. Jackson, one day we will meet you in person! Then you can show Samuel where all the controls are up there, he really wants to know how it all works!