Can You Guess Where We've Been All Week???

(Study the picture for an important clue!!!)

Details to follow! 

Africa Fest

First off in Buchanan news...The tooth fairy rides again! 

Luca lost her first tooth this week!!!  It was really loose for the past couple of weeks, and finally one morning while snuggling in our bed, she finally lost it (to her great delight)!  The tooth fairy paid up big time since it was her first tooth ($, Build-A-Bear clothes, books and a Hello Kitty candy and fan!)  In the morning, she told me she heard the tooth fairy's magic in the night.  When I asked her what it sounded like, she said it sounded like "jingling."   :-)

Her new tooth was already growing up behind it as you can see in the picture below.  Looks like we have not one, but TWO sets of braces in our future! 

Today we attended Africa Fest in Madison and had such a great tiime! 

The whole family participated in Strides for Africa, a run/walk which raises money to build clean water springs in Ethiopia!  The organization's statistics are apphauling...Only one person in ten has access to clean water. 80% of all illness is due to dirty water. 250,000 children die each year from diarrhea. One Ethiopian child in ten DIES before its fifth birthday with half of those dying from diarrhea. 

Cost of a well serving 350 people? 

$5000

I shudder to think what I've spent $5000 on...or WANT to spend $5000 on! 

Check out what A Glimmer of Hope is doing! 

The girls stretching before the kids run.

Lined up and raring to go!

Look at Luca's face!  She took off like no one's business

during both the adult portion and the kids run portion. 

Brenin and her friend Naomi

My friend Tracy tipped us off to the event...they are another homeschooling, Ethiopian-American family who we absolutely love.  Thanks for the super fun day Matt, Tracy, Naomi, Isaac and Nile! 

One blessed mama!

The girls each got a medal for their part in the race! 

You would have thought it was a BAR of gold by their reactions...it was a proud moment! 

There was so much to do at Africa Fest...lots of vendors, African food, live African music and drumming, cultural demonstrations, a walk through African "village" and a kids area where they could make their own drums, learn to play mancala, get their face painted and make a mask! 

Luca trying on one of the vendor's masks.

Mancala is such a beautiful game to look at! 

I wanted to take this one home and use it as a decoration! 

Luca playing with her food...the girl can down some major injera!

Crushing peanuts into paste for cooking.  All the women surrounding were commenting on how good Brenin was at this without even being taught.  Now I know just what to get her for Christmas this year!  :-) 

These dancers were incredible and invited the kids on stage for a lesson!

We also got to see some Madison friends, Kangethe, Ngige and Sophie,

and it was so wonderful to catch up with them with the sounds of Africa dancing in the air. 

Sophie and Luca enjoying the music

Feeling worn out and thankful for a community of Africans so

near to our own and for beautiful friends to share it with. 

It Is Well

Wonderful camping adventures again this weekend...river rafting/tubing, biking, ATV'ing, campfires, local and San Diego family, good eating, reading and relaxing!  It's summer time, and the livin' is eeeeeeasy! 

Life is Good

This girl and her grandpa...I tell 'ya.

Brenin's "river guide" impersonation....where she got it from is anybody's guess.

My Uncle Don is from San Diego and used to come every year at Christmas to see the family.  In recent years, however, he's discovered that Wisconsin at Christmas time can be a little...well...cold.  And being acclimated to that So Cal sun, he decided an August visit would be a little more enjoyable and has been joining us in family camp for the past few years!

Queen of the Nile

Child Labor...Paddlin' Bren

Visions of Mark Twain danced us down the river...lovely! 

We ate lunch at Little Bohemia, a hideout for famous gangster John Dillinger.  Police tracked him here and riddled the place with bullets before Dillinger eluded them once again.  Johnny Depp also filmed "Public Enemies" here in which he portrays Dillinger. 

Everything was left as it was after the shoot-out for Little Bohemia visitors...

SO interesting to stand ON a scene of history like this. 

Dillinger's room at the resort.

The bathroom...how'd you like to be soaking in this tub with bullets flying?? 

Dillinger obviously left quickly and had to leave everything behind...here is his suit.

 

The balcony outside Dillinger's room where he escaped from...notice all the bullet holes here too!

Some more items left behind...notice the Ex-Lax

(even gangstas get a little backed up from time to time...hehe) 

Wook at his wittow cheeks!!!!!

The girls got to spend the day with Daddy, Uncle James, Uncle Don and Tucker on the four-wheeler trails.  Here's Bren after the fun day of sloshing through mud puddles...happy and unfathomably dirty.

And here's poor Luca after her four-wheeling adventures...lol 

(clothes removed due to excessive filth)

Needless to say, a good time was had by all! 

Bike trails are AMAZING and everywhere up North.  Here's a few shots from our ride. 

There were 5 shots taken in this pose, and every one of them had a different person either not looking at the camera, sitting in an unflattering position (ahem...), scowling or closing their eyes.  I did what any respectable mother and wife would do and chose the one that made me look the best (hehe)...so here we are nonetheless (sorry Bren, but you look cute no matter which direction you're looking). 

Lots to process on this trip, and I knew this would be the perfect place to do it...

clarity and "center" abound in those northern woods and with those northern folks I love so dearly.