First Day of School

We started our new school year today after taking a few weeks off.  Schools here in Kenya are supposed to be back in session but there's a country-wide strike so the kids are still home.  Our teachers aren't striking though and seeing as we're supposed to head to Nairobi next week to await the arrival of our next little one, we thought getting started was a good idea.

Our students were all excited to start the new school year.  We have new curriculum (Sonlight) and lots of new books and a new schedule.  Little Bit didn't actually join us for the whole morning today as we try and figure out all the newness.

E is starting first grade and is really excited about all of our new read-aloud books.  She insisted on a pretty dress, not a play dress, for her first day of school.




J-boy is somewhere between pre-K and first grade so just say kindergarten.  He's excited about new math books and science experiments.  He also enjoys spelling and reading.







M is excited about anything involving markers, scissors, paint, or glue.  She LOVES crafts.  She'll also be starting to learn her letters and numbers.  She's great with her colors and loves being with her big sister and brother.






We're all happy to get the new year started and plan to continue school while we're "waiting" in Nairobi.  We seem to all do better with routine so it'll give us something to do.  We're also hoping to have some routine established before the little one arrives!  Less than two weeks until the due date though, so we'll see when he/she arrives!

Our "baby" is six!

**This is a bit old, but pretend it's still July 22 and we're celebrating E's 6th birthday!

E's first birthday in Kenya was celebrated w/ our team and an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet!  E was celebrated with our teammate Tim and they both like Chinese food so it worked!

E has completed kindergarten and enjoys school, for the most part.  She's a great helper and a great big sister.  She is looking forward to having another baby and tells us that she knows just want to do because she's taken care of two babies before!  We are so thankful for you, E.

How old are you? six
What's your favorite color? red
What's your favorite food? ice cream
What do want to be when you grow up? a veterinarian
What makes you really happy? when I get to watch movies
When are you sad? when I don't get to do things like if I wanted to play one of my computer games and you said no
What's your favorite movie/TV show? Ice Age and Princess Movie Daddy got for me
What's your favorite thing in school? on Mondays and we read our Bible stories
What do you like to play? with babies and to cook
What's your favorite game? races outside
What are most excited about this year?  that we're going on vacation to the coast
What's something you want to do while you're six? get a phone
What is something you think will be hard about being six?  that I'm too big to swing between Daddy's legs

E and Tim at their birthday party. E is 6 and Tim is older than that.

Closing Ceremonies

We have enjoyed watching the Olympics for the last two weeks.  Because of our location, we've had 24-hour access to the youtube Olympic channel, watching live events as well as any that have already taken place.

Especially with the kids, it was nice to be able to switch between events and watch many different things.  The kids each had their favorite sport to watch or athletes they liked to see perform.

After watching the closing ceremony, we talked about what we enjoyed most.  Here are the kids' responses:

M-  I liked red. I liked diving. I want to go swimming.

J-  I liked horse riding, biking, field hockey, and swimming.  I liked that the horses didn't knock off the bar very much.  I like the bumps where they were riding their bikes.  I like that they played hockey in a field.  I liked all the fast swimming and when they started like this (he demonstrated the breast stroke).

E- (she had to write hers) I like to watch gymnastics.  I liked the high bar.  I liked to watch swimming and Michael Phelps (which she wrote with a "MF").  I like to watch diving.  I like to watch diving when two people do the same thing at one time.

That's our family review of the Olympics.