Bangalore

Arrived safely yesterday in Bangalore, India. The trip was uneventful, just long. Weather here is beautiful, 80 degrees F with little or no humidity. Certainly not what one would expect for India in July. I understand that Bangalore is unique in this respect since it sits on a plateau of approximately 1000m high which gives it a unique micro climate. I'll be off to Chennai (Madras) tomorrow which will be different.

Jet lag is usual, was up this morning at 4am wide awake. I’ll be adjusted just in time for my return trip. I will try taking some pictures and post tomorrow.

A couple of Items

I picked up a new nifty little camera today. A Canon SD1200 IS that I got mostly for its size. It can easily slip in my pocket and having now taken a few shots, I like it. I used it to take the picture below.

I'm off to India on Sunday afternoon (hence the little camera will be handy for quick photos and video capture. Will be visiting Bangalore and Chennai (formerly Madras).

Got upgraded from limited basic cable TV to basic....why....this allows me to start watching highlights of the Tour de France. There was a pretty exciting stage today for those of you half interested.

I'm finished with Microsoft Explorer....forever. I recently updated to IE8 and now the default search is bing which I do not like at all. I keep changing the default back to Google but every time I boot its changed back again. I'm done....done, done done....Google Chrome and Firefox from now on (except at work of course where we will never move from Microsoft products).

Tomorrow we are having Lynne's entire research group over for an afternoon of grilled food and forced socialising. Weather is supposed to be good, so should be fun. I think the plan is to have about 15 people here!! I'm wondering how many will be brazen enough to have a beer? :)

Hope your weekend goes well.

 

Trip to Ohio

We had a very enjoyable trip to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to visit with Chris, Karen, Bobby and Morris. It had been two years since we met them but other than the kids being a little older, they have not changed a bit. It was great to see them and their wonderful little hippy, artist leaning village/town. For anybody who has ever heard or visited Yellow Springs, you will certainly understand my comment. We liked it a lot.

Generally we took it easy over the weekend, managed a visit a local dairy farm and ate their homemade ice-cream, took a walk in the local parks (got stung by a bee), played in parks, ate good food, drank some of Chris's homebrew, chilled out round his campfire....you get the picture.

Karen, Chris, thanks a million for your hospitality!
I've posted a few pictures here.

 

Going to Ohio

We'll be out of town for a few days, we're off to Yellow Springs, Ohio. This is a small town just outside Dayton, where Chris and Karen live. Recall that Chris went to college with Lynne and they visited almost two years ago (I know we should have had a return visit prior to this). Anyhow, this is how we'll be spending our short 4th of July holiday.

Shown below are a couple of photos taken last weekend of the girls playing in the living room. Speaking of photos, for those of you out there that know my extended family members, check out the excellent photos on Jonathan's Facebook page of Mum's surprise 60th birthday in June (apologies but you need a Facebook account I believe). They are fantastic, Jonathan has a real talent behind the lens.

I've also got some relatively good news from my work. I tend not to post anything work related (for obvious reasons) but I can report that I have just being promoted again (second time this year). Technically it's a new job since the position was advertised internally, I applied, interviewed and was successful. It's a very similar job but with more responsibility. On August 1st, I'll get to call myself a Senior Director.

Anyhow, enjoy the weekend everybody!!

 

 

Florida Vacation

We have returned from Florida, all having had a wonderful week, particularly the girls. There were lots to see and do in Fort Myers, with the beautiful Islands of Sanibel and Captiva close. In the end, however, the pool by our condo was a clear winner…every day. We spent 3-4 hours each day basking away in the pool, it was a hands down favourite.

We did manage a few day trips, most notably a trip to Fort Myers beach, picking shells on the beaches of Sanibel Island, a walk in the local nature reserve and more. In truth it was probably a little too hot to do much other than swimming, each day was in the mid 90’s.

The girls were extremely well behaved (most of the time), they ate well, slept well, were generally in good humor which made it easy on us. It was very relaxing and we’d love to go back.

I have taken a few photos and posted them to our web album here.

 

Arrived Safely in Florida

I brought my computer with me this week (for a necessary reason that I may be able to disclose in a week or so) so I'll be able to give a short running commentary on how our week on the beach is going. Sorry no pictures though, not able to get them onto my work laptop.

