Temperature drop

Wednesday went I went to bed it was still 75 degrees, when I woke up on Thursday it was only 34 -- it dropped from there. We had rain, sleet and snow today... none of it very pretty or appealing. We closed the office early and were sent home. I'm all snuggled up warm at home... Sid on the other hand volunteered to drive out to the airport to pick up the folks now that their plane is really going to land.

I hope it warms up a little bit tomorrow. That's the night of our annual downtown adventure and Saturday morning is the Children's Parade. Think warm thoughts..... think warm thoughts......

Malaria Risk

I was denied when trying to give blood this morning.  Apparently visiting Costa Maya has made me a malaria risk.  I can't give blood for a year.  Oh well, it was worth it to me.

Ukrainian Orphan?

Life just seems to have been a little bit too calm lately... so we are looking into hosting an Orphan from the Ukraine for a few weeks in January. The children come through in groups of 20-25 and stay three weeks while they try to meet as many potential adoptive families as possible. This group is mostly 7&8 years old but the range is from 6-12. We would only host one.  Its early days still, we haven't gotten all of the requirements (or responsibilities) yet. By the way the kids speak little or no English.

Off season uncertainty

SuperBlue decided not to play indoor soccer this winter, so Sheela has accepted an invitation to play on another academy team.  This one is called Texas FC, she will play for them the next 6 Sundays (more or less) but wants to still practice with SuperBlue.  Her regular academy coach is trying to pull in enough new girls to divide the team into two teams and her former academy coach is trying to put together a team.  Based on which coach she chooses to practice with will determine which of her friends she gets to play with, until they figure out they don't have enough girls for all of these teams and then she has to take her chances as they cuts girls from the roster again.  I prefer things that you sign up for with preset schedules where you either register in time or you don't.

Free turkey

Even though we celebrated Thanksgiving with our traditional red beans and rice we managed to have turkey leftovers. When shopping near the turkey holidays it is very easy to earn a free turkey or two. So yesterday we roasted our bird. I am a convert of the roast inside of a paperbag school, but the free bird didn't come with a paperbag and our local market doesn't stock paperbags. Sid initially promised a grocery store run but he didn't end up going until after the bird was already done. So I had to make do. Had I planned the event carefully in advance I would also have sliced up granny smith apples to roast under the turkey. You don't eat them but they make the gravy really good. Anyhow we did the follow the basic directions on the plastic wrap and it came out very tender and juicy. Since I wouldn't be home to baste (we went swimming at the least convenient time during the cooking) or to cover the browning skin with foil I oiled on a layer of cheese cloth in the beginning (thank you Jan Duster, circa 1984) and the skin came out perfectly browned.

Now lets hope that the turkey soup attempt improves enough to be edible.....

Stomach bug

Well it's been a useless two days from my point of view. The good news is that I can once again be in the same room with food. Tomorrow we will be having the traditional Sharma Red Beans & Rice Thanksgiving meal and I'm planning to actually eat.

Welcome to Georgetown

This is my favorite group photo. It was taken at our last port of call, Georgetown, Grand Caymen. We all toyed with the idea of opening clandestine bank accounts but it sounded like more trouble than hanging out at the beach. We took the path of least resistance and were pleased with our choice.

A casual dinner night...

This was one of the nicer pictures of me and my kids.

The first formal night

The night of the first of the "formal" dinners we got the full crew together for a picture.

In the back row are Sid (with a beard), Dad and Luke. I'm in front of Sid and next to Eileen. Karl is slightly behind Eileen. Lisa and Carie are in front of us. Then Brandon, Katie and Sheela. Kyle, Sunil and James are in the front row.

The recap

Sunday we flew to Ft. Lauderdale and took a cab to the pier. We boarded early but both Karl and Luke were already there. Dad was only 10 minutes behind us.


We set sail before dinner but still managed a walk on the deck on our way down to the dining room. This is Ft. Lauderdale as we head out on our adventure.


We woke up in Key West for a short layover. We all went ashore but dispersed early. The Sharmas spent some time walking around with Opa. We met up with Karl, Lisa, Brandon and Oma after their parasailing trip.

Day two found us in Cozumel. Our shore excursion took us to an "all inclusive" beach called Playa Mia. It wasn't quite as inclusive as we'd been lead to believe but the water was warm and a pool close at hand when the salt and sand became overwhelming.

Day three was spent in Costa Maya, Mexico. The water here was by far the prettiest. We started off at the crocodile park and then split up. Sunil and I went back aboard to relax while Sid and Sheela joined up with the Luke and Karl, et al for some snorkeling.

Day four was by far my favorite. We went to a beach in Georgetown, Grand Caymen with the other "kids" for a wonderful day of just goofing around.

Day five was spent underway playing a cutthroat game of Risk or sleeping depending on your temperament. I'm told that Sid and Brandon were the last two standing. Tradition has it that we only play to the last two players or the game would never end.

