:: Palace ~ Part 1 ::

 After a LONG and HOT month in May, Beth & I decided it was TIME to take a BREAK and GET AWAY...

And what better place to get away than our very own PALACE!

That's right- we are real proud to say that our city actually has TWO palaces :)

Isn't that FUN? 

So we packed our bags and checked in for a night at the palace

We were like little girls again, all GIDDY about just getting to stay in a fun HOTEL room.

 

I think Levi was just as excited!

We had cable, WiFi , comfy beds, cute & clean bathrooms...

And a BATH TUB!!!! 

In case you don't know, an actual bath tub is a very RARE find in India

(Don't you just love the convenient phone right by the tub as well- haha)

We ordered some yummy lunch via room service, and even got to make our own "sweet lime sodas"- a must try when you come to India.

We LOVED that t came with a fresh Rose:

After check-in and lunch, we bolted for the outside, leaving our shoes behind and RUNNING through the beautiful GREEN GRASS

(Also a RARE find in India)

I always loved running around in my bare feet in the grass as a little girl, so it made me smile to see Levi enjoying it just as much.

Getting some sweet lovins while  playing with Aunt Beth:

We couldn't get over how BEAUTIFUL it was to see fresh flowers blooming, and green-green-green everywhere...

We almost forgot we were in India

*Almost being the KEY word :)

And then.... NAP TIME

Since Beth & I had our own beds, we decided to make Levi his own as well:

. Friends for Life .

 We LOVE when our friends visit us in our city- 

Levi especially loves that they bring JOYA and GUS!

Meet precious Joya:

Cracking Levi up

 

And now meet "New Bear":

 (as opposed to her "old bear"- this name always makes me smile- so original :))

 And so the conversation begins....

(ABOVE) Joya: Mom, do I really HAVE to let Levi play with New Bear?

Levi: Hey this bear is pretty cool!

(BELOW)

Joya: Ok Levi, that's enough- I'll take New Bear back now.

Levi: Oh come on... just one more squeeze???

 Levi: YES!!!! I LOVE this bear!

 Levi: Ok New Bear, who do YOU really want- me or Joya?

(Joya in the background: J-O-Y-A!!!!)

Then Joya gets smart and realizes Levi has a  Jeffrey the Giraffe :)

 Look at them playing so well together:

 These three together just make me smile:

 That's right GUSSY- you tell them who is the life of the party!

 Love Love Love this little girl's smile

There ain't no doubt about it- These three will be Friends for Life:

Thanks for visiting, friends!

Come back soon :)

:: Crack Attack ::

 Lookin' all innocent until....

 

He turns the other cheek:

 Yep- there is no denying it... C.R.A.C.K... A.T.T.A.C.K.

 "What is the big deal, Mom?" :)

-Levi

May RECAP- Part 3

 Unfortunately for Beth, Levi saw no limits when it came to which rooms he could explore-

So he would make frequent visits in to see her, to run his trucks around her bed, 

or one of his (and our) favorite pass times- 

Checking himself out in her mirror:

 Levi got to sneak in some sweet reading time with Papa on Beth's awesome pillows:

 We kept on practicing our shapes and remember which one went where... 

He used to just put all the circles in first because they were the easiest, and then try to cram everything else in the circle hole as well- haha.

But he was doing a really good job recognizing the triangles and squares this time.

So proud of this little guy!

 

 Levi accomplished new feats- like sticking his entire fist in his mouth:

ALL IN ALL- May was a success:

WE.....

- Enjoyed catching up on much needed time with Beth

- Looked for and found our house

- Were able to meet some local folks who will be great "partners" in the future work here

- Got to see the continued need for us to press on in language

- Had some down time to get to know our city a little better

- Enjoyed lots of laughter and had some good chats as well

"YUP- I had fun... FANKS Beth, and FANKS Y'all for keepin' up wif us!"

~*``` FIVE *`* YEARS ```*~

On this very day, 5 years ago, I married my best friend. 

 

Granted we are 2 for 5 on actually seeing each other on the DAY of our anniversary :)  (just glad it wasn't my fault this year- haha). Maybe we can even things out next year and actually PLAN to be TOGETHER- what do ya say, love ?

