Super Angie...Rick just called!!!!

RICK UPDATE!!! Phone call!!!! He called during breakfast! He is "feeling okay" and is "annoyed by the rain and the humidy". "Its just pouring!" Last night was 32 and so this morning everything is frosty. Today will be a short day--only a 3 hour hike!

They will climb up and over the Brannco wall. Everything "looks beautiful". He can see the wall and the glaciers--BEAUTIFUL! I asked, "are you having fun?" and he said, "Overall"--I can tell the weather is wearing on him.

His tent mate is from Malta. He spent the night puking--stomach bug. Not fun! There are 5 people in his tour besides him--two from NY, one from Iowa, the guy from Malta and then rick.

"Are you happy to be there, doing the first of the seven summits?" --His answer, "Yes, very happy!" ... See More

"What have you enjoyed the most?" --His answer, "The plants! The scenery is just gorgeous. The trail is like Mt. Fuji in parts and like Rainier in others. The porters and guides are interesting and last night they did a singing thing for the group."

The local food is annoying to him. He is well rested and feels recovered each day. Because they are on the equator, they get 12 hours of night time daily= lots of time to sleep!

The meals are all served in 3 courses. What luxery!

As I was talking to him, he suddenly said, "AWESOME! The sun just came over the ridge".

Again, I'm very thankful for the technology that allows these precious texts and phone calls. He will try to call tonight when they make a new camp.

ALSO....he just Facebooked!!!

Hi from Baranco camp @ Kilimanjaro! Sunny. Breach awesome.

I called KLM and changed his flight...he is now coming home a day early. I can't wait! :) I'm gonna stay in WA until he arrives on Tuesday and then we will drive home together. I can't wait to see him.

CHECK OUT THIS SHORT VIDEO to see the sites on Kili. Its a beautiful video!

--Super Angie
I'm so proud of my husband!

Super Angie...a clear view from the top

SEATTLE! If you think there are just way too many pictures posted here, then you clearly have never lived in Seattle--right Busy Jenn? (actually I took so many pics just for Jenn...LOVE YA!)
Seattle street lamps in Pioneer Square
Brennan and Tanith were SOOO excited!
Gaga, Pop and the kids by the modern art statues!
Peak-a-boo Brennan
Immedialy the kids saw these balls as the perfect thing for...

playing Leap Frog!
Love this shot of the space needle!
Why are these in bloom right now? We were SOOO confused!
Stunning!
YES! The mountain is out!

Gaga and Tan...looking and exploringDallin smilin' big
LOOK! Theres our hummer (the yellow one)
3 happy kids at the top of the world!
YEA! The Puget Sound!
Seriously, can you have a better day for going to the top of the Needle?

FERRIES!
FERRIES!
FERRIES!
Cute Tan at the top
Pop, Dallin and Brennan looking out across the Puget Sound
Of course Tanith would see the railing as a gymnastics bar!

We had a lovely time going to the Space Needle. Can't wait to go back again! So many childhood memories!!!

Super Angie...another Rick Update

RICK UPDATE!!! Again, the miracle of cell service! Rick called at 7:30 am here (6:30 pm his time). They are indeed at the Barranco camp (see previous rick update for a pic of these trees). He said, "yes, they are weird trees. Really neat". They went from 12,800 up to 14,900 and back down to 12,800--this is part of the... acclimatization hikes and the reason why this particular route up Kili has a high sucess rate.

He says super is at 6:30 and bed time is at 8:00. They have been going to bed each night at 8. Its been raining almost completely nonstop for 3 days. He would appreciate prayers for better weather. Everything is soaked and although he is enjoying his experience and is happy to be there, he is considered flying home two days earlier (instead of ... See Morestaying extra days to site see--don't freak out--we will be going back in a few years so I can climb the mountain and so the kids can be with us to do the cultural things).
ANYWAY: He says the 3 days of rain have been horrible.

Today was rough because of the up and down of the trail. He says its similar to the rocky parts of Rainier where you are walking on rocks that aren't stable and you must step in between rocks etc.

Food: "its fried" and for those who know Rick, this isn't a good thing for his belly. He is eating what he can stomach and then digging into his private food and eating what he can.

as we were chatting for those few minutes, his mood suddenly changed as he happily said, "OH! A little bit of blue sky!!!" He talked about how everyone scrambles during the non-rain moments and lays out stuff to dry.

He says he is among the strongest hikers there and is holding his own.