Day six found us back in Ft. Lauderdale for our goodbyes. Luke, Carie, Katie and Kyle had an early flight back to Michigan. The rest of us stayed as long as possible and then went to a motel on the beach to spend the day. It made a nice transition to the "real world". Karl, Lisa, Brandon and James flew back to Arizona in the later afternoon.

Dad and Eileen left this morning for their drive home and we flew home from Miami.

Misc. photos from the cruise

All the "kids" and our families all went to the beach together at our last stop in Georgetown, Grand Caymen. Here Kyle, Sheela and Sunil work on the sand city. There were some issues with the levees. Katie is swimming.

Adventure Ocean had plenty of activities to the keep the kids occupied even in the evenings. This was Sheela on the pirate parade.

Swimming in the main pool was salty but fun however the kids prefered the kids' pool with the traditional chlorinated water and a slide. Sunil's face is a little bit too narrow for even the smallest of swim goggles, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to wear them.

Home Again

What a fabulous time! A zillion pictures will follow but for now just know that we are back home safe, sound and a little bit worn out.

I'm off to start laundry and then take a nap.....

Let's cruise....

We are leaving the house around 6:00 AM and we'll be back mid-afternoon on the 19th. We may have internet access from the ship but I'm not counting on it.

2nd Place

SuperBlue lost 1-0 today to Samba 98. They still earned some pretty nice trophies and this was one of the best games of the year. Almost the entire game was played in the center. Each team had less than 10 shots on goal. Samba definitely had to work for their, it was a perfect set-up and follow through.

I have a picture of Sheela with the trophy but I've already packed the camera for the trip. SO it will have to wait until we get back.

This is America and more

The 3rd Graders put on a Veteran's Day musical last night titled "This is America". It was about half an hour long. They sang seven or eight songs, each played a musical accompaniment to one of the pieces and many (including Sheela)had speaking parts too. I recorded a few short sections of it on video on my tiny camera, but I haven't had the time to figure out how to share it with the masses. Come visit, I'll play the 38 second clip and you'll feel like you are right there. I may even sit you in a child sized chair while I elbow you in the ribs.

We missed the soccer game last night but according to the website we won 3-0. So we are guaranteed either 1st or 2nd place and we've planned a pizza party celebration for Saturday night. The championship game is Saturday morning.

Sunil was home sick from school yesterday but is back in action today. Just in time to turn in his homework and collect some to take with us. I figured out last night that the kids are off of school the whole week after we get back and not just on Thursday and Friday. Kids Club says it will open but they haven't sent home any information yet and usually we have to sign up for full day times a week or two in advance so that they can choose which school the kids will attend on those days.

I've finished the pre-boarding paperwork and printed our expidited passes. I can't check in for the flights until tomorrow morning. We have a hotel for the night we get back. I haven't figured out a rental car for the day after but I'm sure that we can take care of that when we get to the pier. We should be all set to go.... except for the packing which can't be done until the laundry is done.... but we are getting close.

Playoffs - Round 1

There were no surprises in last night's first round play-off soccer game.  SuperBlue won 8 or 9 to 0.  Sheela scored one goal.  The next round game will be Thursday night, but we won't be there.  The third grade class has a Veteran's Day Music Recital that evening.

Happy Birthday Sid!

While today is his actual birthday the kids and I took Sid out on Saturday night to celebrate. We went to Medieval Times to watch the jousting and to eat dinner with our hands. We had a really good time. Sunil was fascinated right from the start but became a touch uncomfortable during the fight to the death. Once I explained that they were pretending to die he started to enjoy it again.

Heros

Sheela's DI team had their first meeting last night.  They have already chosen their challenge for the year.  It took them less than five minutes to decide.  They all seem happy with their choice.  They want to write a play about a hero overcoming a personal challenge.  The play will be done in the style of theater in the round.  They need to include one special effect that does not involve any form of electricity (even static is outlawed) and two "side trips".  The side trips are added bits that showcase extra talent from the team members.  If someone is an accomplished dancer they may include a dance number, or a martial artist may due a routine, someone may sing, or compose and recite a poem, it could be almost anything.

Taj Mahal

It seems like just yesterday that I switched the calendar from the picture of Lake Biwa to the picture of St. Petersburg but it's been 10 months already.  Since then I've had the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple, Rio de Janeiro, Amsterdam, Nassau, the Bay of Mustique, Kenya, the Temple of Poseidon and the pyramids in Cairo and now the Taj Mahal.  This year has gone awfully fast so far and it doesn't appear to be slowing down.

 

Sid's birthday is in three days.  We leave on vacation in nine days. Thanksgiving is four days after we get back.  Mom and John arrive a week later.  The Children's parade is the next day; Sheela's birthday is four days later.  We may go to Mexico City the following weekend.  Then its time for the company party, the kids last day of school, Christmas and New Year's Eve…..