JJ comes to Niger

So do y'all remember my fabulous cousin Jennifer? The one who flew to little ole SD back in June to see us. Well, I guess she just couldn't get enough of the Phillips fam because she decided to fly ALL the way to AFRICA to see us, too!! We were SOOOOO excited that she got to come for TWO weeks!! (apparently, I love my CAPS LOCK key right now, too)

When we were in the States for that entire 7 months, we only got to see Jennifer (or "JJ") for 3 little days. We packed a ton in but it seems like just when the trip started, it ended. So we were so happy when she said she had booked her tickets for 2 weeks!! We got to do so much catching up & reminiscing ... it was absolutely wonderful!

 

During her trip, our home church was here for a portion of it. It was SO great to have extra hands on deck when having a team here ... she was able to watch the kids while I cooked or went grocery shopping. When the team & Mark spent a few nights away from home, she was here to keep me company after the kids went to bed. It worked out perfect ... even if it did wear us out!

Also, I guaranteed her that she'd be coming in "cool" season &, for some strange reason, the last week of her trip, the temps soared above 100 & we were all just dying because it is NOT supposed to get that hot yet in January!

Anywho, we had about 4 or 5 days of just "JJ" before the team came & so we tried to cram as much as we could in those few days. We went to Ayorou to show her our old stomping grounds, took her to the river for a "hippo hunt" & then went to see giraffes. Oh & she even got to visit a local clinic because both kiddos came down with a nasty cold while she was here. Only the best sights (& smells) for JJ!

Hunting for hippos with the Belle! (Doesn't she just look so old in this picture? She's growing up too fast!)

I first thought this was a giraffe safari picture but then I realized this is just a picture of JJ & Izzy by the side of the road! Ha!! Oh well, let's just pretend there's a giraffe in the background because the scenery basically looks the same!

JJ got to meet our old guard Hassane when we went to Ayorou. We even had a few Fantas at the hotel by the river. Good times, good times!

Down by the river for a little pic-a-nic! Izzy & Luke just adored JJ!! Luke, who can be sort of a mama's boy at times, immediately took up with JJ &, of course, Isabelle was SO happy to have all JJ's attention ... & hair brushing skills!