My Dad's Birthday.

I woke up and felt there was something a little different about this morning..It wasn't the fact that for the 20th day in a row we had slept through the alarm and had to hurry the kids to school(some things never change).. But that today was my dad's birthday. The last blog post I wrote so eloquently about the sunset here, but the sunrise is just as amazing.. And from our bedroom window you can see the sky slowly change from about 5:30- 6:30 above the rooftops of our neighbors.. It is unbelievable. I laid in bed, watching this process for the 100th time and thought of my dad... It was a sad start to the day, but Kate(who at some point in the night came into our bed) started to kick me and took my blanket as well. She kind of ruined the whole somber mood and just made me mad... and cold.

So to honor my father, who was a carpenter, I thought I'd share some of the photos I took recently of a group of carpenters that have a small stall on the side of the road right near our home.I love watching these guys work... And for some reason, they remind me of my dad, not just because they know how to use a saw, but becuase they make me very happy. They are the most unconventionial, hard working/least working group of guys I've met.. And what's great is that each time I drive by them , they wave as if we hadn't seen each other for years.You get alot that here, and the fact that we have 5 kids kind of makes us like rock stars. Andrew, Peter and Peter are their names..
Not only do they build furniture from scraps, they sell chicken manure(one of them has a farm and his specialty is selling the manure). And they are renowned in these parts for building the first cornhole set in all of Botswana.

I took the cornhole set to them to get it "upgraded" the other day when I took these pictures.. Somehow they charged me the same amount for the repair as they did to build the whole thing.. I didn't care.. That's what's so great about getting something done by these guys.. They have built us a bed, a few tables and a cornhole set.. WHen I ask them how much, they just blurt out a number, no real thinking involved.. And usually its very cheap.. Not beautfully done, but useful.When I took the cornhole set in they said, "since you are our friend, 100pula."I told them, "that's how much you charged me to make the things." They said, "then you got a deal."

Jacob has a soccer match at Northside today versus Phakalane, hope to get video.. He has 2 more rehearsals for their class play, "Snow White and the Seven Aliens", which debuts next week, and is gearing up for a walk through the salt pans and a camp out with the lions, hyenas,leopards, etc... Michelle and I are debating who's going.. Don't worry, down the street from us is a vendor who rents lion proof tents, lanterns, cots, parafin, everything... we've booked oursevles one.

Apparently, Jacob is getting alot of praise for his creative writing skills over the past few weeks..His teacher says he just finished a writing assignment that is one of the best pieces he has ever seen, which we were very happy to hear. They are discussing the Holocaust in his class and he had to write a paper about a movie called "paper clips"... He is also visiting a cancer treatment center here in town next week which he will have to write about and will be discussing HIV/AIDS next term.. He has yet to post a blog entry about his trip to Durban

One last note..... GOOD LUCK RYAN IN THE CITY TOURNAMENT. JACOB IS JEALOUS.. HOPE YOU GUYS DO WELL... GET A HIT FOR YOUR COUSINS IN BOTSWANA... OR ELSE WE'LL BRING A BLACK MAMBA OVER THERE AND STICK IT IN YOUR BED WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING

All for now.... Happy Birthday Dad.