Random photos from the last few months

Apparently a few friends & family members enjoy reading my blog posts and have been wondering what we've been up to.  So I decided it was time to do an update.   Not a lot of narrative on this one, just pictures this time.
Here's what we've been up to.  Please forgive the randomness of all of this.  We recently upgraded from PC's to a Mac and I admit I have no idea how to use it.  This is my first attempt to do anything besides watch a movie or TV on this computer.  Sometimes I feel old when I have to ask my 9 year old how to do things on it.  He is a self-proclaimed pro because he "uses them all the time at school."

Hope you enjoy our Life in Thailand, photo style!

 Arcadian just finished his first season of T-ball.  I can't tell if he liked it or not.  He didn't complain, but he seemed pretty bored any time he wasn't up to bat.

 My husband has decided that collecting dead tree's is a fun thing to do.  We have a few now from different countries/places.  This one I happen to like and allow it to be in every day view.  I was testing out my new DSLR camera on this tree.  (again, there are probably much better pictures, but I can't figure out how to make the thumbnails bigger while trying to select them for this blog, so you get what you get :-)

 We spend a fair deal of time relaxing at the house.  Here's Justice (my 9 year old), looking handsome and not annoyed that his mom is trying to take his picture.

 And Brosnan (7) it is very hard to get a picture of him looking "normal"

 See what I mean.... This is after saying "just smile normal please."

 Oh wait... got one!   Each of the kids had a PE showcase day.  All of them seemed to have a lot of fun!

 Here's Justice at his catching balls in buckets.

 An after PE showcase photo.   So hot & sweaty thanks to Thailand humidity which my family is obviously not adjusting to.

 Such a pretty Pineapple.   We went on a trip somewhere and I purchased 5 delicious pineapples for 50baht ($1.65 USD) from a vendor on the side of the freeway.  Mmmmmm SO GOOD!!

 Cub Scouts.  Brosnan and Justice are both in scouts but all 3 were able to make cars and compete (left to right, Justice's, Brosnans, and Arcadian's)   Anyone who has kids and been through making these things knows it is not an easy task.  Especially not easy when you lack the proper tools.

 Derby Night!!

 A gorgeous sunset I captured out of one of our windows upstairs.   Although beautiful in these pictures it was even more amazing in person.   One day I hope to find a place way up high in this country to watch the sunset.  Absolutely Amazing.

 Field Trip!!!!  Brosnan's 1st grade class when on a trip to a local island called Koh Kret.  The island is famous for clay pottery.  It was a wonderful day.  I accompanied the trip to help keep the kids in order.

 On the boat to the island.

Crossing the Chao Phraya River in Thailand.  In the distance is a giant golden Buddha.

 On the island....

 B making his very own clay pot.  

 So here is Brosnan's class....

and here is the parental paparazzi

 Thanksgiving at our friend the Murray's house.   It was all delicious!

 Date Night-   Justice and I went out to dinner at River Treehouse.  This was the walk down the alley to the restaurant.

 Sunset on the river at the restaurant.

 Birthday cupcakes for Justice's 9th B-day party.  

 And the b-day boy at his swim party.

 Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo just outside of Bangkok.

 Brosnan became part of the magic show trying to get those metal rings apart.

 Playing with alligators.

 Riding around in dilapidated paddle boats.   It's amazing we didn't sink.

 Tigers :-)

 This was at Central Chaengwattana the local mall.   They had animals. Arcadian got lucky and was able to hold the snake.

 HAIR CUT!!

 Cooking-  Making Som Tom (Papaya salad) one of my favorite Thai dishes.

 We even celebrated Christmas in Thailand.  First time in my life of having a fake tree.  But it worked and will work for the next 3 years.

 Me and my cutie Arcadian.  We both got haircuts.

 Arcadians Music showcase.

 Christmas party...  Playing weird minute-to-win-it games.  

 Marine Corps Ball.  November 2013

 The US Ambassador at the ball.

