Thailand Thanksgiving

View down the beach. 

Thanksgiving is not a thing as in Asia...duh! Therefore having a 4 day weekend when the rest of our area does not, makes traveling cheaper/easier.   We decided to forgo turkey for Thai and headed to Thailand.  We broke the days into part of them on Koh Samed which is about a 3-4 hour drive from Bangkok and our old neighborhood near RIS.

The kids enjoying the sand. 

Koh Samed was one of my happy places.   I was sad I have never been before, especially considering we lived somewhat close to it.  It is a quiet island with no big resorts or city.   All there really is to do is sit on the beach and relax.   The water was clear, the sand was soft, and the resort we stayed at was perfect and cheap.   I would highly recommend it to anyone.  

Thanksgiving dinner. 

When in Bangkok, we didn't do anything touristy.   We stayed at a friend's house and the kids played with old neighborhood friends.   The downside was I got hit with something Saturday night and ended it early with throwing up.   

We missed not being with family and all the Thanksgiving fixings, but we are grateful to travel and our friends around the world.

Sandcastle. 

Snorkeling time. 

Beach during the day. 

Sunset swimming.  

Happy hour time. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bumps

Liam did it again. This child unfortunately is like his mother and always seems to find a way to hurt himself.   This time he rolled down a hill at Wade's softball game and hit concrete to open the back of his head.   A run to the ER and some stitches later, he was ready to go...until next time.  

Halloween 2016

This year I had two vampires on my hands.   We did the years past three rounds of neighborhood trick-or-treating, classroom parties, and Woodlands Halloween night.

This is the first year we have carved pumpkins since living abroad.   There is a reason why it is not common practice.  The pumpkins turned into a slimy mess in a couple days.   However, it was worth it with Liam's excitement of the experience and pumpkin seeds. 

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3: 

The kids got Cecile to dress up too.  

Helping a friend pass out candy to 1000s of people in Woodlands. 

Boracay, Philippines

This October break we decided to rent a villa with 3 other families in Boracay, Philippines.   Boracay has been on my list of places to see once it was voted to having the most beautiful beach in the world.  Yes, in the world.   That is a HIGH expectation to live up to, but we were not disappointed.  Not only was it the most beautiful beach we have been too, it was also very clean.

The beach closest to our villa. 

Six miles of white, soft sand is the main beach area of Boracay.  It is also host to many shops, bars, and places to it.  Including a Starbucks.    Our villas was located on a hill just above the first part of the beach.   The infinity pool overlooked the water and harbor.   We were able to enjoy BBQs at home and walk a short hike to get the beach.

BBQ dinner made by the staff one night. 

Our pool at night.   You can't see the view, but it was good. 

The villas was massive, including 7 rooms, a main living area, an outside living area, a pool, a hot tub, a pool table, a gourmet kitchen, and lots of decks with lounging space.   The cost also included a full staff who cooked and cleaned for us and 24 hour van with driver.    Plus, it was the same or less then staying at a hotel.  Spoiled for sure.  

We spent our days with beach activities and nights hanging with friends and cheap beer (50 cents a bottle).    5 days of heaven and I was sad to go.

Pictures from our snorkeling trip. 

Best sandcastle sand.  No, we didn't do that. 

More water sports. 

Boat trip to islands. 

Fish market to get dinner. 

Lots of Happy Hours. 

Softball

Each quarter we let the kids sign up for 2 activities.  One needs to be something physical and the other is their choice.   This quarter Liam choose Creative Lab (A class where they make stuff from recycled items...for the 4th time) and Karate.  Amelia choose Choir and Softball.

We were a little disappointed that Amelia no longer wanted to take gymnastics, but she really wanted to try softball because her cousin Macie plays.   The interesting part is, only she and another girl where the only ones to register.   The silver lining is she gets great attention and will be a pro at the skills.  The bad part, she still needs to learn how those are used in an actual game.  

Pool Time

We got the kids a "kid friendly" camera.  Amelia was always using mine and I found an underwater one on Amazon.  So far they have been having a blast using it at the pool.   I am excited for our next trip to see a vacation through their eyes.

Stay tuned for more photos.

Moves like Jagger

Liam is LOVING Kindergarten.   His music teacher sent me a video of him dancing in class.   Classy.