From That to This

The kids had a long weekend to commemorate Gandhi's birthday and a few teacher in service days built in so we decided to make the most of our time here and planned a trip.  We were glad that Thailand made its way back into our available trips and happily slipped away for four days in Bangkok.  We sang "One Night in Bangkok" a few nights in a row.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9mwELXPGbA
We enjoyed the weekend market where we bought some fun t-shirts, long pants and a nice backpackers pack for the long school trip scheduled for the end of this month.  We visited the Grand Palace where, just like we were warned, we were greeted with "authorities" who told us the palace was closed to tourists.  So we walked past these information carriers and bought our ticket to the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha.  I had taken some beautiful pictures of the palace area and we rode along the river in a boat taxi to the Reclining Buddha where we saw another temple but somewhere along the way my camera wiped out the sim card or the sim card malfunctioned and I lost everything we had on that card.  Take our word for it, it's well worth the trip to see and experience these places.

This is a picture of our pineapple chicken fried rice and an iced tea we enjoyed at a restaurant in the weekend market that had some very welcoming AC.  Because I used my phone for this photo it was not wiped out during the sim card incident.
We tried to see as much as we could in four days.  The ancient city had bikes and facade buildings for the kids to enjoy.  Living in India we just don't find biking enjoyable like we used to but here we were given bikes to travel throughout this remade city area.  We also did some grocery shopping at Villa Market to purchase those items which are hard to buy or too expensive in our part of the world right now.
Our whole Gandhi celebration ended with our return flight to Delhi and complaints from kid three of a head ache.  He started running a fever Tuesday evening upon arrival and was wisked into the doctor's office on Wednesday to confirm our fears.  He has dengue fever.  Not always the most trusted source but here is more information about dengue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue  At the end of the day, after a person is diagnosed with dengue one must wait it out to pass.  Like any virus, complications may arrise and then be addressed but for the most part, drink plenty of liquids, get lots of rest and let the kid who does not have celiac enjoy whatever foods he chooses while he is ill, ignoring the gluten free zone rules for now.
We went from that to this.

 

Long Time, No see

The two younger kids traveled ahead of the others but eventually we all arrived in the US.  We toured new areas, visited known areas, drove ourselves across states, flew to different airports and visited, visited, visited.  For the most part we parked ourselves in one spot, announced our arrival and saw who we could see.  Thank you for the visits to all those we did see and sorry we did not cross paths to those we missed on this trip through.  We accomplished what we aimed to do; We came, we saw and we left in place.
We came to the US, to the many areas we visited.  Some old (known) areas and others new (first time destinations).  We visited family and friends, caught up on things that have happened since we left one and a half years ago and just enjoyed what we thought we had been missing.
We enjoyed two beautiful family reunions, both sides of the family.  On Mom's side (my side) all six of my siblings and their spouses and children, Grandma and Grandpa all met at a lake home and enjoyed a family weekend all together.  All the cousins played late night games in the dark, had big sleep togethers in the garage and roasted marshmallows at the camp fire.  We of course took a color coded family picture and I was able to meet the baby that was born while we were away.
On Dad's side (the Mister) we enjoyed time at Mom's with Younger Brother and his wife and two girls.  The five cousins played and enjoyed time together as kids and we all told stories and memories of Grandpa while we cried, laughed and celebrated his life together as a tender family unit.  Grandpa loved it because most of our celebration was outdoors with perfect weather.
Our final destination was University life and move in.  Kid One had moved into her new home at the dorms of her chosen University.  We feel it is the perfect match for this kid's needs.  It's really great that a University so large can bring so many people together to make it all just right for my little girl.  I was the last to leave the US so I could tuck Kid One into her University life then I too finally arrived back To Delhi We Go.
All is well in the US and we all enjoyed our visit but it was good to get home to India and settle into what we know as our home.  Kid Middle and Three have started back into their school routine at the American Embassy School and we are reuniting with the many friends we have made here but have missed throughout the summer break.
Hello India and friends, Long Time, No See!

Spring Break 2012

We had plans.  We changed plans.  We made other plans.  We settled on staying small and seeing more around home (here in Delhi India) for our Spring Break Destination 2012.  Both Kid three and Kid middle can be gross and enjoy a crude joke similar to other kids their age.  Kid one can be concerned for the environment and the effects we are causing to it. So when we canceled our plans to go to Sri Lanka the next logical progression for a quick step out to do something for Spring Break 2012 led us to the Sulabh International Toilet Museum.  www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org
We learned how villages all over the world have progressed with the use of differing toilets.  We saw examples of how different toilets are made depending on the materials available in the area it is being built.  We saw examples of loos in the museum.  Here is a little bathroom humor.

After an educational (and a bit crude) trip to the toilet museum all the family took a two day trip to near by Neemrana Fort Palace.  We enjoyed our room in the palace, the view and even took an adventurous ride on the zip line.

Disclaimer: At the end of this YouTube video there is an added picture from something else YouTube.  No idea how it came to be in my link but I can't get it to go away.  Yuck, so sorry.

Part 2 Pokhara, Nepal

We spent a couple days in Kathmandu then flew to Pokhara, Nepal where we saw the Annapurna mountain range of the Himalayas in central Nepal. Annapurna mountain is the 10th highest mountain in the world and we were all impressed with our view and experience.  Here is another photo montage of the other half of our Nepal trip.