Bugs, bugs, bugs

At the start of rainy season, bugs called termite flyers (or at least that's what we call them) come out at night. There are thousands that come out of the ground. They swarm everywhere, lose their wings, and then die. You can sweep up bucketfuls of these things in the morning. We've heard that, when cooked, they taste like bacon. 

Brett and Kenan decided to try them this year. So they went outside and searched for their meal and brought them to me to cook. I washed them (also how I killed them) and fried them up.

Dawson was opposed to this food option, as was I.

Getting ready to eat them.

Just the legs and antennae left over. 

They actually said they didn't taste that bad. I found our later, though, that you are to dry them first before cooking them so they are crispier. I'll know for next time. :)

The other day we found this huge thing walking in the yard. There are such random bugs around here. We have never seen this before but they say it comes out during rainy season. They actually told us they call it a bush roach.

No, he did not eat this.

The size was amazing. That was no small bug!

Going home

As I said, we traveled only with carry ons for our trip because we traveled a lot by train. We never traveled by train while we lived in France and while most all of the trains and trips were relatively easy and enjoyable, there were times we were definitely reminded why we never traveled by train (running from one train to another, rushing to get all our bags and family on the train, etc). Overall, it really was a good experience for us though at this point in life. While we were on a bunch of trains, I only remembered to get the camera out on the last one we took. Some were quite nice as we had our own little section to hang out in.

There's nothing like getting back home, though, even when you come home to pink walls. :) We had had our wall heightened and the painting was to be finished while we were gone. It was supposed to be brown, but as you can see there was a mishap. It was funny hearing teammates ask me about it as some weren't sure if I had actually chosen it or not. Definitely NOT! As Kenan said, "the walls are HIDEOUS!" to which I fully agreed. I felt like I was in Candy Land every time I looked out the window.

Thankfully after two weeks and a lot more paint, our walls are fixed and back to a "normal" color. :)

The Quest

While Brett and I enjoyed our meetings and afternoons of rest, the boys enjoyed a GREAT program- The Quest put on by a WONDERFUL family, the Eckstroms. The childcare was honestly what drew us to the conference (as it was from 9:30-5pm, except for lunch) and it did not let us down. So rarely here in Mali do Brett and I get away from the kids and spend time together so this was such a treat. 

The kids learned tons of songs which they sang daily as well as one verse per day. They put on a very impressive performance at the end of the 10 days. I really was amazed at all they had learned. All three of the boys did really well on stage. I was especially surprised by how well Silas did.

                                          This is Silas saying his verse with another kid in the class.

Kenan made me laugh because though he was the one singing the songs all week, he was so focused on the leader in the back to make sure he was doing everything correct that it looked like he didn't know it. But he did. :)

My focused one always trying to do his best.

D and K reciting their verse together.

The whole group

 The kids did so many art projects (and they made me carry them all home, even though all we had brought was carry-ons. One of my favorite things they did were the pictures below. The clouds are their dreams. The mountains are the high times and/or the best things in their life. The river below is the sad times of their lives and the green is the daily things they do to grow and live. It was neat to see an insight into their lives.

Sliding

The hotel where was stayed had an awesome playground. The kids enjoyed it thoroughly and never tired of it. The ultimate piece of equipment was a slide that started on one level and went down to the next, which being conservative was probably a 30 ft difference. 

Here I am starting out. It really was quite fast. And since Silas had had no fear at the ropes course, he had to conquer this fear. We finally got him down it by the end of the week and then he loved it and went down often after that.

Not totally sure if this will work but here is a video that D took going down the slide.

High Ropes Course- Interlaken

On our day off from the conference, we went to a high ropes course that was right down the street. It was really awesome, with three levels and tons of courses. Dawson especially is a climber so we thought he would enjoy it.  

The enjoyment stated with putting on the gloves. It was clear that we live in a hot place and dawning gloves was not a common practice. We had the worker close to tears in laughter due to our troubles. But finally, they were all gloved and ready to go.  Silas was only able to do the lowest level which he enjoyed but was longing to go higher.

 Silas loved the zip line. Since there were not a lot of kids there, he was able to hang out in that section for awhile. I would push him back up and he would do the zip part again and again.

Pure bliss I tell you.

 Kenan just made the height limit for the second level. While he was totally up for it, I don't think he fully realized what it entailed.

While he made it through the first parts without too much difficulty, the zip line was game changer for him. We finally sent Dawson up to help him through it. That didn't do much, though. :)  This is where I wanted to go up and "save" him but I couldn't. Thankfully Brett was there and is good at pushing our boys to work through their fears. Kenan finally went for it and though he was scared to death, he did it. I was so proud.

You could see the increase in confidence after the zip line. He went on to the next step without hesitation.

Unfortunately, he didn't take those steps very well. :) He was stuck and there was nothing he or Dawson could do. Nor us. We waited and tried to help from below. But what could we really do?

Finally, a worker went up and helped him to his feet. I thought she was going to stay with him the rest of the course, but no she left him as soon as he got going again.

Hanging out while we waited for Kenan and Dawson to finish the course.

Finally made it to the end.

Dawson flew through the courses without fear. I was really amazed at what he could do, especially knowing I wouldn't want to be doing it. :)

Watching his brother up high and probably wishing he could join him up there.

This was actually the hardest part for Dawson. It was a seat you rode to the next section. But he conquered his fears as well and did an awesome job. Again, I was beaming with pride at my boys and their strength.

 Brett then got Dawson onto the highest course, even though his height wasn't quite tall enough. He again did an awesome job. You can barely see him here, in between the sign of "Interlaken" written out on the course.