July 8, 2008 Nursery

Got the nursery painted!!!! The walls were already this gray blue. Our desk is to the left and I am standing in the doorway. This is the room that was added on to this house a few years ago. It is long and narrow just like it looks. We're doing polka dots as our theme. I was doing polka dots and stripes, but have not found stripes that I like here. So, right now it is polka-dots in cream and brown. If the baby is a girl, I will add a few pink dots.


Okay, the cream looks pink right now...but it's brown and CREAM.

The bulletin board is my next project, but after the baby is born. I will do pink ribbon if it's a girl, and don't have anything yet if it's a boy. I also got some big brown buttons to put at the cross-sections.

Other projects are the curtains and the rocking chair covers. I am getting the campus seamstress to do that for me and make a few pillows too. Fabric is chocolate brown and tan. I am excited to get these things done. =) As of tomorrow, 4 WEEKS til due date! Long time, but finally down to one month.

4th Of July!!!

The girls loved having their faces painted for the 4th. I got some face painting crayons from the Eaglets room and decided what better day than the 4th to bust them out. Are those the cutest little sisters or what!?!?
Dawn sent the girls these ADORABLE headbands and they are so excited to wear them! The little decorations on the table beside them are made with toilet paper tubes by Abby, Kaylee, Gabe, Caleb, Ann and myself. Aren't you proud of our crafting abilities? =)

So, we celebrated the 4th at Pamma and Grandpa's house with the Greenwich's and the Canadian Krymusa's. The kids had a blast playing together and we even had some sparklers and spinner fireworks that surprised us all!

Here is our family! Tried to give you all a belly shot, but it isn't angled enough. Oh well. Happy 4th everyone!

Kiddos having a blast acting CRAZY and SPAZZY!!!! It took a while to get Caleb in the picture, but Jeremy bribed him with cookies.

July 1, 2008 Canada Day

It's Canada Day! Yes, we're wishy washy and will celebrate any country as long as it means free cookout! =) Kaylee with her Canada flag tattoo from our neighbors. She did NOT like me putting it on her, so the water got under it and it stayed on for all of 15 minutes.










Magdalene is a true Canadian, but Abby didn't mind being Canadian for the day either. She didn't really appreciate Phil's rendition of "Oh, Canada" though. =)












We had a fun time in our front yard and the Krymusa's backyard having hot dogs and sodas. It was fun chat time and the kids loved roasting marshmallows.









Probably talking about golf...but who knows. Wes and Phil are being greatly entertained by Dan's stories. =) The baby is Josephine who is just now 2 months old. Kaylee LOVES holding her!

June 18, 2008

Abby and her friend Julia (who is TOO CUTE for words) playing in the sandbox outside Gabe's house. We caught a rare smile from Abby for this picture.



Kaylee swinging at Gabe's house. When she wants something "extra" she uses the word "double". So, when swinging, her request is, "Push me double high!!!!" =)

Some friends of ours are on furlough for a year, raising money to come back. They loaned us their swingset for the year since they'll be living on campus when they come back and will be our neighbors. Dan got it up in a couple days and the girls have played on it every day since then. Kaylee LOVES to swing and asks to be pushed "double high". I can't wait for the day when she can get on teh swing and pump by herself! Abby is a very sweet adn helpful big sister, though and happily pushes Kaylee.

We had an end of the year school banquet at a really nice restaraunt called Lord Errol's. The dinner was nice, the speeches weren't too long and it was fun to dress up. Yes, that's my belly.

This is at Gabe's b-day party at the end of May. THere are so many pregnant people on campus right now! Well, my friend Kirsten just had her baby, the secretary Josephine had her baby. Amy, on the left, is due July 24, then me August 8, then Ann, Oct 3. Aren't our bellies lovely?

Here are the girls and their friends here on campus playing fireman at Gabe's birthday party! Aren't they cute!?!

