Kolkata, take 2 (three years later)

 

"auto" traffic jam

the view from a bicycle rickshaw ride:
 

Steph and Paul's new digs:

 

 

a view of the garden of the guesthouse where I stayed:

 

 a view of the city, on foot (I shot all the videos from the hip, so as not to attract too much attention):
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(view from an auto-rickshaw: I love the soundtrack)

 

 

 

view from a cab:

 

Countdown

We are something like four and a half months off from our departure for Saipan. 

Sai-what?  Where is that?

(here)

 

It looks like this from the sky:

 

 

Which means the beaches might look something like this:

 

(If you want more, just Google "Saipan" or "Saipan beaches" and see what pops up.) 

 

We will be there for about a year and Jeremy will be working at a hospital there.  We hope to travel to at least China and Japan, and maybe Korea, to learn some new stuff about the world and try out some of the food.  Speaking of education, we will (probably)* be homeschooling for the year to incorporate all the travel into some kind of meaningful curriculum.

 

It will be like that epic year we spent between NYC/Calcutta, except that instead of living cities crammed full of millions of people and stuff to do, this time we will be on a tiny tropical island in the Pacific where there is nothing to do!  Except go snorkeling and paddleboarding.

 

But not to worry, we have been assured that it is neither boring nor idyllic in this tiny U.S. Territory and we are sure to be kept on our toes by all kinds of unplanned and surprising events, not least of which the tendency for the power to go out long enough for all the food in the fridge to spoil.  And typhoons and other fun stuff like that.  (I am not sure we could be this lucky twice in a lifetime, but I would like to think that maybe, just maybe we might get another mysterious wooden box...)

Meanwhile, we hope to find some kind folks willing to rent our house for the year so that we can come back to it and our friends here in the sunny (if not always warm) Southwest once we get sick of being so tan.  Oh, and the plan is to carry on with the mini-golf scheming upon our return, in case you are wondering. 

So that's the scoop.  Stay tuned for numerous and obnoxious postings of us swimming and playing in the white sands of the Northern Mariana coastlands while munching on mangoes.


* I said "probably" because it turns out that to homeschool on Saipan you need approval from the school superintendent there first so I guess we hope we get the all-clear. 

"tickle-proof vest"

Christmas 2013: this'll be a tough one to beat

"It's finally Christmas morning!"

L. started excavating right after breakfast...

 

...while BR started building his ship. 

 

 

A. and Mom and Dad cuddled up with new books, and everyone stayed in their pj's all day. 



Super Ultra

L.: "I am going to test out my Super-Ultra puppy eyes on Daddy.  It's totally gonna work.  Like, at school yesterday I was shooting at Carlos with a rifle because he was a rabid dog.  But nothing happened so then I used super-ultra puppy eyes and he said, "Aaahhh.." and then fell over.  Ha ha ha ha! "

(Btw: this photo was taken on a different day and is completely unrelated
 to the above story.  Someone is a little one-track minded these days, I guess...)

 

fortune (part II)

L.: "I made a new fortune teller.  The bad fortune for 'deer mouse' is 'you will die of hantavirus'."
Me: "But that's a terrible fortune!"
L.(whispering): "I know..."
 

"Mom, we want to dress up like twins today"

 

stuff they say

L. worked all evening on this paper "fortune teller."  She made up all the options and "fortunes" herself and then tested them out on A.

 

 

Transcript of conversation:

 

L.: "So which do you choose?"

A.: "Uhh..how about that one: 33."

L. (reading fortune): "You will become an old, fat man."

A.: "Huh?  I don't get it."

L.: "Yeah, that one is just random."
A.: "I don't get it."

L.: "It's just random.  Well, except that it's like Jesus.  Except opposite."

 

found while cleaning out the ol' Inbox

Back in February, the children's librarian sent me an email message with this photo attached.

 

Subject line: "Fight the power!"
Email message:  "Is what L. said to me today when I told her I though that she made a great Lincoln, and would have freed the slaves."

Last time I went in for parent-teacher conferences, I was so very proud of myself.  I was on-time, my hair was presentable, I had on some makeup and I wasn't even in pjs.  I didn't even lose a child along the way. 
Came home afterwards to find that my shirt was on inside-out and had been all along. 

Will today's effort be more successful?

I went all the way to PA and they took me to see rocks

 

....and a bear!

 

 

check this out, P-roc:

A praying mantis somehow snuck into our mudroom and then overnight laid a huge egg sack (on that headband).

 

  Isn't that SO COoooL?!?

Boo

but do they really make good employees?

one more summer adventure

Just when we thought Summer was coming to an end, the start of school was delayed.  And just when we were preparing for a couple more weeks of boring summer activities ("we want school! we want school!"), an opportunity for one more roadtrip popped up...

 

"are we there yet?"

 

...to White Sands!

 

 

to see these folks:

NOW aren't you glad that school hasn't started yet?

 

Our girls have been penpals with these girls for a few years but have never met each other before.  Well, not since infancy, anyway...  And, the Livos brought their cousins, too!  Their five cousins, so there would be 9 others besides my three.  And their auntie and mommy and grandma.  All sixteen of us in two hotel rooms.  (Okay, three.  We weren't feeling quite that adventurous...)

We were having so much fun at the Sands that we stayed until dark.  And then a little later... We had grilled steaks and corn and queso and watermelon deliciousness.

...and then we woke up the next day ready to play and play and swim and play some more.

 

there is so much happening in this photo...where to begin...?

 



L. with a black eye, and rabbit ears.  Ha.

 

And that is what you can do in 30hrs with 16 folks, 3 vehicles, 97 degrees in the shade and only one use of the jumper cables.  I'll tell you what, those Hanna/Livos know how to pack in the fun.