Easter with the Family

The Saturday before Easter the boys and I went to my sister's for a egg hunt with the kids. Joshua wore one of his new Easter outfits, while Andrew wore Joshua's old Easter outfit. Joshua wore it when he was 3 months old and the buttons were popping off. Andrew is almost 7 months old and he still had some room in the outfit...he is wearing new shoes from Mimi and Grampie.

Hold him tight...he is still a little unstable...
The kids hunted in shifts. Of course the smallest ones hunted on their own...with parents. The toddlers started hunting about 3 minutes before the bigger kids came out.

Oliver on left at 7 months old. Andrew on the right just two weeks shy of 7 months.

Leelan on the left just turned 2 in February. Joshua on the right is about 3 1/2 yo.

Kalab on the left is 11 yo now. Robin is in the middle and is 8 and Samantha is on the right and is 7.

Finished hunting eggs and now they want what is inside...
The older kids colored some real eggs and my sister stuffed some fake eggs. The eggs contained playdoh, coins, candy, and toys for boys and girls. The kids loved hunting and seeing what they got. We ended the night with a great dinner my sister cooked and a stop by Maammaw's and Pawpaw's for more Easter gifts.
Hope you all had a great Easter!

Once bitten...

My mom was bitten by a snake on Tuesday of this last week while picking weeds in her yard. Most likely it was a copperhead. The pictures you see below were taken on Saturday, the third day of antibiotic cocktails. From my understanding this looks great compared to what it did look like before the antibiotics. So, each day gets better and the doctor is saying that she should not lose anything.

The darker spot is where one of the fangs went in and released venom. The other fang did not release the same amount of venom, but there is a bite mark. Her finger in this picture is about three times smaller than what it was two days before. She can bend it now and is not in a lot of pain. Her hand and arm are still swollen...could take weeks to go down.

The bruising went from the pinky all the way up under her arm to her side. This is very mild compared to what it did look like. It was black two days ago and apparently this was a mild attack. There are other pictures I took, but thought mom would not like me showing them all.
Thank you all for your prayers!

New Friends

Joshua met a young boy a month ago at our local playground, Jaret. Jaret's mom, Kim, and I have been trying to get together for a while now. We were able to finaly get together the last day of Spring Break at the Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Blooms (Texas theme). It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. Although the park was packed, traffic was not bad and there was plenty of space for us to picnic and the boys to play.
We got to the park just after lunch. We decided to go ahead and find a place on the lawn to have lunch. Kim and Jaret had Jason's Deli and I made Bento's for Joshua and myself.

Jaret got a pickle...note to self, pack a pickle for Joshua next time...
After the boys ate their lunch, or some of it, they decided it was time to wrestle. This is obviously what boys do. Our boys were not the only wrestlers...the girls were being nice, calm, and looking pretty in their little dresses.

Only the second time these boys have played together and they are already at each other...
After wrestling, we played in the miniature houses, general stores, etc...Then, Kim took Jaret and Joshua on a hay ride while I nursed Andrew and he and I napped for about 10 minutes.

Let's go on a hay ride...

...no let's sleep.
After the hay ride we made our way to the petting zoo. It was rather difficult to get a good picture, but Joshua liked brushing the sheep.

The sheep look good now that their hair is brushed...
Once we were done with the petting zoo, we made our way over to the horse competitions. Jaret and Joshua love competition...Jaret is almost 5 though and left Joshua in the dust many times. They competed in the Flag Race, but Joshua walked while Jaret ran. Then Jaret wanted to do the pole races, but Joshua was done at that point.

My horse is slow...

I love this horse...he is fast!
After the horse competitions the boys tried calf roping. Both boys hooked a horn and really enjoyed tyring to pull the head off the hay.

Roping the horn...
Finally, the boys relaxed enough to get a decent picture near the flowers.

Jaret will be 5 in May and plays t-ball really well.

Joshua would love to play t-ball, but practicing with Jaret is all he can do right now...they start at 4 here in Dallas.

We had a lot of fun at the Arboretum. Next time I will be sure to keep the boys in the stroller until I have seen at least half the flowers.

Enjoy!

First Time to Six Flags

Jeff and I decided to take Joshua to visit Six Flags Over Texas for the first time...during Spring Break on the first day of Spring...what a mess, the park was at capacity! It took us an hour and a half to get in to the parking area. Once parked it only took about 10 minutes to get in to the park...we had a lot of fun with Joshua then. He was very excited!

Entrance to Six Flags...

You could say we had a plan for the park in that we knew the rides he could ride and the rides we definately wanted him to ride. The first ride was the Conquistador. We sat third row from the top...I really thought Joshua was going to spew on this one. He held it together, even when a few boys just older than him were crying and hanging on to their mommies...Go Joshua!