Pray for blue skies and a break from the rain!...

(please note: this picture is from a hike we did in Alpine in November, NOT from Africa)

Oh my word....
more and more...
and more.

We had SOOO many gifts.

Tanith wearing her Christmas outfit.Laura and mom and in the kitchen.
Tani and Daddy! Best Friends.
The knights and the princess with the King and Queen
Brennan?
Tan gave Uncle Jeff the blue hat!
Here's Dallin wearing the yellow hat he gave Jeff. Laura and Pop are
Jeff and Dad...Jeff LOVED his Ferrari jacket
Brennan and Jeff--he gave Jeff the red hat.
Tanith's orange slipper clogs from Holland.
My new USA CLIMBING jacket. :) Do I look like a team member now?

Christmas eve is the big celebration in our family. This is when the gifts are opened. This is when the big dinner is. This is when we all gather together. This evening was peaceful, joyful and fun. I really enjoyed being with everyone and just having fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
--Super Angie

Super Angie...Christmas Mornings Joys

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. Santa was very nice to everyone and we all enjoyed our time together. Gaga made us a yummy crepe breakfast. It was a great way to spend the last few hours together before Rick left for Africa.

Tanith LOVED her new bike and giant horse. Dallin and Brennan loved EVERYTHING they got--the pokemon cards, the knights and animals, and the nerf guns. Everyone had a blast.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thanks Santa!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...Rick Called!

RICK UPDATE: 8:30 AM PST Rick called and texted!

Its Sunday night his time. They hiked from 6000 feet up to 10000 feet. Rain all day. Hes very wet and now drying out. At 9600 feet, he said the tree suddenly changed. He has taken 100 pics just yesterday! The trail was "wild"--with sections like Mt Fuji rock and other sections of log steps. The porters are "great" and he actually hikes quite a lot with them. He got seperated from his bag for a while but eventually found it. They are now at camp and he was heading over to the cook tent to eat and then go to bed.

He reported earlier that his flights went well, although he didn't get much sleep. He arrived at his hotel Midnight on Saturday night. Breakfast was at 6:30 and he met up with his guides at 8am. This is what his guide company has on their site:

Your day starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a 50-minute drive from Moshi to the Machame Village (1,490 m/4,890 ft) where your guides and porters prepare and pack your equipment and supplies. You will receive a lunch pack, and you can also buy mineral water in the village. If the road is very muddy, it may be impossible to drive from the village to the Machame Gate, and in this case, it will take you an hour to complete the muddy 3 km walk to the gate. After registering at the park office, you start your ascent and enter the rain forest immediately. Heavy rains on this side of the mountain often transform the trail into a soggy, slippery experience, so good footgear, trekking poles, and gaiters are useful. You will enjoy a welcome lunch stop halfway up and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon. Your porters will arrive at camp before you and will erect your tent before you arrive. In the evening, the porters boil drinking and washing water while the cook prepares your dinner. Night temperatures can drop to freezing at the Machame Camp.
LOVE YOU BABY! I'm so proud of you and can't wait to hear about your adventures. I'm curious to see how long your cell phone service continues.

--Super Angie

Super Angie...Super Family

Today I took Rick to the airport to fly to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is such a huge deal and I'm so excited for him. GO RICK GO!

--Super Angie

Super Angie...cousin Enzo

We headed over to Jeff and Laura's to visit and play with Enzo. What a great dog. The kids always ware him out playing ball and fetch. This time, the boys also took him on a walk with Jeff to the nearby Jr High. Tanith got plenty of licks from her new friend.

It was a great time!

Super Angie...Pacific Science Center

We met my friend Erica, and her two boys at the Pacifica Science Center in Seattle for a fun day of play. We saw an IMAX movie and just had a blast.

Brennan with a cockroach.


He's so cute.
Look at the size of this table!
Brennan begged a penny from Erica (THANKS!) but then didn't quite know how to drop it to make it spin. Oh well
Its always fun to play in the water.

Star fish and so much more.
Dallin holding a cockroach. ICK!
Ride em caterpillar!
Hungry little butterflies...eating bananas and oranges
It was fun seeing my kids watch all the butterflies
So curious
Loved the blue ones!
This little guy crawled across the sidewalk and went right up Dallin's shoe and then hung on to his leg,
Dallin again attracted a butterfly.
Erica and her boys equally loved the butterfly house.
My sweet little butterfly angel

THANKS ERICA! We love hanging out with you and just had so much fun!

Love ya!