Home Fun

So we are just about caught up now with our pics/updates - at least until last week when school started ... and here are a few 'around the house' shots that are worth putting up ...

Daddy with his cast ... AGAIN ... and Theo - 'Oh no, not another 6 weeks of this again!'

I LOVE this shot of Theo on the driveway with the chalk ... how cool huh?

Theo helping Mommy relax after a yoga workout ... now do you really think he is HELPING her relax or ???

Theo and Kaia sharing clothes ... oh we need to keep these pics for when they are older ... sort of a 'show this at your wedding' type of shot yes?

and Kaia with some of her classmates and teacher Diana behind -- Kaia has really seemed to enjoy her new challenges in P1 this past week and a half ... yeah!!!!  Nice to see our little girl blossoming!

Balloon and Sand Angels Videos

Here is Kaia blowing up her first balloon all on her own ... don't worry, it does not pop at the end!

and here is Kaia on our beach trip to Peponi making a 'sand angel' ... ahhh ... what you do when there is no snow in a tropical location!!!!  Hee hhee ....

Flats

So, after our trip to the coast we got back to our 'home sweet home', although Carl had to go immediately to Nairobi for a doctors appointment which eventually led to his second surgery on the knee.  Sad thing too was that as we were all driving to take Carl to the bus that morning for Nairobi - of course we get a major flat tire!  Didn't really affect anything but still ... sheesh!

Still, it was good to be back ... Kaia missed her complete set of colors for drawing ...

Heading Back Home

So our trip was just about over and we were about to head home ...

Here is one last shot of us (the last night) by the beach and the wind blew us around!
It was so lovely ...

We then took almost two days to drive back to Arusha, but we took it slow ...

The kids were remarkably good in the car generally ... just give them oodles of books, toys, and of course FOOD/SNACKS almost constantly and they can put up with just about anything! :)

We saw alot of sisal plants / fields along the way ... used to be a very big crop in the country but it has faded a bit ...

We also saw (as usual in this country) some interesting vehicles along the way ... watch out for this WIDE LOAD ... is that what it says?

We stopped at the 'Elephant Motel' on the way back to break up the journey.  We kept looking for elephants ... Theo especially but no luck!  There was a nice play park however and it was a nice rest stop for a looooong journey home!

Snorkeling and Sand Island Day

One of our days at Peponi saw us go on a 1/2 day trip snorkeling and visiting a sand island with the resorts boat.  It was a wonderful experience.

An older Italian couple, and a couple of moms with a child or two each from Arusha (we didn't really know them but we did recognize them) came on the boat/trip with us ...

 Just watching the crew work this old style 'Douw' boat was a great experience.  It took alot to work the sail and it was fun to experience the whole workings

After a day or two of gentle pushing and encouragement, PJ got Kaia to go snorkeling with her!  Here they are ... it only lasted a few minutes but we are proud of our girl!

 Here is the view from the shade shelter of our Douw boat.  Ahhh ... the life ....

Of course the only reason why we could visit this sand island was because of the extreme tidal action .... stay too long and the island is gone!

The older Italian couple took a real shine to Theo ... and it was fun when he started trying to work out how this powerful water/squirt gun worked ... he kept everyone on the boat entertained for the voyage home.

Peponi Beach Resort

So then we headed off to the East coast of Tanzania! - Peponi!
A lovely and very quiet beach resort that comes highly rec' from many associated with the school ...
They have bungalows, but we took our tent and got a choice of ANY of the sites there ... so of course we took the best spot - just a few feet from the beach with a nice breeze almost all the time.

The kids did not take long to find some fun, PJ and I headed to the bar/restaurant area to have a nice cold drink and Kaia showed Theo how to do 'sand angels' on the ground!  Goodness, didn't even notice Theo was naked from waist down at the restaurant until just now!!

Of course one of the best aspects of this site and the tenting were the morning and evening views out over the water ... even the kids seemed to really enjoy and appreciate them.

The tides were fascinating too - they came in and out 2 X per day ... you could walk SOOOOO far out into the ocean and see some cool ocean life / bits like starfish, some evidence (though not much) of coral reef life and even little eels!  Oh - and jelly fish ... but that is another story for another blog ...

Here is Theo getting into the beach bum groove ...

and of course Kaia was keen to show her little brother all her beachy knowledge and share her 5 yr. old insights ...

One of the nice amenities of this resort was their pool - right by the beach.  Nice for Kaia and Theo to get some swim time in and of course not worry too much about the seaweed!

One of the highlights though for sure were our daily walks on the beach exploring all that the waves washed up ... look at these tides!  They are practically splashing up onto our tent!  Hee hee ...

Swiss Chalet - in Africa!

So yes we are a bit behind on our blogs ... hmmm ... lets blame the cast on my leg shall we?

So late in July before school started up again (as it is just now) we had a very nice week anyway of a road trip / vacation starting with a night up in the Usumbara Mountains - heading towards the East coast of Tanzania.  There is a Swiss farm/lodge there that our friends recommended as being beautiful, with great food, and worth the scenic drive up!  So we did it!

They had our dinner waiting/ready for us when we arrived fairly late in the evening ...

Nice enough room with a bunk bed that Theo used anyway (sleeping on the bottom) and we woke up to a VERY VERY chilly morning with our breakfast served outside ...

Wolly blankets were very much needed this morning, but the food was very good.

Here is a shot of the path leading up to our cottage on the right.

and before we left - one of the staff found a chameleon for us to say hello to -

Beautiful winding drive up and down, much more appreciated in the daytime/morning so we could see the vistas and views and waterfalls occasionally!