Masai Mara Safari

Hi everyone! I know, it's been a LONG time. Oh well, I warned you. =) So anyway, just thought I would let you all know about our safari trip this past weekend. We went to the Mara with Pam and Gary. We left on Friday the 6th and came back on Sunday. Kaylee was sick Tuesday evening and Wednesday with some kind of stomach bug. I caught it the night before we left. I was well in the morning, but weak. We were all in a van that was pretty roomy and comfortable. The driver took us to the main office in Nairobi so we could pay up and then we had to make a stop at the market to pick up food for the hotel restaurant. =) After about two hours, we were on our way! It was about a 6ish hour drive after that. The girls traveled really well (thanks to Pamma's bag o' tricks). When we got there, we had an evening game drive and the girls enjoyed seeing animals. Kaylee's favorites were cows, goats, and zebras. =) She was VERY easy to please. Dinner was European, served at 7:30!!!! Needless to say, we were all ready to crash. The rooms were fine, nothing special, but the funny thing was that the whole place was under construction!!!! I should say, renovation. Anyway, we slept well until about 3 int eh morning when Abby woke up with the stomach bug!!!! Well, Saturday was our all day game drive, but Abby really wanted to go and see the animals, and none of us could really see the point in sitting in a hotel room with no TV or anything for the day. SO...we packed a trash can, sacks, extra clothes, and medicine, and we all went on a game drive. Abby laid in the back seat with a fever and threw up into a trash can every hour or so. BUT...she sat up every time we saw animals and was actually able to enjoy seeing the lions, hippos, elephants, lion kill, ostrich, zebra, secretary birds fighting over a cobra, and monkeys. When we got back from that drive, we knew that Dan was coming down with the bug!!!! SO, while Kaylee, Pam, Gary and I ate dinner Dan and Abby went and slept the bug off in the hotel room. Abby was well in the morning, Dan was okay. Pam and Gary went on one more short morning game drive while we slept in a little. Breakfast was at nine and then we were off, back to Nairobi. The drive was MUCH faster coming home. We didn't make stops and it was mostly downhill so our driver was going quite a bit faster! We were all a little more uncomfortable, but we got home quickly. =) Overall, it was a fun trip and we did get to see quite a few animals. Abby and Kaylee LOVED it and are already asking to go on safari again. I have pictures I will post from Ann and Jeremy's computer this weekend...really! =)

March 28

This has been a fun week having Daniel home for Spring Break. We started the week with Easter celebrations and ended it (almost) today with a date. It's been interesting in between though. Kaylee had a visit to the doctor for some ongoing stomach issues and ended up on an IV for dehydration on Monday. We took her back for a check up on Tuesday and by Wednesday evening she was doing just fine. She had RotaVirus. So, we've enjoyed some time at home with the girls. Dan has had fun taking them to the playground and messing with them here at home. we've gotten to enjoy time with Pam'ma and Grandpa, too. Dan starts back to school this Monday, but no more coaching for the year. We're both looking forward to a little more family time. I am still working on new recipes, more meatless, or less meat meals. So, if any of you have great recipes to pass on, please do! Oh, we're going for our sonogram Saturday April 5, so it will be fun to get that on video. We aren't finding out gender still, even though Abby has asked if she can know. =) She desperately wants a baby brother. Well, I am working on posting some pictures, but our computer is not reading the drive right now. I will try to get over to a friend's or to Dan's classroom tomorrow to get it done before the week starts. Okay, I am off to bed.

March 11, 2008 Pictures!!!!!

Abby and Kayle enjoying the beach at Silver Beach in Egypt this past Christmas. The water was chilly, but it didn't keep us from wave splashing and sand castle building. Dan even took a quick dip in the water (after making sure Dad promised him a Starbucks mocha).

On Sports Day there was a race for all preschoolers before the events started for students. Abby and Kaylee were both hesitant to run and the crowds definitely intimidated them! Both girls were zoned out (imagine that!) when the started sounded so Brent (the man in the red shirt) gave them each a friendly nudge to get them going. Abby started and ran her little heart out. Kaylee fell face first into the dirt but, instead of crying, she hopped up and started running...then walked the rest of the way holding my hand. By the way...Abby came in first! Yep, we're proud of our preschooler!

Yee-ha! Ride 'em cowboy! Our version of rodeo here in Nairobi. We went to the Ostrich Farm with a group of people and had a nice time. It was a relaxing environment and we ate at the restaraunt while we were there. Dan had an ostrich burger. I had chicken. We got to tour the farm and see ostriches at all ages and stages. Abby held an ostrich egg. Dan and I both took an ostrich ride. I'll tell you...there's not much to that saddle. Three guys HANG on the ostrich (one on the tail feathers, one on each wing) as they guide the ostrich in circles. They are hanging so the ostrich won't take off in an all out sprint! VERY awkward ride, but fun to say we've done it.