September and October

I guess it's finally time that I write some more. Things are going well in Nairobi.  Some of you may have heard about the problems with Somalia but we're ok.  We've stopped going to big malls and such but it seems pretty safe.  The above photo is from a trip we took to Ngong Hills.  It's a beautiful place that overlooks the Rift Valley.  We had a wonderful picnic with some new friends and had a great time.  

 

The next few photos are of Phoebe and Greta at their preschool.  Both girls love it and Phoebe is learning to read.  She gets fired up when she has homework!

This next photo is primarily for the benefit of Mom, Dad and Amy, and anyone who has lived or traveled in England and Scotland.  When we were kids we used to go eat at Wimpy's all the time.  It was a poor substitute for a McDonalds but it was all we had.  It was pretty cool to find one here in Nairobi.

I thought this next photo was pretty funny.  I asked our housekeeper to get us some chicken for dinner...she did just that:

Head and all...eeew

Mattie and Emma are now on the swim team and had their first swim meet.  Neither one did too well but they had fun.  Emma forgot to touch the wall to stop her time so she came in dead last even though she swam well, and Mattie did this weird flip on her back thing to take a breath (she was nervous) so she didn't do so well either.  There is another meet this Friday so maybe they'll do better!

This next photo is of our house and dogs.  It was such a pretty day and the dogs were behaving so I had to take a photo.  We have a wonderful house and a great yard for the kids to play in.  Such a difference from the mud pit we had in Phnom Penh for the girls.

The following photos are of Halloween.  We went trick or treating in the U.S. Embassy compound with some friends and had a fantastic time.  It was almost like being in the States and the girls had a great time.

The shoes really didn't work but who knows, maybe they had crocks in medieval times!

As a side note, that broom is not one we made for her witch costume, it's our regular broom for the yard. 

Strangely we didn't have a crown in our house so we improvised.  Actually, an intern at IJM was kind enough to produce this beautiful crown for Greta who went as Cinderella. 

Mattie went on a field trip to a Tea Farm and learned all about how tea is made.  There are farms all over Kenya that have been owned for over a hundred years by British people who came to Kenya in the late 1800's early 1900's.

Mattie is always asking questions!  This woman's grandfather is the one who started the farm.  They are/were great friends with Jane Goodall.  How cool.

So that's about it.  Mattie's and Shawn birthdays are coming up so that'll be fun.  Hope all is well with everyone!

CIAO!!