Time flies....

...when you are having fun.  February came and went faster than a blink of my eye.  I contribute that to having my mom, Aunt Kathy and Robin here for most of it.  It meant so much to all of us to have our loved ones from home to share our experience with.

When we moved abroad we had to come to grips that is was our choice and that meant not seeing people we love for about 10 months.  I hope for visitors, but know it is not an easy trip due to travel time and money.  I advertise constantly to try to get people to make it (because I want to share this adventure), but I know it is not always possible.  It had been 6 months since Wade and I had seen family.  This is the longest for both of us.  Deprivation made the month of February even more special and one we will hold in our hearts forever. 

Even with the heat, my mom, Kathy and Robin made the most of their trip.  My mom took Wade, me and the kids North to Chiang Mai, they went South to Phuket and all us ladies concurred the city of Bangkok in a weekend.  We had so much fun and many adventures.   My mom also got to spend 1:2 time with the kids while Wade and I spent a weekend in Jakarta (I was there for work).

I LOVED having my mom here and can't wait to get her back with my sister and brother in the upcoming year or so!  For anyone interested in a trip to Thailand, I now have it all organized :).  You just need to get on the plane.

Hill Tribe Village up North

Elephant Camp

Downtown Dinner Cruise and Show

Tiger Kingdom

Big Tigers

Great Food

Baby Tigers

Elephant Rides

Ox Cart Rides

Blue Elephant Cooking School

Pre-School Games Day

4 years of wonderful

It is hard to believe that Amelia turned 4 years old this past week.  She has turned into such a funny, observant (smart), loving little person who makes me proud to call her mine.  We were so lucky to have my mom here in Thailand (more on that to come) to help with her party and celebration.  That night we sat and decompressed and she said it was a very American birthday and you would have never guessed we were in Bangkok.  It was bitter sweet not having all our family or friends there from back home, but the house was filled with new friends and laughter.

4 going on 14 here!

Having an "American" party was not an easy task.  Amelia requested a Princess Tea Party with a princess cake.  It sounded easy, but with everything being a production to do here, it took time and some creativity.  I aimed for an easy bash, but it got a little more complicated then planned.  Amelia seemed to love it. 

My birthday princess

We had about 17 little kids and their parents at the party.  It was loud and crazy.  Here are a couple princess friends and the most expensive cake I have ever made.  The Betty Crocker mix cost me over $5 because it is a USA import.

 

Being in Thailand you take your shoes off before you go inside.  Our pile of shoes.

Leave it to the kids to have the most fun just playing on a golf cart.

Art class

The art teacher at RIS had a Valentine's art class for staff children after school one day this past week. Liam was able to join and was so excited to wear an art smock and be one of the big kids.

Each kid was given a hunk of clay and were able to use it however their imaginations guided them. Liam made one piece, while Amelia got really creative.

Teacher Appreciation

This week I was able to be part of a ceremony in honor of teachers. This was a first for me; A ceremony honoring me! Teacher appreciation in the past  has come from the building PTA. They would arrange lunches, coffee machines and at one school I taught at a massage chair in the teacher's lounge. I have also worked at schools where the day goes unnoticed due to no one wanting to organize it. The biggest difference between my past teacher appreciation events and the one in Thailand, was this one had a huge emphasis on respect.

The profession of "teacher" in Thailand is held in the same consideration as doctor and lawyer. Parents and students hold a high honor for what we do and have to say. One way of showing this regard is through the wai (bow).

Orchids. Love them.

Part of teacher appreciation is the Wai Kru. This is a special ceremony in which students present flowers to their teachers by sitting on the floor with a bow in deep praise. They then promise to try their best and be good students.

It was a special thing to be able to be apart of this custom. I wish my fellow teachers in the States could feel the way I did after the day.  Maybe I need to bring this tradition back to the American school system when I head back.

Jasmin leis.  My house smelled awesome.

I have decided I need to have fresh flowers around more often.  They are also cheap to buy.  Less then a $1 for a bunch.

Sri Lanka

Children like predictability, schedules/routines and familiarity. When you travel, all of that goes out the window. It can cause some pretty stressful moments where you no longer like them (love them of course). But when you live in an area where getting places you can only imagine is super easy and fiscally reasonable, you book trips in hopes this time will be different (the definition of insanity).

j

Just call Wade and me crazy, we just took our two little ones on a nine day trip around Sri Lanka. We had the time off, we were looking for an adventure, so it all made sense. With late nights, missing naps, changing hotels and traveling the kids did great okay. We survived and one day we will look at the trip with fond memories. In the meantime, we are taking these next couple of days to lay low and recover.

We started our trip in Columbo. From there we headed south to the beaches ofHikkaduwa and Galle/Unawatuna. We saw aDutch fortress, went on a safari and found our safe haven to be the beach. Our best day of the trip was learning to surfin Weligama from my cousin Josh and spending the night eating, laughing,singing and dancing with family. The highlight of the trip was meeting our newbest friend Sampson, a tuk-tuk driver in Galle. He took awesome care of us for four days. He waited at our guest house each morning,took us where ever we wanted, arranged tours and was always there.

By the end we longed for Bangkok and everything we knowthere. It was like when we longed forthe US when we first moved abroad.

Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

More pictures from the trip:

Beach time.

Oh some of the thing we saw...

Being blessed at a temple

Sea turtle hatchery.

A hike to a hidden beach then lunch at a popular one.

Having fun with cousins. It was so nice to see family!!!!

Safari in Yala National Park.