With the late night we all had, the kids slept till 11 am. They seem to think this is a vacation and that soon they will go back to daycare. Keanen even told me he does not want to go to school today. They are definitely enjoying the break from going to daycare everyday. However everyday they talk about their friends. They definitely miss them and have not gauged yet that they will not see them again–at least anytime soon.

It was a hot day today. I can’t believe all that rain from yesterday just disappeared into thin air literally. Walking outside was like walking into a sauna. Kept the kids in. They don’t need an additional tan 🙂 Everything in the village literally slows downs as the sun gets higher. The water levels have risen from the storm of yesterday. It impresses me how Malians cope with the heat but I guess its what you get used to.

After breakfast/lunch of some zaame( rice) with fish, we spent time coloring and making Pokemon cards. Keanen has such a great imagination. His teachers at daycare, Miss Linda and Miss Becky really encouraged him to think big and be creative. Carmen too spent some time coloring with crayons. After that, the kids watched some movies. Carmen got bored midway so she came over and we played doctor patient. Carmen definitely takes pride and enjoyment in hurting people. She gave me shot after shot and told me I would get a sucker if I was a good girl. 🙂

I spent much of my time finishing the blog and just reading email. This was interrupted multiple times by the kids bickering. Carmen is a definite tease. I think she gets that from her dad. lol. She will do everything in her power to make Keanen tick and she is pretty good at it. Keanen usually ends up losing his temper and pinching/hitting her. So he usually goes in timeout while Carmen smiles away. That smile soon turns into loud tearless crying ( seriously this kid has a voice) as she joins her brother in timeout.

When Yeah came home, we went for a walk. The kids were extremely excited. They got to see a few dogs, donkeys, a cat, some chicken and a few goats. Carmen was fascinated by the donkey and kept calling it a camel. Seriously, I should have taken these kids to a zoo a little more often. Keanen thought we were on a safari. We walked a while and visited with people along the way. I think I am getting more comfortable with atleast my greetings in Bamanakan. Malians expect the kids to answer back in Bambara. That will come with time. It was hard enough teaching them their various Malian names. Kean got a kick out of the fact that he has two other Malian names: Tiecourafiq ( Yeah’s dad’s name) and Oumar. Carmen has two as well: Sanamba and Ma. She kept saying Simba like the lion 🙂

All in all an uneventful day.