Safari!

We went on safari last week!  It was just a day trip (since we live a couple hours from Maasai Mara, where the animals roam freely on the savannah), but it was incredibly worth the long day in the car and the horrendously bumpy road to get there.  It was simply magical.  There's no better way to describe it.  Here are some of my favorite snapshots:

We didn't tell the boys we were going on safari until the night before, right as they were going to bed.  To say they were excited would be an understatement.  They were gasping and giggling and literally bouncing on the bed with joy!  Caleb went to sleep fine - excited but weary.  Kai, on the other hand, was completely wound up.  He had napped earlier, which always makes bedtime a bit harder, but the anticipation of safari served to stimulate him into a state of utter zeal.  He did not go to sleep well, he woke up a few times overnight, and crawled in bed with us around 5am.  He did not go back to sleep after crawling in bed with us.  He wiggled between me and Eli and waved his stinky snuggle blanket around.  When the alarm finally went off and we said it was time to get up, Kai popped up and exclaimed, "When the sun comes up we can go on the savannah!"  Apparently the excitement of going on safari was too much for him to handle - he couldn't even sleep because of it!

Our driver arrived early and we were on the road before 7:30.  After leaving the main road, it was approximately two hours down a dusty and very bumpy road to Maasai Mara.  We waited until the rainy season was over before going on this adventure because we've heard how particularly horrendous the road can be when it's wet and muddy.  It was pretty bad even when it was dry, but we made it all the way to the Fairmont, a nice hotel/restaurant where we took a bathroom break before getting back in the car for a "game drive" for a couple hours.  The first wildlife we saw were zebras.

There were many of them on both sides of the road.  Our driver stopped and opened the top of the van so we could stand and watch from a higher vantage point.  As I said, it was simply magical.  Caleb's face describes it well!

We drove on and found warthogs and wildebeest and ubiquitous antelope.  They were completely unconcerned by our presence, pausing to look at us briefly and then continue on their way.

At one point we saw a Maasai man with his herd of cattle.  It was such an iconic picture, like something you'd see in National Geographic.  He, too, was unconcerned by our presence and even waved back when we waved a greeting.  The Maasai live in many parts of Kenya but are strongly associated with inhabiting this corner of the country, and many of them still live in traditional ways.  This man was wearing the recognizable red cloth of the Maasai, the archetypal garb of his tribe.

It was a warm and sunny day, but a breeze perfected the temperature.  We spent two hours driving around the savannah, stopping whenever there were animals to see.  Only Asa couldn't keep his eyes open :)

Eventually we found the bigger animals.  This giraffe was by his lonesome in the middle of the grassland, seemingly doing nothing better but soaking up the sun.  He was rather stately, surveying the open plains before him.  Kai asked, "Is that a real giraffe?"  We assured him that yes it was, but it felt surreal.  We had to pinch ourselves at times to make sure we weren't dreaming!

And then we came across a herd of elephants.  We counted ten of them, but some were hiding in the bushes nearby so we might have missed some.  When we drove close enough for the boys to realize what was in front of us, Kai instantly started trumpeting like an elephant!  Our guide instructed us to be quiet to avoid startling them, but it was priceless yet again to see our son so excited!

And then we stumbled upon this lone hippo, far from the river.  Our guide said it was rare to see one that far from the river but they are known for traveling long distances to eat grass.  In fact, we were following a "hippo trail" for part of the drive so we saw how far they can stray from the river to eat.  Caleb was very excited to be following a hippo trail :)

We passed this giraffe on our way back to the Fairmont for lunch.  Again, I couldn't help but think of how stately these creatures are.  While we admired this fellow, a helicopter flew by.  It seemed odd since we were in the middle of nowhere and there was nowhere for anyone to be flying to.  But our guide said it was the rangers, keeping an eye on the elephants to ensure they were safe from poachers.  It sobered the moment, but at the same time we were thankful for the initiative to keep track of such majestic wildlife.

We built up quite an appetite after so much excitement and we were delighted to find burgers and pizzas on the menu at the Fairmont.  Better still, our table was outside overlooking the river where hippos like to hang out!  At first there weren't any hippos to be seen, so we dove into our bread and butter and waited for our burgers and pizza.  Before the rest of the food came out, however, the hippos began appearing and all hopes that our children would eat a good lunch quickly vanished!  Caleb in particular could not be bothered with food while the hippos were within view.  "Mom!  Mom!  Look, Mom!  Did you see?  It went underwater!!!!  Ohhhhh!  Now it's coming back up!  Mom!  Mom!  Did you see?"  For about a half hour straight our boys were just as much entertainment as the hippos themselves!  Eli finally called a "Hippo Break" and made both boys sit in their chairs and eat something.  It was hysterical!

