Evidently you just have to do this.

If you are a tourist at the Taj you are required to take campy pics like these.

The Taj Mahal

It is so beautiful. Made of the whitest marble. It is washed clean whenever it rains.

Where the Shoes Are.

There are a lot of people in India who don't wear shoes. We think it is because all the shoes are at the Central Footwear Training Institute, where maybe they are being trained to be worn, or trained for a new occupation. We drove by it every day on the way to the trade show.

The Last Waltz

We watched this documentary last night and it was awesome.

The Jubilee Line?

This week is Spring Break for all the kiddies in and around Tulsa. Unfortunately the early part of the week was plagued with heavy rains and a babysitter that couldn't drive. But, this week is also the week wii became a wii family. Finally. After months of waiting patiently, we got our wii this wiik. Special thanks to Amanda Lee Dixon in Denver where evidently there were two left during the Easter Special at Target. I don't know what she had to do to get it but evidently she saw the madness. We haven't had the opportunity since most stores in Tulsa hang signs on the outside saying "Sorry out of wiis". So, no people knocking each other out here to get their hands on the last one. It is installed and they've already been bowling and been to Super Mario's Galaxy. Yay team. Christmas already!

So, anyhow, regarding the title, as you know last summer we took the boyos to London. I bought a jigsaw puzzle of London's tube system to do in the winter months when the trip was all but forgotten. We worked it not too long ago and glued it together so we could hang it up. Now Brent quizzes us at dinner. What color is Jubilee? What color is Picadilly? What's the one that begins with a C and ends with an e and is a first grade word? What is the name of the purple line? It's pretty cute. We do not know the answers.

Most Boring Blog Ever

Hi, this is the most boring blog ever. I know. I have been waiting for Amanda to send me India pics so I could post them. Waiting in vain evidently......So, my camera got stolen out of my suitcase, discovered when we arrived in India. So....I wasn't responsible for any pics on this trip.
Anyhow I love that today is Friday and the weekend is spread before me with nothing to do. Vendors and employees are paid, husband is traveling, kids are with Mom, Mom is staying in because she is sick so I'm free and easy this weekend. I see Taco bueno and Masterpiece theater in my future.

Goa

I've got pics but can't download! Frustrating. Three machines and counting on this trip. Whoop Whoop. Amanda and I are staying in a resort in Goa which is in the southwest and are loving every Kingfisher of it! We took a 12 hour train ride to get here and with 7 assorted bags that's no easy feat. No news from Mom in trivundrum so assume its all good.

Southern India

Hiya, Sitting at an Internet cafe in Ponducherry which is 3 hours south of Chennai on the South East coast of India. Amanda and I are here together in this town that is influenced by the French who colonized it. The architecture is a mixture of European colonial and Indian decay. Overall the effect is wonderful and we are staying at a fab guest house with mosquito nettting, brightly colored quilts and the most peaceful balcony.

We left mom in Chennai and she should be at the end of day two of her stay at the Ayervedic spa, Ideal. We meet up with her again in New Delhi next week but gave her our mobile number just in case she has got to get out before that. They will be sitting very still and staying out of traffic so I think she will love it. I have my girls with me and I warned them before we came that India is a lovely intoxicating yet difficult place. I think they agree now. We have each had the experiences now with the solicitous Indians who wish to please but who in reality cannot understand a word you are saying. However, being here with Mom and Amanda has made it far much more fun for me and has enabled me to see it with a more generous spirit. At least I'm trying.

This shirt is getting too small.

Mom did you ever take pictures of us in clothes we were outgrowing because you loved us in them so much. I made B stand still for this. He was not impressed.

Kung Hey Fat Choy

It's the year of the Rat.

My Boys

Further Adventures in Mispronunciations with the 13 Year Old Kid

Does this kid have sex on the brain or something?

Last night I asked J if he was being obstinant about some such thing. (The answer is yes in case you were wondering) and N said he had heard the word obstinant somewhere before. Let him think. Oh Yeah, in his sex ed video.

Ummmmm. I explained that I think he was thinking of the word "abstinant" and he said yes. Since he gives us openings like this like daily (Katie can attest to this since she was there for B singing "Wait don't touch me there, that's my private square" which is a jazzy little school bus ditty about R-A-P-E they sing on N's bus.) I wonder whether I 'm supposed to take these openings and talk to him about sex. Every time. Its exhausting. I don't know what to say about it. I asked if he knew what abstinant meant and explained it in the most generic terms possible. I swear its a minefield in the early teen age years.

So, now I'm just waiting for when he is talking about an orgasm instead of an oraganism or a virgin instead of a surgeon. I think it's only a matter of time.

Happy New Year!

To all my readers (Ha ha) I hope you had a good holiday and are home or coming home safe and sound from your travels.

2008 promises to be exciting with the big India trip coming up in February and two other shows this year!

J, the boys and I spent part of New Year's day playing Pictionary. Yay, B's easel finally came in handy! It was really fun, until it wasn't anymore.

But our Christmas isn't quite over yet. We won't be able to put the holiday to bed until we get our hands on a Wii. N's girlfriend got one. Actually got one. Her parents pre-ordered it. Smart. The boys have been wonderfully patient about the fact that they haven't actually gotten their big gift yet. I am happy, because I am afraid that the Wii is going to change our little family dynamic forever. I will want to play Monopoly or Chess or the piano and they will just want to Wii. So, I am treasuring our Wii less moments. Is that wrong? The skateboard and digital camera have gone over really well and of course the heely's and the whack a mole and ipod dock, etc. We managed to come out without too much "stuff" to show so I think we were a success on that front.