 More cooking... I made Pad Thai (my other favorite dish) and it was also pretty good.

 CubScout Camping.   Scary pictures...

 My Tiger Den (Eli, Parker, Logan, and Brosnan) 1st graders.

 Tent building

 Nature Hike

 And my 3rd favorite dish.  I did not make this one but it is a delicious soup with a little bit of everything.  

Why International School Bangkok (ISB) is an Awesome School

Look at me go, two posts in one day...  Well all the kids are in bed and the husband went to sleep early too.  I still have some residual coffee caffeine floating in my veins so here I am.  On Monday, the 18th of November, 2013 I was able to chaperon a field trip of 8 kindergartners. They are beginning a unit in science on wood, or something like that, so they decided to take a field trip to a local lumber yard.  At 9 am, 8 kids, 4 parents and 1 teacher got in a 15 passenger van and headed out of Nichada to Samakee Road.  Samakee Road is where we go to get gas for the golf cart, go to the bicycle shop, and get photos custom framed.   I am sure there is plenty of other stuff on Samakee Road but I have yet to look or to follow it to the other end.  Once we got to the Lumber Yard there were two Thai's that worked there ready to meet us.  They walked us around and explained the difference between hard and soft wood, showed us bamboo, wood from papaya trees, eucalyptus wood, teak (and an actual teak tree), particle board, and several other types of wood.

   
       In addition to showing us the different types of wood, they also showed the kids different methods of cutting (chainsaw, handsaw, and a bamboo splitter).  They demonstrated what happens to young leaves from a teak tree when you squish them, they turn red, and are used to make a dye, and also explained that the cutting of teak tree's is now government regulated. We were at the lumber yard for about an hour.  Right before we got back on the bus each kid was given a digital camera to use to take photos around the yard.  Then, one of the hosts (I believe his name was Kuhn M) gave each kid two pieces of bamboo.  One is to be used as a piggy bank, the other can be used for a pencil holder.   Then, we got back on the bus and headed back to ISB.
    So, why do I think ISB is an Awesome school?  Because they take the possibilities and turn them into reality.  Maybe it's a Thailand thing, maybe it's a private school thing, I'm not sure because this is the first time I have experienced either, but I just don't see a short field trip this this happening at a public school in the states.  I was also shocked by the idea of handing a 5 or 6 year old a digital camera and saying go, take pictures of whatever you want.  The kids all knew how to use them and were pretty comfortable with them so it seems like it was not their first time.  Their teacher said that in addition to the field trip, they will be making particle board later on as part of their science unit.   I have heard of other schools saying that they take a hands on approach to science and learning but ISB follows through with it.

   Apparently field trips are a pretty common thing at ISB.  Next week I am accompanying 1st graders to Ko Kret, a local island for them to get hands on with their rocks and silt unit and I believe Justice's teacher said that they will be going to the snake farm in downtown Bangkok at some point.  Other elementary school grades have done overnight trips...and it's only November.
    On November 8th, ISB had their first "Passion Day".  Basically someone said what if we asked all the kids "if they could do or learn anything what would it be?" Then all the teachers and staff got together to come up with ways to make those passions become realities for a day.  This must have been a HUGE undertaking for the school as there were many activities that the kids went to that were off campus, like wakeboarding and scuba diving.  It was a bit more controlled for the younger kids but still very elaborate.  Arcadian, my kindergartner, went to learn about Marine life.  The teacher contacted a fish store that was able to bring in aquariums with baby sharks and misc. touchable creatures.  The children were able to put on goggles and snorkels and stick their heads in the water to watch the animals.  Brosnan attended a cooking class where they made chocolate chip cookies from start to finish, and Justice went to a computer gaming class.  ISB teamed up with places all around Bangkok including local colleges where some students were able to go to learn about things like fashion design.  The kids came home happy and excited!
     Its the big things coupled with all the small touches of ISB that I know makes the kids enjoy school and makes me happy that they have this opportunity of a lifetime.

