Lake Langano Trip!

It has been awhile since our last post.........the internet connection and speed here is downright........UGHH!! Anyways...onto more pleasant experiences. At the end of March, the family headed out of town for 4 days to Lake Langano. It is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours (depending on traffic) and is out in the country. We had a wonderful time! It may not look like much in the pictures, but it was a little bit of heaven compared to the overly crowded city of Addis. We stayed in a small cabin and tent. We had a kitchen and fire pits to cook our meals. We also had a restroom facility. We were not roughing it at all like we had expected. We played and swam in the water, played volleyball, played bocce ball, fished, played card games/board games, seen lots of different kinds of birds, and enjoyed every minute. It was really nice and we were able to go with some friends who knew the ropes. You will see that Eli caught the only fish of the weekend and it was capital U for ugly. Then Eli beat us all in Bocce Ball....never doubt that beginner's luck idea. Glori and Eli collected shells on the beach and played all day from sun up to sun down. Sophi did well. We had her playpen set up and she played, played, played and slept. All in all a great time and we want to visit again. Enjoy the pictures!

Daddy's Girls!!

Mitch and his girls.........well, one girl is taking the picture! I thought this was a cute picture.

Found a new friend!

Our friends found a turtle walking by their gate drinking some run off water. Here are some pictures and video of this curious fellow. Eli said his name should be George!!

Baking and Cleaning

In December, I unpacked the Bosch mixer and started putting it to good use. I use it several times a week making bread, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, hot dog buns and scones. I know what you are thinking......no way!! I used to occasionally bake from scratch and now it is a necessity. Honestly, it has been fun. One of my friends here makes Martha Stewart look like an amateur. She is an awesome baker and cook. She gave me some tips and some of her high altitude recipies and they are great. The other pictures are of veggies and fruits bought on the local market. They are drying out from all the "cleaning prep" that needs to be done. However, it is worth it! The fruits and veggies are delicious. Fresh mangos, papayas, plums, oranges, strawberries and sweet melon. the lettuce is out of our very own garden. Yummy!!

Guess Who?

For our family in Idaho....look really closely to this picture. Who do you think the man is in this picture? We will give you a hint......he is from Germany........it is Dirk!! Surprise Daniel Son!! It is such a small, small world. He was visiting Ethiopia for business and came to our small church branch one Sunday. So after all these years, we have to see him again in Ethiopia. It really is a small world. Daniel, I need you here.........Dirk and Mitch are speaking German and I need a translator!!

Running, it may be in the genes!

Glori loves to run........either being chased by her brother or chasing her brother. For family that may be watching this......does she look like someone...oh about 30 years ago! Hee, Hee, Hee

Look, no training wheels!

In the last month, Eli started to ride his bike again. After a few wipe outs and scraped knees, he is riding his bike without training wheels. Hooray! He loves his bike and rides it every chance he gets. Now, he rides like a pro.

Glori's ribbons!

For those of you that know Glori Sue........she loves silky tags even the ones in the back of her pants. So, Grandma Anita had a great idea to keep her hands out of her pants. She had a blanket made with all these pretty, silky ribbons all around it. As you can see, it has been a hit! Glori loves it and we do too. Thanks Grandma! Now, all we have to do is work on the thumb. Ughhh!!

Sophi's Growing

Here are some new pictures of Sophi Marie. Today she is 3 months old and everyday she smiles, coos and kicks her feet. She is for the most part a very happy baby. Both Eli and Glori can make her laugh most of the time. Eli loves her soft hair and wants to touch it everyday. Glori says...."my sister is so cute!" Sophi also does not let mom out of her site for too long. She will follow mom with her eyes anywhere in a room. Mitch says that she always keeps one eye on me. She is a lot of fun! Some of these pictures were taken by Eli. He is getting pretty good at taking pictures, don't you think?

Sophi's Blessing

Sophi was blessed at church in her beautiful white dress on January 4th. She looked like a little angel and was very quiet during the blessing. Members of the Branch Presidency stood in during the nice blessing with Mitch. Now for the rest of her life she can tell friends and family that when she was a baby, she was blessed in Ethiopia.