Christmas Bazaar

Sophie as a dalmation puppy...like she always pretends to be!

Ready...steady...

Our primary school held a Christmas bazaar as a fund raise for school playground upgrades. It was held the last two hours of school and everything was donated to sell. Kids in the upper grades made up carnival-like games to entertain the smaller kids. It was very creative.

The kids got their faces painted, played games, and bought little used toys for really cheap! (Our Christmas shopping is all done! If we have your name, aren't you excited?...carnival toys!) J/K!

I dropped off Lucy to spend the afternoon with Michael at his office so I could keep up with all the action! We all had fun!

One hour in London

Every family needs a pouter...here's ours. But isn't he being cute, "whilst" he sulks? (Looky there, I'm becoming a bit British already!)

Front shot of Her Majesty's Palace. It was really amazing to see.

Sophie at the gate of Buckhingham Palace...requesting a tea party with the queen!

...sorry, too early for tea!

This statue inspired me...a mother with her three little ones around her. Made me want to hug my own little kids.

Bryce was Mr. Popular with my kids. It's probably a good thing he got to sleep the 8 hours from Africa to London...otherwise, my kids' energy could have been, dare I say, annoying?! Maybe so even as it was! What a champ, Bryce!

Resting and smiling on a park bench.

We stopped off at Hyde/Green Park and walked around in the chilly morning air. We were happy that Buckingham Palace wasn't that far of a walk!

We met my brother Bryce and his wife, Krystal at the airport in London at 6:30am. They didn't have to be back for a few hours, so we bought tickets for a ride on the Underground! Wahoo!

AFRICA #4

I love this picture. The rhino has a ton of little blue birds catching a ride on his back, and there's a lone giraffe walking in the background. It almost didn't seem real!

Lake Nakuru National Park is one of the few places where you can see both white and black rhinos. Here is a white Rhino. It has a wide nose/mouth. (can't really tell from the picture) Amazing beasts...walking around, grazing on grass, with huge legs and bodies, wow!

A close-up of one of the many baby animals we saw. Zebras are Riley's favorites! We saw lots of Zebras! (pronounced zeh-brah in Kenya...and in England come to think about it! But don't let Riley hear you pronounce it that way! He gets a little defensive. "It's zee-bra", he says!

At Baboon Cliffs overlooking the Lake and the Park.

Another picture of a giraffe. This particular one is a Rothschild giraffe. It doesn't have markings on its lower legs...making it look like it's got socks on!

One of my favorite pictures of Riley...here looking at monkeys. Love his smile!

The famed flamingos at Lake Nakuru National Park.

On an early morning game drive, seeing these giraffes through the misty dew was beautiful! We also saw a lioness "watching" them as well...(she didn't turn out in the picture!) You can tell that the giraffes can sense the lioness is close by. They're all looking in the same direction, and being very cautious. Well, wouldn't you be, too?!

From the veranda of the game lodge, with a masai warrior standing guard, keeping wildlife, esp. baboons, away from the food! What a magnificent view! In the background you can see (left to right) a cape buffalo, impala/gazelle, and baboons.

Riley and Sophie in front of statues in a hallway of the lodge. Cute kids.

Waiting in the van while Grandpa registered us at the Park. Can't tell who's more fascinated, the baboons at the kids, or the kids at the baboons...which tried to climb into the van through the window! That really got a scream from the kids! They loved it!

AFRICA #3

Pajama party and a movie in the hotel.

At the Misikhu Branch building waiting for the baptism meeting to begin. It was a wonderful branch conference and our kids enjoyed Primary and mingling with all the other kids.

Sophie made friends with everyone we met. They loved her blonde hair and that she would tell them all about herself...Sophie's not scared to talk!

We really felt exotic with the mosquito nets hanging around the beds!

Africa #2

The first 20 minutes of our first game drive and we stumbled on a lion in a tree! It wasn't too far from the road we were on. We were glad the van didn't have an open top just then! What a massive creature! Amazing!

Riley and Sophie hanging out with the elders during a break at their Zone Conference. Sophie and Riley entertained themselves a long time with our portable DVD player and Scooby-Doo, so that Michael and I could take turns being a part of the mission life and watching my mom and dad in their element!

Crossing the equator!

Albino Zebras!

(part of a national park refuge)

After a long day of branch training. Such fun and good people!

AFRICA #1

Michael dares a kiss from the giraffe, Laura.

I loved the giraffes, especially in the wild. I'm sure I'll post more pictures of that later!

Riley and Sophie posing in front of the elephants at the orphanage. A highlight of the trip was petting the baby elephants and seeing them up close!

We arrived just as they were about to feed the baby elephants. They wore blankets on their backs to keep them warm in the absence of the mother's warmth. It didn't feel that cold to me, though!

So good to see my parents! There's nothing quite like a hug from your mom and dad. Ahhh!And they got to meet Lucy for the first time, too! She was born while they were in the MTC ~almost 1 1/2 years ago!

We had an awesome adventure in Africa! We visited Grandma and Grandpa Taylor and tagged along with them to their zone conference and branch training before experiencing the wild animals of Africa! The kids (and the adults) had permanent open mouths and bug-eyes...just couldn't believe what they were seeing! It was fun to watch the kids' reactions to the whole experience, almost as fun as seeing it for the first time myself! WOW! We were DAILY reminded of the beauty of the earth and God's creations. And thankful for the opportunity to see and be part of it. Thanks for a great visit, Mom and Dad! We love and miss you!