We've doubled the number of kids in our family since this picture was taken...
A favorite part of our 4 day get-away to Ouaga was the plethora of pools... we were at a different pool almost every day. Wasn't Nadia a sweetie?
There was a large park in the middle of town with trails to wander. The kids loved this... and enjoyed trying to spot authentic African wildlife. If I remember correctly, we saw huge vultures, lots of smaller birds, peacocks, snakes, bats and a monitor lizard that was almost as big as Rebekah. I KNOW that because Rebekah chased after the crazy thing in true Crocodile Hunter fashion, and might have caught the thing if she hadn't actually listened when we called her back.
As you can see... a "forest" in the Sahel looks quite a bit different than one in North America. Flamboyant trees, however are one of my favorites. I just recently heard someone say that when the flamboyant blooms, the expat wilts... because it flowers during the hottest part of the year.
"Da boyz..." Only two of them at that time. ;-)
When Anna was just a pipsqueak, she was a ball maniac. She loved playing with balls and I've always sort of figured she'd be my athletic one.
Anna spent many minutes trying to figure out how to get the basketball into the hoop... waiting patiently for a boost from her daddy was her most effective "play."
Another highlight of our time in Ouaga was a sort-of amusement park named Fasso Park. It was just perfect for our then-little-tykes, and there were no lines or long waits ~ unless you counted the time you had to wait for the ride operators to walk over to the ride from whichever of the two shady spot they'd chosen in which to camp out while waiting for customers.
There were several merry-go-round type rides...
...bumper boats...
(I don't think this would "float" in the States... no life jackets and both girls were shorter than the mandatory size marked on the ride entrance, but hey... this is Africa, right?)
My favorite ride is always a genuine merry-go-round... and here we have photographic documentation of Nadia's first time behind the wheel...
And then there was the playground... The elephant slide was the absolute most memorable moment of our trip to Ouaga.
Anna loved it and so she slid once...
...and again...
and again... Have you noticed why it was so memorable?
Move over Miss Frizzle and Magic School bus... our kids investigated the digestive tract of an African elephant by sliding right on through!
Now that's the problem- that's how I still picture your kiddos!
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking- the ages my kids are are the exact same as what your first 3 were when I was your nanny! Fun.