Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wishing you a year full of …

 

With love,

Lisa, Matt, Tierney (8), Ashlyn (7), and Anderson (4)

 

Tierney’s Science Fair (for the grandparents)

Gorgeous Day on Campus for a Science Fair

Tierney’s group did the difference between physical and chemical change

The Scientists

Tierney, Emilie (moved back to Denmark just last night), and Kemba (from Madagascar)

Physical change: food coloring to water

Chemical Change:  baking soda and vinegar

It was a popular one

So proud of these girls and all of the other students in Ms. Kelly’s class.  There were some great experiments and the kids showed an amazing understanding of what they were presenting.  Way to go, Ms. Kelly!

Morning traffic

Trying to pull out of the ISM (school) parking lot this morning and had a bit of trouble.

Still in the parking area 

Made it onto road, but wasn’t much better there either.

Luckily, I wasn’t in a hurry. 

We’re in the final stages of the countdown to the end of the term on Friday and our big holiday trip to Thailand.  We leave Monday (Christmas Eve) for an 11 day trip to Thailand.  In typical Broyle (or is it Crown?) fashion, we didn’t make any in-country reservations until Monday, but it looks like an amazing trip:  Bangkok, sleeping in treetops in the oldest evergreen rainforest on earth, staying in a raft house, and, of course, beach time.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it when we get back Jan. 5 (which will exactly be our 3 year anniversary of living in Tanzania!). 

Third Annual Tanzgiving

For me Tanzgiving started with an early two hour mountain bike ride with a couple of friends.  I returned home to a completely peaceful house – so lovely! (Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband?).  Matt took our kids, Elizabeth and kids, and Mama Jackie and one of her other granddaughters on a nature walk and breakfast in the bush and then back to our house for a few hours of play.  The girls loved Barbara (the littlest) and Anderson was fast friends with Laurenti.  Ash:  “There is so much that we can give them”.  Great morning for all. 

We then continued our Tanzgiving tradition and headed to the Foley’s for a traditional Thanksgiving feast.  Once again, it did not disappoint and was a great evening with friends (but we did miss a few friends that aren’t here in Tanzania anymore).

Ellesmere reading the blessing

I have so much to be thankful for, but most of all I am thankful for Matt and our beautiful family. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

Halloween Tanzania Style

Picking out and trying on costumes

Keara and Joshua’s party started the Halloween festivities on Sunday

Nighttime zip lining is always a good idea

Then for the big day…trick or treating Tanzania style.  We went to a friend’s house (Carolynn’s) where she and another American organized their “neighborhood” for trick or treating.  This involved sending out an instruction sheet on how to do it because the rest of the houses that agreed to participate were not American.  It was so much fun even though the Tanzanians that we passed looked at us like we were crazy and laughed at us (in a fun way).  We covered 7 houses in an hour and 40 minutes (there were 3 more houses, but they were even further away, so we skipped them).  This is with the help of a mkokoteni (I love this!).   I was exhausted and so were the kids, but it was great.  I hope this becomes a tradition.

My vampire

Anderson with one of his girlfriends (Siri)

How many kids can you fit in a mkokoteni?

Anders and Tierney (we’d long ago lost Ashlyn to her friends’ group)

Yep.  That’s a scorpion in our path – yikes!

Burning cauldron.  Nice job on Halloween from a Dutch family.

Man-eating pumpkin at Carolynn’s

The stash.  Not bad for 7 houses.