Goa...The Beach

Goa is small section of India that is full or palm tree lined beaches and is known as the "party" place. The character of this place is full of Portuguese influences and is still very Roman Catholic to this day. St. Francis Xavier arrived here in 1542 and is entombed in one of the oldest churches, Basilica of Bom Jesus.

Goa itself is separated in to three distinctive districts, north, south and central. In the north there is Panjim which is the newly formed Capital, 1843 it is located at the mouth of the Mandovi River and has the largest influence of Portuguese. In the south it is more layed back with more family oriented beaches and dinning establishments. Central Goa is made up of lush vegetation and is the home to wildlife sanctuary's and the beautiful Dudhsanger Falls...enough of the history.

The Loudamericans arrived on Friday evening and without to much fanfare made it to our Villa on the Ocean in North Goa. The place was very similar to our Villa in Palm Meadows however the amenities were a lot nicer and newer..we had a dishwasher, and not one we had to feed! It was awesome to put all our sippy cups and plates in there and turn on the machine go to bed and they were clean...miracle.

There were 3 bedrooms, bathrooms, 2 TV's and a DVD. The perfect family get a way. The pool was shaped like a guitar and we had our our guard and dog named Jack. The kids were in heaven.

The only downside to this place was that we had to drive to get to the beach. The sacrifices we put up with:) Actually, this turned out to be a blessing as we saw MUCH more of Goa than we would have if we had been at a 5 star hotel with private beach.

We spent time at 3 different beaches and Goa beaches are a cross between Jamaica, Costa Rica and Mexico. You have the beach vendors from Mexico, the lush rain forest of Costa Rica and the unfortunate poverty and litter of Jamaica. The kids were minor celebrities. The minute they hit the beach, they were swarmed with people watching them, pointing, huddling around, taking pictures and basically being bothersome paparazzi. I can totally understand why celebrities attack photographers. We were asked no less than 15 times if people could take photos of our kids. AND that was the minority of people that were polite about it. Seeing a Caucasian couple on the beach with 3 Korean kids must be a better attraction than the zoo or the beach itself. I have no idea what these people are going to do with these pictures when they get home... Show their friends, "look at what I saw at the beach!" Rather irritating.

The highlight of the weekend was the awesome food, cheap wine and BUDWEISER!! The food is an awesome mix of Portuguese and seafood, the wine imported from Portugal and the bartender had Tom lined up with his 2nd Bud before he had even finished his 1st. NICE!

We spent the better part of three days at the beach and on our final day we took tour a of the Goa area.

We ventured around Old Goa and saw the splendid churches and even spent time in The Basilica of Bom Jesus. This Church was built over a 10 year period between 1594 -1605 and the focus of the Church is the three -tiered marble tomb of st. Francis Xavier and you can still see parts of his body in the windows of the tomb. A perfect kid outing. They couldnt stop talking about death "why did he die" "how old was he" "how old is he now" etc...

Our next stop was Fort Aguada which sits on the mouth of the Mandovi River and was built by the Portuguese in 1612. There is a jail that to this day still holds many inmates even quite a few westerners who succumbed to the use of illegal substances such as cocaine and charas, hashish, and did not heed the warnings that carry even a small amount was/is fraught with danger. Needless to say the jail is not much of a tourist attraction so it was back into the car and off to Panjim.

Panjim is a city somewhat like Bangalore in that there is nothing but traffic. These small roads sometimes big enough for one car were actually quite interesting as we drove through the markets and saw quite an eclectic collection of vendors, buyers and tourists. we played at a park and even purchased a bottle of the local brew called Feni. Feni is some kind of cashew/apple concoction that they say is very potent and must be mixed with soda or limeca...we will see?

Finally we were back at the airport and off back home. We were all tired after four days of sun surf and sand. Saravanna had to try the Feni and was grateful we thought of him enough to bring him a gift. He promptly gave it to someone else stating.."to toxic Tom to toxic".

We new we were back in Bangalore for on our way home this motorcyclist next to us was honking furiously at the truck next to us. The problem was the truck was stopped and had it'd flashers going obliviously to us indicating a problem. The motorcyclist however must have been under a different belief because he was still honking at the truck when he ran directly into it.

Home sweet home.

Jimmy Turns 6

There are only a few days in the year Parents know that a kid will without being prompted will pop out of bed and claim the day.Chief among those days is the child's Birthday.

The evening before the big day we Parents will sometimes use the power of the following day as a tool to get the child to go to bed early and more importantly, properly. In Jimmy's case the tactic was used and he responded by stating " I am too excited to sleep". 5 minutes later he was sound asleep as his siblings, Kay and Billy proceeded to become banned from their "favorite things" for the rest of eternity, but that is a different story.

Jimmy sprang out of bed promptly at 7:00 am came down stairs and announced "I am 6 today look how big I am" and proceeded to launch into the following monologue...

Why does God make people mad, I wish that I could have special powers and when a bad guy came at me I could use my special powers to defeat them, how come God made my birthday August 22, when is the 1st month of the year, why didn't God make my birthday in January, how come I am older than Billy/Kay, am I bigger than Cody now, how old will I be on my next birthday, why is the sky blue, why do we live in India, do you miss Minnesota, when will I see my friends in Minnesota, who's birthday is tomorrow (SUES's!!!) who's birthday is the day after that, and then who's next .... on and on and on for 4 min's straight.

Not to be outdone, Kay and Billy decided to join in the "fun" only their monologues were more like ... its not fair that its Jimmy's birthday and not my birthday, can I come to his party, will there be presents for me, Jimmy's going to give me chocolate -he's my friend, I don't want to eat, I want cereal, I don't want cereal, I want rice/dahl, I don't want rice/dahl....

Finally they were securely in the car and on the way to school!

Jimmy had a great day at school and as tradition here goes past outed candy to all his friends at school and being Mr. Popular of course he did not have enough!

Then the party began. Mom and Dad had secured the local game room/ shooting range for the afternoon and Jimmy along with his friends and our drivers all spent about 2 hours playing video games, shooting bad guys and having a great time. Then off to the local Pizza kitchen for dinner. The kids basically devoured the pizza, garlic bread and fanta.

We all headed back to the house for the grand finally of cake, ice cream and PRESENTS!

Jimmy had a fabulous birthday enjoyed all his presents and was very thankful that the Hickey and Murphy Grandparents gave him a tent because " when it stops raining we will have a sleep over" YIKES!

Way Way Way too sad....

Below is the obituary of our friend Cynthia (see 2 blogs down). Please send all your love, thoughts, prayers and peace to Matt and Cynthia's family & friends in this time. She was an incredible person: independent, thoughtful, kind, and spunky. This is truly a loss.


"Cynthia Gamboa Burns
Burns, Cynthia Gamboa Beloved wife and devoted loving mother, daughter, friend and sister, age 30 of Orono, MN, born September 6, 1976 and passed away on August 8, 2007. She was a delightful, compassionate and spontaneous individual who inspired all who knew her with her graciousness, charm, and sense of humor. She will truly be missed and will leave a lasting impression on all of us who were fortunate enough to have known her. Survived by her husband, Matthew McCoy Burns; children, Matteito and Andreita; parents, Maria de Lourdes Ayaquica and Carlos Gamboa of Merida, Mexico; ......."

