I hope you are sitting down.....

Alright Dad and Darin.....a couple things happened in the past couple days that you are going to have to sit down to hear.....

1. Mom went on a helicopter and didn't cry.
2. Mom went dune bashing in the desert and didn't cry or barf.

She's doing so well.  :)

Let's see if she can make it through the iPilot simulator this morning without losing her breakfast! 

Mom, Kim, and Lori will be going to the top of the Burj Khalifa today.....I'll be at work.....

 

Update from the other side of the world

It's 6AM and our prayer bells are ringing.  Today is an early morning because we are heading out to try to catch the camel races just outside of town.  Should be a hot, dusty time :-)... but with lots of great pictures to be had!

Yesterday i dove with sharks in the Dubai mall.  Came out with all my fingers... yay.  Was also a bit sick yesterday.  Slept that off while mom and Kim went out shopping at the largest mall in the world.

It's the weekend, so Connies off work and is driving us around today.  It's been super great here.  Gavin just left yesterday morning for his hunting trip.  He might be home before we leave... but he's not sure yet.

By the way, the tables have turned here on the other side of the world.  I am the early riser, always up before Mom and Kim.

Ok, toodles.  Going to bet on some camels.

Oh hey, thanks for the Xmas calendar dad!!  I'll split my winnings with you :-).

In dubai

Hey Dad.  Just letting you know that we are all here and doing great.  Me, Mom and Kim have been very busy touring around.  We are trying to get our sleeping and eating schedules turned around!  We've been waking up hungry in the middle of the night but that seems to be working itself out now.  Last night was the first time i slept through the night.... so we will see what happens now.

We have toured a mosque, some markets, nice hotels/restaurants, figured out how to ride the boat taxi across the river.  Also checked out some malls and couple museams.  There is alot of architechture to see and lots and lots of pictures for me to take! 

I will be downloading some images to the computer soon.  I will send some to your picture frame asap!!

Love you and talk to you again soon.
Lori

ARRIVAL IN DUBAI!

Hey Daddio!

Too bad you couldn't come to Dubai! Mom and Kim landed last night. Everything went relatively well for them. Lori had a little hurdle yesterday and her flight was cancelled leaving Cancun. She should land tonight at 830 Dubai time. Gavin will be here for only a couple days before he leaves for New Zealand on a hunting trip. We will keep you updated!

Love you! 
Connie, Gavin, Kim, Mom

Grandpa,Addy & Brynne

 

Grandpa, Brynne and Addyson

 

Brynne playing it up.
"Batting her eyes." 

 

Addyson and Brynne
Dec. 2012.

The start of laying the cork flooring in the living room

A video of my friend Stephanie

Hey, I don't think I ever shared this with you guys!!!... I made this video of my friend Stephanie.  She is a marathon runner and yoga teacher.  She is in the pink shorts.... Yes, she could be the only one in the marathon with pink shorts!

I hope you like it.  It was my first shot at putting together a real video!  I like it!!  She is running again on Dec 2nd, and I think I will record some more :-).

Gangnam Style

Holidays

Connie, looks like a really good holiday.    I can't believe the animals you saw and the closeness.  I still really like the Toyota/Elephant shot.  Did you really take that one or did you just throw it in there?  Mt. Kilamanjaro, The Crater, The Masaai Tribe are really a big part of Tanzania.  I bet Gavin would rather be hunting those animals rather than taking pictures.  Was this part of The Great Migration or an everyday thing happening?  Thank goodness for Goggle....I was able to fill my head with valuable information.  It's always nice to get a handle on the different cultures.  Glad your home safe and sound.

I see Lori's been busy too!  Do you know which photos they are using for the calendar yet?  I like the little puppy in the basket & the doggie looking up at the camera best.  Should be interesting to see which ones they select.

And yes, my holidays are booked.  Can't wait to go to Dubai.  Pinch me, I still can't believe this is real.  So many things to do and see in Dubai.  Seems weird, I'll be off work practically all of March.

Still busy around the house.  The kitchen is practically done.  Need a blind & a few paint touch ups left.  Looking for some type of light to put below the top cabinets which  doesn't need wiring.  Home Depot here I come.  I was just going to paint the living room, however,  sounds like Dad is looking for a fireplace.  We have the cork waiting to be installed.  Maybe by Christmas.  LOL. 

Take care!  Miss You All.   

XOXOXO.

Cool vid

Here is a cool video I though you guys would like.  It's a commercial for the little Go Pro camera that I have.





ps.  Thanks for all the cool pics Con!!

Oops forgot Day 5 - Day 5 - Lake Manyara National Park

We saw: monkeys, baboons, hippos, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras........

"checking for ticks"

"taking a nap"

This elephant had branches stuck in his tusks.

"YIKES"

Monkeys

Monkey

Mamma and Baby Monkey

Mamma and Baby Baboon

Day 6 - Hike through town to another waterfall and cave with bats.

We didn't see any animals but we walked through town and got to check out a couple local homes. We walked up to a schoolyard and could hear all the kids inside. There were no windows in the school. Just open space. When we walked past the little kids school they all ran outside to greet us. They were so excited!  There was a kid about 11 years old that started tagging along shortly after our hike started. When we were down at the waterfall I noticed his flip flops were broken. I decided to give him my runners. When we got back to out B&B I changed into my flip flops and handed over my runners and a shirt. I wish we would have brought more to give the locals.....but we didn't think we would be spending any time with them at all.  Oh well, there is always next time.....right mom?

This is the boy I gave my shoes to.

The school kids were screaming with excitement.

Our hike guides family....all the kids look the same age?!?

