Go Eli Go!

As an after school activity, Eli joined the 4th and 5th grade Junior Cross Country Team at his International School in Addis Ababa. Fourteen practices later, he continues to improve and get stronger. Last Thursday he ran a 1 mile time trial in 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

On Saturday he had his first "fun run" at another international school and ran a 1K in 4 minutes and 5 seconds. He placed third for the elementary runners with a course that was quite hilly. He is only in 4th grade, but shows a love for running. Way to go Eli!

p.s. After the race, he wanted the pain to stop in his legs. hee, hee, hee How I wish I could take the pain away. I know (very well) that running hurts sometimes or better yet most of the time! Yikes!

Halloween Fun in Addis Ababa!

Look, it's Velma, a Jailbird and Princess Leia! Even the adults had fun this year! The Sophinator was Scooby Doo! She loved it!

All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!

Glori Sue just lost her 2nd front tooth.  We hope the tooth fairy remembers to leave some birr (Ethiopian money) under her pillow?  Other parents have already told Glori that the tooth fairy is quite generous in Addis Ababa.  Ughh!

Taco Night w/ the Missionaries!

It has been a week since we have been home from summer vacation.  We went to church today and wanted to have the missionaries over for taco night.  We hope they liked it.  At least it is a little taste of home.  Not that we want them trunky or homesick!  hee, hee, hee  They are a neat group and some are moving on to Uganda.  Good luck Elders and take care! 
 
 

Taco Night w the Missionaries! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL ADD MORE PHOTOS This album has 1 photo and will be available on SkyDrive until 11/26/2011.

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Awash Falls Lodge - Ethiopia

Since the kids were out of school and on their fall break, we decided to take a little trip outside of Addis with some new friends who recently arrived from the states. Awash Falls is about a 3 1/2 hour drive, south-east of Addis Ababa. The Debra Zeit road to get to Awash Falls is full of traffic, cars, semi-trucks, people, donkeys, horses, sheep, goats, etc....., but it was a fun get away out of the big city. We stayed in two tukuls (huts) joined together with a tiny bathroom. We were expecting to basically camp, but were surprised to have some ammenities. We saw some wildlife as in baboons, a crocodile, an oryx and various birds. The falls were refreshing to sit next to and the kids played in the sand. Don't worry, the crocodiles did not come to visit.

Sophi's 2nd B-Day!

Sophi (a.k.a. Sophers or Sopherino) turned 2 years old. We just can't believe she is no longer our baby. On the other hand she is definitely in the terrible 2's with the tantrums and wanting to be soooooooo independent, but just not able to keep up with big brother and sister.

She had birthday cake and opened some gifts that were sent in the mail. Thanks grandmas and grandpas for helping make her birthday so fun even though we are across the globe.

Our birthday girl had lots of fun!

Meskel Celebration at ICS

One of the major holidays in Ethiopia is the celebration of Meskel. At the International Community School (ICS), every year the kids dress up in traditional Ethiopian attire and celebrate the religious holiday which is also the end of the rainy season. This year the 3rd grade students presented a play depicting the Ethiopian story of finding the true cross. Eli was a "chief" and dressed up in the beautiful, red robe. Sophi and Glori were ofcourse, Ethiopian princesses in their yellow dresses. Here are some fun pictures of traditional Ethiopian clothing at the school. Enjoy!

Marti's B-Day!

What a fun day I had! First, I woke up like any other day and got the kids off to school. Then I went for a run. Then my friends picked me up and surprised me with a birthday pedicure and lunch at the local Korean Restaurant. Hmmmm, it was good! Thanks gals for such a great, girl's day out! It was much needed. Then the kids and I celebrated at home with a cake Mitch made before I woke up in the morning. It was very cute. Thanks Honey! I had a nice 36th!

First Day of School!

The kids had a wonderful, summer vacation in Germany and now it was time to start another school year at ICS. Glori started all-day kindergarten and Eli 3rd grade. This was Glori's first time on the bus, so we thought we would show grandmas and grandpas what it was like. Doesn't she look like a big girl and not even nervous. We hope the kids have a great school year!

Mittweida Friends and Twilight!

Last Sunday we went to church in Mittweida. There were actually a couple of families who remembered Mitch when he was a missionary so long ago. One family invited us over to their house for lunch after church. Mitch recognized the father. He was in his late teens preparing to go on his mission when Mitch was in Mittweida. The family has 5 children, so the kids played and played and played. They have a large backyard with toys, a treehouse, swinging rope, etc.... Even though our kids and their kids spoke two different languages they got along quite nicely and had a lot of fun. To our new German Friends......thank you Marcus and Yvonne! You have a beautiful family and it was so kind of you to take us under your wings.

Now this is the funny part! After we ate lunch, the adults were talking and Marcus mentioned to Yvonne that maybe I would be interested in the "girls night out" coming up on Thursday. Yvonne said...."oh, she wouldn't be interested in Twilight." My ears perked up and I said....."Ummm, Twilight! I love Twilight."

For those who have been living under a rock for the past two years (aka Dad) Twilight is a series of books by Stephenie Meyer that are being made into blockbuster movies. Believe me, I was not interested in a vampire guy and a human girl falling in love until last year when a friend suggested I watch the first movie with her on DVD in Addis Ababa. Well after that I read all 4 of her books, bought my own set of books, read them over and over in Addis Ababa, and had my friends read the books in Addis too.

Back to the story.................Mitch was cringing because he thinks only the "girls" love the twilight movies (insert...Mitch rolling his eyes), he calls them chick flicks and was shocked that Twilight had penetrated all the way to eastern Germany. He said on the way home......"No, not the Germans too!" hee, hee, hee So Yvonne told us about being a huge fan and that she read the books in German AND English. True kindred spirits!

So the end result.......Thursday I went to dinner at Yvonne's house with other Twihards for a Twilight party and watched the new movie Eclipse at the local theater. It just came out this week in Germany.

This is to my fellow Twilight friends in Addis, Fairfax, Va and Boise, ID...

1. We had mushroom ravioli for dinner and soda pop.

2. The dinner table was decorated with all the books in English with little heart candies spread out.

3. Yvonne's daughter created a Twilight Quiz with Twilight and New Moon collector cards as prizes.

4. We had monster brownies because that went with the theme.

5. We saw Eclipse in German! Yeah, I loved the movie and I didn't understand one word. Well ofcourse I knew what was going on from reading the books, but didn't understand a word except maybe for Danke which means thank you. Yvonne translated a bit for me too.

It was such a fun night. Hooray, I got to see Eclipse. Hopefully, when I get back to Addis I can see it there too! Thanks again to my new German friend Yvonne........