Hug your family and friends, tell them you love them and give them all a big kiss from us!

Korea or BUST

"We're too EXCITED to sleep" - from the famous Disney commercial

Seoul Korea may not sound like the ideal holiday get a way, but for the LoudAmericans, we couldn't be more excited to "take our show on the road"!

As an expat, we get an allowance to visit our home to see family and friends. This last year, we decided to use this "free" money to bring our folks to India and to see our great friends Duane, Leanne and Cooper in Australia. When we renewed our India contract and it started a BIG debate and how to use the money ... Where to go???!!

Tom: home
Tracy: Spain?
Tom: home
Tracy: Africa?
Tom: home
Tracy: Germany?

Lest you think that I am not excited to come home, rather, traveling 20+ hours with 3 kids under 6 for a short 10 day visit sounded more stressful than enjoyable. The above places were suggested with the thought that our families might be willing to meet us 1/2 way and spend some quality time together where we are ALL jet lagged:)

A few weeks later....
Tracy: We need to decide, what do you want to do?
Tom: Korea
Tracy: YES!!!!

So, for the last 3 weeks we have been planning, scheming and basically looking up every flight from the U.S./Costa Rica/India to Korea. Then, we crafted a VERY heartfelt email to our families and invited them to meet us in Seoul during the New Year holiday. We are going to subsidize their trip with our money so that we can all be together.

The details:
We'll be staying at the adoption agency guest house, where we stayed when the kids were brought home. We'll get to show our families around Seoul, take them to palaces, shopping, Lotte World (aka Korean Disney World), the mountains, and out for fantastic food everyday. The great thing about Seoul is that they have a subway system that is equal to the Underground in London and its clean and inexpensive. We'll also be able to meet the kids foster families and maybe even Jimmy's birth mommy. A once in a lifetime opportunity:)

We are so blessed! So far 20 of our family members will be meeting us in Seoul from 12/27-1/4 for this incredible experience. If you are in the neighborhood, let us know, the more the merrier!!

Now you can see why we are too excited to sleep!!

Prayers are Needed

Our friend Matt and his family have gone through a tragedy that needs all our prayers and God's help to get them through.
Matt and his wife Cynthia were riding home on their new Vespa when a young driver came upon them and hit them. Matt was thrown form the Vespa and Cynthia was run over by the car.
I can not imagine what the last moments and the horror that they have gone through. My heart is sad and I ask for your help praying from them.
Matt and Cynthia have two children 4 and 2.
Tracy and I will hold them in the light and in our hearts, please take a moment and reflect on those you love and hold dear, life is short.
Our love to you all.

Nandi Hills

There is this outcropping of rocks about 65 kilometers from Bangalore called Nandi Hills. It is a nice day trip out of Bangalore and it has some rather cool views.

We set off with the Millers and two other coworkers of Tracy and Angela, Michelle and Stacy. We left Palm Meadows around 8:30 on Saturday morning with a picnic lunch,back packs, coolers and adventure all packed up and ready to go.

For the most part the drive there was somewhat uneventful, the occasional Temple, traffic jam and several wrong turns before we reached.

Nandi Hills has a couple of Chola Temples which we visited and Saravana and Lokesh made Pooja. Making Pooja involves removing of shoes, entering the 'Temple area" and saying a prayer and handing over the cash offering. Then you would tie a ribbon around the closest tree and your prayer has been delivered and some believe answered, at some point.

Well since we did not come equipped with ribbon we found a discarded plastic bag, which are not hard to find, ripped a piece off and tied it around the closet tree which more resembled a bush that had so many pieces of plastic bag tied around it , it is a wonder it is still alive!

Further down the trail, which if you go here with kids you MUST have adult an kid coverage. There are no hand rails or safety barriers and it is a long way down, we climbed rocks and hike up stone faced inclines to get to the historical point of Nandi Hills, Tumkur Drop.

Tumkur was a King a few centuries back who for all practical purposes was nuts. If you so much as looked at him he would have you hauled up to this place and sent down a shoot to free fall about 1000 feet to your death, like I said nuts. It was very windy up there and looking down the shoot or slide if you will gave us the heebie geebies, you know hair on the back of your neck stands up.

We then headed back to our vans to find a place for lunch. We were detained for awhile as the monkeys were using our vans for well a bathroom. These animals will not be missed for one moment by yours truly , then one of theses creatures grabs a cucumber right out of Kay's hand. We had to physically retrain her from going after the monkey, Kay is very fond of cucumbers.

We left and found a nice spot for lunch complete with several thousand flies and a dog who ate anything that we dropped. Even the warm beer and fruit wine we had to purchase to use the "tables" could not take away from the ambiance of the place.

We returned to Palm Meadows to an awesome spaghetti and meatball dinner complete with garlic bread and martini's!!

Then we gorged our selves on fruit and hot melted chocolate sitting by the roaring fire thinking fondly of the first meal we were all going to share back in the states.

Great Fun!

Kay's food fetish

We havent done a kid specific blog lately and Kay seems "ripe" for material.

As many of you will remember.... To Kay, life is a buffet. She brings new meaning to the term "several small meals a day". She is still REALLY tiny (4yr old and not quite 30 lbs) but she's as strong as a horse. Pound for pound, she could take us all.

Meals to Kay are entertainment, conversation pieces. Rarely does she ever eat. Then... 1 hr later proclaims she's hungry at which point she takes one more bite. This goes on all day.

At least, it did. It seems she's decided to eat. Now, if you also remember, Kay is the kid who invented pickle "juice" (pickle brine in a sippy cup). Her favorite foods include:
raw garlic
raw onions
raw peppers
carrots
tomatoes
pomegrantes
pineapple
apples
limes
lemons
lettuce

So, we were surprised when, she sat down one morning, asked for a cheese omelet and proceeded to EAT the WHOLE thing! Zoinks! We were in shock. This has been continuing for 3weeks now. Not only is she eating breakfast, but 2 lunches (1 at school and 1 when she comes home) and 2 dinners (1 with the other kids and 1 with us). To date, there has been no noticable growth spurt or weight gain, but we continue to be optimistic.

Her latest habit is a night time snack. For most kids this would mean, cookies, ice cream, etc... Not our Kay. Her night time request? Lettuce in a bowl that she can take to bed. Last night, she specifically asked for some of the shrimp we had for dinner to go with her bed time bowl of lettuce. Strange Strange child.

In other news, yes, she still wants to be a face painter when she grows up. She is showing interest in learning to swim, in fact, she asked the life guard to teach her. She also got a hairstyling kit for her birthday so we are all getting our hair "done" about once a day. When you call her name ( Kay... Kay...) her typical response? "Huh? Huh?" When she's mad or doesnt get her way? "G_d Damn it! oh, I mean sh_t!" (We are trying to break this one....)

She can be so sweet and so terrible all in the same day.

You gotta love her.

Do not try this in India

The dentist I mean.
I have made it a goal of mine while I am here to experience as much of India as I can. That means the good and the bad, the happy and the sad and leading by example The dentist.

I made an appointment which was changed several times by the dentist herself to find a time more convenient, to whom?

