What an Adventure!!!

Oh boy am I glad to be home! We had way too much fun, probably spent way too much money, and most importantly made lots of memories on our vacation. And I would do it all again in a heartbeat!! We didn't even get sick while in India thanks to using grapefruit seed extract in all the water we drank/used to brush our teeth and the OnGuard essential oil blend my awesome brother insisted on sending me. Nope. The sickness waited until we got home, hence the lack of a blog post (so sorry to keep you all waiting). We all have a cold and the readjustment back to our boring, wonderful food. Oh well, the price we pay for having so much fun I suppose. The colds are being cut short due to Umcka (love that stuff) so we should all be back to normal in another day or so.  

Anyways, back to India. Wow! What a crazy place. All the cliches you've ever heard about India (like cows stopping traffic) are true. There were cows and dogs and people all over the place. So many people. I am so grateful for our New York City experience before going to India because it was a good preparation for lots of people in tight spaces. Times Square at around 9 or 10 pm on a Saturday night is Bangalore pretty much all the time (okay I might be exaggerating a little, but not much). Crossing the street was a terrifying experience. every. single. time. They don't have a whole lot of crosswalks so you kind of just have to wait for a pause in traffic and run (unless you're a cow and then the drivers actually slow down and sometimes even stop). Pretty sure Chris saved my life more than once while crossing the street. All part of the adventure. The food was overall pretty good except for the few times we ordered something that was way too spicy. I think Indians have burned all of their pain receptors in their mouths. Even the potato chips were spicy. Chris' coworkers sure had a good time watching us suffer through the heat though. The historical sites we visited were the best part. India has a lot of history and a lot of very old buildings. It was fun to hear the country's history and understand a little more why things are the way they are there. 

Time with family was awesome too. It did my heart so much good to see James interact with all of them and help him know that more than just mom and dad love him. He didn't even cry while I was gone (and I didn't cry either). Yes, we both did great with our two weeks apart. I missed that little boy so so much (and so did his daddy) but I knew he was in good hands, so I just tried to enjoy the time with my handsome husband and tried not think about it too much. I am so grateful for my mom for taking care of my little man so I could go to India with Chris. They had a good time and she taught him to behave a little better :) Way to go mom!!!

Wowzers! this is a long post. If you're still miraculously reading I promise I will post more pictures when I get them downloaded (they are on a different camera). 

Cousins :)

James finally got to meet Grandma Bench. 

Finally! James got to meet his Bench grandparents. 

These two were always up to something. 

Uncle Justin. Justin gave me a hug, tied James' blanket around him and the two were pals from the beginning. 

Grandpa Keller, cousin Kyle and James. 

This is how they do construction. With bamboo poles and cement. Even the fence posts were made out of cement. Wood is scarcely used. The little cement building in front was a where a family of at least five were living. Nothing but a cement floor to sleep on.

From inside our rickshaw. I think this was a two or three lane road.  

A real live Chameleon. It even changed colors for us. 

Idli. aka rice balls and spicy sauce. 

We felt like celebrities because everyone wanted to get a picture with us. Gotta love our pale skin ;)

Aunt Alice. So happy I have a sister!!! These two got some good bonding time.