Ethiopia Embassy Trip, Part 3: How we spent our days

We were in Ethiopia with Samuel and Sadie for five days.  Since we were traveling with another family, we were super excited to be able to hang out, let the kids play together, sight see, and - in the evenings - play games with just the adults.  I am not sure when my expectations of the trip went so wrong.  This trip was our third time to Ethiopia.  On both of the previous trips we always were exhausted and went to be early every night (I'm talking 7 or 8 PM).  Add two toddlers to that mix, I should have known that we wouldn't be using the baby monitors we brought along so we could hang out in the lobby at night.  Ha!

So, instead we spent our days with Sammy and Sadie: chasing them around the guesthouse, getting to know them, desperately trying to figure out why they were crying.  Good stuff.  We did manage a few moments with our friends, but mostly we spent our days just the four of us.

Sadie loved talking to her new friends that worked at the guesthouse.  All the employees there loved her.  They'd grab her every time they saw her to give her hugs and kisses. They all thought she was so cute and sweet.

Sammy was a little hesitant of the courtyard outside the guesthouse at first.  But once he warmed up, he ran all over and had a blast.

Sadie at the "watering hole."  Both of the kids liked to check out every nook and cranny of the courtyard.

 The babies loved to play peek-a-boo around this railing.  It was super fun until they started to try and gnaw the paint off the spindles.

 Sammy and Sadie loved to sit and hang out on this little ledge.  They also liked to touch the flowers.  At first they just picked at them, but by the end of the week, we had showed them how to be gentle.

 Standing at the door to leave the guesthouse.  The twins loved to look out the door and wave to the people walking by.  The guard and his friends often hung out across the street where it was shady.  Sadie loved to yell out in her baby language at them.  They absolutely loved her.  And, much to my chagrin, they would take her from me and carry her around outside.  Anywhere else I would think it was sketchy, but here it seemed totally normal.

 Sadie hanging out in her flower sunglasses.  Both of the kids liked wearing their sunglasses, but more than that, they loved using them as teething toys. :)

 Ready to go out and play!  They were constantly wanting to get out of our little room and explore the guesthouse.

 Sadie having a blast ruling the roost.  Leading Daddy around the guesthouse was her favorite!

 One night we tried to go out for dinner at a local restaurant that got really good reviews from another family.  It was probably close to a mile from the guesthouse.  So the four of us and the friends we were traveling with walked over to the restaurant.  To say it was a disaster was an understatement.  Mandy and I ended up carrying all 3 babies back to the guesthouse by ourselves while the Matt and Joel waited for our take-out.

 Once we got back to the guesthouse, I gave the babies dinner on the couch.  They had a blast running around and playing in just their diapers.  It was a hot day, so it probably felt good to cool off on the leather couch!

 

Sadie liked to look out the window in our room while waiting for her brother to wake-up in the afternoons.

 This is the view out our window at the guesthouse.

 Sadie trying on my shoes.  Both Samuel and Sadie love to wear our shoes and try to walk around in them.  After we got home, we found out they especially love to wear their cousin Kaylee's shoes. :)

 Twice while we were at the guesthouse we had a coffee ceremony.  Once was because we were there during Epiphany and the next day we had another coffee ceremony because it was our last day at the guesthouse.  The traditional coffee ceremony includes Ethiopian coffee with sugar and popcorn.

 Giving sweet kisses to Mommy.  Sadie loves to give kisses to everyone, but Sammy is a little more hesitant with his kisses.

 Sadie and Samuel both are great helpers.  They love to put things away and help pick-up.  They also like to carry things around, just for fun.  Here is Sadie carrying around the wipes.  What a helper!

 "Talking on the phone" while hanging out in the courtyard.  Both Sammy and Sadie love to pretend to talk on the phone.  And we've learned anything can be used as a pretend phone, though they especially like to use our video camera.

 Me with my sweet boy... having a snack.  We had lots of snacks while in Ethiopia.  Samuel was a great eater back in those days.  :)

 Giving kisses and tickles to Sammy.  Both the babies loved to be chased and tickled.  I love that they will already request tickles from us on occasion.

 Sadie relaxing on the couch in our room looking at books and pictures.  She loved to point out Mama and Dada in the picture book we brought them in October.

 The babies liked to hang out together in the lobby and the courtyard.  Center is our friend's son, Silas.

 Ready to go for a walk outside!  The babies loved going for walks outside, riding in the sling.  Thank goodness they liked the sling, otherwise our trip home would have been very difficult!

 Matt and Sadie getting ready for our walk.

 Sammy's turn to look out the window.  They also liked to lick the window.  Ewww!

 One of Sammy's favorite things to do while at the guesthouse: check himself out in the mirror.  He would grab my hand and take me for walks around the guesthouse multiple times a day.  Up and down the stairs we would go... stopping on every floor to give himself kisses in the mirror.

A favorite game for the three littles: pushing the plastic chairs around the courtyard.  It was a great way to entertain all three kids with only one adult supervising.

 Samuel and Sadie being good helpers again - trying to help me pack up the suitcases Sunday night before our flights home.

Both Sammy and Sadie kept crawling in and out of the suitcase while I packed.  "Don't for get us, Mom and Dad!"

 

At the Ethiopian airport: trying to entertain the kids while we waited to board the plane.

 At the Amsterdam airport:  Getting some energy out while we waited for our flight home.