I should have taken this as a sign but kept at it until finally on Monday I went.
Having cleaned and flossed my teeth using the same thought process as ,cleaning the house before the cleaning lady comes, I arrived ready for a "routine cleaning" my appointment was scheduled for 10:00 and when I reached they informed me it was changed to 11:00 which is more convenient again for whom?

I busied myself with thoughts of dental decay and what was I going to do if the actually wanted to drill and fill? I was taken back to the days of the late sixties when my great Uncle was the family dentist. His office was a small two room affair above the grocery store and hardware store, they did not call them strip malls back then. Anyway I remember going into the barely light office with this huge chair and a light coming from the ceiling shinning in my eyes whilst I stared into the eyes of a madman behind a mask saying open wide this will not hurt, Kay hold em down for me will you? Where was Saravana I had to get out of there!

Mr. Murphy its your turn said the diminutive dentist helper as I followed her into the office. It was clean and tidy and in typical dentist fashion she tried to sell me on teeth whitening, silver cavity removal along with white silicon replacement, no thanks just the " routine cleaning please"

I sat down in a fairly space age chair all electronically operated. The "dental hygienist" pressed a couple of buttons and filled a small glass with water and meekly asked, have you had your teeth cleaned by a professional before, why of course, shall we get started? OK.

Open wide this will not hurt, where have I heard that before I was thinking when all of a sudden my mouth had this bitter taste and my tongue went instantly numb. Yut yas yat for I mumbled? To block the pain from the procedure. YELP!

The next thing I knew she fired up the electronic monster and attached to it was the demonic tiny sander and she proceeded to attempt and perhaps succeed in removing all the plaque along with all the enamel from my teeth. I gathered the courage to open my eyes and to my horror I saw pieces of solid matter rising through the watery mist and felt certain my teeth were now nubs.
I finally had to raise my hand and say Yop! Yut yare you yoing?Why cleaning your teeth, sir.
Yenough please I begged just brush them . So she took this paste that tasted exactly like the small red pills we used in my youth to let dissolve in your mouth to see how effective your brushing had been, and tasted just as awful!
She then started the demonic machine again and proceeded to polish my teeth which I will have to admit was the least painless part of the process. Then out of now where she stated your done.

WHAT no floss ? What kind of a dental office is this. No lecture on dental hygiene threats of no teeth without flossing, no tooth fairy what is this place?

I was shown a movie on "proper brushing procedure" which after about 10 minutes of fiddling with the laptop the dentist finally got to run, and let me tell it is physically impossible for me at least to bend my arm the way the video showed.
It is now three days later, I still have a head ache and my teeth still hurt, but only when I floss!
I can not recommend the "routine cleaning" proceedure.

Homesick - A study ....

Here's my theory on homesickness....

Is not like a cold - a slightly irritating stuffy nose that you can work around but is always there in the background.

Its the stomach flu - a sudden, overwhelming feeling that brings you to your knees and leaves you reeling for a few days. Not chronic or terminal. Just all encompassing for a short time.

What are the causes?

~An email from a dear friend telling you about a fabulous dinner they had with 2 of your other favorite couples.

~ A co worker stopping you in the hall to tell you "Leona and Shinbee say 'hi'. Shinbee cant wait to be 7 since that's when she'll get to see Jimmy again".

~ Finding out a friend is waiting for test results on cancer and you cant be there to help

~ Realizing that by the time you DO get home, your youngest child will have lived in India longer than any other place in the world.

~ Hearing about the reaction of your favorite restaurant owner (Mrs Choi) when she got the pictures of the kids you hand delivered through a friend.

That's it. The emtional equivalent to the stomach flu. Man... it sucks today.

New BLOG on High School Musical - see 2 down for photos

1 Year in India!!

Its official, we have been in India a year. Holy Cow!! (literally)





What are our reflections on the past year????? Here are the typical questions we get and our standard response:)





What is the strangest thing you have seen? To be honest, this is really hard as the daily occurance of strange sighting is really high. I'd have to say: the donkey riding in a rickhsaw. But.. the florescent green lake by our house is quite a sight (and smell).People sleeping in the median of a busy road, people just walking in the monsoon down pours trying to get from one place to another because they have no choice.





What do you like the most? This one is WAY too easy ..The PEOPLE, followed by The FOOD! The people we have met, both through work, the OWC, school and our neighborhood are incredible. They are smart, flexible, open, helpful, friendly and welcoming (ten fold when discussing our cook, maid and driver!!). The FOOD is fantastic and we have each just naturally lost weight here. Yippee!





What is the hardest part? huh... How to answer ... the lack of convienence? (ie. not being able to drive, cook, have a reliable source of electricity or internet?) But .. this is probably where we have learned the most in terms of patience and going WITH the flow instead of against it. The other really hard thing is the poverty. You just dont get used to it. Its gut wrenching and a daily struggle to see how a good portion of the people in the world live.





What have you learned? That diversity comes in MANY forms. Religon, country, experience, education, values.... We have been able to really really LIVE our spiritual principles here and it feels really good. You should try it:)





What is it like? Do you remember the Calgon commercial from the '70s where the phone is ringing, the baby crying, the postman is at the door, the dinner is burning, etc.... Like that, every minute of every day, but add to it other sensory overload stuff like... airplanes so close that you can read their id numbers, smog, 7 million people, traffic, snakes, rats, 3-5 languages AND then add in all the good stuff too... new friends, spicy food, loud music, fragrant flowers, signs signs signs everywhere. Its basically sensory overload 20 hours a day (I think there are about 4 hours of the day when there is actual "quiet" and things settle down a bit- I usually am asleep though, so don't quote me on this).

Then trying to get the simpliest things done like ordering flowers and your driver brings you a bundle of colored paper...





What do you miss from the U.S.? Our family and friends, Mexican food, good red wine, good cheese. Any real Steak House and a Grey Goose Dirty Martini, and a relaxed atmoshere that is not rushed. Home.





When are you coming home? Good question, we'll let you know when we find out:) You are ALL welcome to come visit. We are taking the 1 year down, 1 to go approach.





Overall, we are LOVING this experience, both for ourselves, our relationship and for the kids.


We are truly blessed to be able to be here experiencing LIFE :)

The phenomenon that is "High School Musical"

WARNING: When reading this blog, remember, we havent seen/touched/heard American pop culture "live" in 12 months....

The kids newest addiction? "High School Musical!" Our great new friends the Herkelman's hooked us onto this. We were looking for non-fighting DVD's to watch and this IS the G'est of the G rated movies. Its basically Grease with none of the adult inuendo and with real kids instead of 30 year olds playing kids (Kiniky is STILL my favorite although I must admit I am developing a bit of a crush on Troy). There is music, dancing, singing, a good message and of course the Disney "sheen".

We have now watched the movie 1,274 times and have a daily routine. The kids strip down to their underwear (not sure why this is important for DVD viewing, but its critical). They grab their pretend microphones and take their positions. Jimmy is Troy, Kay is Gabrielle and Billy is whoever else is needed in the dance sequence. They all have the hand movements and facial expressions DOWN to a science. Then the music starts. We dont seem to be too concerned about the plot as they fast forward from one dance sequence to another. This is nice because it cuts the 90 minute movie down to a managable 50 minutes. The kids sing, dance and sweat up a storm.

