Happy Halloween

Halaween, Holaween, or however your 7 year old decides to spells it.

The days leading up to Halloween are perhaps some of the most stressful days of parenting. The numerous costume changes, super hero affiliations that change like the wind a s well as the unending questions regarding monsters, costumes and what size trick or treat basket/bag should we use all add up " God and I am glad that is over".

The three kids were fairly in tune with each other as what to go as. Jimmy a mummy, Kay Cinderella and Billy Lightening McQueen. Then Mommy began the 2 hour mummy making event and immediately both Billy and Kay had to be ghost's. The mummy making is a separate blog which may or may not see the light of day. In summary we used the wrong size shirt and getting the thing off Jimmy was, well, a disaster. The sewing skills of Tracy were put to the test and indeed the costume held together. The ghosts could not be talked into being Charlie Brown style, you know with holes all over the costume sort of like Swiss cheese.

Trick or treating was wielded like a spear by Mom and Dad all week insuring early to bed, eating complete meals and playing nicely with others and then finally Friday October 31st,2008

The day began at 7:08 am with Jimmy running into our room and screaming scary noises at the top of his lungs!! The costumes were then hung in the " clubhouse" so we could ask 2,910 times " can we put our costumes on now?" which received the same response " wait till Mommy gets home! Finally at 4:28 pm the adorning of the costumes began. It was quite crazy several changes and the final ended Jimmy a mummy, Kay from ghosts to Cinderella back to ghost and finally Cinderella but I am not wearing my crown!, Billy from ghost to Lightening McQueen and my new lighting McQueen red shoes and my orange pumken halaween socks because I like them there comfty. Off to the Palm Meadows Halloween parade and costume judging.

There were around a 100 kids of all ages dressed in everything from vamp to vampire. We hered them into 4 different age groups and they paraded down main street past the judges down to the amneinites center where food and beverage awaited and the judging began. I am proud to say that in the 4-8 age group Tracy and Jimmy were toppers!! Jimmy received a book tiltled " "The Arabian Princess". Just what a 7 yr old boy always wanted.

Then, off to trick or treating! The kids literally ran from house to house. The good news is, only about every 5th house here celebrates Halloween so while we covered a lot of ground and got some good exercise, we werent too sugarred up.

After about 1 1/2 hrs of this mayham, we landed at Heihn's for their big Halaween bash. They had witches brew, candy, cupcakes, pigs in a blanket, etc... They also had a fog machine, tombstones and scary music all were the hit of the party. The usual crowd was there (see Diwali entry). Everyone had a great time:)

So, another year, another Halloween. They are already planning their costumes for next year.
God help us.

Finally a Holaween Poem from Jimmy Murphy

Beware of the other mosters like these scall, Jackalanter, ghost.

The Holaween Bat

It scarys at night.

and scarys people to.

Beware of this BAT.

At night.

It turns into a vampire

at twelve a clock.

The Dog Days of Diwali

It was a busy and festive weekend!!

We had our favorite canines with us for a long visit. Chunk, Moti and Walter made a special guest appearance and helped entertain the entire neighborhood. Other than the photos, what can I say... they havent gotten any smarter, but I do think their snoring has gotten louder and they are smellier. We had 6+ walks a day and all the neighbor kids had to come over to "visit" the dogs. The kids were in heaven. The highlight of the weekend? When Chunk got off his lease and "visited" 2 of our neighbors INSIDE their houses with muddy paws. Catching a determined bulldog is like trying to catch a greased pig. Not Fun. I am sure these specific neighbors were glad to see the dogs go. It has also underscored that we will NEVER own 3 dogs at once. NEVER.

In typical Gopalan administration form, they informed us last week that since the kids had Mon-Wed off this week for Diwali, why not give them Thurs & Fri off as well. Why not? I mean the kids were only off school Sept 26-Oct 12 and back in school Oct 13-24. Why not give them another full week off at home? I mean, as parents I am sure we had no plans during that time...

(Can you tell I am a bit irritated by the whole thing?)

The good news in this whole thing? The weather FINALLY broke. After days on days of torrential down pours 2-3 times per day, the sun came out and it warmed up. The weather is perfect and we spent all day yesterday at the pool (1st time we've done a pool day since early August). It was gorgeous, but I digress.

