Onward to India!

She has been a sturdy mount--good bye old friend, until we meet again.

 We packed 7 suitcases of 49 lbs. each, four

 carry on bags that were about 15 lbs. each, the dog and her cage, a car seat, a stroller, a baby, a toddler, and us. Laura and I knew that it would work out but we really had no idea how. Here is what we did:

Bernie III and David drove us down from Michigan to Chicago O'Hare. We left at 8:00 in the a.m. and began our journey with one last delicious cup of Starbuck's Coffee. Laura and the girls were with Bernie III and they had the stroller and the carry on bags in their car. I rode with Nini, Ranger, and Guapa with her cage and with all of their stuff in the back of the 4 Runner.

 We trailed the Airstream which contained an extra 340 lbs. or so of our luggage in 7 big bags.

Disaster almost struck about 10 miles into the journey as David managed to avoid a Tom Uhlenbrock deer fiasco. As we trailed Bernie III at 70MPH, there was a deer crossing the interstate that managed to dart right between his car and ours--separation of about 100 ft. From my seat in the back, all I noticed was David's yell and a quick jolt of the wheel--not altogether a new phenomenon.

 As we approached Chicago we decided to go for one last inspirational meal to help harmonize our thoughts and feelings about leaving and give us the perfect send off. Would it be the classic American Hamburger since we might not avail ourselves of Beef for a while? How about the always classic Sbarro's Pizza? Perfectly greasy, perfectly American. What about the All-American Kentucky Fried Chicken? I went for a coldcut combo from Subway which I didn't really like--I guess I was subconsciously leaving my home country with a deep desire still burning. BTW, I learned that Jared is STILL the spokesperson for Subway after 15 YEARS! I can't believe he

 parlayed that weight loss shtick into a 15 year job--he could consider eating subway his career!

We set off for the airport and in our infinite wisdom we already knew that Terminal 5 at O'Hare is the International Terminal. We deftly followed signs and navigated our little caravan with a huge airstream all the way to the terminal and parked. David noticed that there was no Lufthansa sign and recommended that I verify the departure terminal. If he hadn't suggested that I probably would have gotten everything onto the sidewalk or in the building before realizing that we were in the completely wrong place! Instead, it was on to Terminal 1.

 We got everything unloaded and onto two $4 carts. I mention that they were $4 because neither in Frankfurt nor Delhi were we charged again for luggage carts. God Bless the USA! We were loaded up with 2 carts, Guapa in her cage, 4 carry ons, a stroller and a carseat. Now to get into the building. Thankfully,  Bernie III was able to help us push one cart and carry some other bags while David watched the convoy. Nini corralled kids and Laura and I managed the rest. We were encouraged by the fact that we only had to walk 20 feet but upon our arrival we realized just how hard it would be without David, BIII and Nini in Delhi. We hugged and said our goodbyes and off went our wonderful parents.

Then Laura wasn't allowed to check in. The Lufthansa attendant said that since Guapa was not going to be allowed to fly to Delhi from Frankfurt, then it was silly to bring her to Frankfurt. We panicked. After another 15 minutes of them thinking through the problem, Laura and I were wondering if we needed to call David and Nancy to dump Guapa on them for a couple of years. Luckily, Guapa was born with a star (as they say in Espanol) and the manager said that we could figure it out in Frankfurt. They let Guapa get on the plane but issued Laura (as the caretaker for the dog--and I'm not sure why it wasn't me since Laura is obviously the more appropriately equipped between the two of us to handle two little kids) only a standby ticket from Frankfurt to Delhi and said that once the manager of the flight in Delhi approved of our paperwork for the dog, then Laura would probably get a ticket--except that the flight was slightly overbooked--but don't worry! they said.

The girls were champs on the plane. They didn't fuss; didn't cry; didn't cause any disturbances besides all of the people around us gawking and saying hello. Naila got passed around the plane a little as our ambassador of good will. We were sitting very near a family moving to Luxembourg to teach. They gave us some advice and set a great example.

In Frankfurt it was agonizing waiting for our flight in part because we were still so up in the air about Laura's ticket/Guapa's entry into the country, and in part because we had six hours to kill with two exhausted kids, and two exhausted adults. We got some snacks and rested our eyes a little. Finally it was showtime as the manager for the flight arrived. Laura must have smiled just right because he not only decided that Guapa had the right paperwork to enter India and issued Laura a seat, but upgraded us all to Business Class. This turned out to be a HUGE deal. We got to recline to a full laying down position, we had table linens, and two 4 course meals. Naila got to sleep in a bassinet and Maya had enough space to sit and play on the ground. It was the perfect last leg of the trip. As we touched down in Delhi, Maya chanted India, India, India, as we had practiced on each leg of the trip so far.

Finally, upon landing our nerves were high. I barely had enough time to fill out the customs cards and we were still nervous based on the Lufthansa experience about Guapa; would the Indian officials allow her into the country? Would all of the confusing paperwork be enough? Did we jump through the right hoops? Also on my mind was the dutiable goods declaration that I previously filled out. I had no idea how to fill it out accurately for our 11 pieces of luggage so I just wrote down 10,000? rupees worth of stuff. Laura and I were each allowed 35,000 Rs. worth so I figured when they found our laptop, ipad, camera, clothes, etc. they could just assign it a value and hopefully we'd be within the limit.

