Easter crafts

Susie, one of the coaches that works for EY's wife, came over to our house with her kids, Maggie and Dalton, to make some Easter crafts. I was excited to have something else for my kids to do over spring break, and we also still don't have any holiday decorations. Ellie and Maddie lasted quite a while making their eggs. Ethan and Maggie worked for a minute and then were off to play with toys. I was surprised that Annie really wanted to help. I didn't think she would care for it, but I should have known better. She loves to do ANYTHING that the older kids are doing.

After the kids finished their eggs, Susie made rocks with them that had hidden treasures. You have to let the rocks dry for 3 days or so. They must have been really wet because we are just cracking them tonight and it's been over a week since we made them.

I guess it's good that it took so long, I can't remember what we put inside, and it will be a fun surprise when we break them open!

Ethan's Quote for today...

This past Sunday our family fasted for some of our extended family members who are having some health problems. When we woke up we explained to the kids what was happening in these people's lives, and that we should fast for them. We let our kids decide if they wanted to, and of course they all did. By about 12:00 in the afternoon Ethan (6 years old) came to me and asked how long we have to do this for. I explained that we would have dinner that night. Because we have conference the week after Salt Lake, it was conference weekend. We started conference and Ethan cuddled up next to me. Pretty soon he leaned over to me and said, "Mom, I will sure be glad when this speeding thing is over. I'm hungry."

Spring Break

Our kids have been out of school for the past 2 weeks for Spring Break. We stayed in Bangalore (mostly) and just hung out as a family. We did go a few places that I will post in the next few posts. One of the things we did just at home was to make "Krispie Kreme" doughnuts. They do have doughnuts at a few shops, but they taste nothing like doughnuts at home. The kids loved eating them and I think that we are going to have to do this one again before we leave. Baby wants to see how I did them so that she can make them next time.

India wins the World Cup!!

Last night India won the World Cup! The last time they won was in 1983. The celebrations in the streets were CRAZY!! At about midnight Ellie woke up because there were "garlic bombs" going off in the street outside our house. A garlic bomb is a HUGE fire cracker that shakes the windows and walls of our house when they are set off. People were driving up and down the streets of our housing complex honking their horns and yelling IN-DI-A!!! Vijay again watched the match at our house. They played against Sri Lanka and from what I could tell...which isn't too well because I'm still just learning the rules of the game...it was pretty close up until the end.  When Vijay came to pick us up for church this morning (yes, conference isn't until next week here) he told us that the streets outside our complex were filled with people drinking and partying! He drove the car home last night and said that people were stopping him and telling him that "WE WON!!" He also said that the government announced that it would be legal to drink and drive for that night only. What?!?!

India Vs. Pakistan

I think this match is bigger that any rivalry I've seen. Yes, even BYU vs. UT! Vijay got our TV hooked up to the Indian cable network so that he could watch it at our house. The match started at 2:30 in the afternoon and ended around 10:00 at night. India won and is headed to the final match of the 2011 World Cup.

Pictures

I took the kids the other day to get their yearly pictures taken. The photographer gave me over 100 pictures to choose from. The package comes with a blown up 10X15 of each kid, and a 10X15 of the group. I need help deciding which ones to pick. I posted the best ones on my facebook. Go and vote which one I should choose.

I had their pictures taken in dresses and also in their school uniforms. I had to put this one on here to show how much Maddie has grown. When we came here she was just a little shorter than Ellie. (Close enough in size that they could share the same clothes.) I was shocked when they took this picture because I never had realized how much taller she has gotten. I knew she had gotten a little taller than Ellie, but I think I usually know that they are wearing different shoes or that they aren't standing straight up. Their uniforms are identical down to the shoes, so I know that that isn't the case, and the photographer made them stand staight and tall. The photographer was shocked when I told him that Maddie was 2 years younger than Ellie. He was trying to align them in age order.

Indus Day 2011

Tonight was the annual Indus Day performance. The theme this year was "Around the World in 80 minutes." Each grade did a dance from a country that students are from.

The 1st grade danced a Chinese dance. Ethan was pretty excited that he got to be under the Chinese Dragon. My favorite line of the night came from him..."I had the most horriblest day ever!!!" "Why was it so bad?" "Because they put lipstick on me!!!" The makeup was a little over the top. Not sure what the eyebrowns are for.

2nd grade was assigned Brazil.

3rd grade was given Morocco. Maddie was a belly dancer, and did a wonderful job.

4th grade did South Africa and the 5th grade did India.

When Ellie came out, Alan decided that our girls are not allowed to wear makeup until they're 20. They looked so much older!! Of course there was also a finale which they sing the school song, and the Indian National Anthem.

It takes so long for the video to upload on here. I was able to upload the video to YouTube much easier so here is a link to all of the kids dances and the finale. They are really excited for grandmas and grandpas to see their program.

Ellie's

Maddie's

Ethan's

Finale