Adventure Night {May} Recap

We had a great night at Paint Along Studios for our first adventure night. I might have accidentally used their new painted display martini glasses to pour our group a drink instead of the designated wine glasses, but other than that we had a great time! It was neat to see how we were all being taught to paint the exact same picture, but the nuances in each canvas were uniquely us.

I still have no idea where I am going to put my painting, but I like it. The bright colors and whimsical nature bring a smile to my face. And it was just plain fun and something new with a great group of ladies. I couldn't have asked for a more fun start to Adventure Night!

Now, mark your calendars for June 14th and plan to join us for a tour of downtown Lakeland with a two hour bike ride by BeFly Bike Tours. All of the details can be seen on the Facebook event page here. And my friend Jenn has kicked up the event a notch by offering a prize to the lady with the cutest bike decorations. Get ready, get set, get crafting! She has an adorable shop with all kinds of handmade goodies, so you know that the prize will be amazing. Hope to see you there!

Adventure Night {May: our first event}

{What are "Adventure Nights?" Click here.}

You voted and decided that we would go to Paint Along Studios for some step-by-step painting instruction ending in an original masterpiece for our May Adventure Night. Love it! Read more about the event here.

I used to dabble in acrylics in 2000-2004, back when spare time abounded. Most of the canvases I painted have been tossed, but I have kept one entitled "Florida Winter." It contains muddy snowflakes with a brown spotted background, an obvious display of distaste for the lack of seasons here. My grandfather was an amazing oil landscape painter and my dad paints beautiful watercolors. Samples of both of their artwork are on my gallery wall in the living room, but my lone painting remains in a box somewhere since I don't really consider mine art.

The last paint brush I grabbed was to refurbish a piece of thrift store furniture, so I am excited about trying my hand at painting again on May 10th. It is fool proof! I am excited about an actualy painter walking me through the technique of painting "real wild flowers." It should be a lot of fun and little room for error. Are you going to join me? Please do! Cost is $35 for everything. Reserve your spot on their website here and come along! All ladies are welcome to join in the fun.

If you can't make it this month, mark your calender for June14th for our next Adventure Night. And put in your suggestions for what to do then by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas.

I need a little adventure. Who's with me?

Being a mother of four preschoolers is isolating. I'm sure that is self-evident. Over the last five months (oh my goodness, where has the time gone?) of being a parent of four, I realized that I am missing some things from my old life. Two of the things I miss the most are girl time and adventure. Life now is scheduled with naps, diaper changes and bedtime routines, dictating what I do and when. The biggest adventure I have to look forward to is a blowout diaper at the park or a fit over a stolen toy.

Snorkeling for a friend's b-day weekend

Thankfully, I have an AMAZING husband who encourages me to get out, see a show, hang out with friends and join a book club. And I am very grateful for my brother and sister-in-law who swap babysitting duties with us so I can spend some great time with Craig twice a month. But there is still a lingering desire for fun with some friends.

28th b-day fun

So, what I want to do now is create a monthly adventure with my girl friends. Want to join me? Come on! All ladies who want to come are invited. Consider this your open invitation to a monthly excursion from the norm of your everyday life. Single ladies, married women and moms, you are all welcome! Bring a friend, come alone or tag along with me!

The original four ODP ladies last October

On the 2nd Friday of the month, a girl's night adventure will be scheduled. One month we might go bowling, the next a comedy club, and the next a boat cruise. We might explore an island, learn to line dance or go wine tasting. The options are endless! Every month will be different and unique, but it will always be an adventure. We can try new restaurants, see new shows, and experience new sights together. I need something like this every month to look forward to and I'm excited about the friends I will make and the relationships that will strengthen through these monthly excursions.

Ladies, mark your calendars for May 10th and join me for some fun! 
Details to follow, so stay tuned...

Being a tourist in Uganda {Source of the Nile}

While adopting from Uganda, we visited the source of Nile! It was truly beautiful and relaxing to be on a boat on the Nile River and Lake Victoria. This was a much needed break from the busy, noisy, dirty city where we were living for almost five weeks. No matter where I am, I always feel more calm and connected to God in His creation, and our trip to Africa was no exception.