Conquistador...

We then hustled on over to Yosemite Sam's ride. It was a 45 minute wait, so then we went on to the Mini Mine Train. I forgot how jolting that ride was and nearly squished his head into the side of the car. However, the more I squished him the more he liked it.

Mini Mine Train...

Then, while I waited in line for 20 minutes for a drink, Jeff and Joshua waited to ride Batwing. You could control how high you went in this plane like ride. The boys had a lot of fun on this one.

Batwing...

We waited in line for another half hour to 45 minutes to eat. Once we ate we went on to the Texas Chute Out. Joshua said this was his favorite ride. We were afraid this one would terrify him being 200 ft in the air, but once we got down he asked to ride it again.

Texas Chute Out...

I was surprised he held out as long as he did not riding the train, but we could not go all day without it. Joshua was so happy to hear the loud whistle, bell, and see the steam engine of the Texas Depot...kid in candy store!

Texas Depot...

The Texas Depot dropped us off close to the Yosemite Sam ride. This time the wait was 30 minutes...the park was going to close in about 45 minutes at this time. We waited and it was like I was reading a story to Joshua. He was so intrigued by the characters and listening to the story. Well, it took a lot less than 30 minutes, so we headed on over to the Chaparral Antique Cars...you cannot leave the park without driving these fun little motor cars. Joshua drove, while Jeff pressed the pedal (Joshua was not strong enough to push the pedal while sitting). He was a good driver.

Chaparrel Antique Cars..."Mom, I cannot look at you while driving!"

So, we were headed out of the park then saw that some rides were still going...it was 15 minutes after the park was set to close. So, we jumped in line to ride El Sombrero. This was a lot of fun to ride with Joshua. He laughed and screamed so loudly. Again, it was a ride he was getting squished in...he loves rough and tough!

Awe! Daddy and son on El Sombrero...

Joshua had a blast!!!

Joshua is about 38" and almost 3 1/2 years old. If you think you might want to take your little one this was a good age to introduce the rides at Six Flags...I would try to go at a time when the park is not at capacity next time. By the way, after we got home we found out that the park stayed open two hours after they were set to close.

Tour of Mumbai

Alright, I know I have not posted an update on my adventures in India for a few days now. So, I wanted to let whoever's reading this know what's been happening.

This past week was mainly spent working from approx. 8pm - 3am, and then sleeping during the day. It's been a little difficult adjusting to working during the night here, but definitely manageable. I came down with what I thought was a sinus infection early in the week, so that didn't make working nights (or even days for that matter) very fun. I bought some medicine here, but it did not help that much, so now I am pretty sure it's just the bad air here stirring up my allergies.

I was able do some sightseeing this weekend with a couple guys from the team out here. We left the hotel at 9am Sunday morning and did not return until 10pm Sunday night. So, it was a long day, but definitely worth it. The big stops on our sightseeing tour took us to the Gateway of India, lunch at the Taj hotel on the Arabian Sea, and then we took an hour ferry ride to Elephanta Island. Elephanta Island has multiple Hindu temples all carved directly into the rock with hammers and chisels way back in 86 AD. So, this was probably the highlight of the tour.

It's 7:30pm on Monday night in India as I’m posting this entry. I was able to take an auto rickshaw to the office today, which is one of the pictures below. This is a popular means of travel for all the locals here, so I figured I had experience what the locals do. This will be my last night here in India. I will catch a flight at 10:40pm on Tuesday night to begin the long journey back to the States.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I will see you soon!!!

Gateway of India

Taj Hotel

Hindu Temple on Elephanta Island

Hindu rock carving

Auto Rickshaw

First Couple Days In India

Hey Guys,

It’s 10:14 am Monday here in Mumbai. I got up about 7:30am this morning, went down and had breakfast, then took some pictures for you guys to enjoy. Yesterday was a good day. Got up about 7:30am, went downstairs and had breakfast, laid by the pool for a little bit and read a book, then worked out in the afternoon. The food here is pretty good at the hotel, but I am still being somewhat selective in what I eat. After working out yesterday, I got cleaned up, and Chris (a guy on my team who is here with me) and I went and ate dinner at a restaurant here in the hotel. Dinner was very good. We had king prawns for an appetizer, and chicken fried rice along with lobster in garlic and butter sauce (yum yum). I know, I know, but remember I worked out before this dinner!!!

Tonight will be the first night at the office. I’m looking forward to getting there and meeting the new team that we will be training. I just plan on taking it easy today, will go and work out, do some ironing since everything is wrinkled from the long trip, and try to take a nap since I will be switching to nights now. The rest of the week will be all about work. We will go into the office around 7pm and work until 5am or so. Then back to the hotel and sleep during the day (sounds like fun, huh?) I don’t remember majoring in college to work in call centers, but funny how we end up doing what we do!!!

