Where Have We Been for the Last 3 Months!!!!

I know...I know..I have not written and yes I know I should. Bottom line...it's been a hectic February, March and April. May will bring some extra time...yeah right!?!?. Thank you to everyone that reads this. All I can say is it just reminds us that we have a very supporting network of people in our lives that give a crap about us :-).

Highlights:

February - My friends Courtney and Jason came to India. What a wonderful time that was! Again, home came to India. Thank you to them both for coming! While they were here we went to the South of India - Kerala. We stayed at a beautiful resort, hung out with some elephants and went on a house boat!!! What a great experience!





March - We celebrated a festival called Holi (festival of colors). During this time, people throw colored powder on one another and just have fun running around smearing it on each other. Sounds silly, but it was a lot of fun. Veda thought it was okay, but Rohin wanted nothing to do with it. Well, maybe next year.



Also, we went to Dubai...what a place. It is like the world's Vegas. Oh, did I mention that it rained in Dubai. The whole 5 days. That is right....in the desert it rained for five days straight. Actually, it wasn't terrible since the vacation was just a way for us to get some civilization. :-) You know...clean running water, wide highways, SUVS, tall buildings, clean air with a little dust, indoor snow park, malls, more malls and YES - TACO BELL! My goodness and I am not exaggerating when I say this...I actually jumped when I saw Taco Bell. It's was really sad how happy I was, BUT it was good and I didn't care. I think even Veda loved it :-) Gotta love her! We all had a wonderful time there!








April - Well, Easter came! We actually spent the morning with some friends here and their kids had an Easter egg hunt for Rohin and Veda. I missed my Mom that morning. Every year (even when they were just months old) my Mom makes a very elaborate Easter basket for the kids. Last year she even hid eggs...you have to love my Indian Martha Stewart :-) Love you. The kids had a blast and we enjoyed a very nice breakfast with our friends :-) Thanks Serena!




Last in April we decided to go to Trivandrum which is again in the South of India. Very easy trip with sun, sand, praying mantis and relaxing...well, as much relaxing you can have with a four and two year old. It is amazing how crowded the beach...who knew that Indians love their beaches!!! Yes, everyone was fully clothed with saris. The kids had a great time in the sand though! A little side note...as much as kids are crazy they do do things every once in while that reminds you of how great they really are. Veda and Rohin were riding on the suitcase cart and Veda was going to fall, so Rohin put his arm around her and held her. Seriously, Martin and I couldn't stop laughing, but also smiling at our little guy. See he is nice to his sister!!!!I did learn something else though...don't let your two year swim in the pool since breakfast, get a quick lunch bias the afternoon nap and then expect her at 7 pm at night to have a good meal. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. She did sleep well that night though :-) Oh and ditto on the four year old. We traveled down with some friends from Bangalore which is always fun!







A beautiful woman who is family to me passed away of Pancreatic cancer this March. For the first time during our entire time here in India I have never wanted to go home so bad. I love you very much Devyani Auntie. You are a beautiful woman! Here she is with my Mom back a couple of years ago.


Again, thanks for reading and I promise to write more soon!

Silence in the Wild...Not with Ro and V Around

So, apparently taking young children on a safari is not common practice in the world and this weekend we found out just why! This weekend we headed to Kabini which is where Rajiv Gandhi National Park is. It was our first long road trip ever. I was expecting for 3 stops at the minimum. It took us around 4.5 hours to drive 150 miles and we only stopped once. We, of course, were met with our share of ox, cows and chickens.


Needless to say, it's not like driving back home. I can't imagine how long it would have taken us if the kids didn't have the DVD player - what a GREAT invention!

We arrived and got settled into our cabin. Of course the kids found the one thing they were not suppose to be on and of course, it had the key in it AND of course, they were trying to turn it on. We didn't get kicked out, but let me tell ya "they" thought about it for a second :-)



We then went off to a boat safari. Sometimes I wonder why we bring our young children on these things :-) We had to cross on this very wobbly bridge and get on the wooden boat. And of course, the four year old had to do it himself. I watched my son walk across this "so called" bridge over this suspect lake water that was very brown. Anyway, he got across without getting wet- phew! The kids got their life vests and we were off.





The safari was great! We saw elephant, big birds, small birds, spotted deer, sambar deer, gaur, mongoose, osprey, eagle, and boar - all in the wild. It was really funny, but every time we were approaching any of these animals the guide would look at all the children and say "silence". Ummm...seriously, does he know who he is taking to? Let's just say that EVERY time the guide would say that Veda would talk louder or sing a song. Yes, it was GREAT. Oh and then best part...so, we see in the distance a big giant rock. Well, the rock is actually a huge croc! It was amazing, so just as the boat is about to swing around closer to the where the croc was Veda screams "Crocodile!" and the darn thing goes in the water. Needless to say...everyone gave V a dirty look. What can I do the two year old has got a set of lungs!





The next day we got up at the crack of dawn and went on a morning safari.