Walking down the many steps to get to the river.

At the Nile, ready to board the boat.

Our boat.

We paid for a guided boat tour with our friend Lori and her family and it was great to be experiencing Uganda with another adoptive family. It can feel isolating to be in a foreign country trying to bound with your new children and trying to take in as much of the culture as possible at the same time. That time felt like a tunnel of crazy and I am really excited to actually go back again to truly visit Uganda.

Lori with Emmy, her grandmother and mom and our family on the boat

I guess I should have paid more attention to the history behind why this is the source of the Nile during our tour and all that jazz, but it turns out that Simon HATES being on boats. He screamed the whole time, which made it impossible to hear the presentation our guide was making. Bummer. Next time...

Our guide.

That cement block behind us is suppose to be a monument to John Speke, who found the source.

Being touristy and I have no idea why I am posing like that.

With any good tourist destination, you have vendors selling stuff. The Nile is no exception.

And do you see that swirl in the center of the picture? That is the source of the Nile, or so John Speke thought.

Even in Uganda, school children take field trips.

After the boat ride, we ate some Uganda touristy food, Craig changed a horrible diaper behind some bushes and then saw real, live, wild monkeys!!! This was a dream come true for me as I've always wanted a pet monkey. 

Monkeys on the side of the road.

When all of the monkeys ran away, we headed to the city of Jinja, where the source of the Nile is found. In the city, we ran into some missionaries we met at our guest house and Katie Davis! Just kidding. But we did find her office near the most disgusting bathrooms (including this one) that I experienced in Uganda. The irony of it all was on the back of the door of the bathrooms it talked about being grateful for this toilet and asked for donations to make more bathrooms like it in Jinja. I couldn't help but laugh and laugh, as the sign clearly was not abreast to the state of the toilet at that moment.

The office of Katie Davis' ministry.

We did stop at the FIRST place in Uganda that had internet and the first internet cafe for a much needed "American" style cup o' joe and chocolate chip cookie. And we learned that the turn "boda-boda" which refers to a motorcycle taxi actually originated in Jinja. People would ask bicycle taxi drivers to take them to the border of Uganda and Kenya and would shout, "Boda, boda!" Or in American English, "Border, border." Somehow the name transferred to motorcycle taxis and the name stuck!

Our Ugandan "Starbucks."

Craig and a french press. He's in love.

We were told that this trip would be lack-luster, but we enjoyed this great diversion from the waiting of the adoption process.

 

Being a toursit in Uganda {Tombs of Buganda Kings}

In the midst of waiting for court rulings, passports and US visas, we had time to kill. So, why not explore Andrew and Simon's homeland, tourist style? Our driver has been driving Americans for years and knew all of the great tourist destinations and restaurants. It was fun to see things from that side and it took our mind off of the waiting, but it didn't give us a true taste of Africa. The next time we go, we want to be taken around to see a more traditional side of Uganda, but for our transition to parenting two babies, we were grateful for the tourism.

One of the places we visited were the tombs of the kings in Buganda. We honestly didn't know much about the kingdom of Buganda and even though our boys are not from the kingdom so this wasn't their heritage, it was neat to learn something new. And of course, being the book-lovers that we are, I purchased a book all about it at the "gift shop" for future reading and reference.

I would love to say that I remembered what all of these pictures meant, but we had only been in country a day or two, so I was pretty out of it. And the book I bought is buried somewhere and remains to be seen since we returned several months ago. Oh well!

: Andrew fell fast asleep just as we arrived

: Traditional Bugandan paintings

: Paintings of the kings buried there

: At Kasubi with the boys who had been with us less then 48 hours

: Inside

: Burial plot of king's family

Now that we have settled into our new life as a family of six, it is nice to reflect back on the good times we had while in Uganda. I look forward to blogging more of our time in country and the stories we have about those four weeks. It truly is a beautiful nation and we are blessed to have two little pieces of it in our home.