If we can ever figure out how to attach a movie to our blog, we will post our favorite (Billy's dance routine). (Gary S - are you out there?)

In the meantime, enjoy the "snaps" of our future American Idol contestants!!

Eagleton Golf Weekend

Well, we had the travel bug, it had been over 6 weeks since our last trip! But.. school is in session, we dont have any long weekends and all the "next" spots on our list are too far away for a 1 night stay. What to do? I know, let's get a golf/spa/ex pat weekend organized at Eagleton!

This actually turned out to be a great idea and in the words of Jimmy Murphy "I love Eagleton, when can we go back?"

Eagleton is about 1 1/2 hours from our house. A round of golf takes 6 hours. So... do the math, it actually made sense to get a room and spend the night. I watched the kids (plus Caden) while the grown ups golfed. Tom even got to go to the driving range the next day.

The "kids group" went to the park , rode a camel (ok, Kay, Billy and I rode the camel, Jimmy and Caden were too scared. Go figure), flew kites (Thank YOU Aunt Tammy), took a golf cart ride and watched Power Rangers Mystic Force. Tom then took Jimmy and Caden swimming when he was done with golf. All and all a pretty good weekend if you are 4 or 5 years old.

The "adults group" golfed. Not sure what else to say here except its a nice course, quiet and each person gets a caddy. (that's a little surreal). Mike proved himself to be the "best new expat golfer" with an 82. Tom was happy with his score, but we wont publish it here as he hasnt golfed in 7 months and its not in the handicap range.

Below is an excerpt from our fabulous neighbors (in red) ... check out their blog sometime at http://www.wacmiller.blogspot.com/.

Keep your eye on our blog though, I promise we'll get better at posting. Next trip? Goa in August. Jimmy is already planning the plane trip is is angling for a new backpack "just for the plane since my school backpack is too big" (see proof in below blogs:) )

In other news, the "girls" had been planning a spa weekend for Saturday that turned into a family affair at Eagleton, a golf resort not far from town but worth an overnight in Bangalore traffic. So we all piled in and I FINALLY got in my first round of golf since moving to India. Who knew life here wouldn't be full of tee times at palm-tree lined courses?? I must not have read that contract very well... Anyhow, it was a great outing even if the golf was a lot rusty and the weather was a little overcast. Turns out golf actually isn't that popular here. But not to worry Dad, Caden is getting the itch also but we've resisted buying the little guy a bunch of sticks with metal clubs at the end and direction to hit hard balls as far as possible... for now. Otherwise, a fun time with great friends and the girls got to ride home in our own car and stop for one of these wonderful all you can eat (and drink) Bangalore brunches. I do say, Bangalore brunch rocks.

Kay Marie Jeon Murphy Turns 4!!!

The day stared out as all days do getting the kids up, sticker awards from the previous day along with breakfast and getting ready for school, however on this day things were different.

"Mommy, Daddy I can do it myself because I am 4".

Kay has had a very fun filled, trying but for the most part great year.

She learned to go to the potty ON the potty, YEAH! She learned more than anyone knows about coloring and painting so much so she has to wear a painting shirt every time she paints. She rides a bike, loves to wear dresses, make up, dancing and singing, teasing her brothers and her new most favorite thing, the beauty parlor.

So when we had our party planning session with Kay about her party she was very specific.

The girls will be downstairs and we can go to the beauty parlor. We can get our nails done and make up then when we go home the boys can be upstairs only if the bring me a present!

So the invitations were "created" and Kay passed them out and wanted to tell everyone to bring her a present, being the lady she is, when she found out that it was impolite to ask for a present, she then informed everyone the could not get into the party without the invitation! A shrewed way to ask for something.

Then the afternoon of the party tragedy almost struck, Kay woke up from her nap with a fever and temp and as they say here in India, "she is not well". We consulted with Kay as what we should do, Daddy offered" Kay we can cancel the party until tomorrow" to which Kay's reply was " Will it be my birthday tomorrow" Daddy said " no today is your birthday" "then we have the party today!", enough said.

So filled with Tylenol and battling a fever the party was on!

Kay had a great time at the beauty parlor, came home to this odd combination of Barbie meets Batman decorations and cake. She tore through her presents had cake and pizza thanked everyone for coming and then was, finally wore out.

Even Jimmy was impressed. "This was the best party Kay, thank you, I really had fun!". No kidding, he said that to her twice! A roaring success:)

No Fricking Way Man

Two days after we moved into the Taj West End last year this wonderful lady and her two children moved in down the hall from us.

Carol her daughter Lauren and her son Josh relocated to Bangalore from Montreal to be here for two or maybe three years and we all became fast friends. We share a love of Bangalore and India for that matter, good food, family, good wine (which we can not get here) does not mean we do not try, and having fun.

Carol’s husband David stayed back in Montreal for work however his visit’s to Bangalore always brought great laughs and awesome going away parties!

In fact at one of the parties our mutual friend Petra from Germany lead us in a rendition of “ So long Farewell Auvierdersien Goodbye” which actually brought tears to David's eyes!!

It was with great sadness the day Carol found out that she would be leaving Bangalore after only 11 months and be returning to Montreal.

Carol you are missed.

Her love of the people, India and saying what ever was on her mind meant you always knew where Carol was on any topic because you would hear he say “ you have got to be shitting me" or “no fricking way eh!”

To Carol, David, Lauren and Josh thank you for all you gave us while you were here and for our continued friendship as we all move into the next stage of the journey!

Love,
The Loud Americans.

Safe Travels

One year ago we landed in Bangalore somewhat lost, confused, excited and a little scared as to what were we thinking?! The very first day we were here we went to wander around the hotel grounds only to find there was this terrific champagne brunch going on along with games and activities for the kids. Amidst all this we met a couple from the UK named Debbie and Simon.

Debbie was extremely nice (and still is) and got me steered towards the OWC, gave me her mobile number and set up play dates with her kids, Hope and Freddie (whom Jimmy and Kay became fast friends with) AND explained the inner workings of Bangalore .... all within about 30 minutes of meeting us. Tracy and I were and still are extremely thankful for Debbie and Simon's friendship and help.

We have since become great friends and have spent the past year getting together at least once if not twice a month for BBQ's, swimming, and general good times. We would share travel stories and restaurant information and talk about our kids. We just really have fun together.

So it was with great joy when we heard the news that they were going to be leaving Bangalore and moving to the US! Simon will be taking a position overseeing two office's in the New York area and they will be living there for at least two or three years, which means we will be able to see them when we get home.

It was also with great sadness when we had to wish them safe travels. We all decided that we would not say goodbye as we are planning a great reunion in the US when we return. Debbie sent us a text message when they reached the UK which said "I could now delete her from my phone now, a mail now and then would be nice". I can say that we will never delete them from our contact list and we will be sending them our love and best wishes for their next journey from the UK to their new home in New York.!

Debbie and Simon thank you for your kindness and generosity and when we meet back in Minnesota ,Tracy and I promise you more than a cheese omelet sandwich for dinner!

All our love,

Tom, Tracy, Jimmy, Kay and Billy.

