October at a Glance

One fine, fancy morning before school

OCTOBER=Eid break, Talula's Birthday, Halloween and SAISA volleyball in India

OPTION 1: skip to the photos
OPTION 2: read Christine's ramblings and then look at the cute photos

The blur that was September and October is almost complete. I (Christine) have been coaching high school girls' volleyball until 6pm three nights during the school week, leaving Randy with lots of Anastasia/Talula time with only the weekends as recovery and catch-up periods. It's been crazy but I'm enjoying the play.

We had a nice little respite over Eid holiday at the beginning of October. We took one of the mornings to show the girls Lahore Fort which Randy and I had visited last year. It was a nice morning, the girls opted for fancy wear and thus we got a few cute pictures.

The weekend after we had 4 girls over for a playdate. Talula chose her best friend, Xenia, and Roshany and her sister came.  Anastasia had Maria over because we had been to Mahnoor's the weekend before. They had a good time drawing, dressing up and playing kitchen. Maria's mom stayed for a little while, but otherwise each mother/driver dropped off their daughter with a nanny. The adult:kid ratio was greater than one, so it was a very pleasant occasion. The reason for the playdate= avoidance of the full-out birthday party that is the norm here. I was not up for the bouncy house-magician-catered food-goody bags extravaganza that would be anticipated by every member of her class that would have to be invited. Talula didn't seem to mind :)

Halloween this year involved (past tense because Muharram is next weekend and we can't overlap the observed days) a trial dressing on Monday, an assembly on Thursday, the parade at school on Friday and will conclude with a Halloween party at Maria's compound.  Talula was a "sweet" Dracula and Anastasia was a fruit bat- although to most they probably simply appeared as a vampire and bat.

I was quite happy that Halloween was celebrated early because I will not be with the girls or Randy on the real day. I'll be with 11 LAS girls and my teaching/coaching partner in Mumbai for the SAISA (Southern Asia Inter-Scholastic Association) Girls' Volleyball tournament. I was getting a bit stressed because none of us had a visa for India until today. (I hugged our athletic director when she told me!) It would have been a major letdown to practice for 2 months and then...nothing. We played earlier in Islamabad against some other international schools in the area and WON! (check out Lahore American School on Facebook for some photos of me and the girls) I do not expect to win this coming week, but I do plan to have fun and watch LOTS of volleyball.

Waiting for the water to go down

This little album includes photos of the rain, the girls' new bed and them doing various silly things.

Glowing soft-toy saves the evening

It rained ALL night Wednesday night, so we kept waiting for an SMS from school to say something like: don't risk flooded streets, stay in your warm beds and we'll see you tomorrow.  But no message ever came so we got ready for school as always.  The drive to LAS was up to mid-tire for about 25% of the trip.  Upon arriving, we were turned away by the guards outside the school with the superintendent and high school principal standing at the front door waving glumly.  NO SCHOOL!  They promised to let us know by that night about the next day.  The message this time: School for our shortened Friday workday (kids leave at 12:20) is on.

And then it starts to rain again during first block the next morning.  E-mails begin arriving: After-school professional development has been cancelled but let's meet in the canteen to eat all the potluck food we waded in with.  Then a message to scratch that.  Ultimately the last message says everyone go to Advisory now, your parents have been sent an SMS to come get you now.  Wait until your driver texts you to say he's here.

I grabbed Anastasia and Talula so my all-girls advisory could visit with them (and get them off their teachers' hands).  By the time we were ready to go, Khalil (our driver) still hadn't made it.  We grabbed a ride with my teaching and coaching partner.  Water was up to mid-calf as I tried to put all our bags in her trunk, raising to knee level with the wake of passing cars.  A bit insane! When we arrived home 10-15 minutes later, I think all of us released a sigh of relief that we hadn't stalled anywhere along the way.

Once home, electricity went out within a half hour.  We were without for about 6-7 hours.  Our back-up battery that runs a few lights and fans died shortly after 5 hours just as the sun was fading.  Thus all the photos with candles and the battery-powered butterfly from Great-grandma Baker.  The girls found it all an adventure but I am quite happy that the various leaks near doors and windows are not demanding my attention anymore!

2013-14 School pictures

"Now I know why they're free." [my first thoughts upon seeing the photos below]

School pictures at the Lahore American School were different than AISA (Abu Dhabi) or what I had experienced growing up. They were not being sold; the entire purpose was the for the yearbook and various admin and academic computer programs. Upon asking, I was told the digital versions of the photos would be available later in the year. Thus toward the end of last school year, I found these on some drive that allowed access to teachers.

I really think the art students might have done a better job with lighting. Talula's whole class had re-takes and the one below is the second and better effort. Oh, well... here they are:

Anastasia in Pre-K; Talula in Pre-School

Summer 2014: Indiana and Illionis

All of us- looking in the same direction!

We finished the summer with a whirlwind of fun!  Click here for the photos!

Tallulah Gorge State Park

Tallulah Gorge State Park is located almost midway between SC and IN.  Talula liked the idea of meeting another Tallulah, so we stopped over briefly on the journey north.  Here are the photos!