Long story short...cold, foggy and colder! BUT then we stopped at a little village where they lived with elephants. It was kind of crazy. We just showed up and we were within inches of a big giant elephant. We were able to pet the big and baby elephants. The baby elephant was very sweet! You just wanted to hug it...well, except for the fact that the baby elephant would kick your "you know what" if it didn't like what color you had on or smelled like. We also got a to ride on the elephant. I have to say I wasn't really up for the whole thing, but then we were there and I was like "what the heck!". Well, the highlight of that little trip was the fact that the in the middle of the ride the elephant stops and pees and takes a dump. SERIOUSLY, it sounded like someone just opened a water dam! It was so loud! Yes, I am a child and yes, it was very funny!







We rounded out the weekend with a hike through the grasslands and a bonfire. It was very fun! And it was nice to smell the fresh air of our surroundings and enjoy the beauty of the countryside.

Happy Birthday Rohin!

It's official...I have a four year old. I am not sure why, but this one seems to be a big deal not only to me, but to Ro too. His answer to most everything is..."I am four that is why". Clearly, that is a good explanation.

We celebrated Rohin's birthday (and mine too) this past weekend with his friends from our neighborhood. His Nani was here too...thank goodness because I thought I was going to loose my mind that week with everything that was going on!



We have a good little group of kids who are "my friends" as Rohin says. We made some apps and desserts to eat. We also rented a bouncy thing and a popcorn machine for $90 US. Both were a hit with the kids. It's funny that something as simple as popcorn can make a kid scream out loud. I am not kidding they were running for the machine like I said "free toys". Anyway, of course, with everything in India there was a little drama. Long story short, we had the bouncer in the street and wasn't suppose to be there. It didn't spoil our fun though, so I guess that is all that matters.


So, the next morning we woke up and opened gifts. I have to say this was a big shocker for me. I was ready and positioned for the fight to break out. In one corner Veda V and the other Rohin Ross. I swear I was going to have to step in every two seconds, BUT the complete opposite happened. They shared, they laughed and they opened gifts. TOGETHER. It was a very proud moment. When Martin asked Rohin if Veda could open a gift. He replied "Yeah, of course". Come on you have to love it. Oh and yes...we did end the last gift in a brawl. WHAT? You can't expect perfection!


Rohin also had a birthday party at school. All the kids sang happy birthday...yes, Vic Indian style and it was awesome! Rohin enjoyed his day. He even wore a crown! I was expecting him to take it off right away, but the crown stayed on.


So, one of the big stories in our community last week was that Rohin was riding his bike....with NO training wheels. It is the sweetest thing to see the big kids look at Rohin and say "I am SO proud of you Rohin." The first day Rohin rode around telling all the big kids that he was just like them. I have to tell you as a Mom watching your kid riding a two wheeler really kind of choked me a bit. Okay, yeah, I cried, but whatever...he rode his bike all by himself! It was SO amazing! It was like the first sign of independence. Let me tell you...it is scary because now he wants to go riding all the time around the neighborhood with the big boys. Well, that is fine and all except for I am usually running after him with flip flops on...and oh yeah Veda hanging from one hip. It's really fun! Anyway, bottom line, he is an amazing little...excuse me, big boy and he is VERY proud to be two wheelin'.

Here are some other random things about Ro:
-He is slowly saying some words 'differently' like wah-ta (water with an English accent)
-He can finally go to the bathroom by himself...NICE! Only number one, but hey, I will take it!
-He protects his sister. One day someone said "Watch out for the baby" to Veda and Rohin replied VERY seriously..."She is NOT a baby. She is my sister".
-He is starting to like Transformers.

Happy Birthday Rohin!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. It's strange to think that we are not going to be home, but we are going to make the most of it here! We have bought a Christmas tree here in India. Our Indian tree is so cute! I will keep this entry short...just want to say Merry Christmas and that we miss everyone very much. Thanks for reading our blog...it's nice to know that people remember us way over here. Be safe and enjoy your family and friends.

Love,

The Hayes

Nana has arrived!

Well, at 4:15 in the morning Nana arrived. It honestly was like a dream. When Martin came in and said "wanna say hi to your Dad" I sprang out of bed and tackled him. Seriously, I couldn't hug him hard enough :-) He looks GREAT! Then we tucked him in bed and we all got 3 more hours of sleep until...Ro and V woke up at their usual 7:30 am. I told them about who was here. It's like they didn't believe me. Then when I took them in the room Veda was scared and Rohin wouldn't come in. So, we didn't push it. I honestly think they didn't believe it was him. Then as we were eating breakfast and Nana was still in the bedroom, I said that Nana wasn't here and then the fun began. They ran back in the room just to make sure and basically haven't left his side all day.

I am seeing a side of Ro that I haven't seen in a while. He was playing show off and following my Dad everywhere. It is the sweetest thing in the world. I saw them hanging out on the monkey bars and my Dad was saying something and Rohin was listening to every word like he was talking about Thomas the Train.

Everytime you see Veda she says...Hi...look Nana here! Too everyone. It's awesome.




Today was a great day! It's like a big piece of home has come to India! Nana has arrived! Yahoo! Let the shopping begin for Rishi and Shreya's wedding!