Elephant Ride with Joshua

Isaac being silly on the elephant with one of his classmates Joshua. They decided they needed to be friends because they have the same haircuts! Joshua was chiding the elephant "driver" for poking the poor animal, but I don't think he understood a word Joshua said!

First Birthday Party Invitation

Isaac got invited to a birthday party for his classmate Zara Purdy. We were amazed when we pulled up to this gigantic house on the outskirts of Delhi (they call them "farmhouses") and saw an elephant, an ice cream cart, horse ride, and blow-up jumping house, carnival games, face painting, a wet bar, and a spread of gourmet and kid food. Rich talked the kids into an elephant ride, and they loved it. We also got to meet lots of Isaac's classmates and their families and draw upon their expat experiences. The Purdys are so sweet and genuine. It was so thoughtful of them to invite us and help us tap into the social network.

Sunday Outing

On Sunday we took a walk to the Lotus Bah'ai Temple near our hotel. Walking there was an adventure in and of itself, but when we arrived, we were amazed by the throngs of people waiting in line to slip off their shoes and enter this fabulous temple of meditation.

Graham Has a Following

Here's Graham getting his usual attention from the crowds. "So sweet," they say, and pinch his fat cheeks and take pictures.

Favorite Quotes from Boys in Delhi

Russell (in the middle of the night): "I wanna go home to Mama-Dada's house."

Isaac (in the car from the airport to the hotel): "Driver, I have a question."

Russell (at our vacant new house): "We have a NEW house!"

Isaac (while driving and seeing kids on parent's laps in the front seat): "Mommy, those kids aren't very safe!"

Graham (all the time): "Bwuuu Bwaa Ah-Boo" (making raspberries!)

Isaac (to the college girls from Arizona we met in the immigration line at the airport): "My best friends in Texas are Jacob and Joseph. I'm going to make new best friends in New Delhi."

Isaac (to Grandma Cutler on the phone): "I'm a superhero. Know why? I helped my mom find her camera cord when Daddy was sleeping."

Russell (with his thumb in his mouth, looking out the window of our hotel): "I see a motorcycle, and another motorcycle and another motorcycle!"

Isaac (after we had to send away the car we'd sent for because it had no seat belts and we are waiting in our room starved): "Mommy, I know why you're giving us goldfish. So we'll stop saying we're hungry."

Isaac: "I just made up a law that might be true. Don't blow up anything near your furniture. Is that right? Well, it should be a law."

The Fabulous Flight

The boys were angels on the airplane. Of course, it helped that we were sitting in business class, but I don't think they would have cared. We played musical seats several times for variety, but we all slept for probably 8-10 hours of the 15-hour flight. Nana sent a bag full of planes that delighted Russell to no end (and annoyed the man two seats behind who was not amused by the airplane sounds he made while playing!). And Isaac loved listening to books on tape with the headset and cassette player from G&G Cutler and Aunt Katie.

Graham slept nearly the entire flight to Delhi in the bassinet. The rest of the time he played with his dinosaur from Aunt Katie and drooled a lot.

Graham also spent some time hanging out with the flight attendant Sheri. At one point, she took him and disappeared! I was a little worried, but figured she couldn't go far with us all on the same airplane over an ocean. She re-appeared after a few minutes, and it was a welcome break for Russell to get some one-on-one attention.

Happy New Year from Delhi!

We made it! We arrived here in Delhi at 10:30 pm New Year's Eve. The hotel came through for us, so when we brought out our five carts of luggage there was a man holding a sign that read "Richard Doyglaus Cutler" on it. I was relieved to not have to find our own transportation in the middle of the night! They had to send for a bigger car, but after waiting for a bit and seeing our first two cows meandering by, we filled up one SUV and one sedan with our 28 bags, car seats, and strollers. Hooray!

The SUV packed up tight. Rich had to sit in the front seat with the two other men and we caravaned to the hotel. We saw some fireworks on the way, and more cows!