Waterloo Airshow

I got free tickets for the Waterloo Airshow from work, so took my niece H and nephew N to their first airshow. My sister dropped the kids off at 11, then we loaded up my car with snacks, jackets, dry clothes (it was a grey, showering day), put in a Psalty tape, and off we went. It took about an hour to get there and we saw a group of about 60 OPP motorbikes driving down the highway … not sure what that was about!

We parked in a field south of the airport and took the shuttle bus to the airport. There was a sprinkling of rain and the clouds were occasionally low, but most of the planes were able to perform. The first jet of the day was an F-16. I told the kids it would be loud, but I don’t think they realized quite how loud it was going to be! They both jumped a bit as it raced passed us!

We watched the F-16, then went off to explore some of the static displays while the less interesting acts were taking place. The kids got to sit in a cockpit of an old fighter, climb up onto the wing and look in the cockpit of another, and we went inside the C-130 that was also there. It just happened that while we were in the C-130, it started to POUR rain! Luckily, we were dry inside. The last act of the day was the Snowbirds, but because of a storm cell moving towards the airport, it was a shortened show and we were told to leave right away. They had plenty of buses ready to take us back to the parking lot, so we managed to get away before the rain started again. The kids enjoyed the airshow and were excited about it when they got home, but it was hard to tell whether or not I was torturing them while we were out there. H was continually asking “Now what?” N’s resounding theme was: “When are we going home? I want to go home. I’m bored. What do I do?” Of course, it was AFTER I got them back home that my sister told me that that was N’s resounding theme no matter where they were or what they were doing!

Off to Visit Some Missionaries

I had been dreaming about and planning this trip for years - 4 weeks in East Africa, exploring Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania!

My sister and her 3 kids brought me to the airport in Toronto, so we parked in the farthest parking lot and rode the monorail all the way to Terminal 1, then back again to Terminal 3. After some hugs, they left me to find the KLM desk where I was happy to find that my bags could be checked all the way through to Entebbe ... I, on the other hand, only had boarding passes to Nairobi!

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful, but even with a boring movie, I didn't get any sleep. I had 3 1/2 hours to wander around Schipol, so went to the Rijksmuseum exhibit (cows in Holland), found the comfy seats (which were all taken), and bought a McKroket at McDonalds (amazing!).

For the flight to Nairobi I got a window seat - definitely worth the hassle of having to climb over people to get to the bathroom. The views of the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Sahara desert, the Nile river, and Khartoum were amazing! The Nairobi airport ... not so amazing. I found the transfer desk without any problems and got my boarding pass for the flight to Entebbe, but there isn't much seating in the airport, and not much ventilation either, so I was happy to get out of there!

The flight to Entebbe was a bit more "interesting". Probably because of my aviation background (and the fact that I like to watch "Mayday"), I was noticing things on the plane that wouldn't meet North American safety regulations. It didn't help that the lady to my left pulled out her rosary and the lady to the right, her bible, when we started to taxi! The flight wasn't that bad actually, and even though it was less than an hour, we got fed!

Getting through customs in Entebbe was easy, just had to pay for my visa and smile for the camera! The flight arrived early, so my cousin, T, wasn't there to meet me, but she had told me to wait outside the airport for her, so that's what I did. I think the taxi drivers were a bit concerned about me - a lone white girl standing around by herself at 11:30 at night - but they were very friendly and not at all intimidating! The checked a few times to see if I needed a ride, then one even gave me his cell phone so that I could call and make sure T was on route. He was pleased to hear that she was, then went back to the group to let them know.

T arrived soon after that and it was off to her friend G's place, where there was no city power so I got to shower by candlelight! After 30 hours without sleep, it felt awesome to be able to lay down in a bed.

Canada Day!

Happy 143rd Birthday, Canada!

I had to work this afternoon, so unfortunately didn't get to see any fireworks (except the ones from the highway driving home), but did get to spend a few hours with the family. I met them at the grocery store parking lot, then we headed out to Crawford Lake. We walked around the Iroquois village where the kids loved feeling all the animal skins and antlers. (M commented that it was like a petting zoo, but better - no animals jumping on you or poop to step in!) After a short attempt at playing lacrosse, we walked around the native garden, snacking on raspberries and blackberries that we found, then down to the lake. We didn't walk around the lake, that would have taken too long - I had to get home on time and the kids needed to have enough energy to walk back up the hill.