The dogs left us on Sunday, just in time for all our Diwali celebrations. We had a birthday party and 2 Diwali parties to attend Sunday and Monday. Diwali is a mix of the 4th of July and Christmas. Everyone cooks sweets, buys fancy new clothes and lights off amazing amounts of fireworks. You travel to all your neighbors giving sweets and then the minute the sun goes down you start lighting fireworks.

Note I said fireworks, not firecrackers. These are not the lame sparklers and stink bombs and bottle rockets of our youth (and our over regulated government). These are full fledged fireworks. Anyone can buy anything on the street and they do. We had full airshow quality fireworks being lit off over the neighbors house. The houses are all decorated with lights and everyone starts lighting fireworks in the middle of the street. I went for a run this morning and the streets all looked like a ticker tap parade went through. The kids loved it!

Other fun comments of the weekend (mostly by Kay):

Kay and I were talking about numbers. She had a sheet of paper of with the numbers 1-10 written on it (she wrote them out). She asked me, which one is the biggest, I said 10 "NO, she said, its 1) (and it was, size wize, she had written that one larger than the others). So, I tried another tactic, which number is the highest? Her response "google". I was in shock. She's right, go check it out. Google it.

Her next famous quote of the day? I am trying to read to them once a day at breakfast. Since they arent in school today, I forgot. On the way out, I said, "I forgot to read to you this morning, pick out a book and I'll read it to you at dinner". Her response? "Oh Damn it!" followed by "I'll find a book Mommy, no worries".

Nice.

Happy Diwali!!!

Where did all our stuff go?

Tracy was back in Minneapolis for the last two weeks and took some time out of her busy schedule to stop by our house just to check in things and BOY what a surprise. She looked in the window and this is what she saw:

We have started the remodel on the house and none too soon! The project should be complete by early 2009 and we can not wait. We will have a new kitchen, living room, dining room, fireplace and hardwood floors, you think we are loud now ??? just you wait! (oh where oh where to put that new drum set?:) )

For those of you who have spent many an evening solving the worlds problems at our dining room table or on the back deck, holy cow, I didn't realize how small our house really was! I think I freaked out a bit and might have scared off our contractor. He assures me that it will look HUGE when its finished, but seeing your home ripped apart is a bit unnerving...

When this project is complete, we will also be passing into the fourth stage of adulthood. Stage one getting married, stage two buying a house , stage three having children and stage four, buying your own furniture. Yep without the influence of anyone else we will buy our own furniture. Table and chairs here in India and then couches, chairs and love seat when we get back home. Keep posted on stage five:) - empty nest? mid life crisis? retirement?

Here are a couple of other pics so keep posted we will update on the process.

Cocktails and appetisers when complete, black tie required.

Welcome to the world Baby Anastasia and Congrats Brigie and FUD!!

Brigid and Dennis (aka FUD or otherwise known as Fake Uncle Dennis) are proud to announce the birth of their baby daughter, Anastasia Rose!
She was born at 8:48 pm on Friday Oct 17. She is 7 lbs, 14 ounces and 20.5 inches long!

She is way too cute and I think I see a hint of red hair?! :)

The Bangalore Murphy's toasted her arrival with juice and wine and big hugs that were felt all the way around the world.

Send them all your love!!!

Where are the Blogs?

I must apologise for not posting any Blogs in the last couple of weeks, but let me explain.

Tracy left about two weeks ago to travel back to MPLS for training and informational meetings as to our next assignment. The kids have been out of school for the first week which also coincided with my finals week as well as the Pooja holiday. What does all this mean??

Well as many of you who have travelled here, realized about a year ago that we were eating brains, and to clarify, mutton brain. Tracy immediately put a ban on any more brain in the house. So the day after she left I had a couple of my Indian buddies over, Ajay and Rakesh and Raj made us brain and so you know , here it is! It is really quite good but as Raj says " Sir, very fat", he means the brain dish.

Then we had the Pooja event. This particular Pooja is for vehicles and electronics and like that.

