Jackson's First Camel Ride!

Here's Jackson's first camel ride on the mountaintop in Lanavala!

Seeing some sights!

We haven't ventured out of the city as a family until today. Now that rainy season has officially begun, the terrain is getting lush and beautiful so we thought we'd head out a short ways away to a hill area called Lanavala. The rains haven't come in full force yet, so the waterfalls weren't abundant but we could see the usual paths they make all along the hill sides so we plan to come back soon. It's amazing the drastic change from being in the city to just 30 minutes away in a lush green valley surrounded by mountains and lakes. Now don't get me wrong, it's still India. So...unfortunately there were piles of trash around every building. But once you got away from congested areas, there is nothing but beautiful scenery. It's a glimpse of how beautiful India can be. This trip made me more excited to explore some of the other beautiful places in this country.

There are also a bunch of historic forts in this area. We walked around the remains of one, but unfortunately they aren't preserved well here. Kit saw one way on top of a mountain but we weren't sure how to get to it or if our crew was up for the journey. Looking at the pics online of the same fort is causing us to plan a trip back soon! It looks amazing and just an hour hike up to an awesome look out. We also saw the ridiculously ornate entrance to a private resort-city which we of course couldn't get into. The cheapest rooms at this place cost about $300 a night. It's crazy that places like this exist when you have to pass shanty villages to get to it. http://www.aambyvalleycity.com/ 

Here's a few pics from the day.

It's hard to get them all looking at me and smiling at the same time.

He loves to say "cheesh!"

Oh Mom, would you stop it already?

I told him I had a bug on my face and this was his reaction :)

Being a boy-looking for bugs

It's hard to get him to smile for the camera lately. I think he's burned out on having his picture taken daily by strangers.

Jackson kept making funny faces.

Minus the trash...it's beautiful huh?

Yet another silly Jackson face.

This boy never tires of posing for me or strangers.

There were a bunch of monkeys on the cliffs that people were feeding. It was  our first "monkey experience" here :) 

Jackson finally got to ride a camel and on top of a mountain too! Video of this to follow in next blog.

Father's Day Fun

Kit's first Father's day here was a busy one. We've been attending a church of our friend's that is about an hour away from us. There is an orphanage close to the church and all the kids come. We've grown quite attached to the kids and were out late Saturday night playing soccer with the boys. We were supposed to teach Sunday school so we all dragged ourselves out of bed and back across town, stopping and picking up 3 loads of people, packing out our borrowed suv. I was even sitting in Hudson's car seat while holding him! Not exactly what that seat was designed for, but it works here.

After church, we made the long trip back dropping off all our friends along the way. Thankfully the boys napped in the car the whole ride back b/c it was already mid afternoon. We then headed to the other side of the city to treat daddy to some Chili's and a movie. This is the second time we've taken the kids to the movies and they've done great both times. It's fun to go out and do this together as this is one of mine and Kit's favorite outings to do. We were all plenty tired at the end of the day and I think Kit had a nice father's day.

The boys and I sure love their dad! God has really blessed us with an amazing man in our life. I'm so grateful for him, and to his mom who brought up such a wonderful man! She also gave him his affectionate nature that is being passed down to our boys. I am so glad my boys have such an awesome example of a man of God and loving husband/dad.

I did managed to get them into dress shirts and take a picture or two. I think they are a handsome group!

First day of school...really?

I can't believe I'm sending my 3 1/2 year old off to school everyday now! This wasn't my ideal desire, but for this stage in our life (namely both mom and dad in full-time language learning mode) it is proving to be a real blessing for our family. He's only going 2 hours in the morning but it will turn to 3 in a few weeks. He's in "lower Kindergarten" which means he will be writing letters and reading small words by the end of it. We've been trying to get him ready and he already knows the all and the phonetic sounds. The writing is slowly coming.

Getting ready!

Jackson is loving it so far. He thrives in routine and is so outgoing and extraverted, that this is a really fun out-let for him. Plus, he's 3 going on 16 and thinks he's a big kid anyway, so of course he wants to go to school like all the other kids in our building. Check out this cute little uniform! It's like cub-scouts gone plaid!

Mom, why are you making me take pictures?

Ok, I'll strike a pose!

Man this bag is getting heavy!

Consoling Hudson who cried when he  realized he couldn't go too.