Maji Moto with Amy, Brian and Richard

Our good friends Amy and Brian from Boulder just came for a visit (with Amy’s dad, Richard).  We had a great time showing off our Tanzania, and I think they had a great safari to visit the Hadza, see the wildebeest migration in the southern Serengeti, and also see the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater.  On their last day in town, we took them to a local favorite – a picnic at Maji Moto.  It also happened to be near the airport (and we might have needed a fresh water swim after the amount of Bombay consumed the evening prior).  I hope it was a great way for them to end their trip…I know we had fun. 

Saturday night.  Ouch.

Maji Moto (literally “hot water”, but saw somewhere that the local name is Chemkwa Springs)

A quickly passing storm cleared out most of the visitors, but we stuck it out and I think the monitor lizard now thought it was safe to venture out. 

Thanks for coming to visit us. 

Karibuni Tena!

Eat Local

From our tree to the table

Anderson’s morning harvest of passion fruit

And not from our yard, but Matt bought these mangoes on his way home on Saturday.  I’d say it’s $1 well spent.  And I learned something new from Anderson on Saturday…he eats the mangoes with the skin.  I asked Mama Jackie if this was okay and she replied “that’s the way we eat them”.  Oh.  (Anderson did add:  “Mom, it [the skin] has lots of Vitamin C”)

My beautiful kids

 

Kili (toe) carnage

(Dad – this one’s for you.)

2 1/2 weeks later and my toes are showing the carnage from the scree field on Kili.  No, it doesn’t hurt, but it sure is a fun way to freak out the kids (it was really the most fun when I could squirt pus from the blisters under the nail…and when I could stick things underneath my toenail….Now that my toenails are just about gone it’s not really as much fun). 

Tierney’s 8th Birthday at Ngorongoro Farm House

Since I have a definitive aversion to children’s birthday parties (and especially organizing them) and Tierney also (thankfully) didn’t want a class birthday, we decided to go to Ngorongoro Farm House for her birthday celebration.  Tierney’s best friend, Udine, and the Banks family joined us.  Tierney originally wanted to go camping for her birthday (love this girl!), but Matt was in Kenya all week and wasn’t going to get home until lunch on Saturday and then had to leave again for Kenya on Monday morning, so a night away at a lodge seemed much more realistic for all of us…and we love the Ngorongoro Farm House for birthdays. 

Children were under my surervision while they were swimming. 

This girl loves her meat. 

They added dance moves this time. 

T’s 8th Birthday at Ngorongoro Farm House

T is a little embarrassed by the attention. (You can still see a little bit of the pink highlights in her hair)

Presents!!!

We encountered a crazy dust storm on the way home.  You couldn’t even see the road in front of us.

The girls were tired from all the swimming in celebrating and slept right through it. 

Happy 8th Birthday, TCB!

I’ve also been on a mission to photograph the Arusha maasai that have recently been through their circumcision ceremony.  This only happens once every seven or so years when a whole age-set is done together.  After they have healed enough and been in isolation for about a month (a group together with an elder that is there to teach them), they are then off to hang out with their age-mates.  During that time they wear dark shukas (wraps) and paint their faces either black or white. Maasai are striking enough in their traditional clothes, but now they are even more so. 

I love Tanzania!

Ten degrees one week and then 95 the next (Farenheit).  We went away with friends to Maramboi for the night to just have some quality family time.  We were greeted by herds of zebra, giraffe, eland, wildebeest; a scattering of gazelle, ostrich, warthogs; and thousands of flamingos….all from the comfort of the pool.  Lovely. 

Ashlyn brought along Juneau, an Alaskan Husky that gets to go home with each P2 student to learn more about Tanzania (and then each student has to write about what they did with Juneau)

Glad our kids get to experience car trips the way that we used to. [Don’t Hate]

Never fails to make me giggle.