The Harbour

Ruhi had been asking to take a trip to the harbour for some time now. There is usually a Ferris Wheel set up on the foreshore that she has been wanting to ride and as we didn't go to The Show (similar to the Clam Festival that came to New England each year) I promised that if we headed to the harbour we would go on some rides. The Ferris Wheel was the first order of business. Ruhi, Anisa, Soheila and I went on together while Mehran opted to stay on the ground with Bayan who had spotted a real, live, antique, train in the playground. The girls had a great time and it was very uncrowded so the operator just let us keep going around and around...and around. We were all ready for something else by they time he let us off. So next on the agenda was the bouncy castle. The girls held hands as they sat downand continued to hold onto one another as they plunged down the steep slide.

Meanwhile Bayan had noticed a mini race track with...cars. That he could drive. There was no contest. He would have no part of the bouncy castle, so while the girls were busy climbing up the ladder and sliding down the slides Bayan happily did laps in a shiny red convertible.He even took over the driving entirely when Mehran received a call on his mobile. There would be no fines or traffic infringements today. Just lunch at a restaurant and a leisurely drive home.

But this time with Baba at the wheel.

Capturing the Moments

The day we spent traipsing along the storybook trail was so filled with beauty and wonder that I simply had to share more. Magical moments were everywhere and I had one of the most joyous days in ages watching the children play and experience and explore.

One of my first favorite moments came at the start of the story trail. The girls had just collected their clipboards and were counting the steps through a tunnel hedge when Ruhi realized that she had seen the answer to another question back where they had begun. She took off to write it down and Anisa followed...

They returned moments later, breathless, and with more than one answer to record.

Ruhi got right into while Anisa struggled to locate the question.And then took a peek at what Ruhi was writing.Ever the helpful older sister Ruhi helped Anisa answer her question once she had finished her own.

I loved this so much that I took multiple photos...

and even zoomed in so that you could fully appreciate the charm of this moment. Mission accomplished. They walked back to join Bayan and I where we were waiting at the end of the hedge.
The end of the trail led us back to the mansion and we paused in it's shade to enjoy a picnic lunch on the lawn.Where the girls shared sandwiches, treatsand whispered conversations.After lunch the children strolled along the grounds (note Bayan's highly dignified manner), explored huge hedges and climbed fabulous trees whose branches dipped to the ground.Anisa treated us to an impromptu dance she made up just for the occasion. Ruhi organized running races down the sloping lawns

and Bayan demonstrated his special techniques for rolling down a hill. When they had tired of rolling and running and dancing and climbing they asked if they could revisit the trail. So we did. We walked back down meandering paths dotted with African wildlife and found ourselves beneath an enormous pine. I sat on a rustic bench and watched them play in perfect harmony for over two hours. Bayan set up shop and organized a restaurant complete with pine cone soup and all kinds of 'bush tucker'.
Ruhi was transformed into an elf and had tons of fun playing a woodland nymph.
While Anisa made no end of social calls on her stone phone.

As the day came to an end and we headed towards the car we paused to play on a great sailing ship and my three buccaneers had one final adventure on the high seas.Then, while cutting across a huge meadow to get to the parking lot, we made one more stop so that Ruhi could demonstrate the proper way to catapult rocks from this plant. Bayan was super impressed and plied her with pebbles so that she could continue to amaze us with her impressive skills. I am not sure the plant was quite so thrilled, but Bayan found it fascinating.

The Storybook Trail

The storybook trail is offered during most school holidays and is something that I never knew existed until recently. We arrived just in time to make it through the treasure hunt on the last day that it was being offered. The children had a spectacular time, so much so that I will be devoting two posts to it. I do not know much about the mansion that stands so majestically amidst gorgeous flowering gardens and vast expanses of lawn on the side of a hill over looking the city and sea, but the gardens, well- those we have explored most thoroughly. As you near the main house you come across a lily pond and waterfall that cascades down the hill into a small lake complete with spitting frogs which are guaranteed to fascinate three year old boys. You will notice living art work throughout the grounds, such as these sofas made from sculpted dirt and grass.

The children received clipboards with questions about common storybooks and characters and things that they had to find or count along the trail. Here they are at a hobbit house peering through a window in search of their answer.
Ruhi was the first to recognise this lamp post standing alone in a wooded grove. She said it reminded her of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (something I read to her ages ago) and who do you think we should meet beneath the trees just behind it?

Why Aslan of course.The children counted their way along an African safari identifying animals made from recycled materials. The girls also posed in Mowgli's hut after answering a question about The Jungle Book.

Bayan hopped along a log path

while Ruhi gave Wilbur a hug and Anisa picked his nose.They then counted the spiders in Charlotte's web before traipsing off to the Faraway Tree to find out how many fairies lived there. The artist had actually infused fairy statues into the bark and had constructed miniature windows and doors at the base of the tree.
For some unfathomable reason I did not take any pictures of this. I did however get a shot of Harry Potter's broomstick suspended in a grove of pine trees.
I also took some shots of the children posing in the same tree. For it was to this place that we returned after we had handed in our completed sheets, claimed our prize and had a picnic lunch.

There is something about this place that is just magic I tell you.

Magic.

Strike Two!

