Kids Festival - Carnivore

August ended with the Kids Festival at the Carnivore grounds in Langata. There was SO much to do there, the kids were almost overwhelmed!

Other than the kooky characters...

There were a lot of educational activities for the kids.

There was also a great band
Standing for the National Anthem

Alice:

Maureen:
Mungai didn't give up with this wall...

He made it to the top on his 6th attempt!

A big thank you to Azham who came along with us and bought chips and soda after the festival:

Nairobi Railway Museum

This month, Mr. Partho Chakrabarti sponsored a trip with lunch to the Nairobi Railway Museum. The kids just couldn't get enough of this beautiful little museum hidden in Nairobi's CBD.

There was a significan portion of the museum dedicated to Ships for some reason...

Mungai and Melody spin away

Gitau:

Queens!

This very unusual bench was fitted to the locomotive footplate above the cowcatcher to allow distinguished travelers on the lunatic line an unsurpassed view of East Africa's scenery and wildlife. Among such visitors were the former American President Theodore Roosevelt, the Prince of Wales, Melody, Joy, Sydney and Mungai!

Levi:

The kids were a little more interested in these ancient typewriters than anything else in the museum!

Kennedy has a go:

One of them typed this message:

Was it little Mungai? Probably not...he wasn't strong enough to hammer out his own name, let alone a whole sentence - look at his tiny little fingers!

Ha!

Edwin spoke to the kids about the history of railway - how local chiefs in Tsavo had long ago prophesized that a great iron snake would invade their land; and how Colonel James Patterson, an Engineer working on the Tsavo bridge killed the infamous man eaters of Tsavo.

Levi pops his head out of one of the old trains they have in the yard:

Melody helps joy down:

Sidney sees how many passengers he can "beba!

Mungai the little monkey:

Don't worry, the trains weren't moving!

This is coach from which Superintendent Charles Ryall was killed by a man eating lion in 1900. Now it is being hopped around on by Mungai and Sylvester:

After the museum, we ate some pizzaaaaaa :-)

On the way home, we sang (screamed at the TOP of their lungs) along to Shakira's "This Time for Africa" for the millionth time:

That was a suberb Sunday! Thanks again to Mr. Partho for your kindness :-)

Splash!

This month, we went back to Splash hoping for one more warm weekend before the Nairobi winter kicks in. It started a little cloudy, but turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day!

Thanks again, to Mr. Kuldeep Nayer and all the staff at SPLASH! for opening their hearts so warmly to us yet again.

Thanks also to the FRYING SQUAD Rhino Charge team for donating a disposable underwater camera which the kids almost figured out how to use (pictures coming soon)

Little Joy all wrapped up like a little Russian doll:

After the swim, we had a little picnic lunch in a field just outside Wilson Airport, watching the planes land and take off:

It never ceases to amaze me just how much these kids love airplanes - they could have sat here ALL day!

The ride home...

Alice in Wonderland

Alice is one of the most amazing women I know. She is a widowed mother of 5. Somehow between the few odd jobs she does, she manages to always:

1. Send all her children to private schools and encourage them to excel
2. Set an example for her children to be beautiful human beings
3. Put food on the table for all 5 of the kids (who all have huge appetites, I might add!)
4. Welcome anyone who passes by her small house in Gachie for tea
5. Have a smile on her face that can turn the worst of your days around in a flash
6. Keep the children in check on our Sunday outings when I have given up

So, maybe Alice came to Earth from Wonderland? Wherever this angel came from, we are blessed to have her in our lives.

Thank you Maureen and all the staff of Fox Theatres for hooking us up with a great deal and a fun day at the Capital Center Cinema!

Blogcrastination

Since the breakdown, we've been facing some problems getting the kids around, but have still been out and about. Apologies for my blogcrastinating!

In April, we visited the Nairobi National Park Animal Orphanage:

The Breakdown

After a long break, Maisha ni Matamu got together again this week for a special art trip. Unfortunately, our beloved van broke down on the road.


All the kids were very helpful and co-operative in getting us safely off the road and towed back home.


While we waited for Bernard to tow us, the kids all got a pack of colour pencils, a rubber, a sharpener and a ruler - courtesy of "The Chets and Sona Art Fund"


Hopefully, we'll be back next week!