We took so long eating lunch (and watching hippos) that we didn't have time for another game drive before heading back to Tenwek.  We opted not to stay overnight on this first trip, so we needed to get on the road in order to get home before dark.  We saw more animals on our way out of Maasai Mara, and even saw a giraffe bending awkwardly to drink from a water hole, and our hearts were full and happy.  We needed a fun adventure and a chance to get away from the hospital for awhile.  We've been stretched a lot as we continue our transition to living and ministering in Kenya, and going on safari enabled us to take a deep breath and reorient ourselves for the days ahead.  We're so thankful for the chance to have such a magical experience!

The Sandbox

Kai is obsessed with digging in the dirt.  Almost every night when we say prayers he says thank you for dirt and sand.  He's often covered in dirt whenever he comes inside, and he often needs extra baths because of his inability to leave the dirt alone.  He's gotten in trouble for digging in the flower boxes, digging in the garden, digging in our neighbors' bushes, and digging in any number of other places without telling me that he's gone off to dig somewhere.

Because of the problem of not being able to keep my eyes on Kai while he's off digging, it suddenly occurred to me that we should build a sandbox behind our house, next to the garden where there's an open patch of grass that nobody's using, and where I could look out three different windows of the house and keep an eye on him.  So I talked to Geoffrey, our househelp who works in the garden and who does odd jobs here and there, and he got to work on it right away.  Geoffrey figured everything out - where to get wood that wouldn't rot during the rainy seasons, where to buy nails, who to hire to bring wheelbarrows of sand - and he built the sandbox in two afternoons.  Kai was elated, and so was I!

Kai was interested in watching the entire process, from staking out the area to clearing the grass to nailing the boards to adding the sand.  He didn't even wait until all the sand was in before jumping in with his digger and starting to dig.  It was so fun to watch his excitement, to hear his constant jabber about Geoffrey building a sandbox, and to see his continued commitment to all things construction.  He's played in the sandbox every day since it was finished last week, and he's been more dirty than ever, but he's been so happy and I've been so relieved just to know where he is all the time!  We can't thank Geoffrey enough for helping us with this project!

using a machete to cut the grass

he stood and watched for a long time 

before I thought to offer him a chair

he looked like a little supervisor :)

he watched for hours, never leaving until 

I made him come inside to get out of the sun

jumping in as soon as he could

digging digging digging

Caleb joined in the fun too

Other kids joined in the fun over the weekend.  Kai appreciates anyone else who also has a love of dirt and the sandbox became a great gathering place for getting down and dirty.  This morning he played out there for a couple hours with Ebenezer, the son of another househelp who's almost the same age as Kai and who has become friends with our kids.  It was adorable to watch these little boys working in the dirt together!

Now when Kai prays at night, he starts with, "Thank you for the sandbox," and continues with any variety of, "And for sand.  And dirt.  And the shovel.  And the digger.  And the other digger.  And the dump truck.  And [fill in the blank]."  Kai isn't the only one thanking God for the sandbox - we are thanking God for it too!

Birthday Girl

I celebrated a birthday last weekend, which was full of ups and downs, mostly because Eli was on-call the entire weekend and I was left to fend for myself with three little boys.  But I stretched out the celebration and there were many highlights, the first of which was a Girls Brownie/Movie night on Friday night.  Several other missionary women joined me in eating Ghirardelli brownies and watching The Hundred-Foot Journey, which I'd never heard of but which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I brought a single box of Ghirardelli brownies to Kenya, and it was the perfect time to use it!

The next morning I was blessed with an unprompted birthday song from my boys.  Eli had attempted to lead them in singing Happy Birthday to me at breakfast, which mostly failed, but apparently they liked the idea and just wanted to do it of their own accord.  So mid-morning they found me and Asa in my room and started singing out of nowhere.  It was priceless.  I was somehow able to convince them to sing it again so I could record it:

The next highlight was listening to Asa's giggles while tickling him.  This boy is super ticklish and his giggles are infectious!

The rest of the day went downhill from there.  I won't bother to explain the meltdowns and temper tantrums that ensued and how completely tapped I was by the end of the day, but somehow we survived the weekend of Eli being on-call, and then Monday came.  Eli was given a comp day for working the entire weekend, and we found someone to watch all three boys while we slipped away to have lunch at a brand-new restaurant just outside of town.  It's called the Fair Hills and it was amazing.

We ate outside in one of the gazebos surrounding the fish pond and enjoyed the magnificent view of the hills in this part of the country.  It was such a treat!  The Fair Hills is so nice that we can scarcely believe it's right here in Bomet, a town of insignificant stature.  We're not exactly sure how it will stay afloat since few people in this area can afford to frequent such a place, but we were thankful for the chance to check it out and enjoy a Birthday Lunch with just the two of us.

The food was so-so, but it was such a treat to eat out anywhere and have the food made for us.  We do so much cooking at Tenwek that we marveled in the fact that someone else prepared and served us food, even if the ketchup bottle was filled some kind of sweet 'n sour sauce and the salt 'n pepper shakers were filled with salt 'n salt.  The food was relatively cheap and not too bad.  We couldn't ask for anything more.

So my first birthday in Kenya ended on a high note, and I'm looking forward to the year ahead!