Arrived safely yesterday, the girls did great on the flight (how long does it take to fly to Florida from Indy? - exactly the length of the movie "Little Mermaid II).

We are in this beautiful and pretty big condo, which looks out across the gulf of Mexico. There is a white sandy beach literally 2 mins walk and a swimming pool between us and there.

Managed to go shopping yesterday, we are going to self cater for the most part. This morning, with the girls ready to go at 7.00am (no room for hangovers) we were on the beach and in the sea by 8.30am. Roll forward to 11.30am having transitioned to the pool, the girls were exhausted. They are now both in bed for naps...hence my chance to read the papers and do this. Lynne has stowed away with a book and popcorn.

That's it for now....later

Happy Birthday!!

Short post to wish Clive (my youngest brother) a very Happy Birthday tomorrow (June 13th). Enjoy the day brother, not often it falls on a Saturday!!

We are all off to Fort Myers Florida tomorrow morning so there will be no updates for at least a week. I have just finished packing...swim stuff, shorts and t-shirts...Enjoy the week everybody, we'll be on the beach!!

 

Did You Know?

I don't normally veer off family updates and similar items but I happened across this interesting video clip today. Made me think a little (no comments please). I was stunned to recognize how quickly the world of technology and other technical developments are moving along and that's from somebody who is clearly not up to date with all the latest developments. I do have a Facebook and MySpace page, I have blogged since 2005, I have a twitter account but have not yet embraced it, tried Google Chrome and many other items....and yet I feel like we are on a roller coaster. How long can I keep up interest in these developments and what happens if I throw my hands in the air and say no more?

Then there is geopolitical, educational, workforce, medical and many other developments. We truly are living in exponential times...what does it all mean?

Were Going to Have Another Baby!!

Yes yes...we must be mad but nothing we can do about it now. We are all very excited here in West Lafayette with the news that we will be having another baby, due the first week of December (hopefully not on my birthday :)).

Lynne is feeling well now, after a very tired and nauseous first trimester. Her energy levels are much better at this point and the nausea has subsided (mostly).

We obviously still don't know the sex but will be eager to see if we can get a sneak preview.

Anyhow that's our news...enough for one day I'd say. I trust everyone's week is going well.

 

Weekend Update

This weekend we chilled out quite a bit as normal, hung out and did a few things, plodded through the weekend, generally took it easy. Lynne and Pat managed to dive into new territory and made a few sausages on Saturday afternoon. They tasted pretty good (I was the chief taster) but with room for improvement. This was all prior to Pat returning home on Saturday afternoon. I think she had a very enjoyable three weeks although understandably she's always very emotional when she leaves.

We all manged our usual exercise regimen. I ran 5 miles, Lynne biked 30 on Saturday and this morning we all went out for a family bike ride. Weather was perfect, took a little picnic, did a 20 mile loop on the back roads of Indiana and managed to get everyone home exhausted.

Anja and I took in our second trip to the movies to see Pixar's new adventure - UP. It is very good. I truly enjoyed it....not sure about Anja :))

I'm also pretty excited, we just booked a summer vacation. A week on the beach in Fort Myers in Florida. Leaving in two weeks....yippee!! Check out our accommodations and an image of the Fort Myers Beach.

Hope you all have a great week!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Eilish

Tomorrow my sister Eilish will turn another year. Happy Birthday Eilish. We'll all be thinking of you here.

 

Memorial Weekend Update

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day to commemorate U.S. men and women who died while in the military service.

We have got up to a variety of things this weekend. Saturday morning we switched Isabel over to a toddler bed. She was thrilled and so far things have gone well. Lynne and the girls toured our annual art show, "Art Around the Fountain". I dodged that one, went for a run instead.

Yesterday both Lynne and I (together with Gran's babysitting help) managed to chalk up a few miles biking before we had an afternoon of good food and drink at Brad and Lisa's farm. Perfect Sunday afternoon and the weather was nice to us.

As the pictures show, Gran made some Mint Sauce this morning. It is quite a traditional condiment in both Irish and English cooking, we always have some on hand.

It was Lorraine's birthday this week, so we are going to celebrate that this afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Mummy and Lynne

Lynne turned a major milestone this morning. Her life begins today if the old birthday line is to be believed!

