Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year!


This past weekend we took a short weekend trip to Mt Kenya.  We wanted to get away for a quick weekend jaunt, and it was Rhonda's birthday on Sunday.  Obviously, we weren't going to hike up the mountain since we had the kids, so we found a lodge near the base that we could spend the night.  We stayed at the Castle Forest Lodge in a cabin that reminded me of something out of the Hobbit (that will be a running theme for this post).  We had a nice weekend relaxing, walking through the jungle, meeting the animals on the site, and riding horses.  Unfortunately it was very cloudy the whole time and we didn't get to glimpse the peaks. 

The next day Rhonda and I escaped for a couple of hours, while Margaret watched the kids, and we caught an afternoon showing of the Hobbit.  It was our first movie experience in Kenya and it was exactly like home!  3D, popcorn, comfy stadium seating and all.  When we got out of the theatre we thought we were back in the Palisades Mall!  The only difference were the prices - $7.50 for a ticket and $1.75 for a nice size popcorn!

Rhonda has been fascinating Matthew, telling him the story of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  Matthew then decided one day last week he would put on a production of his version.  I guess it's no longer enough to write his own books. For this production, he wrote the screenplay, composed three songs, directed and puppeteered the whole thing.

On New Years Eve night Oma and Opa arrived for a two week visit.  The kids are very excitied and we are loving having them around.  So far we have kept it mellow -- no journeys into the sketchy areas or deep into the markets.  New Years Day we had brunch at a pleasant garden restaurant, and today we visited Matthew's school where we spent time at the pool - Matthew showed off by taking a leap from the 4 meter (13 ft) diving platform and Ruby swam all by herself with a swim noodle!  Tomorrow we will step it up a notch and visit downtown Nairobi.  Then on Friday we are off to Amboseli for safari.

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