Hey Everyone!

Sorry it has been a little while since we last posted, things have been crazy but good here! We're going to post a few pictures in an hour or two, one of the monkeys that have been out front of our house for the last few days, and one of our class in their tie-dye shirts we made a few days ago. They were all so excited to make them, but I think they were even more excited that they got to wear them at school!

We're really excited this weekend, because we're planning a little vacation for next week! Michael, Amanda, Zamzam, Becky, and I are planning to catch the bus out on Monday to Dar, where we will then catch the ferry out to Zanzibar. Since there are four new volunteers this week, we figured it was a good time to take a little break and go have some fun! We were able to meet up with Michael's fraternity brother, Conor, this week and he had just come from Kendwa Rocks, which is where we will be staying. He showed us some pictures and it looks absolutely beautiful!!! White sand, clear water, and palm trees! Talk about my kind of place! I think it's going to be a really awesome experience also because Amanda is bringing Zamzam with us. He has never been on a bus, ferry, or seen the ocean before! He's really never been away from our mountain in his life...

We're plannig on making chocolate chip cookies with the kids tomorrow. Sundays are the longest days of the week it seems, so we thought it would be a good treat to let them help us use the new oven, and they've never had fresh-baked cookies before!

I'm beginning to feel really connected to a couple of the kids here. They're all incredible kids, but there are definitely a specific couple that I miss when I'm not around. Corfield, one of the kids at the house, is the funniest kid I think I have ever met. His facial expressions are killer, and I don't think I've ever had a better hug in my life. Abdiel, who you've already seen a few pictures of, is just the sweetest thing ever. He wasn't at school Monday-Wednesday this week because he was sick, and when I met him coming in to school on Thursday morning, he ran and jumped into my arms and starting giving me kisses like crazy! Michael caught him on video saying "I love you, Teacher!" Of course there are others, like Alex (bites his tongue when he smiles-adorable), Simon (major trouble with a major smile), and Regina (a two-year-old who peed on my lap at school this week), who are just too cute to even explain. We're going to have so many stories to share with you all when we get home, and we've already taken more than a thousand pictures because we just can't seem to capture it all on film!

Well, we're starving now, so we're off to get some pizza! It's become our Saturday tradition! We'll be back in a little while though and Michael's going to post some pictures!

Happy Birthday Mom!
I love you!
Kasey