Day 4 - Ngrongoro Crater

We saw: lions, hippopotamus, zebras, elephant, grant gazelle, Thompson gazelle, hyenas, wildibeest, heartbeest, Cape buffalo, jakals, warthogs, baboons, rhinoceros (very far away - no pics).....

Gavin looking down into Ngorongoro Crater

Thompson Gazelle

Pumbaa has to kneel to eat off the ground.

Hippos

Gavin & Connie

Muddy hippo footprint

We also stopped to learn about the Masaai Tribe.

"Welcome" Dance and Song

Making fire

Cow Dung hut - takes 2 weeks to build and will last 20 years.

Day 3 - Tanzania - Tarangire National Park

We saw: elephants, giraffes, impalas, dik dik, zebra, wildebeest, banded mongoose, Cape buffalo, water buck, ostrich, warthogs, baboons.....

Elephants

Giraffes

Wildebeest, Zebra, Ostriches

Elephants

Zebras

Elephants digging for water in a dry river bed.

Impalas (I think)

Good Looking Warthog

Day 2 - Tanzania - Hike, Mnambe Falls, Coffee Processing Tour, Banana Beer & Banana Wine Tasting.

We were picked up at 930 sharp. We met 3 locals, Joyce (tour guide), Richy (hike guide and coffee conneissure extraordinaire), and Jimmy (the driver braving the bumpy yet interesting roads). Off we go for a drive to the location of the start of our hike. Our drive took us through many villages. Everywhere you looked the men, women, and children were hard at work maintaining their land or transporting their goods to their homes. Mode of transportation: on their heads. It is amazing to watch them do this, it really is second nature for them. Walking around with a whole bunch of bananas on your head and nothing in their hands. Truly an art. We get to our starting point and off we go. We started our hike from Richy's house and we would end up at Richy's place at the end. 

I cannot even describe the scenery. It was breath taking. We literally stopped to smells the plants. On our trek we saw avocado trees, lemon trees, eucalyptus trees, orange tomato trees, passion fruit trees, apricot, coffee, banana trees, yam potatoes, uka plants, big giant banana leaf tree, rosary flower, white bell flower, corn, cabbage, lettuce, and probably more. 

Mnambe Waterfall

We got to the largest waterfall on Mount Kilimanjaro. Gav was brave enough to go all the way in the water; I just put my feet in. The water was so cold! Obviously since it is the run off of the snow from Mount Kilimanjaro! Once we were done playing at the falls we stopped to have our boxed lunch in a little hut overlooking the falls. 

After lunch our return trek began. This hike was lots of ups and downs and quite tiring in some spots. Our tour guide wasn't even out of breath and I could hardly stand! He told us he's been hiking this trail 2-3 times / week for most of his life. We finally made it back to Richy's place where he showed us how to process coffee beans into coffee. He had some beans that had already been dried out for a few days. We took those beans and "tonga'ed" (pounded) them until the skins were off. Then we sifted all of the dried skin to leave us with just the dried beans. These dried beans cannot be broken with your teeth (or the club we were tonga'ing with). On the fire they go for 15 mins to roast. Once they're roasted we tonga again. Then the crushed beans go through a sifter and only the fine grinds are used. Richy took a cup of the fine coffee grounds and mixed it with some sugar. He asked us to put our hand out and he filled it with a spoonful of the mix; 1-2-3, down the hatch! I loved it; Gavin didn't! Then Richy put the pounded coffee grounds into the boiling water to brew. We waited for a bit then he siphoned it into a thermos. We had all had our cup of coffee in his backyard, chilling with his cousins and neighbors.....oh and the chickens that came around. After a few cups of coffee off we go to find some beer.......banana beer. 

Connie Tonga'ing

Since it was Eid day lots of shops weren't serving beer. We finally found a place we could enjoy a bucket of it. That's right. We all shared a bucket of warm banana beer. Lucky for us, one of the kids went to another shop to get us some banana wine. We both enjoyed it and could've easily had another. We drove back to our bed & breakfast showered up and off we went for a quick walk down the street while there was still daylight. We loaded up on a bunch of goodies to take home with us.

Banana Wine

Banana Beer

Day 1 - Tanzania

We woke at 3 am to catch our flight. Everything went smoothly at the airport in Dubai. We landed a bit late in Doha and had to speed race to our gate to catch our connection flight to Dar Es Salaam. The flight to Dar was 6 hrs. I was sat in front of the brattiest 6 year old in the Middle East. Before we even took off I was asking the kids dad to ask him to stop kicking the back of my seat. By the end of the flight, I had asked his mom and his dad both to ask him to stop. Oh maybe I should add that their small baby was screaming the whole time too. I didn't care so much about the screaming baby. You can't help that.....but a six year old kid should listen to his parents. Anyways, I was glad when that flight was over. We landed for a short while in Dar to drop off a bunch of passengers and back in the air for our final destination - Kilimanjaro International Airport. We landed at about 4:30 pm local time, got our visas processed and we're on our way to our 2 night home Bristol Cottages Bed & Breakfast in Moshi. We can walk outside the property and see Mount Kilimanjaro. The locals call it "Kili". We checked in and I thought I saw something interesting on the page before ours.....the person checking in before us....is Canadian! What a small world! We settled in our room and off we went for dinner at the restaurant in the B&B. Everything is home made to order. Can you imagine? I ordered a chicken wrap and even the tortilla was freshly made while we waited. Yummy food. We went back to our room for an early night since we were both exhausted from the early start on our travel day. Lights out 8:30 pm.

Mount Kilimanjaro

BEER!

Photoshoots

I've been doing a few random photoshoots.

One I did was with the Playa Animal Rescue.  There are putting together a calendar for a fundraiser.  Here are a few of my favorites that I took :-).