All of the attached pictures are views from the hotel, the pool, and lobby area. Couple of things that you may have questions about. The pool is the biggest infinity pool in Mumbai. The body of water you see is just a lake around the hotel, not the Arabian Sea. The guy sitting in the lobby is playing music using small bowls filled with different amounts of water (he looks angry that I took his picture, but he’ll get over it).

Well, I think that pretty much sums everything up that has taken place the past day and a half. Hope all of you are doing well. Can’t wait to get home!!!

--Jeff

India Day One

Jeff has been sending pictures and e-mails about his time in India. Hope you all enjoy the pics!

The long journey to India: It was a long and tiresome journey over here. About 24 hours of total travel from when I left DFW, but that includes the layover in Newark, New Jersey. The flight was extremely bumpy for the first hour or so out of Newark. After the first hour things settled down and we got dinner, which was not that great. Need to find a way to stick with American Airlines, but I’m partial there. So, ate dinner, proceeded to watch some in-flight entertainment, and then slept for about 4-5 hours. Once I woke up, we had about 3-4 hours left in the flight, which wasn’t too bad. Here’s one interesting part of the flight. Our flight route took us Northeast out of New Jersey, up over Halifax, Nova Scotia, just north of Ireland and Amsterdam, and then down over Afghanistan and Pakistan, right into Mumbai. The interesting part was as we entered Afghanistan and Pakistan we climbed to 40,000 feet. I started thinking that was probably a good idea, let’s stay out of the reach of any flying objects (missiles) that may be headed our way (just kidding, but the thought did cross my mind). So, bottom line is that we kind of flew “stealth” over those countries, couldn’t tell if the pilot turned the wing and tail lights off as well…J

When we landed in Mumbai, approx. 14 hours after leaving Newark, there was a noticeable aroma that overtook the cabin, which I was warned about. It’s not that bad though, already use to it. It’s fairly humid here, about 85 degrees. So, I am safely at my hotel (Renaissance), and it is very nice. Attached are some pictures of my room, which will be home for the next 10 days. I plan on taking a shower, popping an Ambien, and getting some sleep. Love you guys. Talk to you soon.

As you enter the room.

The Library!

The office!

Sleeping quarters.

Don't drink the water!

It is a 10 and 1/2 hour time difference ahead of our time. He will be working days here/nights there.

--Jeff

Wet & Cold Days!

I am entering the wonderful world of Blogging...be afraid, be very afraid! I hope to be able to share our journey of being parents and trying to maintain our sanity. One of the ways I do that is by working out, hence the name of the blog. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I hope to use the blog as a support system for myself...one of those things if you have to write it down...anyway, here goes!


Wet and cold days are difficult for us to handle in the Kennedy household. Joshua's energy is too much for our home to handle and the bones of my always aging body take a while to warm up.

How do you keep a 3 year old busy inside a house when it is yucky outside? I let him help me fix breakfast. Thankfully the items that dropped on the floor where still in the package...we had eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits this morning. A special breakfast for Jeff leaving tomorrow for 12 days. Then he got to go with Daddy to run some errands. Not sure how well that was for Daddy, but it was great for Mommy. Next we played the Spelling game that Cade got him for his birthday...after putting 3 small puzzles together he was ready to move on. After the puzzle game it was time to play the pick on Andrew game...oh yea, this is an ongoing event from this point on because Andrew gets too much of Mommy's attention. Then there was the game of Joshua goes, or is dragged, to his room because he threw something at Mommy since he was not getting his way. I wish I had ear muffs during that game. Then there was time to sit on his table in his playroom and throw everything off of it and onto the floor. He moved on to singing his alphabet...fun for all! Next was time to run around and beg everyone to play hockey. Then cry about no one playing hockey with him. Since no one wants to play hockey he wants to watch a DVD. Well, the rule is "if you cannot sleep all night in your own bed then no cartoons, videos, DVD's, etc..." that began about 20 minutes of screaming and yelling, "but I WANT TO." Finally, he sat next to me and...passed out. Maybe he is not ready to skip naps.















As for me, not sure if it has to do with age or mentality, but my bones ache when it gets cold outside. It makes me not want to get out of the house, much less go work out. I need to work on that. I always go to the internet for some support and found this site, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/HQ01681. I should have taken my sons request to play hockey to heart. Even though that is not a 30 minute run, it is a workout. So, next time he wants to play hockey, or baseball, or anything I will do it without holding back.

Hope you all enjoyed this day!