Beautiful Darjeeling!

After visiting with our friends, we went up the mountains and stayed for a few days to have some family time together. It was SO NICE for us to be able to enjoy the trees and the cool, clean air and the GORGEOUS mountains. While we were up there, we spent most of our time walking around in nature and just soaking it all in! 

{Cute houses we saw going up the mountain}

{Comfy, Cozy, & OUT like a light!}

{On the way up the mountain, it was POURING rain. It was QUITE scary to be on a one vehicle sized road, going around windy corners with an Ind!an driver and there being NO guard rails! The town has a really fun, yet quaint feel about it and it has super cute houses built into the sides of the mountain. Once we reached our place, we absolutely LOVED our room! It was comfy and cozy (even had a fire place!) and felt like a cabin. Love Love LOVED it!}

{Definitely got a "room with a view"!!}

{Gorgeous Tea Gardens!}

{Hiking it up the tea garden to find an auto!}

{And...... TOTALLY exhausted at the end!}

SUPER FUN TRIP TO THE DARJEELING ZOO!

 

{Never been so close to a leopard and yaks in our life!}

  

{Riding the tram and making it back just in time to CRASH!}

Fun With Friends in the East! :)

We were SO grateful to be able to take a few days to see some friends in the east. The area is GORGEOUS and SO much different than our part of the country. We had a wonderful time visiting with our friends and their two boys. The kids played together in the water, sand, grass, park, and OPEN SPACE, which our boys have hardly experienced their entire lives. 

 {So thankful for this wonderful lady's hospitality and friendship!}

{E LOVED every minute of playing outside in the open air!}

 We took the kids to an awesome park... saw TONS of monkeys, swung on the swings and climbed the trees! :) 

We also drove up the mountain and saw some incredible tea gardens... and on the way up we were stopped because we were literally about 40 ft away from a wild elephant! Woweeee!!! What a treat!

{The rice fields were absolutely GORGEOUS after the monsoon rains!}

{Driving up the base of the mountain we saw the sign telling us that Elephants had the right of way in this area. Then we were shocked when people started waving us off the road because there was an actual elephant right in front of us! Apparently this guy is known in the area and has even attacked nearby villagers. In the above photo, on the right, you can semi see a khaki colored object by the small tree in the middle. That was the elephant! Hard to get a good shot when you're on a motorcycle with two kiddos! :)}

{We crossed the border into N3p@l... which literally meant crossing over a bridge. One side is Ind!a, the other side is N3p@l. We learned that the bridge/border is one of the MAJOR entrances where girls are trafficked. We also got to see a watch stand created by a group that helps identify and rescue trafficked girls. The only people who actually get stopped crossing the border are foreigners, crazy huh!?!}

Auntie Sammie Came!! :)

A few pics from when Auntie Sammie visited us. She couldn't have come at a better time and couldn't have been more of a blessing. ALL of us were so thankful to spend time together, laugh, and just enjoy family. Now if only Uncle Nick would let her come again..... ;) 

 {E enjoying the most & greenest grass we've EVER seen in this country!}

                           { concentrating... }                     {Look who we found at the airport!}

 {Snatched her up and didn't want to let her go!}

 {Happy Hud enjoying time outside with Auntie!}

 {Til the monkey came in and we all ran inside!}

 {Had to get her on the bike!}

 {Hud's got a favorite Auntie!}

 {Crazy foreigners at Red Fort... }

 {Pretty ladies}

 {Flag flying on a beautiful day!}

{Entrance to the Fort}

Mimi went to THAILAND, what?!

Although we found out E had an ear infection the day after we arrived, we still had a fun time playing in the sand & sun, making memories with Mimi, eating yummy food, and just escaping the harshness of the country we live in. Thailand is known as "the land of smiles" and the people there are warm and welcoming. :-) 

 {Airport & Airplanes!}

 {SO happy to have some FUN and R&R!}

 {Pretty mornings!}

 {Beach was almost completely empty a couple of the days!}

 {Special gifts from the guys!}

 {E wasn't too interested in the family photo...}

{Going for walks is a FAVORITE in our fam!}

{Sun and fun with daddy!}

{E got to have lots of fun playing in playgrounds and meeting horses. These are rare and special times for our little guys and we enjoyed just watching him be a happy kiddo!}

{They eat weird things in Thailand!}

{.... and have EXTRA large (but really cool looking!) snails!!!}

{Mimi LOVES a bandana and naturally, E rocked it!}

 {Enjoyin some DAIRY QUEEN ice cream with Mimi!}

{Our little bundle of JOY (literally!) and his "big" brother trying to help him up. Mimi's face says it all... hahaha!}