My 'Little' Brother Brad

This is Axel again. When Terah and I lived in AZ getting our masters degrees I was called to be the YMP for our ward. During that time I got to know this 11 - 12 year old kid named Brad. Several things about him really struck me. Firstly he really reminded me of my brother Asa. He had a drive to be a pilot and even at 12 he was doing everything in his power to make it happen. I have never seen a kid or even an adult with such a clear and concise goal doing everything that needed to be done to make it a reality. And he was funny. Terah and I loved having him around the house and he would come over often to go herping with me, get help on his homework, work on his boy scouts or just hang out. It was like having a little brother again.

We have kept in contact since we left AZ and over the years talked and seen each other when we get the chance. He never once changed his goals or the great kid he was. I was always proud of him. He served his mission in Hong Kong and his big brother Jeremy (another stellar kid) served his mission in Croatia and actually lived in the same town Terah and I were in where I was the branch president all those year ago.

Brad was accepted to the Air Force Academy and is close to graduating now we are praying for him to get a pilot's slot.

When he had a spring break and wrote he was thinking about coming to see us here we were soo happy. He showed up and here are some picts of the great week we had together:

Brad and Xay in Chitwan washing an elephant. He is no longer little! The guy is like 6'2 and solid muscle!

We went on a jeep safari and saw rhinos, spotted and musk deer, storks, sloth bears, guars, gharials, crocodiles and a caged man eating tiger. It was a great trip.

There was a forest fire going on. They are freaking loud!

Wild peacock flying away

Dona giving an elephant a Pringle chip. They also can't just eat one.

So he reached his trunk into the car to get to the source of the chips.

So Xay rewarded him with a few more and a couple of bananas so he would get fat.

Man eating crocodiles seen from a boat ride we took.

Brad hanging out at the elephant nursery.

Seeing wild rhinos on the back of a elephant. I was on the another elephant taking the picture.

Look up on the tree branch. There is an Indian Monitor Lizard almost to the top. A rare sight.

Then because I had just turned 40 and we wanted to see if we could scare some life out of me, Terah, Me and Brad went bungee jumping off of the bridge you see. 545 feet straight down! It was a blast and Brad was the gung ho Air Force man who led us to do it. Terah is going to post a separate post about that later.

Me and Brad and the valley of doom after the jump. Yeah baby we didn't die!

Brad hanging out with some of the local hill people.

We saw this old man walking down the road so Brad jumped out to give him something to drink, eat and some money for a picture. Just a little bit of size difference!

This is just at Pashupati, where they cremate the dead. Brad is majoring in Biology (another reason he is soo cool) at the academy and so he wanted to get a sample of the water to test it to see what is in it. We can't wait to hear the results!

Heavah, Hanuman (the monkey god of Rama) and Brad

Yep, that is a dead body ready to get burned.

And here it is starting. You can see the flames coming out of the mouth. That is where the fire is started. This person must have been important to be burned here.

Brad cold chill'n with the natives. After this he taught them how to do the 5 step hi five slap.

Another weird dude.

And then too soon it was over.

Brad went on a date with our maid. She is still madly in love with him and talks about him all the time.

It was such a fun trip. They guy had Terah and I laughing full belly laughs every day he was here. It was like chicken soup for our souls to have him here. I couldn't be more proud of the man he has become. Nor could I be prouder to have him as an adopted younger brother. He brings happiness and smiles wherever he goes. I can't wait to see him again.

Miss you bro! Come back soon!

Indian Princess

So much has been going on these past few days I must apologize for not posting much. We are in the thick of Spring Break and we have been having a lot of fun. Posts are coming. For now, I must share my Indian Princess photos and Xavier's first tie.

Happy Holi

Just days after we arrived from our vacation we experienced our first Holi holiday. Holi is considered as the festival of colours. The night before Holi, the Hindus are supposed to light a fire in memory of the miraculous escape of Prahlad from the Demoness Holika when she carried him through fire. Because Prahlad was a follower of Lord Vishnu she escaped unharmed, but Holika was not as lucky and she was burnt. This is the only explanation I have received about this holiday and I am not sure how the colours come into play. Regardless of the reason, it is one fun holiday. It is a time to throw your inhibitions to the wind and let go of any social graces.

Here is how it begins:

1. Throw water balloons at those you know.

2. Take all your frustrations out on your boss and throw coloured powder at his face when he isn't looking.

3. Throw coloured powder at the small children cause they are an easy target.

4. Throw coloured powder at your madame cause she had nasty looking hair anyways.

5. Allow the children to attack you.

6. Watch your didis duke it out and realize that there is a lot of pent up frustration between the two.

7. See how many colours can fit on one face.

8. Get in the car and take on perfect strangers with water balloons and bags full of coloured powder.

9. Be amazed that the entire city shuts down for this holiday, and the streets are only populated with brave souls.

10. Stare at all the insanity.

11. Stupidly drive through the fruit and vegetable market and realize that throwing tomatoes is fair game.

12. Notice that high levels are optimal during a day like today and watch the water balloons fly.

13. Find out that it is not only H2O in the balloons. There is a water shortage after all and little boys have an automatic hose. (YUCK!)

14. Realize that it is wise to keep all windows shut and mouth closed if hit by a water balloon.

15. Witness Sarita slam a tourist in Thamel...

...and watch others run for their lives.

16.Pick up a stranger in Thamel and give him a ride.

17. Feel glad that I took the children out of school so they could join in on the fun. This is better than Halloween!

18. Allow the children to brave the streets and throw things at anyone they can reach.

19. Decide that it might be fun to do the same, and not care if I get splattered with a pee bag or nasty Bagmati river juice.

20. Enjoy the best holiday in Nepal EVER and count the days down until the next year!