beach bums

Well that only took forever to get all our beach photos uploaded!

We took our vacation last week to the coast in Kenya. It was so much needed and a great trip. The timing couldn't have come at a better time. I was a bit hesitant just because I didn't want it to seem like we were ditching Brittany and Austin in the midst of having teams. It was our fifth team and turned out good since the church the team was coming from ALWAYS sends great teams.  They have really taken on the responsibility of hosting teams and have been excellent. The only downside to when we went on vacation is that the only dates we could rent the (super affordable and sweeet) beach house that we usually do was on dates that made it where we only saw this last team in passing between Nairobi and Kitale. So we were bummed about that!

The past couple months have caught up to us with the busyness and overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. On top of that, a few days before leaving on vacation we got news that Bud's grandmother passed away. This was really tough to hear but we take comfort in knowing she is with Jesus. It just stunk because it wasn't expected. She was our last grandmother between Bud and I. The hardest part of it was not being back home to be with all the family during this time. She lived a full life and I'm glad I could give her great grandchildren!

So we loaded up last week and drove to Nairobi, stayed the night, then drove to Mombasa. We then caught a ferry and drove another 30 minutes to Diani beach, where the house is that we rent out. We get a sweet missionary rate and the house is perfect for us. Oh and a bonus is that our friends Sean and Meredith joined us for the vacation! They're good friends of ours who work with InStep baby home outside of Kitale.

I'll stop talking and let the pictures tell the rest...

We had fresh coconuts from our yard. Coconut water: VERY healthy. taste AKWARD.

I just love this one. Too bad I had the wrong setting on my camera.

Yep. That's right. Elisha and I are riding a camel here ON the beach. He LOVED it.

And he lives in this shirt.

Morning chores... watering the plants. Yes, Claire is wearing boy pj's.

There's a pool in the neighborhood we stayed in. It was nice for non sandy experiences.

And then there were monkeys everywhere.

We threw out a rotten banana. And in return he posed for us.

In the evenings, the tide would come in and cause waves. It was Elisha and Bud's bonding times.

In case you didn't know. It is pretty hard to get a one year old and three year old to take a good picture with normal faces.

The last day, Bud rinsed Elisha when it was time to go. Then right after he tripped and fell. We got a good laugh.

One of my favorite places in the world!