In all seriousness- I have only grown to: APPRECIATE his leadership, his smile, and the way he graciously and lovingly challenges me, ADMIRE his committment and dedication as well as his love for people, and ADORE the way he cares for and loves our little boy. Honored to be your wife, Blessed to be your best friend.

Remember that question you asked me in July 2006 ?- Thanks for asking :)

May RECAP- Part 2

For the past 6 months, we had some WONDERFUL house helpers who would cook us delicious Indian food everyday for lunch.  

Which to be honest, we don't really love Indian food outside of the home, but in the home... YUMMY!

After our move, we (mostly Levi & I) were missing some rice & daal in our lives... 

So Beth and I decided to be brave and try to mix some up on our own- as you can see we had called in some back up to help (specifically with the roti-"flat-bread" & chole-"chick peas" in gravy.)

Beth's house helper- Rampiari came to our assistance, I think she was cracking up at us trying to make Indian food- haha. 

We had fun!

 

 Rice, Aloo Ghobi (Potatos & Cauliflower), Daal, and Roti:

 

 And the result was... DELICIOUS:

(At least according to Levi- as you can see he couldn't get enough of it!)

 The ultimate test was: we had a local friend over for dinner that night, and he said that he actually like the SUBZI that Beth & I made better than the CHOLE that her house helper made.

BOOO YAH!

Now that's what we are talking about :)- lol.

 

 And THIS is the way we roll up in this neck of the woods- 

the regular attire for Craig & I when we go out:

 JUUUUUUUUST KIDDING!

Relax folks- some of the local ladies around here "wrap up" with their scarf so they don't have to breath in a lot of the dust that gets kicked up- so I thought I would give it a shot.

I actually kind of felt like I "blended in" for once in our 8 months of living here when we were out walking around like this- HAHA.

*I will be glad to teach you if you ever want to learn how to do this with your scarf on your next trip to the mall, ladies :)

One of our favorite pass times with Beth was playing some Settlers of Catan.

She hadn't played before, but by the end of our 6 week stay- she was a PRO!

(I may have been told not to post this- but I think it's just too funny... just ad lib with these faces for a minute....)

 "Come on Danielle- hurry up already"

"WHAT is THAT?- oh a camera"

"Oh no she DIDN'T"

 "Oh wait... that's right, we are fun people, having a fun time, playing our fun game"

"Yep- come on over y'all- we love visitors"

"This game IS fun... REALLY!"

etc... etc... etc...

(You have my permission to go on as long as you need to with the' before and after' shots for your personal entertainment- :))

And of course, while we were having fun- Levi had to do the same...

So he kicked back, sipped on some water, and got a little 'Cars 2' action.

 

Are ya' keepin' up?

Part 3 to come..... 

May RECAP- Part 1

 Has it really been this long??? 

Well let me tell you what we have been up to since we moved:

We were so blessed to be able to stay with our friend, Beth, while we were house hunting (rather than staying in a hotel with just one room).  So Beth & I could actually be in a kitchen cooking together instead of eating out all the time, we could sit in a living room and read/chat/play games while Levi napped, and the list of perks could go on.... 

Contrary to what Levi leads Beth to believe- I think these two turned out to be quite good pals.

So grateful for you Beth :)

Levi found his new "pretend car"by backing himself up into a box Beth had in her kitchen,

and for some reason, the dust pan seemed to be a great accessory.

This scene was repeated on several occasions- 

Love this boy's imagination!

Not long after our move, we found out that Levi had a new found LOVE for "tight quarters"

 This little place brought a HUGE amount of JOY to this tiny fella!

Yup- still MOUNTAINEER fans :)

Look familiar?

Yes we stumbled upon this when we peeked into Beth's room one day:

 Whether backing in, crawling in, or just hanging out- this was a BLAST- 

both for Levi and for those watching (and giggling)

 I MAY have to run to the front window and sneak this picture through the fence in one day :)

Craig and our friend, Jason, riding together on the scooter.

(Beth and I thought it was hilarious... we were just disappointed that they didn't cuddle up close like most of the men in India do- haha.  

Ok ok- actually I'm quite GLAD they didn't!)

Check back again later Y'all!

 

More to come....