Happy birthday Love from all your loved ones.

 

 

Pat Visiting Again...

Pat, Lynne’s mother, arrived safe and sound on Saturday evening. We have to thank Randy for collecting her at the airport. He had to make a trip to Chicago anyhow and was willing to modify his plans.

It’s been a pretty quiet week thus far. The girls have been positively giddy each evening with excitement since arrived. It’s great for us also since there is a willing reader on hand at all times.

Lynne is off to Connecticut tomorrow, I think she visits the University of Connecticut. She’ll be back on Friday evening.

Hope you're all having a good week.

 

 

 

First Movie Experience....

I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but today Anja thought that her first ever trip to the Movies (or cinema) was a big deal. There is not a great variety of films on show right now but Monsters vs Aliens was a hit. I took Anja and Anna this afternoon and they both loved it. I also thought it was a pretty cool movie.

Anja was very excited. Normally she loves watching films at home on DVD so this was a special treat, one that no doubt will have to endure. She's already asking when the next trip will be....bless...

Happy Birthday Davey....

Davey, my brother who is currently touring South America, will turn over another year this week (May 7th). Happy birthday, enjoy the day!!

 

Half Marathon Results are in.....

Just arrived back from Indianapolis from doing my annual slog around the streets of that city. Ran well this year but not as well as last, then again I did not do nearly as much training this year. Funny how that works :))

Still managed a respectful, 1:48:26, which equates to an average pace of 8:17 minute miles. I was happy with my result, you get what you put into it. I could not have run any faster than I did so for that I was happy!!

The weather was perfect, a clear day with the temperatures in the 60s with no wind!!
(picture below was from last years race)

 

Good Luck!!

From this side of the pond, we all wish Clive, one of my brothers currently living in Ireland, all the very best with his final exams this week. They start on Wednesday. This has been a long road for Clive, one with a few bumps along the way, he started and stopped his education several times since the age of sixteen but a few years ago gained some new momentum, starting a part-time degree program whilst holding down his full-time job.

He has worked hard and most of the praise are his and his alone, although Tracey, the love of his life, deserves credit for the love and support she has shown along the way.

Nearly there Clive - take a final shot. Good luck.

 

Happy Birthday Dear Anja!

We celebrated Anja's 4th birthday yesterday. Her actual birthday is this coming Tuesday, 28th April. We had lots of friends over, the largest gathering I think we have ever had and I think a good day was had by all. The kids had fun anyhow, cake, ice-cream, the usual party favourites. The weather was perfect, almost too hot.

I have posted lots of pictures of the day to our web album space but a few select shots are shown below in addition to a small slide show. Enjoy!

Once again, we must say a huge thank you to all who came and gave so many presents. There were so many - Thank you!

 

 

 

 

An Update

We have been keeping a low profile of late, sorry!!

We have been warming up to Spring over the last few weeks. Today was picture perfect, if not a little windy. No major news to report but these weeks have not been without incident. Lynne has been away for a few days, she spent 5 days in a hotel conference room in New Jersey (nice). We were over at the Mauer's house for Reina's birthday which is always fun. We had an Easter egg hunt. We had our first ever Chuckie Cheese experience (something else).

This weekend we will be having a get together for Anja's birthday. The weather is promised good, friends coming over, fire up the grill, cool down some beer, blow out some candles, enjoy some ice-cream...sing happy birthday. What could be more enjoyable?

I'm in full training mode for my half marathon, scheduled for 02 May. Managed an 11 mile training run last Saturday with Bill and Brad. It went well so I'm confident. If you are interested you can check my training log.

Hope you are all doing well.

 

 

Kristina the Artist

A few of Kristina's recent photos of the girls!!

 

 

Kristina

We can never say enough about Kristina, she is wonderful with the girls. They were out playing the other day in our back garden, swarming around her, never wandering far from her side. I pulled the camera out and they knew instantly how to pose!!

 

Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter Sunday morning we had a big breakfast with Lorraine, Randy and her family. We had a great morning, the weather was perfect and the girls were thrilled with the Easter Egg hunt.

