Dec 23 Thurs - Christmas Eve Eve

I don't know where to start to be honest but I feel like blogging so i will ramble away.

View from the left side of our porch

Tues evening Eileen arrived...all day wed the girls longed to have their luggage as they had to wear clothes loaned to them by Lisa and myself and Doug and Roger.  Lisa and I had extra suits so the 2 of the girls wore those and held skirts and shorts up with belts and safety pins etc.  They begged us not to take a picture of them :)

Red is Stone Fish Spraying Deadly Poison

After a leisurely breakfast we all went for a walk out to the coral reef since the tide was low.  There were several "helpful" Kenyans who wanted to guide us.  It was quite humorous really.   They want to know everything about us and they were full of information on the local sea life.  Amanda said she felt like she was on national geographic show.  We learned the best treatment for sea urchin and stone fish.  They were quick to show us pregnant star fish, crabs, shells, sea spiders etc.  We explored for over an hour and headed back about lunch time...2ish.

Enjoying Coconut milk in the Pool

Decorating the Charlie Brown Tre

We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around napping and reading.  The place we are at is so quiet and nice.  There are not many others here...at least not that we can see.  Oh...when we came back from the beach we were greeted with coconuts with straws to drink out the milk. That was a treat.  They said it was a "luau" for Christmas.   There is a small evergreen near the pool decorated for Christmas.  It makes you smile whenever you see it cause it is a charlie brown tree if I ever saw one...very cute.

About 6 when we were getting ready for dinner ( a lovely curry fish with rice and green beans and fruit salad) Roger talked to the people at the airport and was told the girls luggage had arrived.  Since they don't deliver it here it meant another trip to the airport.  It is an hour and half ride through the city of Mombasa which involves alot of traffic and crossing a canal on a ferry.  The girls were so excited they could hardly stand it.  Roger went with the 3 of them after wolfing down their dinner.

Our humble abode at the beach

Doug, Lisa, Dan and I went down to the beach to watch the full moon come up...what an awesome  sight.  When we got back to the house about 8:45 Roger called and said they were on their way home but only had 2 suitcases.  Kim's was nowhere to be found.  She was soooo discouraged and still is.  It is Thursday afternoon.  Roger has been calling every couple hours and still no sign of it.  So sad...fortunately the other girls brought enough clothes to share and she is coping.  We hope it will still come and is not totally gone for good (or bad).

KiKoi Clothes for sale

So today we went walking up the beach around a rocky area where there is a stretch of beach with alot of larger hotels and lodges.  It made us all the more appreciative of our quiet private feeling beach and house.  The girls bought souvenirs and we got back and all jumped in the pool ....with our coconuts in hand and cooled off before going in to have lunch.  I don't remember if I mentioned the monkeys we have around the house.  The first day we went grocery shopping we set bags down by the back door and while i went around to  unlock the house they had gotten in the bags and tore into the bread...grrr.... today at lunch they got brave and came onto our porch. ( We moved our table out on the veranda and have been eating our meals outside)  So today there were 3 or 4 sitting up in the thatched roof watching us eat...waiting for us to look away so they could snitch.  They are cute and fun but also a bit scary as they are unpredictable.  So we are careful not to leave any food sitting around...or it will most definitely disappear.

"Pregnant" Star Fish

  This afternoon was a repeat of yesterday...lounge in a chair...with the breeze...watching the tide come in over the reef...read a bit...sleep a bit...what a nice break.
Tonight we are going to put up our tree.  We have collected a couple palm branches...stuck them in a big water bottle with sand in it...and will decorate it.  Fun!!  I will also make some peanut butter balls (a family Christmas tradition).
Its time to shower and put after sun lotion on..