Yesterday the PTO held its annual Family Fun Fair at school.  It was an incredibly hot day, but nicer than the alternative (it really looked like rain earlier in the morning!).  Set up for the fair began Friday afternoon, after school.  It was interesting watching it all being put together.  I went out for a walk, and there was a major traffic jam out the back gate, with people waiting to get in to the school, and others upset because they couldn’t get down the street.  I was nearly run over at one point by a driver who had run out of patience…

Yesterday was Environmental Saturday (I’ve also heard it called Sanitation Saturday), so no one could be out on the streets between 7:00-10:00 am.  I could hear poles clanging quite early in the morning… guess they had to arrive early to beat the 7am time out!  Set up was completed on time, and the Fair began at 11:00.  Laryssa and I were down there until 12:30, at which point we came up to cool off a bit and refill our water bottles.  We went back down at 1:15, and were there the rest of the day.  Chris came down around 2:30, and I came back up at 3:00, sunburned and tired out!  Laryssa had a great time with all the rides and games!

The horse’s name was Princess!

(The man in red said he liked my daughter… it came out kind of gruff, and reminded me of “How much for the little girl” in the Blues Brothers’ movie!  A little creepy, but funny.)

The climbing wall was, surprisingly, a bit of a challenge for her.  She’d go up so far, and then come back down.  Then she’d go up part way again, then come back down.  She finally went all the way to the top, but then had to be rescued by the guy, as she was too afraid to come down.  By the end of the day she could do it on her own.

This is Laryssa’s little friend, Ben, climbing up.

The Wipeout game was very popular with the kids… a little scary for parents!

Lots of fun!

Taking some time out to paint a horse.  They took it away to fire and glaze… she’ll get it back next week.  Very exciting!

This is our neighbor, Janet.  She’s a little crazy!  haha

Now that’s a sun hat!  (I could have used the shoulder coverage… I got a little crispy.)

Me having a time out.  Too much sun!

Laryssa riding the bull!

A great day… now time to go home and get ready for the Mardi Gras party!

Yes, it was a Family Fun Day for sure!  The Fair ended at 4:30, and at 7:00 we were hosting the Mardi Gras party (along with Janet, Bob and Becky) by the pool.  It was such a rush to get everything ready, we didn’t take a single photo!  Too bad, as the decorations looked quite good!  Next year…

A friend of mine that I worked with in Turkey once said that we had been given the gift of time.  (We spent a lot of time reading and going to the beach in Turkey!)  I often think of her and her statement now that we’re in Lagos, as once again, we seem to have been given the gift of time.  There is no more rushing here or there (not often, anyway), as there isn’t really anywhere to go!  Also, not having a car kind of limits our movements!

With her gift of time, Laryssa now has her fingers in many pies.  She swims, plays soccer, plays with her friends, rearranges her room, reads, rides her scooter… the list is endless!

Ballet with Chiara 

Playing in the rain with Allison

Making Valentine’s Day cards and decorations

Laryssa and Mommy on Valentine’s Day, ready for school

Ballet in front of the TV

Playing with Chiara

Chris is gardening, making beer, experimenting with cinnamon buns and he regularly bakes all of our bread.

The “Little Bit of Everything” Shelf

• There is beer ‘settling’ on the top shelf
• Some vegetables such as lettuce, cilantro and broccoli prefer cooler weather, so they get to sit inside, near the A/C!

Cinnamon buns! I have no idea why we can’t lose weight…

  Bread sits outside in the heat of the day to rise!

Pita bread

Freshly baked buns, ready for the freezer (it’s the only way we can make them last longer).

Our friend Donny has his gardening (he’s beautifying the outside of our building) and he has his dogs (9 altogether, plus 2 cats!).  Donny was kind enough to part with a bougainvillea plant this morning… the payment will be made in cinnamon buns!

 Some of the dogs, out for a walk.  

Donny and Chris, installing the new bougainvillea!

It’s nice to have some flowers now!

This photo was taken from our window on the 4th floor.  It shows all of Donny’s hard work (or Donny’s Garden Centre, as I like to call it!)

Me… I read a lot, go walking, work on my blog, and lately I’ve been doing some cooking too!  I’ve found a great website called www.skinnytaste.com and I’ve taken to making soups!  Chicken Pot Pie Soup is our favorite, so I’ve been making a big batch each weekend and we freeze it for easy suppers during the week.  I made a double batch yesterday, and today I have Chicken and Black Bean Soup on the stove. I also get out shopping now and then, and have discovered the “Market Under the Bridge”.  It is what it is… a market under the bridge.  There are a lot of fresh fish and prawn stalls, vegetable stands and fruit as well.  I bought 10USD worth of vegetables yesterday that would have cost me more than double in the store!  One of these Sundays we’ll take a walk over there so that Chris can check out the fish.  Yesterday my friend Janet introduced me to a little Indian shop, Emjays, which was full of little goodies.  I told her she should take Chris next time… it would be right up his alley!

This is me, doing my Sunday morning blog.  You can see what I’m thinking when Chris took my picture…

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Cupcakes for Miss A’s birthday

Last Friday after school we went on a little tour to find The Ice Cream Factory.  We got a little lost, but eventually we found it!  It was an interesting walk with a sweet reward at the end.  I didn’t really care for the ice cream, as to me, it tasted like the milk (boxed UHT milk), but Laryssa thought it was good.

The Gate Guard at our back gate

Our quest to find The Ice Cream Factory

        

Laryssa was so happy to finally get there!

Our housekeeper (steward), Rita, brought us some plantains this week.  They taste like bland bananas… I’m wondering if I can turn them into bread…

Yes, exactly what the title says… a quiet weekend!  Thought I’d post a few photos anyway, for those of you who are checking in regularly!

Laryssa and Chris made a batch of beer.

 

Laryssa had a playdate after school on Friday.

 

Chinese lanterns for Chinese New Year.

 

 

Chris made a giant loaf of bread.  He puts it outside in the heat to rise!

 

 

Chris tried his hand at making pita bread.  He’s enjoying watching them puff up.

 

Laryssa had two Skype conversations with friends, one in California and the other in Singapore!

 

And that, my friends, was our exciting weekend!