The correct name for the event is Ayudha Pooja. Raju our drive placed the newly cleaned vehicle in the middle of the street along with the bikes, scooters and the " buggy" He then decorated all the vehicles with garland and dried flower paste and placed sweets and fruit in front. Then finally he places a lime under each tire. Our gardener Chennapau then blessed the vehicles and smashed the traditional gourd while Raju did a mantra and then smashed open the coconut. Billy was not really sure about this whole thing while Kay was deeply involved and Jimmy claimed no more pooja on my bike!

Later, back at headquarters Jimmy announced it was time to form the new clubhouse, properly named Jimmy's Clubhouse. Immediately the guest room was transformed complete with a sign on the door that reads " Jimmy's club no three years olds except Billy"

The walls were decorated with many power ranger photos and pics of super hero's. No - I must explain that we have a moratorium on glue. It was then quite difficult to figure out how to attach these pictures to the walls. Tape was out of the question because people could see that there was tape and this is a magic clubhouse and tape would not do. The leader of the clubhouse was spotted, spitting, yes spitting, onto the back of the papers and stating look they stick! God Help us.

The kids vacation finally ended and back to school they went. It was a relief for them to be in school and not have Dad constantly telling then to pick up toys, if you are going to have a clubhouse keep it clean, and things like that. The school schedule and fast pace took it's toll on old Bill and the first day home from school he actually fell asleep doing his "homework"

Then finally Mommy returned Kay presented here with a big bouquet of flowers and Jimmy made a Welcome Home Mommy Love Jimmy card which he signed from Jimmy!, and things got back to normal, whatever that may be!

Mommy we missed you ,we Love you and were glad you are home!!

Staycation

In honor of our slumping economy and after hearing our cutting edge friend Wendy refer to her "stay at home vacation" as a staycation, we decided to do the same:)

The kids are off of school for the pooja holidays (TONS of holidays fall in Oct, everything from Muslim, to Hindu, to Ghandi's bday), 2 whole weeks. Yikes!! Since Tracy is heading to the US for 1/2 of the holidays, we thought we'd explore Bangalore a bit more as a family instead of jeting off to some exotic local. Tracy took 3 days off work and we had 5 whole days together as a family. "Not bad, not bad at all" as Jimmy says...

1st up? Fun City and the movie Wall E, complete with hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and Fanta. The kids had a blast. Tom and I still arent too sure about the movie, but movie theaters here are so nice and so good that you can watch almost anything and have a good time!

Next, full day at Palm Meadows- basketball, tennis, hike, park, Little Rascals on DVD for the 400th time, Grayce & Owen for dinner, playing & riding bikes in the rain - a perfect day at home...

Heading out again - The RajKumar Boating Lake. Now, this is a bit like a mini carnival on a lake, (for those of you Packer fans, think Bay Beach) and its actually clean! (that's saying something in India!!) We rented paddle boats, rode on .25cent rides, jumped on the bouncy "things", ate popcorn, drank Fanta (seems to be a reoccuring theme, huh?) and basically ran ourselves out. The kids slept all the way home:) This is on our list of things to do more often!

A not too fun, but necessary day in town furniture shopping. We want to bring back a nice, big, Indian inspired dining room table set and new front door home with us. Since our kitched was gutted last week, we are feeling the "urge" to see what's out there and figure out what we like (and what we can afford). Of course, this will be followed by a lunch at KFC which would not be complete without Fanta.

This outing inspired Jimmy to set up "shop". He pulled all his books, games, toys, etc out into the garage, made signs and set up shop. Did you know a guitar goes for $2000? No wonder he didnt get much business. Jimmy was in charge, Kay his helper and Billy was the security guard. They made him sit on a chair in front of the driveway with a whistle. Too funny.

We also managed to have dinner with Bob, Chandra, Amber, Abhi, Ann, Ajay & Angelica not to mention a date night for just Tom and I. (In case you are wondering, we DO have friends who's names dont start with A, B or C, but they are all on real vacations to exotic locals such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cochin and Goa....)

Finally, what staycation wouldnt be complete without a 1 hr reflexology massage, anti aging facial, pedicure and head oil?!

All in all, a great 5 days!!

Jimmy and the Purple Crayon (aka Coloring Contest)

Exams were last week (including on Saturday) and so Tuesday was colored dress day (they didnt have to wear uniforms) and there was to be a BIG festivity. A coloring contest.