BACK TO SCHOOL

The holiday here in India has finally come to an end for the kids. They were on school break from for all of April and May. They had a great time at summer camp and learned yoga, coloring, how to wiggle their ears and go he he and ha ha and other important stuff like that.

The first order of business to get ready was the all important new backpack. The search began in the small hamlet, village, of Whitefield, which is the town we live in. The focus of the search was of course, power rangers. The thing about the mind of a 51/2 year old is their ability to focus on one thing and and never let go. We actually saw a power ranger backpack in Whitefield the problem however is that the vendor was selling them from a small stand with no roof, which means that since it is the rainy season that the backpack would not be in real good shape. We then drove around looking for power rangers backpacks in other places only to be reminded by Jimmy that he knows a place in Whitefield where they have them!

The search then changed direction to whatever backpack we saw and then finally to Spiderman. Jimmy tried on several and settled for the largest backpack available in India (see photo). That being done uniforms were then picked up and new shoes bought, Jimmy was ready to go!

Kay on the other hand was perfectly fine with her Dora backpack however she needed new clothes, not just any clothes they had to consist of dresses, skirts and tops that she picked out!

Several skirts were tried and discarded until 5 were chosen with extreme care. The tops of course did not have to match the skirts, I mean anyone can do that, no Kay's had to match her Dora backpack! Apparently the notion or maybe religion, accessories are important , is an inborn female trait, who knows. I know from experience that when Kay decides on something, so it is,Amen!

New clothes, haircut, nails done and a final look at bangles Kay announced that she was ready to go, God save Gopalan!

Billy, well lets just say that he was not going to be outdone. In his current state everything, and I mean everything is his. So seeing Jimmy's new backpack, Kay's new clothes sort of set him off. Being 2 1/2 gives him the accuse to not have to negotiate, just to demand.! So Billy got some new clothes, a "new" recycled Wiggles backpack and a new play car. The car was the important item and he seemed ready, I mean he has no clue what is about to happen .

The day came and we went to the bus where Jimmy promptly jumped on, Kay followed suit and Billy burst into hysterics as he too wanted to take the bus! Billy was finally escorted to school by Tom and Saravana and now we await the verdict!

My birthday weekend!! :)

Thank you for all the wonderful wishes! Many of you asked what I did for my 1st Indian birthday as well as my 1st annual 39th:) It was PERFECT!!!

I took the day off so I was not a Target team member for the day:)
But... I did get 6 ouquets of flowers from work. My house looks like a florists. Its beautiful!

I got up, went for a run, took Billy to the airplant museum (Billy "Wow, Holy Cow, Look at dat airpane! Wow! A Helicoper, Wow, Holy Smokes, Wow !! ) then I picked Kay up from school and we went shopping (bought a new pair of jeans, shoes and a tshirt) had lunch and got our nails done. Then after a hour rest I took Jimmy to Shrek 3 where he proceeded to eat a foot long hot dog a box of popcorn a chocolate milkshake and an orange pop. Then he said, "can I have another hot dog, I'm still hungry". It was his 1st real movie theather experience and he was very very good. Then, I came home to LOTS of home made cards and presents, cake and champange. Tom gave me 4 photo albums - 1 from the last year here, and then 1 for each of the kids, PLUS he printed out our entire blog and put it in a nice hard cover folder. Plus... I got a spa certificate, 2 books and money from my parents (which will promptly go toward the new clothes I bought). But, the best part was the really really nice card and letter my Mom and Dad wrote. Then a friend stopped by for a drink and ended up staying for dinner. ALL and ALL a PERFECT day.

Saturday I got my hair cut and colored as there is NO way I was going to be 39 and have a boring hair cut. I had the style and color all picked out and had many many pictures of what wanted. 4 hours later .... my hair looked NOTHING like what I requested. But... it also wasnt boring or conventional. The stylist was convinced it looked exactly the way it should ..."Ma'am you look 10 years younger" "See its the same" Needless to say, it is cute (I think....) but its very red and sometimes orange depending on the light. She kept saying "no...its copper". Really, its not Ronald McDonald red, but a cute dark Jan Reagan red. The fact that I asked for blond hightlights didnt seem to phase her. Billy told me Saturday he "didnt like it" but then changed his mind on Sunday and said "I like your hair mommy". I dont recognize myself in the mirror and Tom thinks they did a Wife swap on him... I'll try to get a cute picture to post.

That night we had an Indian Catholic wedding reception and a party. The wedding reception was like a Wisconsin VFW, explosion in pink affair. They even played Roll out the Barrel. Good fun:) The party was also a great time with terrific food and music I hadnt heard in ages (actually new cutting edge stuff, not 80's)

Sunday was happy/sad as the 1st 2 families we met when we moved here (met them both the 1st day we arrived) are moving this week (Debbie, Simon, Freddie and Hope to Conneticut and Carol back to Canada) so ... we had brunch at the Taj West End with them...all you can drink
champagne brunch with shrimp, scallops, cavier,oysters on the 1/2 shell and filet mignon. But.. everyone kept eating hot dogs. It was hysterical. It turns out they had German sausages and mustard flown in for the weekend and you can tell that's a big luxury and that was what everyone had on their plates while the seafood went ignored:) It was WAY fun and WAY spendy. But... it was our last chance to spend such a high rent Sunday with people we love:)
It took forever to say goodbye. There were hugs, more hugs, kisses, goodbyes, pictures, more hugs, promises to text message, email, etc... Finally, in the car on the way home, Jimmy said "wow, I'm really going to miss Freddie. This is hard." Yep, it is hard. We finished off the busy and outstanding weekend with a Taco Salad and a 9:00pm bedtime.

Very very nice.

Fathers Day!!!

We Murphy children are feeling quite literary these days. We had so much funny writing our Mothers Day blog that we decided to write the sequel, our Father’s Day blog.

Our Daddy is the BEST!! He is Dedicated to our every whim and need (ie. Chocolate) , he is Attentive to our friends (ie parties), he is Determined that we grow up nicely (ie. No fighting), he is Dashing (ie particularly in his new kurta’s) and he is Young at heart (ie. Swimming, biking and playing with us).

Here is what we wrote in his Father’s Day cards:

Jimmy – I love my Daddy, he makes me good food for dinner. He rents me movies and let’s me eat popcorn in the living room.

Kay – I yove you Daddy, now…. OPEN your presents!!

Billy – I love you too Daddy, especially when you let me sleep in between you and Mommy.

We also wanted to tell you about all the great things Daddy does….

For our family – he never forgets anyone’s birthday and is great at calling to talk and wish people all the love they can handle in the next year.

For charities – he works on the Charity Committee and supports anywhere from 3-5 charities at any given time. Helping them get money, supplies and resources they need for the kids in India that cant help themselves.

For our friends – he is GREAT at helping people adapt to India. He throws “welcome to India” parties, takes them shopping, finds them drivers/maids/cooks, gives them tours of Bangalore, helps them make friends.

For school – he got us all our books, supplies and uniforms. He did this not just for us, but for all our friends in Palm Meadows too since the line was so d_mn long (he waited in line for 3 hours!!)

For fun – he is always the 1st to help organize a party, plan the food, decide on a theme and insure everyone is having fun.

For our Mommy – he makes sure that she feels loved

For us – see all of the above!!

