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Trip sans babies = VACATION!!

Zeke and I enjoyed our first real vacation since Evelyn was 9 months and we ditched her with Grandma so we could spend a week in Costa Del Sol - ahhh! This vacation topped that one by a factor of at least 10. We spent a week in India. There are a few reasons why we chose India: 1) it's too, TOO far to take the kids (and these are kids who have been to asia half a dozen times). 2) it's too difficult to explain some of the sights to a 4 year old - the poverty, drugged babies in beggers' arms, corpses floating in the Ganges, and temples covered in sexual positions. 3) It's is someplace we both have had interest in going but never a great opportunity to visit. 4) We needed us time!!

I believe we did everything correct in planning this trip. We worked with an agency to create our perfect itinerary for a completely private, all-inclusive, inexpensive tour. From the moment we arrived at the brand new airport in Delhi until we departed, we were with a knowledgeable, educated guide from whichever city we were visiting. It's the best way to do a bullet trip - what we saw in a day would take us 3 or 4 days if we were on a backpacking type of trip.

Places visited:

• New and Old Delhi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhit
  
• Agra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_mahal
  
• Khajuraho http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khajuraho
  
• Varanassi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghats_in_Varanasi
  

There are 28 UNESCO sites in India. We didn't even come close to seeing all of them. It was a fascinating trip!!

Grandma was so incredible with the kiddos all week that they seemed not to care when we returned home - bitter sweet. Thanks Gammy!!

We're timeshare owners now. Our experience at the Disney Aulani Resort on Oahu was far beyond expectation. On could go on and on about what I enjoyed... oh, fine, I will:

1. Aunty's beach house was a secure place for the children (even teens) to hang out while their parents were otherwise engaged. This place had everything and my children loved it! I often found them sneaking over to the teens' side to enjoy video games.
2. Private, waveless lagoon = safer beach time
3. stocked, salt water tank in the center of the resort for snorkeling. (It's nearly impossible to see fish if you snorkel or dive in Hawaii, so it was great to have this outlet for the kids)
4. About 45 minute drive from HNL, which for us is a direct flight - woohoo!!
5. Disney characters
6. A tank of stingrays you can feed
   
7. waterpark tube slides and lazy river
8. giant, water junglegym
9. plenty of activities; evening hula, moonlit movies, lei making, etc
10. enormous 8000 sq/ft spa
    

For being a planner and type-A; I never had a moment of wondering what to do next or a bit of anxiety as the kids wandered the resort property. It was the most enjoyable trip we have had as a family - knowing me, that has some weight to it.

The past few weeks have been peppered with stories of Jesus due to my kids' fascination with his life. Today was a treat. We strolled Temple Square. It amazed me how much they enjoyed it. I was especially impressed with what they were drawn to. The kids loved singing next to the Christus because of the echo in the room. Deseret Book was near where we parked so it was our final stop. We picked up a picture of Christ as a memento and a little something for their uncle who is on a mission.

John C Maw

John C Maw: NTAF Southwest Kidney Transplant Regional Restricted Fund
John Maw has applied for assistance

Leah's brother-in-law is getting a new kidney after Labor Day!! But insurance only covers part of his medical expenses and none of the donor - NOT COOL. So, they found a way to raise funds on this website and it's tax deductible. I really like this idea better than a bake sale. I only hope I don't have to use this resource in the future, but I'm awfully glad that I am aware of it.

strollers

I had my first child in a city - a real city - a beautiful, magnificent, enchanted city...I'm getting carried away. As an urban mom, I revered strollers as most would mommy-fied minivans and SUVs. A stroller says an awful lot about the family. Today I was sent a link to a stroller that has me lusting and wishing that it was around 4+ years ago. Meet the TAGA stroller, a stroller which embodies everything I have ever wished for in a stroller: capacity for more than one baby, 3-wheels/jogger, and pretty sweet looking with the bonus of turning into a bike!!

I had the Bugaboo - oh, yuppie-doo. It was like a cadilac for my baby. It was a super smooth ride, but it was a bulky pram not meant for speed, more passengers or transporting.

Enter phil&teds. This stroller left me content but it is not as sexy as a kid kustom. Which would have been the coolest stroller in Inner Richmond yet... but, it was only meant for one and my sweet babe needed a friend.

If I had trusted the drivers in the city with my precious cargo I would have drop shipped this amazing creation - the bakfiet. I still find myself daydreaming of piling the kids in that and browsing the outdoor markets, cruising along the canals or meandering through the tulip fields in Holland.

But, now, the TAGA!!!! It's a pity I will soon be saying farewell to strollers. This thing is SO amazing!

Dinosaur Museum

I would have a membership if it wasn't such a journey. Thanksgiving Point is an incredible place. My first visit was when I was 14 and my mom had our family portrait taken there. I had forgotten about it until last year when I was looking for Halloween activities. I am so looking forward to Cornbelly's this year. But today I'll focus on our recent visit to the Dinosaur Museum.

I am not about to hop in the car for a trek to Utah Valley without first prepping Beez full of excitement. The past two days we have been talking of going to the museum and what we were to do there. Today may have been the best experience in a museum yet (not including trick-or-treating in NYC). This museum is so hands-on! Not only does it have an IMAX with 3-D Dino movies, it also has a junior palentologist sand pit for the kids to dig, fossils to touch, a torso of a dinosaur so the kids can build their own dinosaur with the spikes, tails, legs, heads, etc laying around and even a giant window so you can watch paleontologist work on fossils. We did it all!! And at the end as we were in the lobby preparing to leave, we stopped Rick Hunter the 'resident paleontologist'. After chatting for a bit, he offered to take us into the lab (behind the giant window). I can't wait for my kids to realize how cool this opportunity really is. They both got to learn about preparing the bones and even had a chance to use a tool to brush away the sandstone. This is a video of Evelyn at work...