The Masai Mara is a reserve on the southern border of Kenya, which we travelled through Nairobi to get to. The park is beautiful and resplendent…an ecosystem at its finest. We spent two nights at a camp that bordered the park, and got up before sunrise to drive out to see the wildlife. Even though it’s supposed to be the dry season, we got rained on both evenings while out in the park. There are some fabulous pictures of us sporting gargantuan military ponchos, but we may burn those. We saw dozens of different animals – all very close! As long as people don’t venture outside of their cars, they are very comfortable with people. By far the two highlights were:

1) seeing a GIANT male elephant come walking down the road, forcing our cars out of the way.

2) coming across a lioness and her little cubs eating a zebra.

oh, and watching Claire use her two bags worth of camera equipment

If you know how much I love nature and wildlife, you know I could go on and on (and probably will when I get back), about how amazing our safari was. But, I can’t write it all out because we have a 6am wake-up call tomorrow! So, we’re sorry all these posts are short on the writing end, I’m sure the pictures are better than reading anyhow.

Here is the link to the slideshow for the Kenya pictures. http://clairesmith.myshowit.com/kenya

xoxo, Claire & Ashley

Oh, and here is one of our favorite pics from Kenya. Thanks to our good friend and awesome photographer Will Graham for this fun little photo shoot.

Back in Kampala, I had the pleasure of photographing sweet Merimbe & Joshua. I met Merimbe on my first trip to Uganda in 2007 in her small village near Jinja. She has sickle cell anemia and was not able to get the medicine she needed living there. It was clear when I met her that she was in pain and extremely weak…not having the usual energy of a child her age. Caleb, who is from Uganda and works for UAPO took Merimbe in to live with him and his wife and new baby Joshua. I cannot express how happy I was when I was told of their selfless act of generosity they showed by bringing Merimbe into their home. She likely will not live as long as most children her age, but I am hopeful that she will be able to have a joyful life regardless of how long it may be and that she will know how incredibly loved she is. Please keep Merimbe in your prayers.

Ok, so the pictures….it turns out that I take too many pictures; go figure So, I thought a short slideshow would be better and much less time consuming for me to put together. Here is the link where you can view the pictures from our time in Jinja.

http://clairesmith.myshowit.com/uganda

I am working on the Kenya pictures right now and will try to have the slideshow up later tonight.

xo, Claire & Ashley

We arrived in Kampala and the next morning set off to visit the area of Pader in the northern part of Uganda. Many of the people are still living in IDP camps from the conflict that went on several years ago with the rebel groups. Slowly, they are starting to feel safe enough to move back to their villages. We visited the area where UAPO is planning a community center and the village gave us a very warm welcome. They also had a dedication of a water well that was built in honor of our dear friend Glenn Graham. What a special time it was for us to be with Dabby & Will to celebrate the water well and Glenn’s life with everyone. Reminds me of how something so seemingly simple and accessible to us as water is the exact opposite for so many people in this world.

The next day we spent the day at Ranch of Jesus where the orphanage building is complete. The children began moving in a day or two before we visited so they were very excited to give us the grand tour and show us their beds. I already miss the kids! We had such a great time with them and it was such an amazing sight to see the orphanage. The last time I visited, the framing was the extent of what was there.

I will write before more tomorrow and post the 2nd half of pictures from Uganda. Hopefully I can get ALL the pictures from Uganda, Kenya, & Rome up BEFORE we leave to come home Sunday

xo, Claire & Ashley

We leave for Kenya tomorrow morning and will be there for the next couple days. We will be in a camp in the Masai Mara, so internet will likely not be an option. So, hang tight for pictures from the past few days in Uganda and the ones from Kenya. I will post them when we get to Roma!

Hope all of you are well. We miss y’all!

XO, Claire & Ashley

on our way to Oxford

a day in Oxford, England

…more Oxford

While in London, of course I had to venture out for a little night photography too

Sorry, no real post today because we spent a good deal of time dealing with baggage drama. Let’s not discuss it, just be thankful that we have our stuff! But, we have some pictures to keep you assured we are alive and well.

Clockwise from upper left:
1) Our itty-bitty room, pre- baggage unpacking. Yes, we’re snuggle-buddies this week.
2) Dog drinking coffee. Totally normal.
3) Tube journey home from Heathrow Airport (that’s right, we went to BOTH). We really missed our luggage!
4) Claire’s train journey to Gatwick Airport to get personal with Aer Lingus, who had our bags stuck in Dublin.

a few pictures from Portobello Market in Notting Hill

The pictures below are from our first full day, which involved a lot of walking and Tube-riding wherever the 75* breeze carried us.  We will write everything down tomorrow for you (Ash is keeping her own journal…thanks for the awesome birthday present, Paige!).  For now, we are two Strongbow ciders under and definitely tired of living in our airplane clothes.  Time for bed!

-ash, claire & prince william (he’s bound to be nearby!)

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