Camping at Valens and African Lion Safari

My sister M and I had decided in the spring that we should take her two oldest kids (her daughter H, 4 1/2, and son N, 3) camping sometime this fall. The original plan was to head up to Algonquin for a few nights, but M didn't want to drive that far, so after tossing around some ideas, we decided on Valens Conservation area. We didn't bother booking a site because seriously, who camps in the middle of the week at the end of September? And anyway, there were only five other occupied campsites the night we where there.

M picked me up with the kids just after lunch on Wednesday afternoon and after filling the cooler (I was in charge of food for the trip), we were off. There were a few sprinkles of rain as we drove, but nothing major - it was actually the last rain we would see until we left! After setting up M's massive tent (it sleeps 8) and giving the kids a snack, we dragged them around the campground on a hike. It was a challenge to keep N out of the mud puddles, they're like magnets to 3 year old boys! I was the only one who stayed clean - H tripped and got mud on her knees, and while M was carrying N around a giant mud puddle, she tripped and poor N got a face full of mud. The kids seemed to like the boardwalk the best - playing with the reeds, looking in the water. It was work for M and I though, trying to make sure they didn't fall in.

Back at the campground, we collected wood from some other campsites and started a fire (another thing we had to keep N away from, he kept wanting to touch sparks!). For supper, we made sloppy joes, or "woppy woes" as N calls them, and tried to make s'mores for desert. I gave N a roasted marshmellow, but he didn't like getting his fingers sticky, so spit out what was in his mouth (which then went down his chin and jacket) and started smearing the marshmallow goo from his hands onto his pants. Neither kid wanted to try a s'more, so M and I finished off the chocolate (which didn't melt - it was too cold!) and graham crackers.

After treking to the washrooms, we got into the tent, put the kids in as many layers of clothes as we could, and bundled them up in their sleeping bags. M and I told the kids a few stories, then read by our flashlights while they slept.

Everyone managed to sleep until 8 am (so the kids got about 11 hours ... not quiet enough, but not too disasterous either). M got the kids showered (and used up all the hot water!) while I made the batter for the poffertjes. The first batch of poffertjes got a bit too crispy, but once I figured out what size flame I needed on the stove, the rest worked great. The kids ate some poffertjes, but mostly jsut the peach slices. After cleaning up the sticky mess that kids always make, we made sandwiches for our lunches and drove to the African Lion Safari.

We had a great time at the park - feeding the llamas and the goats (and being jumped on by them), riding the boat and train, taking the bus around the reserve, watching the shows, and playing in the balls! It was funny how H would be studying the animals while N was more interested in the vehicles - boys! Sigh.

Back at the campground, I was put in charge of roasting the hot dogs over the fire in the "popcorn cage" (not sure what it's actually called), but the kids didn't want to eat the cooked ones, only raw hot dogs. They must get that from their dad! We made the meal a bit healthier with some carrot sticks.

Around sunset, we drove to the "fishing bridge" to take a short walk along the lake ... well, mostly just over the bridge and back again. Both M and I had forgotten to take our cameras out of the van and the view with the setting sun was awesome, but H didn't want to let us go back and get a camera for a picture. Even after M told her that we needed a picture for daddy, her response was, "Daddy doesn't need a picture. He's seen lots of sunsets".

There was an old man fishing of the bridge - we watched him a bit and then went to check out the other side of the lake. As we were coming back, he finally caught a fish, so called us over and let the kids pet it before releasing it. H and N were walking a bit ahead of us when he said something else to us, we turned back to the kids 2 seconds later, and there was N, 2/3 of the way through the railing with H hanging on to him. We have to keep an eye on that brother of her's!

Back at the campsite, we made some popcorn and watched the raccoon keep tying to get close to us - while M was putting the kids in bed, he even jumped up on the table behind me! It was another cold night, but we all slept well.

Our last morning, we made French toast for breakfast, then packed up the tent while N tormented his sister with a large stick he kept swinging around. Everything was in the car and we were dropping of our garbage when it began to rain again - and it didn't stop for a week!