More Vietnam, January 2009

More pictures of Vietnam – this is all Hanoi…you’ll see Tim and Caroline trying their hand at carrying the shoulder basket thingies (they are WAY heavier than they look!), loaded with fruit and other stuff – you see them all over Hanoi. There’s also a couple of pictures of the Temple of Literature, where they kept records of their graduates back to the 11oo’s or so, all on stone tablets, and of a lady riding around on her bicycle which is just loaded down with flowers – you see bikes with this much stuff – and often a lot more – all over the place!

More pictures of Vietnam – this is all Hanoi…you’ll see Tim and Caroline trying their hand at carrying the shoulder basket thingies (they are WAY heavier than they look!), loaded with fruit and other stuff – you see them all over Hanoi. There’s also a couple of pictures of the Temple of Literature, where they kept records of their graduates back to the 11oo’s or so, all on stone tablets, and of a lady riding around on her bicycle which is just loaded down with flowers – you see bikes with this much stuff – and often a lot more – all over the place!

Merry Christmas! 2009

We had another Christmas in Bangkok – a warm, balmy day, quiet neighborhood (lots of people go home for the holiday) and, of course, a visit from Santa! We had a pretty quiet celebration this year – church on Christmas Eve, lots of excitement throughout the night (kids started coming into our room and asking if they could go downstairs at 2:45am – then 3:10, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50 am – finally we just gave up and all headed down at about 5:00am – still dark outside!) Thank goodness, even with all the up and down kids all night, Santa did make it to Bangkok! The big hits of the year were roller blades for the kids and Rick, and a neat Thai rain drum table for me!

Nate Turns Four! November 2009

Nate turned the “big four” this year! He had a fun birthday, with Grandma and Grandpa here to help him celebrate! Since his birthday was the day before Thanksgiving, and 2 days before we left for Chiang Mai for the weekend, we didn’t really have a big party, but he got to celebrate at home with presents, and at school with all of his little buddies!

Chiang Mai, November 2009

Another great trip we took in November was to Chiang Mai, up in the mountains of northern Thailand, with Dennis and Nancy while they were visiting. We spent a long weekend there that was packed full of all kinds of stuff! We visited the temple on top of the mountain, Doi Suthep, where the kids got a huge kick out of ringing the gazillion bells they had there! There was also a giant staircase that had big snake/dragon heads on either side as the railing – very cool looking! We also spent some time at the artisans villages, where we saw the whole silk making process, from silk work to spinning thread to weaving fabric, a place where they do elaborate wood carving, a lacquer place, and an umbrella factory (my favorite – it was pretty, at least until Caroline blew into a hollowed out piece of bamboo and got her eyes full of sawdust – that part wasn’t so nice!) The night market in Chiang Mai is also interesting…full of the same stuff you get in Bangkok, but with more variety in the crafts from the hill tribe regions of Thailand. The next day we also hit a big elephant camp. They had elephant shows and elephant rides (yep, both Dennis and Nancy rode elephants for a good hour!), as well as bamboo raft rides and oxcart rides – and we did it all! We stopped at an orchid farm that day, too – lots of pretty flowers, and that night we went to the Night Safari in Chiang Mai. It was very neat – tons of animals that you typically don’t see up close (panthers and other big cats especially!) but the kids were pretty tired by then – Caroline was falling asleep in the trolley that takes you around the safari! So we headed back a bit early and then Dennis and Nancy hung out with the kids while Rick and I strolled around the night market, and got awesome foot massages! (Can’t beat Thailand for good foot massages, and dirt cheap, too – about $4 for an hour!) Sunday we headed to the Chiang Mai Zoo – lots of walking, pretty much your typical zoo, but they did have a new panda bear baby this year, so it was fun seeing the pandas! By the time we got home that night, we were all beat!