On Fathers Day we tried to treat him very nicely. Here was his day…
Sleep until 9:30am (after he slept with Billy from 3-5am due to Billy wanting to cuddle)
Presents, cards and a big omelet breakfast
Swimming at the pool
Tasty lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup
A NAP!
A head massage
Steak dinner complete with champagne, red wine, ice cream sundaes and our favorite neighbors
A nice phone call with each and every one of my brothers, sisters and parents.
SLEEP!!!

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!

Saravana weds Sunita

The much anticipated wedding of our driver Saravana to Sunita has finally arrived and what a production it was.

The Friday before the wedding had us at the home of Sarvana to witness the Puja ( blessing/prayer) of the groom. The entire family is present and they apply a colorful mixture of different herbs to his face,arms,head and feet. The groom to be dressed all in white, was escorted to the puja spot by his Uncle and then each of the family, including Tracy, applied the mud like substance until he was completely covered. The we all were then painted on our faces and then we washed up and left. Quite interesting.

The following day was the reception ceremony. The Hindus have the reception before the marriage as not everyone is invited to the actual wedding ceremony.

We arrived at the reception hall around 5:00 in the afternoon admits a great deal of fanfare.

The Loudamericans 3/5th dressed in Korean Hanbok"s and Tracy in a Saree and Tom in a navy blue wool suit (the groom demanded it) and was only about 95 degrees!

The waiting had begun as this event goes on and on and on and we never really know what is happening. All of a sudden the "orchestra" starts to play as loud as they possibly can the singer begins to sing off key and loud while moving around the throng of people in some bizarre Vegas nightclub/lounge lizard dance while everyone there pays them no mind. This will happen two or three times until the singer either has performed all the songs required or someone just asks then to leave because they can not take it anymore! I am not sure which.

At this point the crowd rises and gets into line to give their congratulations to the "couple" and their family. The people parade past them and get their picture taken and hand over any gifts they may have.

I am unsure how many of the people in our picture were actual members of Saravana or Sunita's family however there were several.

The kids at this point have gone beyond meltdown stage as well as haven eaten all the "western snacks" we brought. Their colorful hanbok's were dull and dirt cover their faces sweat covered and their hunger overwhelming as we headed down stairs for the dinner.

The traditional Hindu meal served at these events is veg only, rice,some curd,chutney,roti,you get the idea all the food is runny and served on a banana leaf with no silverware it was a mess.

The kids ate only rice but we managed to fill them and us up as the food was very good.

We then bid everyone good bye as we sadly took Julie to the airport.

Billy was very cute as all the way to the airport he kept saying to Julie, "take me with you Julie, take me with you"!

He was telling her Julie I love you Julie as she was standing in the two block long line for the terminal..We will miss her and if you have not read her blog it is a couple of entries back.

Sunday we got up early and headed back to the wedding hall for the actual ceremony itself. The event is not unlike the event the night before however we were all decked out in our formal Indian wear. There were many of the same people wondering around the groom in a traditional headpiece and white outfit the bride in one of the 75 Saree's purchased for the event.The photographers as usual set up right in front of the wedding alter and not allowing anyone to see, not that people were watching.They were all just milling about as before talking and every so often something would happen and people would rush to the couple to see. There are many rituals that occur at the wedding, the couple receives 7 wreathes of flowers and walks 7 times around the alter,7x7, interesting. There is a fire that is there throughout the ceremony into which oils and flowers and prayers are placed, not unlike a burning bowl, the couple eats only veg food to help cleanse their bodies and make room for the new life and experiences that are ahead.

We were feed another fabulous meal and bid or farewells. All in all quite the experience. Our driver is now on holiday until the 25th of June at which time we are sure to hear about all the behind the scene issues and family drama that always surrounds events such as these!

MS 150 - New Blog,read all about it, its 3 blogs down....

Ooty = Damn Cold, Fast Rides & Cow Trees

In an effort to show my sister more of India than Bangalore, we debated and debated where to spend the weekend. Tom and I threw out ideas - Cauvery, Cochin, Pondicherry? Each and every one was met with the same remark from our driver - How about Ooty? How about Ooty? How about Ooty? It didnt take us long to realize that he really wanted to go to Ooty AND since he was going to be driving us, should he have a major vote in the decision? So, off we go to Ooty our resident "hill station".

A hill station is a town in the mountians, which usually house all the tea and coffee plantations you can handle. The weather is famous for being cool, the atmosphere peaceful, the flowers beautiful and the food fabulous. Why wouldnt you want to go?!

On the way, you pass through a national forest and elephant camp. Its really quite pretty and Billy coined a new phrase "Mommy - Look, the cow trees" Please see the photo. It tells the whole story....

After a 7 hour journey what we didnt realize about Ooty is ...

~ Its DAMN COLD

~ It is "fast ride" heaven

Of course, being Minnesotans, when people told us to pack our warm clothes, did we listen? What would they know, we thought. They think 70 degrees is cold. When it hits 75 degrees we see all the locals wearing stocking caps and scarfs. So... did we heed the warnings? No. Off we go with shorts, tshirts and our crocs. We werent there 10 min's and we realized we were in trouble. Not only could we see our breathe, but our room had a fireplace in it and it promptly started raining. While I'll admit that it was a nice break from our 110 degree heat, I'll also admit that I havent been this cold sleeping since I slept in the back of a pick up in Duluth 2 years ago. (The sad part was that this time I was INSIDE a house!! Yes Wendy, I had on my stocking cap). Adding to the cold was the fact that we stayed in this very regal, old, English country house. It dated back to 1850 and I sure feel for those people. While regal and grand, it was also drafty and damp. At least the beds were nice and big as all 3 kids ended up in our bed both nights. I think they were afraid of hypothermia!

Speaking of the kids, they loved Ooty. I am calling it our "ride" weekend. We went on bumper cars, go carts, merry go rounds, a motorcycle ride, 2 train rides, tons of car time AND a 2 hour horseback ride into the mountains. Each of us had our "own" horse. (of course Billy and Kay were nice enough to share their horses with Tom and I). This is not your trail rides of days gone by (you know, the ones where the horses knew the path so well they did it in their sleep and couldnt be turned or stopped by a 200 lb guy...) Nope, this is India and these were real trail rides, up the mountain, through the mud, into the thickets, under trees, over logs and finally ending in a downpour. Julie's horse was "fast", so the guides kept a hand on the reigns. When she remarked she might want a slower horse, they proceeded to switch her horse with Jimmys. Of course, let's give the 5 year old the fast horse. That makes perfect sense. Jimmy loved it and was galloping before we knew it. I do have to say, it was one of my highlights of India!

Guest Blogger - My sister Julie

The following blog is being written by Julie. The thoughts and comments here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog 'owners' (just kidding Julie, go for it)my trip to india.



Where should I start? The wonderful smells, the traffic or the wonderful bathrooms (please refert back to wonderful smells). I guess I should start at the begining of my trip. I flew in from Thailand with Tracy Tom and the kids. After spending five weeks in Thailand where the cities are very clean, easy to get around and relatively little trafiic, I felt like I had landed on another planet. The highlights of my trip was first spending time with Jimmy Kay and Billy. They are so unique and individual and funny and too smart and way too cute. Jimmy is speaking with a Indian accent and both Kay and Jimmy are speaking tamil. The second thing is the food. Tracy and Tom are truly blessed because they have an amazing cook. I think I am the only person in the world who goes to India and gains weight. Raj and Flor would make 6 or 7 different dishes for lunch and dinner and all of them were amazing.