Jimmy was not impressed.

Monday evening -
Jimmy - I am not going to school tomorrow. I hate coloring. I'm not going to do it (imagine this repeated every 10 min's throughout the entire evening in the whinnest voice accompanied by tears...)

Finally at the end of Monday night -
Jimmy - Mommy write in my book to Ma'am that I am not coloring tomorrow. If she makes me color, I am coming home.

Mommy - Ok Jimmy, fine. I am writing the note to Ma'am. Dear Ma'am - Jimmy would prefer not to color tomorrow. Please respect this. Tracy

Jimmy - NO! You did NOT say that I am NOT coloring. Write it down!!

We finally come to agreement that what I wrote would suffice.

Tuesday - Coloring Contest Evening.

Daddy - How was the day?

Jimmy - Fine

Daddy - Did you color?

Jimmy - Yep

Daddy - How was it?

Jimmy - Fine - can I go play with Preston? (You can see that we get a lot of info out of him on school:) )

Wednesday - post school, as we are digging through his bag looking for homework and half eaten sandwiches... Tom finds a note. " Good news parents Jimmy has taken 1st place in the coloring contest".

Daddy - Wow! Jimmy you won 1st place in the coloring contest, way to go!! What did you color? (the said picture was not in his bag)

Jimmy - Can I go to Prestons?

Daddy - Come on Jimmy, this is great, what did you color?

Jimmy - A picture, I left it at school

Daddy - Wow, we'll have to look at it when we go to school on Friday to meet your Ma'am. Did you get anything for 1st place?

Jimmy - Most kids got a new t-shirt i just got crayons or something there in my bag - Can I go to Prestons now?

Huh... what's it going to be like when he's 13?!!

Tom's Birthday Celebrations

Well, despite Murphy's Law (ie - anything that can do wrong... will) Tom had a great birthday surrounded by great friends, fantastic food, stimulating conversation and well placed surprises.



The day started off with presents and strawberry ice cream for breakfast (for the kids - we also got the parents of the year award yesterday). While Tom's gifts were all hand picked and tried on by him during our shopping experience on Sunday, I thought it would be nice to wrap them and that the kids would get a kick out of watching him open them at breakfast. Little did I know they would steal my thunder and take all the credit!! They all "claimed" gifts that were from them that they had "bought" for him. Interesting that they didnt know what was in any of the gifts and were not along on our shopping excursion. Kay even went so far as to exclaim "Raj, come see what I bought Daddy for his birthday, a new pair of pants!". I guess I am chopped liver.



Our friends Petra and Gerald extended the morning celebrations by bringing over 1 warm Corona, a chicken bologna roll and the (used) Police CD (Ever stop you take). What can I say, they are German? !



He got many calls, emails, text messages through out the day wishing him "Many Happy Returns of the Day" and "Hearty Congratulations".



The pinnacle of the day was meant to be a surprise party for him with our closest friends. However, as you know, Tom is hard to surprise. For weeks, I have been asking him what he wants to do, where does he want to go, etc for this birthday. He response? Let's have a party! My response, How about a nice quiet date night, the 2 of us havent doen this is months.... (then my plan was that all our friends WOULD be at the chosen restarant). His response? No, I'd really like to get our friends together (nice). So, he starts calling his friends and asking them what they are doing on his birthday... luckily I had headed them all off at the past and they all said they were busy. Disaster averted.



We finally got the plans set - A surprise dinner at Petra's with Haleem (Muslim delicacy during Ramadan), veg briyani, beg kabobs, cake, wine, beer, hot chips, dip, etc... What could possibily go wrong here? Well, it is India, right? The Haleem was delivered a day early. The cake place closed. The phone for the veg briyani, veg kabobs "place" was disconnected. My driver showed up 1 hour late to pick me up (and I had to do all the pick ups for the party on the way home). All in all, 40 min's before I was set to meet Tom - NOTHING was ready. Our friends are fantastic and rallied around the cause. I found an alternative cake/tart place, Petra got the house decorated and made salad, Alex ran out for ice (running into Tom and giving a lame excuse that Stacy really wanted COLD drink when she got home, hence the 4kgs of ice), Angelica keep everyone on track. We quickly divised and excuse to have Tom and I stop at Petras and "SURPRISE!" the party started. Alls well that ends well. The food was fantastic, the cake to die for, there was plenty of champange, beer and wine toasts, but best of all Tom was surrounded by all the people here that love him.

