Little random bits….

We went to TPC Sugar Plantation just outside of Moshi a couple weekends ago with some of our favorites.  We even found a new sundowner spot and Anderson got to drive the train.  It was a great, relaxing weekend away with some amazing people.

A lot of pool time because it was really, really hot! (Car thermometer on way home read 41°C - about 105°F)

Last week it was book week at school.  I might be a tad biased, but I think Ashy was the cutest Pippi Longstocking ever.  And I also think she did a really great self portrait. 

We celebrated my nephew/godson Marshall’s ultimate pi birthday (he was born at 9:53…so close) and on St. Patrick’s Day we remembered Mike (and wished Tío Mike a happy birthday a few days later).

Anderson lost a tooth.  Not that newsworthy that a 7 year old lost a tooth (although he does look super cute), but I thought it was a funny story. 

He’d been looking a bit snaggle-toothed, so we knew it was coming, but he refused to pull it out. It wasn’t until Ashlyn sat on him and he tried to bite her that it fell out.  I think Ashlyn probably deserved the bloody tooth mark on her shoulder. (No one was injured and all were laughing)

This was the same day that Tierney says to us “The good thing about having a job where you have to work with sewage is that no one would smell your fart”.  Spoken like a true Brown. 

We have more baby bunnies.  A lego house was built for them.

And we had the big Umoja concert last night.  This is where all Umoja students perform including the outreach kids.  It’s always a fun show.  I love watching the girls perform. 

Umoja Concert March 2015 from Lisa Coyle on Vimeo.

Our friends Blakely and Scott arrive tonight with their kids.  We’re so excited to share Tanzania with them. 

Happy 75th Birthday, Webb!

Who knew when I met this amazing woman 16 years ago all the adventures that we would go on together?! 

Our first meeting literally started with an 8 hour car ride across Colorado, so maybe I should have realized how adventurous she was.  Since then, we’ve been in 6 different states AND 6 different countries together.  We’ve jumped off cliffs, been chased by a buffalo, and done canopy walks together, but the best is that I started my journey into motherhood while she started hers as a grandmother.  How lucky are we? 

Happy 75th Birthday, Webb.  I can’t wait to add one more country and more adventures to our list in Paris next month.

   

Kilimanjaro Half Marathon: I did it!

I started running last March to get ready for my first 5k.  Who knew that this is where it’d take me?  Certainly not me.  By the time Rebecca and I hit 6 miles this fall, I started thinking “Why not Kili?”  It wasn’t nearly as bad as I was thinking. I did not know how I’d do with the first half being all uphill, and how my knees would then handle the second half coming down.  I wasn’t nervous until I was chatting with another runner at the hotel that morning.  He asked me what my best half time was, and I responded that this was my first.  He says “You picked the wrong one to start”.  But he didn’t know that I was being guided every step of the way.  I also have some of the best cheerers around.

My running buddy for the last 10k or so

I did it!  And I’m still upright.

The kids also did their first 5k (3 miles) with Matt.  They ran the whole way and seemed very happy with themselves (just over 30 min).

Go Team Coyle!  Have Fun…Go Hard!

Very proud of them.  Not only for getting up super early (5:45) to take me to my start, but also because there was a Tanzanian wedding going on right outside our hotel room door until after 11:00 pm.  They still managed smiles at 6:30 on the way to the race. 

And can I say…damn those Kenyan marathoners are fast! 

Serengeti with the Goyles

I honestly didn’t know where to start with describing this visit/safari, so it took me awhile to get organized.  It meant the world to me to have all of these beautiful people here with us and then to have them go on possibly the best safari that I’ve ever been on with us just makes it all the more special.  I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Mike’s 40th birthday; I know he was with us the entire time.  We were able to add two new mammals to our spotted list (caracal and African wild cat) and we’re now calling this our ‘animal encounter’ safari…in the best possible way. Thanks, Wayo, for a great weekend.

Family/Cousin Time

They called themselves the Fabulous Five.  I couldn’t agree more.

There were animals, too. In addition to the nightly sounds of wildebeest, lions, and hyenas around camp, we also had some fun encounters with animals. 

Encounter 1:  Baboons…much cuter on the side of the road than when they are jumping up and holding on to your window (Kristin’s scream was awesome) or even jumping inside the car and stealing the box of tissues.

Encounter 2:  Up close and personal with this big tusker. 

No zoom needed for this close-up from Kristin’s vantage.

Encounter 3: Breakfast with a giraffe who came to visit us at camp.  That’s our tent. 

Encounter 4:  No actual photo footage because it was dark and at dinner time.  We were eating dinner and saw car lights coming up the road to camp.  Then we realized that it was a park ranger lighting the way (for our benefit) of a female lion who meandered about 15 meters away while we ate.  About 20 minutes later she walked back out the way she came (without escort).  We probably saw over 50 lions over the 4 days, but this was completely exhilarating! 

The gang went looking for footprints the next morning on the road the lioness was walking (our dining table is in the foreground).  

Encounter 5: After hearing a story about some lions that were curious about some other guests’ breakfast on some rocks, we thought we’d be extra cautious and take our break on some low rocks that we could completely drive around so Georgia could try and catch some lizards.  We were completely surprised when an African wild cat jumped out from under a rock after we’d already been there for several minutes.  Happened so fast that I didn’t capture that either.  This happened right after the caracal sighting.

We also got to see a fair amount of animals fighting with each other which is always fun.  The elephants were the coolest to watch although the giraffe head knocking and zebra biting were also pretty amazing.

Tanzanian traffic jams (check out the baby giraffe on the right)

Again this year we were lucky enough to be camped right in the middle of THE migration.  Wildebeest and zebra as far as the eye can see.  It’s also calving season which means lots of cute babies.

Lots of animals means lots of carnage

Leopard with it’s kill up a tree. 

Jackal with a baby Thomson’s gazelle in it’s mouth

You can even see the blood on the mama cheetah’s face from their recent meal (mom and two cubs)

The Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti are always stunning with beautiful and interesting people

So much to see

I miss these two so much already

Georgia and her constant journal writing including the creation of her own secret language. She reminds me so much of her daddy with her brooding looks.

Fiona, (one of) my beautiful goddaughter(s).  Her independence and confidence (or sassiness depending on how you look at it) will serve her well.

So much fun

Sam, Kristin, and Megin – thanks for coming all this way to see us and experience some of this beautiful country that we’ve called home for the past five years. It meant so much to our kids to have Georgia and Fiona come visit them. (And thanks for sharing your photos with me. I’m sure you’ll recognize some of them here).  Karibu anytime! 

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And I have to say that this was the also the safari of the selfie-stick.  I’d never actually seen one in person before and I thought they were a joke, but we saw them constantly….in cars full of people.  I mean if only there was someone standing right here that could take my picture for me…..