And so it begins....

We made it! After 3 amazing weeks on the road living with family, we left from Boston on our great adventure. Travel went surprisingly well for the amount of time and distance with 3 small kids. 5 suitcases, 4 duffel bags, 3 car seats, one pack and play, and one hour and a half delay later we made it on the plane.

Sad good-byes at the airport (and every other stop before), but the kids were very excited as were Matt and I. Luckily (for me), Matt got a first class upgrade to Amsterdam and after thinking about it (for about 30 sec) I got to take it. That lasted for about 5 hours (one beer, 2 crabcakes, and an ice cream sundae) until Anderson melted and only wanted mommy. It was great while it lasted, and Matt got to take advantage of it for the last couple of hours (for eggs benedict). Due to the delay in Boston we had to go straight to our next plane in Amsterdam, but kids got a donut, so they were happy.

We landed at Kilimajaro airport at 9:30 (and re-dealt with all the luggage) only to find out that the driver that was supposed to meet us was still at home because he thought we were arriving the next day - whoops. All worked out fine.

Our temp housing is perfect. 3 bedroom apartment (each with bath) with kitchen, living room, satellite tv and internet and a beautiful view of Mt. Meru.

After a late night we finally went to bed. I slept from 1-11:00am! I feel great today. Anderson and Ashlyn slept later than I did, so everyone was in pretty good spirits.

After a little playtime with new friends Birch and Cole (David and Joey's boys), we went to a hotel for lunch and a swim. The kids were fascinated by all the sights. Tierney said it looks and smells like a jungle and was very impressed with what the women could carry on their head. We made a family outing to the grocery store where there were no eggs or bananas, but I could buy fried calamari. Interesting experience. I think there will be a lot of peanut butter sandwiches in our near future. Tomorrow a woman from Moshi (nearby town) comes in to town with her (almost organic) produce. She comes in twice a week, so everyone plans their shopping around that. I'm curious to check that out. I also attempted, quite succussfully I think, driving today. Driving down the road was fine, but pulling in and out of shopping plazas, hotels, etc I almost always forgot to stay on the left. Also the signal is on the right side and I always turned on the windshield wipers to signal my turns.

Tonight we went to a very kid-friendly place for dinner with the other TNC families that are now living in Arusha. The kids all had a great time and the adults enjoyed a Kilimajaro beer or two.

Our air shipment arrived on a plane tonight, so we should get that in the morning. I don't even remember what I put in there except I know there's a coffee press!

All in all, we have been very lucky and the kids are adjusting well (even though it's almost 11 at night and Ashlyn and Anderson are still playing with no signs of slowing down).

(TNC kids. left pic: Anderson, Ashlyn, Malyka, Tierney, Birch and Cole)