Tracy set me up with her auruyvedic doctor to study with and if anybody out there needs to be healed this IS the guy. He would see maybe 20 people in one hour. People who had everything from cancer to paralysis, high blood pressure, obesity, sliped discs, ALS... anything he would cure. After a 10 minute session he would relieve peoples symptoms by 90 percent to 100 percent. These people would be fighting their diseases for years or in pain for 10 15 20 years and in 10 minutes they were almost cured. It is truly amazing . His therapy at first seems very simple, almost like a plasibo. But after learning what he was actually doing, it was extremely detailed and complex but at the same time very simple. He starts out by feeling your hand and feeling what element is in exceess. Then he balances it by doing reflexogy, accupresure, homeopathy and then he ends with taping seeds on your fingers.

The traffic is crazy here. Its amazing, a five kilometer trip may take two hours. You have cows just hanging out in the middle of the street. Everybody is constantly honking at each other. People are just squating off on the sidewalk going pee or poop. Every five feet tere is a huge pile of garbage and people are just throwing there garabage out their windows. When we were on our way to Ooty we awere driving down the highway and on the median right in the center of the very busy highway a guy is taking a nap.

A very different planet:)

Reflections on the 9th year of marriage

Each year, Tom and I have a ritual. On our anniversary and the kids birthdays, we write in a journal reflecting on the year.

The ritual started in the weeks before we were to get married. Everyone kept telling us "remember this time". Since we have shoddy memories, the best way we could think to do it was to write it down. What a gift! We now have 2 books filled with memories of our married life... Day by day leading up to our wedding, the wedding weekend itself and the honeymoon afterwards. We re-read it each year and always get a good laugh. This proved to be so much fun and such a great way to appreciate all our blessings, that we kept it up. Each year we write in this journal.

When we were adopting the kids, again, we wanted to remember each tiny detail. So, they each have their own book detailing the wait for them to "come home", the trip to meet them and their 1st few weeks at home. We also then have yearly updates on their accomplishments (Plus this is way easier than trying to scrapbook a baby book after each "milestone". Call me lazy and uncreative, its OK. Its true!)

Since these books are so incredible and important to us, we left them in Minnesota. Naturally. Now, what to do...

You, lucky readers, will, for the next year, be "previe" to our deepest thoughts, secrets and remembrances from the last year. Consider it a love note to ourselves and our family:)

Hence "Reflections on the 9th year of marriage"

Holy Cow - 9 years. Each year has gotten progressively more busy, high speed, fun and comfortable (in the best possible way). But, I'd have to say, this year takes the cake. Not only did we make it, we made it through moving to India, countless trips, kid milestones like school, potty training, talking and .... we are still together. How lucky am I?!! How lucky are we!

Highlights:

Travel -

We started the year with a great adults only retreat to Bayfield WI. It was GORGEOUS. We saw bears, went mountain biking, drank wine, ate fish, and basically enjoyed our only alone time for the next year.

We snuck in our annual trip to Glen Lake to be with the Hickey side of the family for 10 glorious days of grandmas/grandpas, moms/dads, sisters/brothers in law, cousins, aunties/Dadu, swimming, sand dunes and ice cream.

We had a fabulous weekend in Victoria Minnesota at Grandpa and Grandma Murphy's cabin where we took photos of the whole family and had a great time just being together.

Next, the BIG trip to Bangalore India. Zoinks, 30+ hours on a plane with 3 kids followed by 2 weeks in a hotel. I am not sure that I would recommend this for everyone but it was a great learning experience for our family. I guess that's what this blog is all about:)

India trips included; Mysore, Cochin, Munnar, Cauvery fishing camp, Delhi, Agra, Hampi, Kabini, Maldives and Ooty. Whew... I am getting tired just thinking about it again.

We also had a fabulous 2 weeks in Australia. We saw almost all of south east Australian. Again a once in a lifetime experience. How lucky are we?!

Babies:

Welcome to the world this year !! - Baby Herbie Basil (my sister Tammy) . Marley Cady (good friends Pat and Mary). Baby Girl Loignon (college roomie Lynn, sorry I cant remember her name right now:) ) Jordan Berkner (wonderful house sitter Heidi)

Moves:

Besides ours - The Cady's moved to Arkansas. The Milbrath's to Seattle. The Miller's, Herkelmans and Webb's to India:) Claude to Canada. Damien to France. The Wilson's to Ireland. The Agostini's to NJ. Lindy and Chris to Singapore, The VanMeters to Dayton. Spirit in Action to their NEW home! The Petersons to a small cottage on lake Minnetonka.

Visitors:

To India:) Besides all the wonderful work friends and coworkers that brought us fruit snacks, tortillas, People/US magazines and red wine we had wonderful friends and family visit, helping us stave off homesickness for just a little while .... Jeff Van Meter and Mike Swenson, Mom and Dad Hickey, Mom and Dad Murphy, Aunt Sue Hickey, Julie Hickey, Jessica Stoll, Beth Rozga and Manda Murray.

Milestones:

Jimmy - Learned to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels, went to Kindergarten, rides the bus to school, knows how to use the computer (and the cell phone), can write, sound out words and actually READ, is learning Hindi, speaks in an Indian English accent (but only with Indian people) and can understand our cook/maid/driver when they speak Tamil. The top of his head is at my arm pit and he weighs over 65 lbs. Yikes! (Plus he can eat a whole chicken!)

Kay - Was potty trained!! Learned to ride a bike with training wheels, picks out her own clothes and gets herself dressed, started "school", started riding the bus to school, speaks Tamil with our maid/cook, had her fingernails/toenails "done", "writes" us notes, is a damn good painter. She comes right to my hip and weighs 28lbs. (yep still in 2-3T clothes - thanks Shinbee:) )

Billy - Stopped using a NUK, started talking (non stop), understands Hindi and Tamil, feeds himself (both with a spoon and fork AND the Indian way with chapati), imitates Power Ranger moves, sleeps in a big boy bed - not a crib:) He can easily still stand between my legs and weighs 30 lbs (yes, he weighs more than Kay and his head is 50% bigger too! They still share shoes, tshirts and shorts...)

Mom and Dad Hickey - They BOTH turned 65!!!

Mom and Dad Murphy-They turned 72 and Grandpa Murphy celebrated 50 years since he graduated college.

Tracy's girlfriends - 1st annual 39th birthday parties are the "theme" of the year:)

Tom's friends- They will have to stop at the store this year on the way home from the annual fishing trips to purchase some fish since I will not be their to catch the fish for them.

New Jobs - Jim Fellows (MAJOR marketing genius:)), Treena Shosten (left Sonia Kosik and found a new love), Ann Wohlforth (movin' on up!), Scott Brill (VP :) ), Peterson's & Mary Foster (their new job is to ENJOY life), Ben Milbrath (continuing to turn air into gold), Alexis Seiler (great new boss and location), Wendy Reed (seriously well deserved), Michelle Manderfeld (big wig), Des Kamman (self employed creative genius), Brian Murphy coming into his dream job!! and Carl landing a new Sales Manager job will he will not have top travel anymore.