Happy Birthday Tom! We love you!!!

(Pictures to be posted once I get them from friends:) )

Its Tom's Birthday!!

Be sure to email or gmail him your best wishes:)
ttjkmurphy@comcast.net
or
ttjkbmurphy@gmail.com

I will be prompt in posting a blog once this momentous occassion has been sufficiently celebrated:)

Musing on independence and help

There is a new person in my life, Kavita. She is my new administrative assistant. As part of getting promoted to Director, it seems that one of the additions that comes with your title is help. Specifically, administrative help. I am not sure what to do with this or how to handle it. Its really got me thinking....

Let's think about it, for the last 18 years, I have been self sufficient, independent and the one who takes care of others. I have paid my own bills, bought my own car, made breakfasts/ lunchs/dinners, cleaned my house, shopped myself, remembered birthdays, bought gifts, made the phone call, etc etc. (Not to down play all of Toms efforts, he is a tremendous help, but with 5 loud americans, there is plenty of work to go around).

This doesnt just include home "work", at work, for the last 18 years, I have answered my own phone, set up my own meetings, made my own copies, set up agenda, created power points, remembered birthdays, organized celebrations, submitted expense reports, booked travel plans, etc etc. I sort of like it.

Now, there is this fabulous person who wants to help me. Do things for me. Look out for me. Protect my time. Tell others "no, she isnt available" or "that time doesnt work for her". I havent gotten this kind of care taking/giving since I was a kid. I am not sure what to do with it. On one hand, I love it! Who wouldnt want to have someone there to only protect your time and your interests (she is great at this, she's a pit bull about my calendar)? She doesnt care if others need something from me, she only cares that I get the time to do what I need to do during the day and that others arent taking advantage of me. She is my external self preservationist!

On the other hand, there is something immensely satisfying about setting up a meeting, replying to an email, cleaning your own bathroom, cooking your own food. Its immediate gratification and you can easily point to it and say "I did that!". Its the same feeling that sometimes makes me pine to be the french fry girl at KFC. Its material and immediate and when you are done, you are done and go home. The days over, the works finished.

And the bottom line is, I am a do-er. I like to "do" things. I am not a thinker or waiter or watcher or talker. I am a do-er. I DO think and wait and watch and talk, but its usually why I am "doing" something else (exercising, cooking, riding in the car - you know - multitasking).

So, she and I are in negotiation, relationship building mode. I am sure she thinks I dont trust her, am looking over her shoulder as she manages my schedule and just a stubborn American. But, that's not it. Its just a damn hard habit to break, this being self sufficient. Especially as an American, oldest child, wife, mother, friend, etc. I really dont have much practice at letting others do things for me or asking for help. Intellectually, I completely get it. Emotionally, hitting 'send' in email feels good.

Here's hoping I can appreciate and embrace (quickly) the feel good factor in letting someone else help me out... She really does rock.

State Fair Party :) and Good Bye Todd :(

For "real" State Fair footage, catch Kate - Tom's sister - at the fair:) Thanks Jim!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pspnk35H6kY



Well, Saturday was a Happy/Sad day for all of us. Todd was leaving us, his expat assignment coming to an end, but as a going away party requested to have a State Fair themed party (he loves the State Fair and missed it this year).

We were happy to oblige!
(See photo of Todd to the left holding the most amazing scrap book his team made for him).






The night consistented of ONLY food on a stick, face painting, MN themed tshirts, tacky tatoos, wife beater tshirts, hand painted MN state flag signs and lots and lots of beer and milk.

