Thursday, December 20, 2012

What we do for fun at RVA

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All the Titchie (elementary) students are assigned a Big Brother or Big Sister. Madison is paired with her cousin, Emily. Noah and Nate hit it off immediately. They like to explore the underground water tunnels around campus. :)

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My kids spend so much time on this water tank! When their friends call to play they usually say, “I’ll meet you at the tank.” It’s so cute :)

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Playing at our friends, the Fraziers’ house, who have since returned to the states :(

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Noah and his buddy, Seth, playing with the electricity game we brought with us. And they don’t get zapped because they just finished studying electricity at school.

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Our children have spent almost everyday of break playing with their friend, Samuel. We like having him here because he encourages Noah to be nice and to include his younger siblings :)

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Fun in the Frazier’s back yard on their amazing rope swing.

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Ty and Joel pulling the Noah on the swing. (Doesn’t the background look fake? The view is SO beautiful!!)

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Most days include a trip to Aunt Carolyn’s to borrow a bread pan or herbs from her garden… and it usually involves a special treat :)

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Searching for ripe mulberries to eat :)

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Cheering on the Buffs in their semi-final game.

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Watching soccer games.

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Madison and Ty love to help Elizabeth in the kitchen… especially when she lets them try the cookie dough! :)

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We have continued our family tradition of “Pie Day Friday,” pizza and a movie on Friday nights… only now we have to make it ourselves instead of simply calling in an order.

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And since we don’t have a TV yet, we watch it on the portable DVD player.

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Madison LOVES it when Elizabeth brings her daughter, Janice, to work with her.

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Tyler makes it his job to entertain Janice :)

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I laugh out loud every time I look at this picture! :)

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This is Titchie Skate Night, which takes place once every term. There are activities for the Titchie students most Friday nights.

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Playing with fun new toys and treats that came in a Halloween package from Annie Sue :)

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Noah and dad playing the trumpet… just kidding… blowing darts out of their blow guns at a cardboard box target in the living room.

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We like to have friends over for dinner fun and fellowship.

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Ty does yoga videos with mommy while the big kids are at school. He’s pretty good, huh? :)

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All the students and teachers get an hour off for lunch each day. Some days we find a pretty place to picnic.

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We serve our workers chai (tea and a snack) at 10am and 3pm everyday.  Chai with Simon is a highlight in Tyler’s days :)


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We go for monkey hunts around campus. This one is a Colobus and it almost urinated on our heads from up above!

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When we spot mean baboons, we use our slingshots to scare them away!

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We brought the art of hammocking with us to Africa :)

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Here’s a good view of “Upper Field” where we help out with the girls' soccer practices, where the cardio part of Jill’s fitness class takes place, where Noah is learning to ride his piki, and where we plan to play Ultimate Frisbee with our Caring Community group in the dark with our new light up frisbee from the States. This is my favorite spot on campus! I mean, look at the view!

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Hours of fun are to be had in the underground water tunnels!

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And then there is tree climbing…

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Chic flicks: This one is ”American Doll”

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While the boys watch “How To Train Your Dragon” in the dining room.

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This is the kids’ “secret hideout” about 200 yards away from our house.

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They do lots of mining here.

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Michael went on a fly-fishing camping trip over break, but since the kids didn’t get to go, they got to camp out in the backyard when he came home.

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On our walk around the guard’s trail (the trail around the perimeter of campus that the guards walk at night) we came across these pet tortoises which belong to one of the families here.

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And, yes, we play with dirty animal bones.

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The kids also spend a lot of time at Titchie Playground, right behind their school, which if you remember is located about 200 yards from our house.

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As an investment into our future in Africa… Noah got a piki (motorbike) for Christmas! This piki has been used by at least 3 different missionary families... made in the late 80's and still going strong:-)

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I got my first piki lesson, too. I think I’m ready to upgrade to a bigger size! :)

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Noah’s a natural! Before long he’ll be able to keep up with his cousins!

We are so thankful to be here and, as you can see, are having lots of fun! Of course we do work, too! Maybe that should be our next post. :)

Friday, December 14, 2012

Pinewood Derby 2012

This is THE reason Noah decided to come to Africa! Back in August, he understandably started feeling depressed about leaving his friends and home to move to Africa… that is until Grammy told him about the annual Pinewood Derby Race held at RVA each November.

Each participant starts with 3 blocks of wood.

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Michael and Noah glued and carved out this beauty at the woodshop.

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Next came the painting.

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These are the surf boards which are carried by the Hotwheels “Diora II”

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The evening before race day, all the cars are displayed for a special preview.

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Trophies are awarded for design as well as speed.

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As you can see, some people take this very seriously!

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We obviously have many gifted artists/craftsmen at RVA!

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But one stood out above the rest! ;)

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On race day each year, the Seniors put on “Senior Store” to earn money for their Senior trip to Mombasa (on the east coast of Africa). They sell American donuts, cheeseburgers, pizza, ice cream, soda… it’s like being back in the States! And we pigged out… because we wanted to support the Seniors of course!

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The finished masterpiece… about to make its debut on the race track.

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There were 5 heats, so each car had a a chance to race in each lane to rule out any unfair advantages.

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Uncle Mark, Aunt Carolyn, Maddie, and Ty cheer from the stands.

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I think this is the longest or second longest track in the country? The results of each heat are posted on the screen for all to see. Noah was happy to come in 4th place in each heat :)

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His cousin, Katie, raced her car, too :)

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The kids continued the fun up in the stands after their races were done.

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It was a long but fun day at the tracks! :)

ps- This post is dedicated to Grammy, who has been asking for pictures of Pinewood Derby for the last 4 weeks! :)