A New Restaurant, and some day to day stuff...

This morning my dear sweet mother said something that almost made me cry. She told my siblings and I that something from America was coming to our city. It is going to be in a new mall called Phoenix Market City. The name of the place is…. CHILI’S! :) Our whole family was dancing around the room like maniacs! If our neighbors saw us, they would have thought that we had won the lottery or something. It was definitely a “Kodak Moment” as they say. Now that I’m finished telling all of you guys about our morning, here are some things that have happened recently in our crazy busy, Indian lifestyle.

As I write this, we (My Dad, Zach, and I) are sitting at the dentist while my sister is getting two of her teeth pulled. I have to come back tonight to get spacers so that on Saturday I can get braces on the bottom teeth of my soon to be total metal mouth. (I already have braces on the top) As we sit here we can smell fresh pound cake baking at Kalyani Bakery, which is about 500 feet from where we are sitting. We are drooling!

Zach had a wonderful birthday. We went to an indoor putt-putting place for his birthday, and McDonald’s for lunch. He had a green Lego cake for his birthday treat. (See recipe below…)

Lego Cake

-One cake mix and the stuff that goes in it

-A Cupcake pan

-A regular 9x13 pan

-Any color frosting

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Put most of it into the cake pan, but fill 6 cupcake cups ½ to ¾ of the way full. Bake the cake and cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Once cooled, cut the “bump” on the top of the cake off, as well as the cupcakes. Place the cupcakes top down on top of the cake, and ice. Enjoy!

That’s about all for now, but stay tuned for a special “Indian Independence Day” post, with pictures!

A friend visits, I try horseriding, and Zach turns 10 soon!

Recently, one of our friends  who also lives on our continent came for a visit! She is a good friend of ours, and is from our hometown in the states. We picked her up at the airport and went to Hard Rock Cafe as a treat. She hadn't had any beef in a while so she loved her cheeseburger! While she was here she went along with us to the school that we help out at on Tuesdays, which was a lot of fun. :)  We had so much fun while she was here, and were sad to see her go!  :)

In America, Maggie was our horse-girl. She took riding lessons at Windy Hill Farm in NC, and loved every minute of it. Once we moved here, she really missed it so my mom found a place near our house that offered lessons. She was super excited, and mom decided to let all 3 of us kids do the trial lesson. We (Zach and I) loved it! We had so much fun learning something new. Long story short, in the next lesson I'm going to learn how to do sitting trot! (I've already learned how to walk and do standing trot by myself!)

I would also like to wish Zach a happy early birthday! His birthday is on July 26, and he is super excited! He will be the big double-digits, 10!  I'm not sure what to get him, because he is sorta hard to buy for. I'll see what I can find! If any of you guys would like to tell him something, just leave a comment and I'll show him. Happy Early-Birthday Zach! :)

An Elephant Excursion, in the middle of the city!

Did you know that it's very fun to feed an elephant? That is what we did on the way to Bible study the other night! There was a HUGE elephant that had paint and designs on him. There was also a little old man pushing a cart behind him. What was he selling? Bananas! We bought about 8 bananas for 50 cents, and fed them to the elephant. When he was happy, he rang a bell that was hanging around his neck. Basically, he took his trunk and swung it back and forth to ring the bell. It was really funny! :) The man riding/driving the elephant asked me if I wanted to ride. I was going to, but then realized it was getting late, and we had to get to Bible study. But next time, you bet I'm gonna ride!

Life, mostly normal! :)

Hey! I know you guys think I'm a total loser, and can't make time for my blog. Sorry! :) Life here is different, in a good way. We are normally really busy with lots of things at once! School has been going really well. Did you know that donkeys have 62 chromosomes, while horses have 64 chromosomes. Therefore a male mule (half donkey half horse) is infertile due to cross species mating. That was pretty random, BUT cool, huh? Anyway, now that you've had your biology lesson for today, in all school is going well. As I write this Zach, Maggie, and my Dad just came in the door from playing baseball in the society. Thanks Nanny for the baseball gloves! Mostly, other than soccer (called football here), the kids in the society only play cricket.

Yesterday my brother and sister went with my mom to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D, at 8:30 IN THE MORNING! They are so funny, but the thing is, the show was PACKED! Let me explain, here they have shows at all times of the day from 6:30 am to 11:30 pm. One reason they have shows SO early is because of the 24 hour call centers here! Isn't that funny? The people who work at the call centers at night here go see a movie, then go home to bed! I didn't go because I was Skyping my grandma. :) Well, that's about it! And remember, always watch for motorcycles with 12 foot ladders on them before crossing the street! (That's another story!)

Summer Ends, Monsoon Starts, and National Doughnut Day Happens!

Hello! So, we've wrapped up our "Indian Summer 2011" and started school on June 1st! We have had a blast over the summer including, but not limited to: visiting Mumbai and Lavasa, a couple of pool outings, and going to the movies! So far we've had a WONDERFUL school year. Pics of summer fun........

So cool, huh! Anyway, as well as summer ending, Monsoon Season has begun! The rains are awesome, and we played in them tonight. Very fun! :) It's also pretty cool outside, which is a bonus. Another fun thing happening today was National Doughnut Day! This morning mom and I made homemade doughnuts! Yum!

Happy National Doughnut Day! By the way, Krispy Kreme is giving one free doughnut to everyone who comes to a Krispy Kreme store! YUM! Any kind and no purchase required! :)