 

 

 

Visit with Mary and Jimmy

My trip report to Ireland could not be complete without mentioning that Eilish and myself called in on Mary and Jimmy McConn, our Uncle and Aunt. Jimmy has been diagnosed with Lung cancer, has been treated several times with chemotherapy and radiation and has fought it vigoursly over the last few months. He looked great when we met with him and Mary. It was nice to see them both, particularly since they virtually always came to Roscommon to see me when I was returning home for a few days.

I came away from our visit with enormous admiration for their love for each other. During our discussions whilst there, despite been ill, Jimmy was adament that they were to take a holiday this year and that despite his illness "he and Mary were as happy today as they had ever been through their marriage". This sentiment was equally matched by observing how well Mary was caring for Jimmy. Many have done so but I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to care for a loved one through a serious illness, it requires a special bond, forged over time, that holds one together through both the good and bad times.

We are thinking of you all.

 

Mothers day and a trip to Portarlington

To continue my story from last weekend in Ireland. It was also good timing for the trip since it was Mothers Day. Eilish had kindly organized us boys with a nice bunch of flowers from Mum and that evening, together with our aunt Nuala, we had a nice meal in roscommon town followed by an even longer evening.

The next day I spent with my brother Clive and Tracey. I had never been to their house in Portarlington so it was nice to stay for the night. They get married this August, consequently we discussed the summer wedding at length and even managed to visit their reception locale, The Heritage Hotel and Resort, a beautiful location.

I then had to get back to work....

 

Trip to Ireland

I was working in the UK last week, Leeds to be specific, and since I had to be there early in the week, I traveled on Friday night to stay the weekend with my Family in Ireland. It was a short but intensive family catch up.

I travelled to Roscommon where I grew up and managed to see Mum, Dad, my sister Eilish, many aunts and uncles, a few cousins and many more. It was great to see everybody.

One highlight of the weekend was being able to go to a local pub with Eilish my sister to watch the Ireland Rugby Team play the last match of this years Six Nations. A very special year since Ireland had a chance to win the Grand Slam (when a team wins all five of their matches). It is quite a feat and Ireland had not accomplished this in 61 years. This was an extremely special treat for me since I normally have to follow these matches on the BBC website by getting text updates every 5 mins. This match I got to watch live in a pub in Ireland with wall to wall fans screaming at every touch of the ball. It was a very tight game which came down to the final kick of the game, Wales had a chance to win but missed the kick....champions!! You can read a write-up on this historic game here.

More on my trip to Ireland later....

 

Pictures from Skiing

This is a short follow-up from our recent skiing trip to Bittersweet, Michigan. Brad sent over a few photos and I snagged one from Kaisa's blog (Thanks to you both).

 

 

 

 

Relaxed Weekend in the Sun

No, we didn't travel to any far off sun destination, West Lafayette, had very nice weather for a change this weekend. First signs of spring. It spurred us to clean up the garden a little, sprinkle some grass seed, put our first vegetable seeds in and went for a stroll through a local forest trail for a couple of hours, Celery Bog.

Anja was much better today. Let me clarify. She had a visit to urgent care on Friday with a fever of 104F. After an extremely poor doctors visit, he barely examined her, he put her on a course of antibiotics. It was all very mixed, since the swab for strep throat was negative but she had swollen tonsils with white spots and she is feeling much better after two days on drugs. Hopefully she is now on the mend, many of us have had a few broken nights sleep.

Not much happening this week other than I will visit Ireland and spend next weekend with my Mum and Dad. I'm working in the UK next week so I'm going early to spend the weekend in Ireland. Cool!!

A few pictures of the girls playing this week and some reading this weekend!

Enjoy the week!!

 

 

 

I'm Potty Training

We are a long way off yet but Isabel has been doing her business on the potty four or five times a day this last week or more. She still will not let us know but if one asks her if she needs to go every few hours, she very cutely ambles into the bathroom and proceeds to do what she needs to do. I'm sure you all need to know this but we like to document these milestones for future reference!!

 

11 Years

Today Lynne and I celebrate 11 years of married life! Time certainly passes by quickly, seems like only yesterday we got married in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Our wedding picture can be viewed here.

