Taxis, Airplanes & Rickshaws, Oh My!

The past two weeks were quite the marathon - 4 hotels, 2 countries, 5 airplanes, and too many bumpy taxi rides to count. 

It all began with an early morning airplane ride. But before we left home, we had to tuck in M's babies. He really wanted to bring Zaccheus (the panda), Ears (a bunny), Mickey and Elmo along for the journey, but there just wasn't room for anyone but Tigey (his beloved "baby"). So he took it upon himself to get the other four nice and comfy in S's bouncer seat. 

                                       

                       

Our M rarely sleeps on even the longest of plane rides, so it was a happy surprise to have him sleep so well on a few of our flights. The ride is a lot more pleasant for K and I when we don't have to be in full-on entertainment mode!

S slept snuggled in her wrap for most of her time in the air.

Our first stop was a city in a nearby state for a weeklong language intensive. For six hours a day for four days, we focused solely on studying language. We learned lots of new vocab, some new challenging grammar concepts, and even some slang. While we were hitting the books, M spent his days with some awesome volunteers from the States who came to entertain and love on all the kids there. He had so much fun!

The hotel had a great pool, which M really enjoyed.

 We pushed two chair together to make M a bed in our room, which he loved. But of course, M's imagination couldn't just leave it at that. By the end of the week, his "bed" had also been a boat, a plane and a cave.

This little cutie took lots of sink baths while we were gone!

This humble windowsill also provided M with lots of entertainment. (It doesn't take much.)

S came to language class with us and did so well. That same week, she also began charming us with the sweetest little chuckles. We are so blessed by this happy girl!

S and our sweet, always-encouraging language instructor:

There was a great little restaurant near our hotel that we walked to a couple of times. There's only one chef, so the wait was always super long... but with lots of friends to fellowship with and a cool breeze blowing, we didn't really mind. 

Walking back to the hotel.

Our next stop was Nepal! There, we needed to apply for S's visa and attend some meetings. We also scheduled a few free days at the end of our time there so that we could explore the city. 

The monsoon season was just beginning, so most days the mountains were cloaked in fog. Here are a few glimpses of Nepal:

The hotel where our meetings were held was home to lots of monkeys, despite the efforts of the slingshot-wielding guards posted along the perimeter. Have you ever seen a child so happy to be watching a monkey eat garbage??

One of the very best highlights from our time in Nepal was the time we got to spend with a certain Uncle B and Aunt J, who we know from our time in VA. M was so excited to see them, even though it had been over a year! In VA, he always emerged from their apartment with a juice box in hand, and guess what? When he visited their room this trip, they had one waiting in the fridge, just for him! Thanks, you two, for being such an encouragement to K and I, and for loving our babies so well. 

One of the hotels we stayed at in Nepal had a neat outdoor area, with bridges and paths for M to explore. The colorful flags you see are Buddhist prayer flags. We saw so many of them in Kathmandu. 

At our third hotel, M also slept in two chairs pushed together. One morning, I looked over and saw him snoozing like this:

And one afternoon, K snuck this picture of S and I taking a little nap. How we love this sweet snuggler!

Sharing some sibling secrets:

After our meetings were over, we went to our fourth hotel, which was in the heart of the city. The location was great, and M and K also enjoyed the pool one night. S also experienced her first swim, but the water was kind of chilly, so it was mainly just a photo op. 

We also did some fun shopping in the city. Well, at least I enjoyed it. There were so many beautiful, handmade things for sale... scarves, wall hangings, jewelry, etc. Since Kathmandu is such a hub for trekkers from all over the world, there was also an abundance of fake outdoor gear bearing the brand names of The North Face, Marmot, etc. 

Mexican is one of the foods we miss most from back home, so we were excited to try the Lazy Gringo Mexican restaurant in Kathmandu, which is famous in the expat community. It was good, but still left us missing Chico's in Hayden!  

Squeezing in exercise whenever, however... :)

One day, we visited a mall that had a huge play place for kids. They had rides like this train, playgrounds, a climbing wall, a jump house and a ball pit. Lots of fun!

M always has room for ice cream!

Our last couple of days in Nepal were spent in our hotel room. Poor M got sick a couple of times while we were out and about, and had a pretty high fever. We were so thankful for the kids' Tylenol that we packed at the last minute. He did lots of sleeping and even volunteered for naps, which was very out of character for him!

M's sickness led to a very memorable travel day. We checked out of our hotel Sunday around 1 p.m., and headed to the airport in one of the tiny white taxis that fill the streets of Kathmandu. Halfway there, M started coughing, and before we could do anything, M had gotten sick all over himself. Our taxi driver pulled over to the side of the road, where K and the driver worked to clean him up and change his clothes, while a curious crowd of people gathered around to watch. Needless to say, that driver got a good tip once we reached the airport!

In the airport, poor M got sick again. Once on the plane, he snuggled up with his blanket, baby and pillow and slept off and on. Like any parents, we hate to see our babies feeling sick!

The next morning, M was much better and so happy to be home! His first words when he woke up were, "Mommy, do you want to play with me?" There's just something about sleeping in your own bed, I guess!

Tuesday morning, I came home from language class to find that S was feverish too. She has pretty much had a fever ever since, but thankfully so far it has not been too high. Please join us in praying for this sweet girl! The fever has been her main symptom, but it's clear that she does not feel well. It has also greatly disrupted her sleeping schedule, which has been tough on me... especially since she has spoiled me by sleeping through the night since she was about a month old. :)

I love traveling to new places, trying new foods & seeing the world, but there's something about travel that makes me really appreciate the simplicity of just being home and in a good routine. We have a few weeks at home before our next adventure, which will be a few days in a more rural part of our state!

Blessings to you & yours... and, as always, thank you for joining us on this journey.