Out of Quarantine

We have been battling 2 bouts of tonsillitis....or maybe just one long penicillin resistant bout. Not sure, but Nico is on the mend with lots of antibiotics pumping through his little body.

Yesterday he was feeling better so we headed to our local park and he enjoyed climbing, sliding and swinging. Ghetto style---gotta love the graffiti!

Tonight we head up to LEAP and he will be reunited with all his toddler friends. He will be pleased!

Nicholas, Nicholas

Couldn't resist posting this photo......credit to Christy.

Christy, I stole it from Facebook! Thanks :)

Scavenger Hunt around London

Dostana headed into central recently for a good old fashioned scavenger hunt. There is always fun to be had around Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden. We had 2 teams going head-to-head for a Haagen Dazs reward. :) Here is a smattering of the 30 or so tasks to be completed---the team with the most items completed, with highest point value---WINS.

• Singing a Simon and Garfunkel song in front of Garfunkle's restaurant.


• Photo of whole group in a red phone booth


• Photo of whole group as fountains in Trafalgar Square---water should be shooting out of your mouths.
  
• A week old newspaper (they found this---doesn't say much for the London sanitation dept!)
  And after the hunt we headed to one of our favorites....Wagamama.

For cheap Asian infused eats in London, check out www.wagamama.com

The Kanga that travelled around the World

My brother, Paul and his girlfriend, Nicole, just traveled to Tanzania & Zanzibar for a climbing, safari and scuba diving adventure. They had an amazing time and my brother has been dreaming of opening a scuba shop in Zanzibar since. We'll see...they are both heading back to Hawaii in the next few days for work.

Paul, the package arrived Tuesday! Thanks for the kanga! It is beautiful.
We are enjoying the Reeses that.... well aren't from Tanzania. :)
Lake Manyara game reserve Zanzibar sunset

Beach Bound

This past Saturday we headed south to Bournemouth, a seaside town on the English Channel. Bournemouth is one of the few sandy beaches around. Not to mention a very WIDE beach, perfect for all 160 of us from London.

Below are some photos of the short term team from the US---they hosted a kids program on the beach complete with volleyball and sandcastles.


Barry, Nicholas and Nicholas' best friend, Thomas. One of the highlights of the day was a baptism. The ocean was freezing cold so my friend opted for a good sprinkle!

Butterflies, Hearts and Tigers

Another rainy day in London.

Our short-term team hosted an after school kid's club today at one of the local housing estates. The team organized wiffle ball tag, football, basketball and the big hit seemed to be the face painting. The little boy above was happy as can be with his tiger face....many butterflies, ladybirds (or ladybugs in the US) and hearts adorned other precious cheeks around the housing estate.

There were smiles on parent's faces too as they were happy to get the kids out of the house. We are all a little stir crazy here. Rain, rain, go away!

We head to the beach on Saturday so we are hoping to see the sun. :)

Welcome to London!

July brings us 3 short-term teams plus our annual LEAP conference with 90 people in attendance this year. What does this mean for us???? It means life jumps from busy to complete insanity!

Our 1st team arrived this morning--safe and sound. After the troubles in Glasgow yesterday, we are thankful for their uneventful trip across the pond. Despite jet lag they have jumped into things with enthusiasm. They were bounding around town today learning about samosas, sarees, bhangra music, and Bollywood actors!

Nicholas' New Toy

We couldn't resist this new tunnel system, complete with a tepee and hideout!! At 16 months Nicholas loves crawling and exploring all over our back garden......he's been in heaven the last few days. Here are a few shots of his 1st trip down the tunnel.