We went back to the Ngorongoro Farm House to celebrate Birch's 7th birthday. It was fun for all the kids to be there together and, by the smile pasted on his face, I think Birch really enjoyed the experience (and if I even get enough bandwidth, I have a video to prove it).Since David was out of town, we all got to ride in one car together which was a great time to just be able to chat with each other. I think we may be turning into obnoxious expats when we start complaining about 'the help'. We really don't, but we were laughing about some of the things that they've been doing...beyond the things that anyone would do (Tierney'
s shorts in Anderson's drawer), there are some things we didn't expect: the constant cleaning of shoes - flip-flops, sandals, and even sneakers..you have to hide them or keep them in the gym bag otherwise your sneakers may be wet for days as they dry. Or the day after we had a fire inside (it was pouring rain and cold and the kids wanted s'mores) we found Anderson sitting in the fireplace. Immediate thought was 'oh crap' until 
we realized that the fireplace was practically spotless and all the ashes were cleaned out. It's nice to have a clean house, but that was over-the-top.
s shorts in Anderson's drawer), there are some things we didn't expect: the constant cleaning of shoes - flip-flops, sandals, and even sneakers..you have to hide them or keep them in the gym bag otherwise your sneakers may be wet for days as they dry. Or the day after we had a fire inside (it was pouring rain and cold and the kids wanted s'mores) we found Anderson sitting in the fireplace. Immediate thought was 'oh crap' until 
we realized that the fireplace was practically spotless and all the ashes were cleaned out. It's nice to have a clean house, but that was over-the-top.
We had a great night at the Farmhouse and got to celebrate with Birch. We went on a tour of the farm where the kids got to pick some of the vegetables. Birch and Cole even got Joey to dance when they did the songs before dinner!
Even though we didn't go to the Ngorongoro Crater this time, we did have a great wildlife viewing day on the way home. It started with baboons in the road (which barely gets any reaction from the kids anymore). Right after we saw the baboons some local kids were waving us down from the side of the road yelling "snake, snake". So we decided to stop
. Turns out it was a giant (I mean GIANT) python (African Rock Python). It had to be 5 inches in diameter - I have no idea how long because it was all curled up under a bush by the side of the road (and I was quite happy to leave it just like that). It's the first time I've seen anything like that in the wild. We stopped for some giraffe (herd of about 13) and then noticed some zebras across the street. We also saw a tortoise just crossing the road. It was fun.Matt ran the Kilimanjaro half marathon this morning (alarm went off at 4:30 am). I'll see if I can get him to do a quick note about it because it sounded like quite the scene. Maybe next year we'll all go and do a 5k walk as a family to get the feel of it. Matt thinks the kids will really enjoy it. 
I can't believe you are talking about next year. You may be complaining about the help . . . but I am complaining about not having you here for Fruita. That may be selfish, but boy does two years seem long all of the sudden. I know that sounds even more selfish. Just starting to really miss you more and more. On the other hand, I am so glad you are doing this. Of course your blog sounds a little too blissful . . . you will have to email me under separate cover and tell me if bliss always matches reality! :)
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