So we'd planned to have our mini, informal, devotional service for Marie today. It is school holidays and all the children are free. Unfortunately all of the children, save my own, are also sick. So...rather than wait any longer we thought we might as well say some prayers anyhow. It was not what I had planned, but was still simple and sweet. Prayers were said and quotations read in honor of a woman who I did not know very well, but one who was kind, patient and considerate, someone who loved children, was a devoted Baha'i and an ardent defender of the Faith. Prior to our last visit a year ago I have only vague memories of climbing the stairs to her apartment and enjoying the Shaklee Energy Bars that she not only got my mother to purchase, but to stock and sell herself as well. We must pause to appreciate the magnitude of this as my mother did not allow sugar in the house and was famous for sending me to school with such succulent treats as dried seaweed and tofu. Truly Marie was a miracle worker and my adolescent palate was extremely grateful. While she was a familiar face at Baha'i functions and gatherings throughout my childhood I never really got to know her. It is sad that we often don't realize these things before it is too late. So I am very glad that I had the chance to see her and speak to her again. Even though her health was failing and she was legally blind she was patient and smiling. She took my hand and proudly gave me a tour of her little apartment that had been added onto Vicki's house. She explained her routine, showed me pictures of her great-grandchildren and positively glowed as she talked about her family. She loved her family very much and I know she is dearly missed.

"Death preffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life." ~Baha'u'llah

Bayan has a plan...

and I am beginning to think that his secret objective may be to slowly drive me insane.

In the last two days alone I have caught him drawing on the walls no less than eight times in five different locations (plus I have confiscated numerous writing implements which were surely on their way to a wall). I have redirected him to paper and more appropriate means for self-expression and his response was to redouble his efforts on the exercise equipment and create a network of highways under Anisa's names along the side of the kitchen. Because, and I quote: "Mummy...we need roads." Sigh.

He has blocked the toilet twice by systematically tearing toilet rolls to shreds until they fill the bowl and block the drainage hole. Unplugging the mess and shopping for toilet paper is becoming a daily routine. One that I could seriously do without. Following in the footsteps of his chocoholic sister, Bayan has taken to going to such lengths as repositioning furniture and scaling walls to reach the tasty morsels. And if you should catch him in the act, he quickly tosses the succulent treats to the side and admonishes you most passionately about the perils of ingesting too much chocolate. "Mummy, chocolate is bad for you." Yet apparently it is good for him. I also found him hunkered down in the pantry crunching away on what I thought were crackers. It was the only thing I could think of that would make that sound. I have since learned that saffron laced nabot (Persian sugar cubes) also pack a powerful crunch. Now take a peek at the pantry (photo altered to approximate Bayan's view of things.)The nabot was towards the top shelves (it has since been relocated) and he managed to get it down silently and safely, with no crashing jars or injuries. Honestly this kid has initiative and determination, not to mention specialized skills that make Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible look like a walk in the park.

He has taken a fancy to pouring milk into as many receptacles as possible. While excellent for his hand eye coordination and for his gross moor skills it inevitably ends with him using nearly every glass, cup, or mug in the house, sloshing milk across the counter and spilling it down the sides of the cabinet. He says to me in a very grown up and matter of fact manner. "Don't worry Mummy. I have a plan." He is rather vague on the details of the plan and somehow it never seems to involve cleaning up but it does apparently involve the use of markers. Only this time he is drawing on the fine china and not the walls. Is that an improvement? I really can't tell.

Have you seen my organic peppercorns?

I have a special 'helper' who, at least once a day rearranges the pantry products for me. His current fetish is with the glass jars and containers that he likes to take from the shelves and rearrange on the floor. The cans are his second items of choice, but they normally wind up on the counter top as I am preparing dinner with implicit instructions from my sous chef about which cans to use and how many to add. You know tasty tips like how I must add peach halves, asparagus spears, tomato paste and lemon pepper tuna to the chicken curry. If I fail to heed his instructions he can often be found foraging for can openers and attempting to open the cans and add the ingredients himself. Perhaps I should just let him try it. Despite the fact that he favors glass and canned products (in terms of relocating them at least) he has also made off with some organic spices. I found a brilliant range at the store and have been using them instead of their cheaper counterparts. The one I use most is the whole peppercorns which I grind just before adding to food. That is, when I can find them. I have been peppercornless for two days now and am beginning to feel seriously frustrated. They are not with the spices, they are not in the pantry, they are not on the bookcase, tucked in the couch or hidden beneath the exercise equipment. I have searched all Bayan's usual haunts and even some not so usual ones, to no avail...where, oh where, could they be?

More Playdates

While we have been busily moving from one play date to the next I have realized that I really have not taken any pictures of them. We have been too busy enjoying the company of friends to worry about preserving the moments on film...and someone has been forgetting to take the camera. But we shan't dwell on that. Besides -today I remembered. So there.

We joined some friends from school for a visit to the museum and after me schlepping uphill carrying four coats, two umbrellas, a large bag, a camera, a purse and Bayan, we managed to see one and a half displays before Bayan began to chant his mantra in a desperate, tortured wail: "I want to go home!" "I don' like this!!" "I hungry!!!"(that may have been partially my fault as I refused to let him eat chocolate for breakfast) "I want to go HOME!!!" We continued through the Egyptian display and saw part of the geology exhibition before I decided to take him downstairs for a snack. Suddenly everyone was hungry. And thus ended our museum tour. We enjoyed a light snack that saw Bayan display such impeccable table manners as attempt to dunk his face into what was left of the tomato sauce and try to lap up the remnants with his tongue. I wonder where he gets that from...Grammy.

From the museum we ran an errand that I had put off for ages and then joined J. and A. for lunch. The kids were so excited because we hadn't seen them for such a long time and they got right into it happily playing from the minute we arrived until we, sadly, had to leave. They enjoyed card games and dress ups, crafty things and toys, playing outside with all the fabulous ride-onsthat Bayan adored ever so much...but more than anything they just enjoyed being together. We even arranged to take some silly photos like this one of a super strong Ruhi holding her sister and J. in the palm of each hand. And I got to have a baby fix as little H. is now 8 months old and just as gorgeous as can be... I am so in love.