A Few More Kodak Moments...

October 18th was National Chocolate Cupcake Day.  Obviously we had to celebrate that, so I made a batch of cupcakes with homemade chocolate-peanut butter frosting.  I can honestly say that they were some of the best (looking and tasting) cupcakes I've ever made!

Beth, Frankie and I looking classy at the beach!

We spent one Saturday morning collecting the materials from the literacy program that was happening in the Village, that will no longer be taking place.  I got to stand in the back of the pickup truck and help Beth make sure the chalkboard didn't fall out.  It was a little scary going over all the bumps.

We spent one Sunday afternoon at Tiden's bar/restaurant where there is access to parts of the river that are deep enough to swim.  It was the first time I had been swimming since the beginning of August and I was very happy to be in the water again.  I made friends with some of the kids that were also playing in the river, and we had fun jumping off the rocks together.

I clearly had a horrible time!!!

I've spent a few afternoons at the school helping to entertain the preschoolers who end an hour before the rest of the school finishes.  Many of them wait around for older siblings to finish before they walk home together.  Beth and I have had a great time hanging out with them!  They're very cute and fun to play with!

Getting all kinds of kisses!

One of the projects at the school is to fix the raised beds that are in the school yard and to replant them so that the garden is productive again.  The 6th grade is mostly responsible for this project, so Beth and I went with some students one afternoon to collect rocks from the river to repair the walls.  Although there was still some room in the wheelbarrow, the girls insisted on carrying rocks on their heads when we made our way back to school.  Beth and I gave it a try and it was incredibly hard.  Our rocks were relatively small and we didn't have to walk too far.  But women here carry huge buckets full of stuff on their heads for very long distances (with no hands to help balance it).  I'm amazed at how strong they are and how they are able to balance so much weight and walk without spilling or dropping anything.

Playing in the river!

We have thunder and lightening pretty frequently, but we've been waiting a few weeks for a really heavy rain.  It finally came yesterday.  We had crazy wind, rain and even some hail.  One of our window cranks is broken, so I had to brave the weather and venture outside to close our window and I guess Beth decided to take a picture.  I got pretty wet in the 15 seconds I was outside!