Day 10: Dreamland!

Saturday was a free morning and we took advantage of it by just being lazy...I really don't think we made it out of our pj's before lunch. We had to be at the Bejoe house by mid-afternoon to meet the rest of our travel group for one of our only 3 outings with the kids. Everyone piled into the bus and we drove for about an hour and a half to a crater lake outside of Addis Ababa.

The scenery outside the city was so slow and tranquil that I really questioned whether or not we were even still in Ethiopia. Everything was green and in bloom and MUCH slower than in city.

The kids enjoyed the ride but since there was so many of us, I held Alazar and Ruta was stuck sitting on Le's lap. She was less than thrilled but I thought for their first long car ride, they did amazingly well.

The crater lake had a restaurant/hotel built on it called Dreamland and what a dream land it was indeed. The back drop for dinner was breathtaking!

Here's a glimpse:

We had a great time and for the first time I began to feel like we were a family; not just as if Le and I borrowed two kids for a couple of weeks. We had our picture taken out on the deck:

One of the women in our travel group is a fellow blogger who I had only met once prior to us leaving for Ethiopia. I fell in love with her immediately. She is amazing and we run on about the same speeds, so having her in Ethiopia was a true blessing. But what made it even better is that her daughter, Lilah is in between Ruta and Alazar in age and the kids were all at the same foster care home with Gladney. This was a HUGE relief for me. Because while I was fretting about being judged by all the people who could contain their infants securely in their arms, Gayla and I were exchanging notes and tips while chasing three toddlers. The company made me feel like less of a freak and having someone else to compare notes with was exactly what the Good Lord knew I needed. One of the most amazing things about Gayla and her amazing, growing family, they live about an hour and a half from us!!!!!!

Gayla and Lilah Abeba:



Ruta and her friend Abeba sharing a meal at Dreamland:

The newly assembled Gower family:

Let's just say that Alazar may have already found his future wife: (note that he already knows to follow her every move:)