baby´s got a new do!

so today we finally cut eijla´s hair for the first time!  it was a tough moment for me.  but it wasn´t so hard for eijla!  our "wild child"  sat still as long as she could play with the itouch!  what did we ever do before we got that thing?!?!

my little girl looking so grown up!  

then i had to share this one from yesterday we had ice cream on the beach at sunset and the girls we just so sweet together.  moments like this i really really miss my lens, but i am doing my best with zoe´s little camera.

pappa fyller år!

happy birthday pappa!  hipp hipp hurra!  it is pappa's day!  we woke him up with singing and breakfast in bed.  after food and snuggles we headed to the nearest wildlife sanctuary for a little more adventure.  we rode through the jungle on our little bike, and then hiked up to a treetop lookout.  zoe was so brave and climbed all the way up and down by herself.  a guy promised that if she could do it, than he would.  he made up about 3 meters and chickened out.  zoe thought he was a bit silly.

 we saw lizards, butterflies, frogs, and some pretty cool trees.

 we stopped for lunch at a cozy little place where zoe got to climb a coconut tree, and then we walked down to a little stream afterwards to cool down. 

 on the way out of the sanctuary we stopped to see the rescue animals,  zoe really hit if off with shinky the giant squirrel. 

then it was off to dinner on the beach again.  happy birthday my dear swedish meatball, i hope you know your girls are all crazy about you! puss.

new year's eve

we rented a bike for new years eve, and drove to the market in chaudi to buy supplies.  zoe bought much of her own food, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and these crazy colored pastas.  she is quite the little market shopper.

 after offloading the supplies at the house we went exploring, all four of us on our little blue speedy bike.  eijla was either waving her arms in the wind or sleeping the whole ride.  we found more beaches and even made it all the way to agonda. 

 then after a beautiful sunset and dinner on the beach...it was time for fun.  we bought zoe and eijla sparklers which they played with while waiting for dinner. 

it was time for fun.  we bought zoe and eijla sparklers which they played with while waiting for dinner. 

sadly they fell asleep by about 2200, and we were unable to wake them despite the insanely loud and fireworks and us pinching and poking them all over. nope they were out, and proceeded to sleep through the large firework explosions at midnight.  but we enjoyed it laying on the beach.  not a bad way to welcome the new year.

happy birthday to me!

  i was spoiled rotten today.  thomas and the girls woke me up with breakfast in bed, fresh avocados and tomatoes on toast, yum!  then it was a snuggle day!  blanka and her family came over to join us for cake at the german bakery.  but not before blanka and zoe decorated themselves with shiny wrapping paper.  very stylish young ladies.

 most of us "carpooled" to the bakery where we had super yummy cake.

  zoe chose to have "happy birthday mommy" on the cake, too cute.  then a delicious dinner on the beach with kingfish vindaloo and good company.  a fantastic birthday.  now i just hope i can make thomas´ just as special next week.

happy christmas! india style

santa claus came to goa!  we woke up this morning with eijla bouncing a ball on our heads.  our ikea shopping bags worked great as stockings, and old saint nick did not miss a beat.  there were pens and stamps, and stickers, and of course the balls.  oooh!

 the booty!

 then it was another fun afternoon at the beach.

 with ice cream of course, cuz as zoe says it is christmas and that means an extra special day with extra special belöningar!

 and then a tasty dinner on the beach and flowers in our hair.  merry christmas and happy holidays to all!

JULAFTON!

christmas eve!  the girls are super excited!  here they are with their pretty christmas fancy updos, enjoying a little bit of morning entertainment on the itouch. 

 we have met another swedish family here, so we will go out tonight with them and celebrate the swedish julafton, though santa is not going to make it here until tonight!  we even got ourselves a sparkly little purple tree!  here are my christmas girls...

the beach continued...

what´s that?  another day or two at the beach, really?  yup. and loving it.  we walked all the way to palolems main street yesterday.  seems like everyday we explore just a little bit further, but never get very far at all!  nothing to complain about there. 

  but all the fun and playing and sand castle building does wear one out.  eijla enjoys her daily naps on the beach, and looks adorable doing it.

ah, still enjoying the beach...

ah, life on the beach is good.  really good.  the girls love the sand and the creatures and shells they find there.  today was a big crab hunting day.  we even found starfish and watched while they buried themselves in the sand again.

 

being in the land of amazingly good food, zoe has of course been begging to have boring noodles like  the ones that she eats back home.  so we finally found some and the girls enjoyed their "not so gourmet" noodles on the porch.  hmmm, think i will stick to my palak paneer!

 

and off to paradise we go..

after a month in rajastan, we are ready for some laid back beach time.  but the beaches are far away, so this time we took an airplane (or two).  here are the girls on our lay over in mumbai airport, on our way to goa.

we arrived in the middle of the night, but the girls awoke to the sound of the waves outside our bungalow.  white sand beaches and the prefect temperature in the water, this is really paradise. 

 we spent our first couple of nights in a hut on the beach...

 but then we found a house a little bit off the beach, i would say it is a quieter location except for all the dogs barking, roosters crowing, and the other odd animal fight, but we do have a small kitchen and tiled floors.  we tried to go into town to buy all the necessities, but then realized it was sunday, so managed to get some of the stuff we needed, but not all,  though we did manage to do the christmas shopping for the girls.  even bought a tiny bit of christmas decorations.  this morning thomas and zoe drank their breakfast on our front porch, yes zoe is very happy we live in a very pink house!  looking forward to a month of relaxing here.

horseback riding and traditional dance

this morning we woke up bright and early to go horse backriding.  both zoe and eijla were super excited.  we went just 10 or 20 kms outside of udaipur and were in beautiful natural surroundings.

 eijla rode with me for awhile, but my horse preferred to trot rather than walk, and it was just too bumpy for her once she started getting tired.  so she slept with pappa on his calmer horse.

 we had a great time, but both zoe and i were pretty sore on our bottoms after riding on my bumpy horse!  good things we only booked  a morning ride and not a day ride! then this evening we went to a traditional dance and puppet show.  there were lots of sparkles and bells, the girls really enjoyed it.  since my favorite lens died on me, i have been bad about bringing my camera anywhere so i have no pictures.  but the girls got early christmas presents as we bought a puppet from the puppeteer at the show,  and he gave eijla a little camel puppet.