(See to the left, Jimmy telling Preston how to spell sh_t so that Preston could write it in Todd's going away book. Needless to say this was after sugar overload and time outs were distributed amongst all participants)





The food was an amazing array of grease, sugar and carbs: corn dogs (Mrs Pinto came through again with her most excellent recipe), popcorn, cotton candy, pickles, veggies, fruit, 3 kinds of cookies, cake, ice cream, french fries, samosa's, freshly made home made chips (my favorite), corn on the cob, beer, soda, koolaid, milk and finally s'mores. I think everyone had the post State Fair food hang over going the next day:)

(See Kay and Elise hamming it up for the crowd



You can see that the kids had a great time and everyone was decked out in their favorite MN sports team. If you look close you can even see Billy's temporary tatoos (a snake and power ranger).

I must admit, I have never liked the State Fair, but recreating it in Bangalore is a gas (literally... the next day:))

Overall a very fun send off to someone we will all miss everyday. Thanks for all you do Todd!!!

People People Everywhere!

So, I was riding home from work the other night and it occured to me. Holy sh_t! There are a LOT of people living here! I mean, I know I have lived here 2 years and I know that India is the 2nd most populated country on earth (isnt China 1st?!) and you'd like this wouldnt be a surprise... But, holy cats ... to actually see it is amazing and it continues to amaze me on a daily basis. Basically, there are now 10 million people in Bangalore. There are 10 million people in ALL of MN (if I have my numbers right). Now, Bangalore is basically the size of the 494/694 loop so...think about it, what if ALL the people in MN lived and worked within the 494/694 loop? Now, cut the power supply randomly but up to 25 times/day, add about the same # of cows, buffalo, bugs, snakes, rats and dogs. Finally, make it legal for ANY type of vehicle to travel on ANY road, including highways (bikes, motor bikes, scooters, bull carts, horse drawn carts, ricksaws, etc....). How would it feel?

Now.... Welcome to Bangalore India!

(BTW - Tom got a B+ on his 1st online college class - way to go Tom, we love you and are really really proud of you!!!)

Delhi/Goodbye Sue/Gawd is it HOT!

We planned our vacation with Sue to include 1 day in Delhi. We figured we'd take her around all the cool things to do in Delhi before we all boarded planes home. Little did we know that it would 40c that day!! urrhhh!! That's 104 F. Not the most pleasant way to site see in Delhi. Even the kids were hot, they all looked like wet paper sacks by the end of the day...But, that didnt stop us, we went to all our favorite spots.

The 1st stop was Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Its gorgeous! It has a huge open square that can hold 25,000 people and the most unbelievable domes and towers. We climbed up one of the towers and were able to see all of Old and New Delhi. The kids loved the tower climb and talked of princesses and Shrek the whole way up. Good thing we didnt run into a dragon! Sue and I had to wear full length moo moo's to cover ourselves and we had to have Tom with us as unaccompanied women are not allowed in the tower. The kids followed protocol by washing their feet, hands and face in the communal pool before entering any of the sacred areas.

At the bottom of the mosque is Chandni Chowk. This is a famous shopping area that has to be hundreds and hundreds of years old. The streets are so narrow that you could probably reach your arms out and touch each side. They are lined with silk and gold and diamonds and flowers and food and books and maps and handpainted paper. You wind through the market on a bicycle ricksaw and its just too cool for words.

We then escaped to the A/C of the car and headed out to see Raj Ghat (a memorial to Ghandhi). This is where he was cremated and it draws hoards of tourists/visitors. There is a guy with a cobra sitting out front and you can have your picture taken for a few ruppees. Billy reached right out and touched the cobra, ewww... Kay and I missed the memorial itself as she was having a full blown meltdown. That was fun.

Lunch we traditional Punjabi food and by the looks of it a very popular place for tourists. It was the 1st time in a week that we were surrounded by other white people in a restaraunt. The food was amazing even if it was the most expensive meal we had while on vacation.

We ended the day at Humayun's Tomb. This is our favorite place in Delhi. It is a gorgeous walled garden with a tomb/mosque within it. It is said the the Shah Jahan was so impressed by the architecture and gardens that he modeled the Taj Mahal after it. You can see it, its an amazing mix of muslim, hindu and persian influence. 350 years ago it was finished. Haji Begum was an absent minded ruler. When he died (he fell down the stairs of the library when he realized he was missing the call to prayers) his wife built this monument. If I remember correctly, 150 years later, Iran invaded the area and lived in the walled area for 3 months, pillaging all the riches that were within it.

