June: End of School Year, Kilifi, Pretoria

Hard to believe we have now been in Kenya for 6 months but I am feeling quite at home now.  I consider myself settled when (1) I can find the vet without getting lost, (2) I know how to pay the electric bill and (3) I know where everything is shelved in at least one grocery store. 
This is what happened this month...

When a day has been packed with one activity too many...

Gioia turned 1 month old on June 6th!

Here she is with her brother Jimmy (Gioia is the bigger one!)...

Heading to the off-leash area in Karura...

...where Honey's favorite activity is stealing Jagger's ball.

Then Salt stole her bed.

School days are coming to an end and the winter temps mean a hot chocolate hits the spot at the end of the day.

When not stealing dog beds, Salt loves to interrupt our puzzle time.

Hanging out with Gio's swim coach Anthony.

One of Gio's best friends is leaving Kenya so we volunteered to adopt his hamster George.  Honey is fascinated!

Gio is thrilled about his new pet!

Last day of Kindergarten & Grade 4

Watching the rain and hoping I will still take them to Karura (I did!).

It was an epic struggle, (and I did not emerge unscathed) but I did manage to capture Cinnamon and get him to the vet for his rabies shot and deworming pill.  The vet was so good!  Cinnamon eventually forgave me (and my scratches and bite marks healed).

To celebrate the end of a crazy school year we flew to Kilifi for a long weekend on the beach.  This was our airstrip!

The airport "terminal"!

Our slice of heaven for 5 days.

Our house was right on the beach which we pretty much had to ourselves the entire weekend.

As lovely as the pool and beach were, I think my kids loved our cook the most.  Both kids assisted him with every meal.  Here they made us fresh pasta.

Maria's first tuk-tuk ride was a huge hit.

3 hours of swimming....

...followed by a collapse on the rug.

Lunch by the beach.

Gio and Paolo did this for hours each day!

As much as I love holidays it is so nice to come home to these faces...

...even when they are covered in mud.

The rainy season has been long.  The white tiles in our kitchen are driving me mad!

We get weekly updates from Gioia's breeder. Here she is with her other siblings harassing their poor father.

Bruno and his hamster.

Gioia, age 6 months.

With our breeder Anita.

At the Westgate play area while Gio and his best friend Yoav are in the theatre upstairs watching Godzilla.

Silly hair for a morning at camp.

Gioia (bigger one) and her brother Jimmy.

Relaxed.

Getting cold here.

 We see this quite often- couches being delivered by motorcycle.  Gio filmed this one as we were passing it.

Cat stand off.

Reading "Hamstersaurus Rex" with George.

Gio, Maria and I headed to South Africa on June 21st so that Gio could attend his beloved summer camp.  We were quite surprised to see the new luggage inspection at OR Tambo....

We were all very excited to be back in South Africa and even rallied to have a very late (10PM) dinner once we arrived at a new Mexican place near our hotel.

The next morning we headed to Johannesburg to reunite with many of my favorite fellow puppy raisers.

Sunday morning (6:45!) we dropped Gio at the camp bus which would make the 8 hour trek to Durban. Gio was thrilled to be reunited with many of his Pretoria gang.

Maria and I enjoyed a yummy breakfast complete with paper straws.  Well done, Woolies!

We got to spend a lovely 2 hours with dear Alaska, the dog we had to leave behind since she was picked to be a brood bitch for SA Guide Dogs.  I miss her so much.

Alaska will turn 2 on July 17th.  No puppies yet.

We visited a few of our favorite shops.

Maria was so excited to see one of her best friends from her Pretoria days.  While we waited at Bounce (trampoline park) for her to arrive....

Reunion at last!

And then we treated ourselves to pedicures.

Very early the next morning we took the long trek back to Nairobi.  I will return to bring Gio back in early July.

Camp photos of Gio's arrival at Sugar Bay.

Gio (in green) battling with his friend Kasra.

Once back in Nairobi Maria began daily horseback riding lessons. She was very particular about her outfits each day.

More scenes from camp...

Shocking!  An actual letter from camp!

Tired after a morning of monkey chasing...

Evening walk.  Maria likes to walk Honey "because she's a girl, too!"

Two 5-year-old blondies

Gio at camp

My guess?  He is arguing with the counselor...

 And so ends the month of June.  Gio has one more week at camp.  I will go back to South Africa next weekend to collect him and then we are off to Italy for the rest of July. 

Happy summer/winter to all!

xo. Clara