The picture below was something Anja found in a drawer the other day. It's funny how pictures get "filed" away and seem quite funny when they re-surface. This picture was taken in Sweden in 2000, we were painting the outside of our house, it took us all summer, and one day, Anna, our next door neighbour, popped over with a camera to document the activities. We're glad she did.

Tonight we get to steal away for a while. Randy and Lorraine are going to watch the girls for the night (Many Thanks!) and we are spending the night in Indianapolis. Going to have some dinner and a night at the symphony, they will be playing one of our favourite pieces, Rachmaninoff's piano concerto No. 2.

Have a nice weekend everybody!

 

Our Baby's Growing Up

Anja popped on this new jacket that Lynne bought for the summer and there before stood us a little lady. We obviously still consider Anja to be baby, well a very small girl at least. This picture jumped us into a realization that she is growing up very quickly!!

 

Glad Fettisdagen (kan man saya så?)

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is Fettisdagen or Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday). Whatever your tradition enjoy your pancakes, semlor etc. We actually honored our Irish and English traditions on Sunday morning with pancakes and then yesterday we were invited over to Kaisa's for Semlor. A Semla, or Semlor (plural), are Swedish cakes that are eaten on Fettisdagen. Thanks Kaisa for the treats and for dinner (I had two semlor yesterday, they were very nice). Of course here in the USA, tomorrow is Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday). Hope everyone has a good day.

Shown below are Carina and Björn, with their three children, Oliva, Dorris and Rufus. They are our good friends, also from Sweden. Hope you all also have a Glad Fettisdagen.

 

Not much to report......

We don't really have much to report from this weeks activities. Lynne was away for two nights, an overnight trip to The University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. That was the highlight of the week.

The skiing trip was a big success last weekend. I've no pictures yet, I'm waiting to get some from others. The drive up there was long and necessary. The hotel was great, a very family friendly place and we'd certainly recommend it. The skiing was OK, Anja thoroughly enjoyed it though so mission accomplished. She wants to know when we are going back. The drive back was terrible, snow and screaming kids...

The weather here in West Lafayette has taken a nose dive south again this weekend. We had snow again yesterday and today the temperature is back in the teens. It's currently -10C so we are bundled up inside, reading books, painting, playing dress-up, reading books, watching Disney movies, you get the picture. We are waiting for Spring to save our sanity.....Of course it doesn't help looking at both Jonathan and Davey's blogs, both are down under and cannot seem to stop torturing us with pictures and tales of beach trips...nice!!

Anyhow, enjoy the week everybody.

 

 

 

We are away Skiing......

For the first time in six years, Lynne and I will be going skiing....well maybe. Last time we went it was to The Three Valleys Ski resort in the French Alps for some of the best skiing in the world. This weekend, to get ourselves back into the swing of things and more importantly to introduce Anja and Isabel to skis, we are off to Bittersweet, a small ski resort in Michigan. We are all pretty excited, particularly Anja, who has not stopped talking about it in weeks. Little does she probably realize that after one hour she will be freezing, tired and having fallen several times, she will no longer think it's that entertaining. We'll have to see.....

In total, we are traveling as a group, four families, each with small children skiing for the first time so we're all in the same boat. We are all also staying at Bay Pointe Inn, a small local resort. Don't let the term resort lull you into thinking it's exotic. I'm sure it will be basic but adequate. It has an indoor pool so it will be a hit with many of our party. Anyhow, enjoy the rest of your week and weekend. We leave first thing Friday morning, should be a lot of fun.

 

Sleepy Weekend!

We're having a rather relaxed weekend here on this end!!

Our night out in Indianapolis at the theatre went very well. The show was not the best but the whole night out and away on our own with adult company was perfect. We made a short trip to Trader Joe's on the way home, it's this really cool food shop where one can find all sorts of delights, anyway we picked up lots of goodies. Last night we had Kaisa, Kevin & girls over to dinner for a fun night.

This morning we had a chance to catch up with my brother Clive and Tracey about the plans for their wedding later this year. We will shortly be booking flights.

Today we went to Michah's birthday party, she is Kristina's four year old niece. We got back and all had a little nap, the girls are still asleep.

Shown below are two pictures of the girls that I really like. They are both playing very nice for the camera (Kristina took the picture of Anja). Then there is the picture of what they are like most of the day, a mess, playing with each other and generally having fun!