Special Visitors

Greetings family and friends! Again, it’s been too long but you are all used to that by now. A lot has happened since the last update. Shortly after our return from the US, Anna performed in a dance concert at her preschool. She was by far the best guitar-playing rock star in the lower kindergarten class. Check out her fancy costume, it made her look about seventeen. The following week we celebrated Holi, a popular Hindu spring festival. Also called the festival of colors, it is a time when people throw colored powder and colored water at each other. In the morning we “played” Holi with the drivers and some friends at our building and later went to a playgroup party and let loose with water pistols. Needless to say, with our light hair, the color lasted a long time. That weekend Anna and her best friend Maya attended a buddy day at Anna’s school. A few weeks later Max had his first haircut in India. Our driver, Kiran took us to his barber for a fantastic cut and the whole thing cost twenty rupees, which is about forty cents. What a deal! On the 25th our second set of visitors in eighteen months arrived! Chris met his mom, dad and brother in Delhi for a trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Finally, after a long week of anticipation, everyone made it to Pune. Unfortunately, there were a few upset stomachs the first few days, so we laid low for a while. Once everyone was on the up-and-up, we went around to some of our favorite restaurants, the fruit and vegetable market and the grocery store. On the 31st we toured the Shaniwarwada fort and visited the gold Ganesh temple on Laxmi Road, where unfortunately no photography was allowed. On April 2nd, we celebrated Chris’s dad’s birthday and on the 4th the guys hiked to the top of Lohagad Fort. Chris also visited this fort back in November 2007. We spent Sunday at the Royal Orchid hotel having brunch and a dip in the pool. Anna is almost an independent swimmer now and Max likes to bail in off the side, regardless if anyone is there to catch him. On the 7th we toured the Aga Khan Palace where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned during the Quit India Movement in 1942 and took in a local museum. That night we attended the wedding of one of Chris’s colleagues, Sandhya. The bride and the flowers were truly beautiful. The following day we visited our dear friend Preety, who along with her husband Suresh runs the Servant’s Heart International children’s ministry. We were honored to visit a few families’ homes during our visit. That night we celebrated Chris’s brother’s birthday and Grammy and Gramps’ last night in town at the Hard Rock Café. The next morning Reid and Sue left for London and went on a European tour through Germany, the Netherlands, and France before heading back to Phoenix. They arrived safe, but a bit exhausted. Spencer stayed on a few weeks, travelling to Ahmadabad and Chandigarh, one of India’s first planned cities. As I did not accompany him on either trip, I cannot provide any details. We all had a fantastic time during this unforgettable visit and welcome anyone else brave enough to make the trip. Somewhere amid all of the chaos of the past month Anna learned how to ride her bike without training wheels and Max is almost potty trained. We are truly blessed to have two such amazing people in our lives. Next up is my birthday, Mother’s Day, a quick trip to Moline for Chris, and then Hong Kong in June. We are treating the kids to their very own vacation to Hong Kong Disneyland. Please take care, enjoy the weather (it’s HOT here), and keep in touch. We like hearing from you!