So, I think I need to go to bed. This has been an exhausting year.

But... I'll sleep well knowing that we and ALL our loved ones (family and friends) were immensely blessed this year.

How lucky are we to have each other and all of you to share these joys, pains, and milestones!?!

You make it all worthwhile. Can't wait to see what's in store for ALL of us in year 10:)

MS 150 - Then and Now

Hi there
As many of you know, I am an avid bike rider and supporter of trying to “solve” the mystery of MS. I thought I’d share my fundraising/training experiences over the last few months in prep for the ride.
Read on!!! J

Sent: Monday, April 02, 2007 12:33 PM

Yep, its that time of year again. The sun is out (as it always is here) but I am unable to get on my bike (fear of death by auto rickshaw).

BUT... I AM getting ready for the annual MS 150 trek with my friend Wendy ANYWAY. How you say? The trip this year is 6/8-6/10 and I will be riding "virtually". I will be dedicating "butt" time on a stationary bike at our gym Saturday and Sunday evenings 6/9 & 6/10, riding the required 150 miles (234 kilometers here). I will be touching base at rest stops with Wendy on the hour via cell phone. - She is always 20 min's ahead of me anyway, so the only time I ever saw her on the ride anyway was at rest stops and as her behind pulled away from me after rest stops:)

This is the 28th anniversary of this ride (Duluth to Minneapolis) and the 14th year I have ridden. Wendy I have ridden through, marriage, divorce, kids, health concerns and now geographic challenges. I am really proud to be able to do this with her year after year.

Last year the ride raised over $1.5 million for MS research, support and awareness. I am proud to say, that thanks to all of you, I maintained my $1,000 club member status. That means I raised over $1,000 myself ($1,250 to be exact). Thank you!!

To give you a little background on why this is so important to me, my Uncle Alan had MS. He was diagnosed shortly after I was born and to be honest, MS is an integral part of my family memories with him and my cousins. Alan's illness had a profound affect on his work, friends and family. He had an incredible spirit and was able to make all of us laugh, even in the worst of situations.

So, I ride in honor and in memory of Alan. (Now is where I ask for money ...)

If you feel compelled to give to this amazing movement (literally), I'd really appreciate it. I'd love to be able to brag that I was a $1,000 club member 4 years in a row!!

How do you do that? Go on line to http://www.blogger.com/www.ms150.com and choose the ePledge option on the left hand side of the page.
(Please let me know if this doesn’t work and we'll figure something else out as sending me a check isnt really an option this year:) But... If push comes to shove, I could have you send your check to Wendy and she could "deposit" it with the MS Society for me.

Thank you so much for you support, it really is an amazing experience !
Tracy.

Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 11:53 AM

Hi ALL
Wanted to give an update on my training and fundraising progress - Over all - fair and good, in that order:)

Training - It is MUCH harder to train on a stationary bike, I am finding. First of all, its boring as h_ll and secondly, you cant COAST! Uggh.... But... I do loose about 2-5 pounds in sweat each time I go to the gym, so that's always nice:) I'll get there. I think the biggest struggle will be not dying of boredom. I am hoarding good books and am thinking I'll put together a schedule for my friends of when they can come "visit" me and work out with me on the bike next to mine...

Fundraising - I am 1/2 way to my goal. Not bad for 4 weeks away. BUT... So... Good news, I have raised almost $500. Bad news, I still have $500 to go. For those of you that were early contributors, THANK YOU! For those of you still interested in contributing, there is still time:) (hint hint)

Other news - Wendy has formed a team for us for this ride. I'll be a virtual member of the Red Ribbon Ride Team. We are a team of 4 (hopefully growing) and are trying to raise awareness not only for MS, but for AIDS. Wendy is using the MS150, in addition to a great fundraiser for MS, but also as a training ride for her longer and much harder AIDS ride in July. Once again, I am amazed by her strength in body and in character:)

So...Keep me in your thoughts, wish me entertainment and happy cycling. AND... Don’t forget to send in a donation.

PEACE!!

Sent: Monday May 28th

Hi ALL
A special THANK YOU! I have exceeded my fundraising goal - YIPPEE.

A very heartfelt thank you to a couple of "Big" contributors - Aunty Lynn, Mom and Dad and Leona. You guys are the BEST!!

For the rest of you, if you have made a donation, thank you so much. Everything counts and because of your combine efforts, I am at $1,200!!!

If you are still interested in pledging, I'd like to suggest an alternate. My friend of 16 years, Wendy Reed, will be riding the REAL ride in MN. She could use some fundraising help, so if you planning on pledging me, please pledge her instead. The money goes to the same place and we are a team:) You can go to the same site and just look for Wendy's name next to the 6/8-6/10 ride.

On other fronts, while fundraising is terrific, I think I need all your support for the physical part. I know that I get nervous each year, but this year is a bit different. I have plenty of books, People magazines, etc, but I really need your support during that long long weekend on the stationary bike. Be sending thoughts of energy and fitness to me:)

LOVE to all of you!! And THANK YOU!!!
Tracy.


Sent: Sunday June 10th

Ok all! I'm done, finished, over for another year! Yippee! I will be very happy if I dont need to see another stationary bike for another 10 months (until I decide to punish myself and do this again).


Updates:

Fundraising - The BEST year ever! Way to go and a hearty thank you to all my friends and family that have faith in me, my abilities and hope that we'll figure out how to stop MS together!! Grand Total: $1,440:)


Ride itself: I decided to split the ride into 3 segments, 4 hour each Fri, Sat and Sun. The good news is, I had the LATEST People and US magazine along with the latest book from Tom and my favorite author. Lee Child. You can almost forget you are riding on a stationary bike for hours when Jack Reacher is kicking butt. I managed to talk to Wendy a number of times on the ride and they had hot weather and head winds the 1st day and beautifully HOT day the 2nd day. I can relate. Our club doesnt have air conditioning, just big fans. Even though I wasnt moving, I felt like I was in 90 degree heat with hot wind blowing on me:) I feel great, the 1 1/2 hour Thai massage from Julie on Saturday did the trick. I was a little tired, but not sore on Sunday morning and that makes all the difference. I almost got used to being at the club for 4 hours at a shot, scary in itself.

Overall, how do I compare riding here and in MN? Well, I really really missed Little Angies for BIG margaritas and fantastic mexican food. On the end of the 2nd day, I could almost see, taste and feel that I was standing in line for a massage with an ice cold beer in my head. (Julie's massage and a vodka lime soda saved me). I actually really did miss camping and all the snack finger food that we used to consume. I particularly missed Wendy and our time together. I didnt miss waking up to a cold/wet tent or peddling up hill or into a wind. (I hate that!) But... I have to admit, sleeping in your own bed has it merits and coming home to a chilled glass of champange and a love note that says "go mommy go" from your fabulous husband and 3 kids has its mertis. PLUS, Tom made me fahita's for dinner so... I should go:)

Overall, its do-able. Would I do it again? YES! Be warned, I'll be hitting you up for donatioins next year, no matter WHERE I am:)

Tracy.