Backyard Peddle Boating

As far as weekend ratings go, this past weekend was a 5 out of 5.  I highly suspect that I am biased because whenever I have an opportunity to share a water themed family activity, I am brimming with joy!

Right after Luke's baseball game, we drove to our back yard beach, the Redondo Beach Pier.
The smell of the ocean and seafood got Luke into a very excitable state.  If you don't already know, Laila is allergic to seafood so we avoid it at all costs.  This time though, I decided to take Luke into the Quality Seafood Inc and get him half a dozen fried shrimp and a slice of fried fish.
He proceeded to annihilate the plate with a gusto reserved only for favorite foods.

Right after that we rented a peddle boat and headed out to sea for an hour.  What an under estimation of effort!  Our road bicycling days are so far behind us that it took all 3 pairs of legs to get us going forward.  Laila sat back like a princess but occasionally lent a hand literally.  The video below is compressed version.  Enjoy!

Jiko Cooking

Today we decided to use the Jiko that Smita insisted we buy and bring all the way from Nairobi in December last year.We just returned from Deepa and Marcel's wedding not too long ago so the vibes were just right.

The pictures below tell the story better than words could.

Jiko!

Jiko with Coals!

Ready to go! 

Chicken! 

Spray bottle with good stuff!

Chicken!!! Chicken!!

and everyone was happy!

Smita decides to pile on more stuff on the Jiko!

October Wedding

Update:  Dr. Alexander sent us more photos of the wedding which I uploaded here.  Or you can see the slideshow below

The trip of a lifetime was completed this October when we went to Clarens, South Africa to attend Deepa and Marcel De Kocks wedding.  It was exhilarating, rewarding and lovely to see my sister in-law exchange vows with my new brother Marcel.  Congratulations to both of them.

While we had booked our tickets for this trip in June 2012, we were completely blind-sided by the expiry of Lukes passport (July 15 2012....yes that is Laila's birthday).  So we did some last minute harried and hurried expedited passport renewals and itinerery changes (2 days in South Africa!) to make sure we made the trip.

We took a few photos and some video of the event which we shall always remember and cherish.  Meeting Marcel's wonderful parents Anna and Arno De Kock and his Aunts and Uncles that came from Cape Town and Pretoria was a genuine pleasure.  The Alexander's extended family was very well represented by Suchi Aunty, Leslie Uncle and Ajoy Uncle.

Luke had the august responsibility of ring bearer and Laila was the flower girl. They both performed their duties as best they could.  (Laila didn't drop flowers as planned!)  Smita was a stunning bridesmaid although I doubt she approves of the word 'maid' or 'bride' associated with her. :-)

We were on the same flight from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg with the newly weds Marcel and Deepa De Kock who were on their way to honeymoon in Italia.  We are now back in Los Angeles and while we are glad to be home, we also miss 'home'.  

Congratulations again Mr. and Mrs. De Kock!