Life in the new house.

Life in the new house is, how you say... coming along. Ryder is pretty keen on his counter perch (in lieu of a kitchen table) and it's really easy for him to just toss his dirty dishes over to the sink. Not bad. Now, if I can only teach him how to use the coffee maker (at left in the corner) while I'm making his breakfast. A man can dream, right?

There's plenty of good running lanes.

The picture below was one of the most triumphant moments to date in the new house - our first load of laundry after we landed in Kigali. No joke, it was over a month. Since the hotel was charging some ungodly amount like $3 per sock to wash anything, we made some careful decisions as to what got washed. (Basically, anything with poo on it. TMI?) Anyway, with the new washer installed, it was a glorious day to hang tiny socks.

Some of our favorite noisy yard inhabitants - a group of speckled mousebirds.

Hanging out on the balcony, looking for beetles.

Whaddaya mean it's a rainy season?

Oh, I see.

Lookin' Sharp

During our stay at the Serena, it became clear that Ryder really enjoyed hanging out in the front of the hotel. The cars coming and going, the fountain, and especially the door guys. Ronnie became a good friend of Ryder's - lots of hugs every time they saw each other, even still. I had a crazy idea and I told Ronnie about it one morning. Wouldn't it be great if Ryder had one of the uniforms that the door guys wear? That would be awesome! Well, as luck would have it, Ronnie said his Mom was a seamstress and she could easily make him on of their suits with the long jacket, vest, tie, the whole nine (I'm paraphrasing.) I said hey, if she has the time, I'll gladly pay for her time and materials - a no-brainer. We visited his house and met his Mom, took measurements, then waited. About 2 weeks later, she had it finished.

Only O.J.'s glove fit better.

It's a little snug in the vest, but that is the area with the widest girth, as we all know. Ryder donned the suit and we hit the Serena this past week. Let's just say, it went over pretty well.

Classic. He felt pretty at home in his new duds, as you can tell.

Patrolling the hallways...

...visiting old friends at the restaurant...

...and of course having some time with Ronnie. He just didn't want it to end!

Time for nap, but maybe we'll hit a runway show on the way home.

So long, Serena! Hello House!

Hello again, it's Ryder. After a good stretch, it's time to bid adieu to our old friend, the Serena Hotel. It was a good run. There's Mom and I on check out day (above). We've had some good times, so I've collected a few pictures showing my day to day activities with Dad and Mom and, well, the Serena. I tried as hard as I could to get them to hire me. I showed them quite a range of skills, impressed them with my gregarious spirit, and made sure that everyone knew where I was. Some said I was the ambassador of the hotel. From where I was sitting, it didn't matter. I owned this joint.

Howyadoin..mwaramutse...heyyyyy...

Ronnie is my good friend (above). His Mama is making me a suit just like this! We go way back.

David at the door says I remind him of his own son, just a month younger than me.

The longer we stayed here, the more it seemed like I could help out, y'know? Everywhere I went, I tried to pitch in. It never hurts to make sure everyone knows you mean business. Here I am at the pool...

...working the front desk...

..."he said the tikka masala, you fool, not the fish and chips!"...

Lots of hallways in here. Many hands make light work, right? I also helped out in the parking lot.

...some people say I'm a born supervisor. But sometimes, you have to step in and just make it happen.

Pool furniture inspection day. My favorite.

(Dad always finds a flower somewhere.)

They even brought out the band for me one day. What a place!

Of course, there was plenty of time in the room, just playing with stuff, and making sure Dad was good and tired.

I got a lot of reading time with Mom. She's a good reader.

On September 11th, we all watched the TV for a little while. It was sad.

Hey, Dada.

I made it to the elephant ride at the supermarket. Who knew a bundle of grapes could be $9?

All this work can wear a guy out, obviously, so I had to make due with whatever seat was around. I can't sit still too long, though. Pretty soon, you just have to charge on.

Kiss, kiss, Serena. Hello new house!




The yard's just heaven.

And my favorite red chair is here. Pretty sweet. Aside from eating on the floor every now and then, I love this place. Everything['s great until...

...the power goes out. Luckily, we have flashlights.

I'll end with a very special morning sunrise in our backyard. This was Mom's birthday. Almost as beautiful has her! She even got a rainbow on her birthday. Lucky!

The Chopper Trip - 3 videos

The chariot awaits...



...herding giraffe...

... and chasing topis.

My Trip So Far... by Ryder

Hello everyone, it's Ryder. I'm sure you're all quite surprised by my newly acquired vocabulary and typing skills. I am too. Pretty cool. I thought I'd write one of these posts myself and let you know what in the world I've been doing so far over here in Kigali.

Go 'Merica!

The flight over here was pretty cool. I got to journal a little bit, sit in a big chair, play on the floor with new toys, and push Mom and Dad to the brink of insanity. It was fun.

In the airport at Amsterdam, Mom showed me how to do some stretches so that I could sleep better. In return, I showed her how to act like a donkey:

...and the best way to sit on the airport courtesy car.

When we boarded our next flight for Kigali, I stared out the window for a long time as we took off into the clouds.

Midway through the flight, Mom and I had a heart to heart, and I promised her that I would sleep more than 45 minutes on this flight. My only condition was that Dad had to make a bed out of the floor and cover it with a blanket like a tent. It worked and we were all happy.

Once we landed in Kigali, we stayed in a temporary apartment for 3 nights. It was funny, because the nights seemed pretty much like the day time. I was awake, but I had to try to go to sleep. It was no fun. Mom was able to take a picture of me during the daytime, when I was a bit cuckoo and Dad was a zombie.

After the apartment, Mom and Dad decided we should go to a hotel, where people made food for us and we could use things like 'the internet', a pool, and a gym. It was a great idea. We're still here now, and one of my favorite things to do is to walk around the front and check out the cool fountain. It's a great place to gather my thoughts, contemplate life, and plot my next move. The inside of the hotel is also a great place to explore.

The stairs to the pool...

...at the pool chairs...

...and one of my favorite times of day: food time in the room!

Usually followed by a good book.

I've already figured out how to call my favorite people. But for some reason, Phoebe just won't take my calls. I sure hope she's taking care of our old house!

Yo babe. Gimme ur digits.

One of my favorite things to do is walk around the hotel grounds, which are pretty much like a big botanical garden. It's full of great tropical birds:

A pair of Ross's Turacos.

(I found this pic online so you could see the nice red wings!)



The gray crowned crane (at a different hotel).

And lots of hawks around. Big ones, too!

One day, we went to our new house. I got to check out the yard.

I also got some lessons in self-defense from the security guard. Look Mom! Nightstick skills!

People here are really friendly to me. I've met a few little friends, and more security guards.

Dad and I are going on walks into town and the neighborhoods nearby, where there's usually construction of some kind. I like walking around, finding sticks, and making friends with the people on steamrollers.

I even got to watch some men play a game I'd never seen before - cricket! The men even let me hold the cricket bat after their ball went over a fence. I had fun.

I'm even getting to go on play dates already. Dad met a nice family walking one day with their son, and we went to their friend's house this week. It was pretty much heaven, since they had their own sand box and cool cars to sit in.

Murabeho! (goodbye)