Family Photos

Immediately following Aren's baptism we all went out to the little bricked area behind the church.  We thought it was the perfect spot for some family photos!

Amachee and Echachan with the boys

Biju, Kalinda, Ajay, Alex, Aren

Shelly, Carrick, Paige, Kyleigh, Audrey

Jeff, Jaime, Lenley, Thomas, Logan, Tessa

Matt, Brandi, Brandon, Jenna

12 cousins

Aren doing a little playing in between shots.

Mom with sisters Tina and Theresa, plus Aren

Mom and Dad with their 4 children plus spouses, 12 grandkids, and my dad's mom

Road trip and Baptism

We wanted to take Biju's parents on a road trip to let them see the beautiful views Kansas gives.  What better place than to take them to my parents farm?
We loaded up the van and headed out!

The boys wanted Echachan to ride in the back with them.  Aren was filling a bit silly.

It is a three hour drive to my folks.  Sometimes that drive can feel like forever but it went pretty quickly with other adults to talk with and different landmarks to point out.
Once we got there, his parents were reunited with my parents.  ( If you remember, my parents flew to India 9 years ago for our Indian/church wedding.)  And then they were introduced to other family members.

My camera started acting up and would only take blurry pictures no matter what setting it was on. Here is my mom, Biju's mom and my niece, Lenley.

Biju, his dad, my dad and my brother, Matt, all talking out on the front porch.

The next day we had Aren's baptism. 

His parents had brought the perfect little outfit from India.  He looked so handsome!

Paige holding Aren.

Thomas holding Aren.

Mango!

Mom wanted to pick up some mango for an afternoon treat.  We had to wait a couple of days for it to ripen but it was pretty tasty when it was ready.  Even our neighbor wanted to get in on some mango-action!

Looking at these photos I guess I should not call it an afternoon treat.  Aren is in his pajamas.  I guess it was an early evening treat!

Yardwork

Biju's dad had a fine time gardening during his visit.  He really enjoys plants and he had plenty of places in the yard to toodle around while he was here. 
Here he is watering the front yard with the boys:

Echachan guiding Aren in the ways of gardening.

Teamwork

"We got this!"

Aren was drawn to this bare patch while he was watering.

A celebration!

Shortly after Biju's parents arrived, his mom had a birthday!  The boys were thrilled to share such a special day with her. 
Ajay asked Biju how to write Happy Birthday - in either Malayalam or Hindi, I'm not sure which. 
We also bought her some yummy cake!

Birthday dinner.  Kids had water, adults had some adult beverages (just a little)!

Chocolate cake from Sam's - the best chocolate cake, in my opinion!  And a little silliness to go with it.

More sillies!

A happy birthday message - with some silliness thrown in.

Sweet photo