We collected our bags, they brought Guapa, an airport man in a tie (He was not customs, but I have no idea what official capacity he served) took me with the dog and her papers to see a customs official. On the way he asked me why I am allowed to have a dog and come to India to which I replied, "I am going to teach at a school here, AES." He asked if Guapa had visited India before--"no". Then we arrived to the customs area where no one was working. We walked past all of their desks to the back and an official came to meet us. They spoke Hindi for a few sentences and my airport man gave me a head waggle. We walked away and I asked what had happened. He said everything was ok. I asked if the customs officials needed to see the paperwork that amounted to hundreds of dollars and at least 15 hours of work for my lovely wife. He said maybe they'd look at them later. In the end, they didn't look at any of our bags. They didn't look at Guapa, they didn't look at her papers. We walked right out and Laura recognized a group of people looking like they were waiting for someone--it was us. We met Mohan, Paul, Kathy, and many other people. They gave us garlands to wear on our necks as others on our flight looked at us with envy in their eyes. From that moment on we were exceptionally well taken care of. They brought us to our apartment which was beautifully decorated and showed us in. As we entered our bags were already there. Since arriving, we are still exhausted but trying to observe a self imposed rule of sleeping in the darkness and staying awake in the daylight--currently only the male in our family 5 is being successful.

This morning as I lay in bed with Maya, Laura received a phone call. It turned out to be a woman who was looking for employment. She and her husband came up and we sat and chatted. It turned out that she had worked for another family last year and I had responded to an email about her last spring. Another woman stopped by this afternoon and we had a similar conversation/interview. It feels strange to interview someone for a job that we don't even understand yet.

After she finally decided to get up this morning, Maya insisted on taking a bath. While she does love water and like baths, she has never wanted to take one in the morning so we thought it was a little weird. It may have been one of the best baths she's ever taken. She freely wet her hair, let me soap and scrub her entire body and dunk her again. I was amazed.

Everything has been immensely exciting thus far and truly adventurous--it's panning out to be just what we hoped for.

Decoration outside our apartment.

Maya taking her bath.

Naila comforting Guapa.

The end of a wonderful summer

Danger practicing his tactic of divide and conquer.

 This is one of my favorite memories of St. Louis. I loved David's patience as Maya made him her own. Maya at first called him something close to "Ranger", then she liked "Dabit" a little better. Finally she settled on "Danger" which Laura and I agreed was the perfect name for this grandparent.

 One of Maya's favorite past times and one of the first times that she has demonstrated creative/imagined play. It was tirelessly fun sharing in her tea parties. Nini was the inspiration and constant playmate for our little Maya in St. Louis and back in Michigan.

Another great moment with David.

 It is always so crushing to say goodbye to loved ones but we were able to enjoy a wonderful afternoon and evening with Grammy, Nini and David just before we left. It was exceptionally calming and loving on the eve of our departure to India.

Here is an example of one of my favorite things about Charlevoix--the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to accomplish the task at hand.

Two of my three.

What a perfect campsite just outside of G-ma's house. 

 This was the capstone of a wonderful day at the beach. We went to dinner and while we were waiting (for quite some time I might add) G-ma took the kids on some adventures.

 Nini is showing Maya how it's done. Or maybe it's the other way around, I can't remember.

 Summertime fun with the cousins on Grandpa's new grill during happy hour at Danger's cabin.

Maya had such a wonderful time with her Manker cousins. Finally accepting that Annie was back in Arizona she, Owen and Isaac became fast friends.

Beauty in Fenton

In a sudden downpour Burke, David, and I decided to take refuge under water in Lake Fenton. Although shielded from the pins and needles of the rain we were doomed by our own excitement for adventure. We quickly decided to play Gattica and swam to the island in the background. Although it provoked the ire of our wonderful Sheri, it was one of my favorite memories of Fenton. Cheers boys!

While we were having an adventure on/in the high seas, Sully and Maya were pre-enacting their wedding night. They sought refuge in Sully's bunkbed hideout and posed for many a pic.

Adventures in Michigan

Here are the cousins getting ready to watch a movie in Charlevoix. It was a wonderful visit.

Maya and Sully in Fenton leisuring it up in the wagon with Burke.

 Maya is looking tough in her swimming outfit. No, she is not wearing a bullet proof suit, that is her massive upper body.

 My love dominated the wake board. Her comments upon finishing were, "There is nothing like a wakeboard in the morning," and "what, you have to loosen the straps to get the boots off?"

 David took me out on a sailing adventure like never I've experienced. My favorite part was when there was a huge steady wind as we tacked south one time and David steered us directly at and a small ski boat that was parked in our way. The wind kicked even more and we lifted the windward hull almost right over their boat as their mouths gaped open and I hung overboard outstretched. This was the emotional representation of our time in Fenton.

 Burke showing us how it is done.

 These photos make me very happy--, here is Burke flying over the wake. Our snowboarding skills transferred nicely as all viewing may bear witness.

I think I took a bite out of the sun off that jump.

Getting ready for India.

Cousins and Grammy

Maya and her cousins enjoyed a visit to the Critter Barn in Zeeland, MI with Grammy. This was one highlight, climbing on a fence overlooking some sheep. I think it was much more about climbing and not so much about the sheep.

 Another awesome Grammy experience was the Children's Museum of Grand Rapids. We got musical, built towers, cleaned construction sites, cooked, and played with bubbles. It was a great experience. It is especially fun to watch as the little ones learn from each other and experiment with new words, athletic moves and social interactions.

Annie and Maya practicing some gymnastics.

We really wanted a picture with all the grand kids and Grammy. This was the perfect set up--until everyone wanted to drive and play. As it turned out, I think it is the perfect representation of that moment. Owen climbing, Isaac prying himself loose, Archie probably trying to calm down Isaac, Maya stealing the steering wheel from Annie and Annie doing her best to get it back without actually hurting Maya. In the background Grammy fights the noble fight of trying to get her grand kids pic.