After an action packed day, it was off to the airport. Our flight left about 6 hours before Sue's so she was able to see us off. The kids couldnt stop hugging her and kept running to give her "just one more hug". Then Jimmy turned to me and said "Sue, is trying not to cry, isnt she mom? I'm really going to miss her".

The flight home was uneventful (aka no vomit) and the kids cant stop talking about Sue and how much fun they had. Jimmy even asks to sleep in "sue's room" because he misses her.

So, back to every day life in India:)

(We love you Sue!!)

Planes Trains and Automobiles-Literally

Shimla a small town in Northern India was the destination. After several phone calls , e-mails and coffee with our friend Ajay we got the trip planned. First we will fly to Delhi overnight there and then take the train to Kalka get into a rental van and drive to Shimla and return the same way. Sounds reasonable right?

We headed out to the new airport and checked in - no problem. We all boarded the flight to Delhi and Tom was lucky enough to sit with Kay. Sue was double lucky because she got to sit by herself. The flight to Delhi was the bumpiest flight ever. They brought the kids food first and just when they brought the adults food the turbulence began and so did the throwing up, by Kay. Fortunately Tom had a couple of coffee cups because there were no air sickness bags and for Tom no dinner!!

We arrived in Delhi and made our way in two separate equally decrepit cabs to the hotel. The Ginger was nice and it's best feature was the cafe attached. Tom and Kay had a bite to eat then all got a good night sleep.

The train ride was awesome. Being able to see all the different towns and villages along the way and having high tea at the same time. But alas we were in another moving vehicle and right after Kay ate you guessed it. We have now decided that no food for Kay while we are in a moving vehicle.

We reached the train station and then loaded ourselves into a van and begun the ascent to Shimla. Then after one and a half days of travel we reached..

The place we stayed was called The Chalets Naldehra check out their website. ( www. chaletsnaldehra.com)It was beautiful. We had the family suite which had two separate rooms a larger living room and a full size refrigerator!


The pack deal came with a buffet breakfast and lunch however there were only three or four families staying there so we got to order what ever we wanted off the menu!!! The food was awesome but the local wine was well, apple or plum, not the best!! After touring the grounds having a great dinner and playing with the other kids the Loudamericans plus one were done.

The following morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then horse back riding!! What a blast. Jimmy fell in love with his horse and horse guy and had a ball. Billy and Kay were no less keen and they all managed to have fun as well. The lower Himalayans are quite impressive. I mean just seeing them was cool. The afternoon was spent with us in the pool and then a nature walk to a lovely meadow where there were ladybugs galore.

Tracy decided that we all needed the local hat of Himachal Pradesh, the state where Shimla is and was bound and determined that we get them and here is the proof!!

The only downfall was that this area which is plush with strawberries, the strawberries were out of season. Kay was so excited because she was going to eat strawberries just like Violet in that Willy Wonka movie. It was a good thing they were out of season with the way she was hurling every other day.

We then rented a van and went to the bottom of the valley to a place called Tattapanni and experienced the "hot springs". They were no springs as such but a trickle of water coming from somewhere however they were HOT. So hot in fact you could not even touch them! The kids played in the river and we had a nice time. Lunch was a long drawn out affair at a " Chinese"place but for the most part it was cool.

That night we watched Sound of Music and had the most amazing cauliflower with honey, awesome. The mutton and roti were and are to die for.

We ended our stay at the Chalet with yet another horse ride. We have a family tradition so to speak where on Sunday mornings we take a family walk around Palm Meadows. Jimmy is very vocal about his dislike of this activity. He however has decided that if he had a horse he would be OK with the family walk because he could take, his horse!

From the hills of Naldehra we headed to the actual town of Shimla. It is located basically on the side of a mountain, literally. I was concern about falling into the center of town it is that steep. We had to take a lift to the steps which ascended to the main or "mall" road. I am sure this road drives my Indian friends crazy. It is a beautiful paved road with nice food, book,clothing vendors all along however no moving vehicles are allowed!! A road such as this was meant to be driven on, ask any Indian they will agree.

From Shimla we headed back to Kalka to catch the train to Delhi. What would a trip through the foot hills of the Himalayans be without " Hey Dad look a McDonald's".