November 2013

November was a crazy month. Getting into the holiday season has been super fun and looking forward to an even busier December.

Our November trip to the Beach School was successful! A new generator was purchased and installed here in this little room. There was also a swing set that was donated from a family that left Lagos. The kids absolutely love it and keep busy during their one hour break for lunch and play.

lunch break



the secondary school kids received backpacks for reading a book and reporting to their teacher

the kids loved playing on the drums to show off their skills

reading to the little ones

the kitchen that we will remodel. this is the sad little stove

the dimly lit cooking area

Lady Salami showing us the pot used to make lunch

kids loving the swingset

others enjoying the slide

lines waiting for the swings

the old swingset still put to good use

how many kids can climb onboard??

On November 9th, we were invited as guests of the Chevron Wine Tasting Club to the Wine Festival at the Federal Palace Hotel. They had wine vendors set up booths there and then a private VIP tent with small chop and music. We had a lot of fun and I just took a picture of the string quartet set up to make the event very fancy :)

 

November 13th, we took a quick trip to the Ife Oluwa school. This is a second school that the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation supports and is out by the Lekki market. Janet Hall is the Board member that has been heavily involved in updating this school, so she took Kristiann and I for a tour of the facility. There is the Ife Oluwa clinic in front of the school that is for pregnant ladies and a birthing center. It was crazy to see how small and old it was, even though there is much progress than prior to the IBSF support and funding. Its hard to believe how these woman can give birth on a broken metal table without ANY pain medication! to say that Africa women are strong is an understatement!!! We also saw the school and the upgrades that have been made lately, including a garden, getting rid of old play equipment, a new burner for the kitchen and bowls/spoons for the kids to eat. More pictures coming from another visit in December.

I just saw this girl peeking out of us from her classroom and had to snap it

Following the tour was a lunch with the AWC Galloping Gourmet group. We went to the Teppanyaki grill in Bungalow. I had chicken, salmon and tuna this time, and all was delicious! The cook did not disappoint either as he brought out a guitar after the meal to serenade us ladies :)

such a fun host for our lunch

The Marine Ball was held on the 15th and so much fun! The location was moved this year to the Eko Hotel and everything was decorated beautifully! We had so much fun dancing the night away and loved that the young Marine men danced with us all night too!!

Laura, Kristiann, Deepa, Leila, and me in our ball gowns



 

presenting the guest of honor

the national anthem

presenting the colors

cutting the cake with a sword

the lovely Deepa pinning her gold glitter flower in Jason's hair. he loved it ;)

The following night was a surprise party for Troy's 40th birthday party. It was Duck Dynasty/ Redneck/ Hillbilly themed and it was so fun to see everyone dress the part! 

the girls in their finest Walmart wear

us with the birthday boy in the middle

as usual, the party moved to the pool after a few hours in the heat!

the awesome sign that was made for Troy!

the portrait Kelly got painted for Troy to look like President Goodluck

Jason and I at our finest

Jason growling at the camera, I guess

the duck dynasty beard on the swan, perfection!

the tat I created for J

the little cupcake decoration were multi-purpose

the guys getting crazy!

late night selfies

On the 19th, Kristiann took Deepa and I to the Balagun Market in Lagos. This is a HUGE market that has everything you could ever want. We went specifically to look for fabric for the Christmas party but wandered into the Christmas section as well as the "Walmart" section that has kitchenware, decorations, food and anything you might need for the house. It was quite an adventure to see how the other side of Lagos lives. We also had an experience leaving as a lady tried to tell me I could not take picture there (trying to charge me to take a picture). I just asked like I didn't understand her, but that is not uncommon to be asked to pay to take a photo here.

crazy traffic around the market

busy streets full of hawkers

view of the stalls on each side of the road.

I finally convinced Jason that I could put up Christmas decoration when it was 30 days away :) I was so ready to get out the goodies that I bought last year and things that I had accumulated since.

our cute little tree, put on top of a table bought from a friend and tablecloth I bought at the beach

the decorated buffet as well as plant with some Nigeria ornaments from the market

our stockings hung at the bar

Thanksgiving was AMAZING!! Kristiann invited us and 4 other couples over for a feast. Deepa had purchased the butterball turkey from the US consulate. We each brought a side, app or dessert and we enjoyed a champagne toast as well as wine from France at dinner. K made sure that we had all the things that we were used to have at home. and everything was fabulous!!

my mess making the fruit salad, something I grew up making for Thanksgiving every year

the final fruit salad

the table set up beautifully with the fine china!

another view of the table, complete with our nametags

dessert table (apple, pumpkin, pecan and lemon merengue pies)

Jason and I dressed up for the occasion

the buffet table (green jello salad, spinach salad, turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and bread stuffing)

We knew thanksgiving weekend would be busy, but boy was it busy! after an eventful thanksgiving night, we had Sail Around the World at the Lagos yacht Club. Jason worked the Republic of Texas booth again serving out yummy brisket and beans. We visited all the booths and hung out with our friends at the USA booth with hot dogs and jello shots :)

the girls enjoying our jello shots!



the awesome dance floor completely full

the band was amazing and the light setup was quite fancy.

Saturday night, the 30th, was the St. Andrew's ball for the Lagos Caledonian Society. Sadly, the photographer's printer broke at the end of the night and we did not get a print of our group shot. Hopefully one day we will find the guy again because it was such a classic fun shot and I cant wait to see it. This year we took dance lessons so we would know some of the Scottish dances. That made it more enjoyable that Jason was not just stepping on my feet the whole time ;) The event was moved to the Intercontinental Hotel this year so was super fancy. We had a great group of friends sit with us and the night was definitely one to remember.

our couple pic as we entered the ball