-JP

What We do in Thailand

   The weeks are very busy for all of us and although we would like to sit at home and relax, I fear that in 3 years when we return to the states and people ask what we did, I won't have anything to tell them.  Or, the last 3 months of our time in Thailand will be spent running around like crazy people exhausting ourselves trying to do all the sightseeing we should have done over the last 3 years.   So, we do try and do things when we can and we force ourselves to leave the house at 5pm on Sunday to experience a Thai festival, or we brave the heat and humidity to see what a Thai Safari park looks like, or go to a snake farm to see what the local snakes look like (eww).   So, I am going to spend some time working backwards to show you some of those things that we have done.

Loy Krathong

Justice and Arcadian and their Loy Krathongs made at school. 

        According to Wikipedia,  Loi or Loy Krathong (Loy means to float, while Krathong is the name of the thing being floated) is a Thai holiday in which people make (or buy) decorative floats to put in the rivers.  The floats are usually made out of banana tree, banana leaves, flowers, and have incense and candles placed on them.  The Krathong, "candle venerates the Buddha with light, while the krathong's floating symbolizes letting go of all of one's hatred, anger, and defilements." 

    The date of the festival changes every year as it coincides with the evening of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar, generally November for us Westerners.  This year it was on the 17th of November.  There was a live band, Western and Thai food, games, and a traditional Thai costume contest.

Loy Krathongs in Nichada Lake, the boys' are in there somewhere

 In addition to the Krathongs, there were also Lanterns for sale.  Also according to Wikipedia Loy Krathong coincides with Yi Peng where Sky Lanterns are lit and sent off in the sky like hot air balloons.  While I was taking photos the boys lit the lantern until it was full of hot air and let it sail off into the sky.   Seems a big dangerous to me, especially when a few burnt about halfway up and begin falling to the ground in a flame of fire.  The news reports I get through my email confirmed the dangers of this tradition as there were several fires throughout the country that burned homes to the ground due to these beautiful lanterns.  

Despite the heat and humidity and large crowd, it was a good night.  Maybe next year we will venture out of Nichada for the festival and go to the actual river with the locals.

It's November At LAST!!!

It's November At LAST!!!

        

Why is this important? Let's just say that in my next life I will plan out my children's birthdays a little better so that I don't have two of them in the same month, oh and so none of them are the day prior to a holiday that takes prior planning, like Halloween.  I'm not out of the clear yet, October was such a busy month that Justice's birthday party has been postponed until sometime this month. I am confident that it will be much easier to plan and prepare now that I have a car which makes my  options for food/drinks etc. much easier to obtain.  

     

Not only are we finished with busy birthday month, (did I mention that my mother-in-law, and sister-in-laws birthdays are also in October, they often receive their gifts a month or so late due to the craziness of October) but we are also COMPLETELY MOVED IN.  That's right, our final shipment arrived October 15th and our car on the 16th.   This past Tuesday the Embassy housing people came and picked up our "welcome kit" signifying our independence.   All the boxes are unpacked and the only thing left to do is figure out where to put some odds and ends and purchase a few items that will make our house function properly.  

    

The kids... the kids are all doing well.   Their last soccer game is this weekend.  The older two have decided against playing baseball and will be taking Tennis lessons.  Arcadian will play T-ball for the first time.  Justice is participating in National Novel Writing Month and as of today will begin writing a 3,000 page novel.  The past few weeks he has been working on brainstorming.   Brosnan and Arcadian are participating in Clayworks where they make different foam clay shaped things.   It is put on through the school and they seem to like it.  Brosnan continues to grow as a reader.  His teacher said he is about a year ahead of where he should be.   Arcadian, he is beginning to read as well.  I am quite surprised when I listen to him read by how much progress he is making.  He can read many Dr. Suess type books pretty easily.

As for Justice and I... He is busy with work.  It has been awhile since he has traveled but that starts again on Sunday when he takes a short trip to Laos.  Tomorrow is the Marine Corps Ball here in Bangkok so we have been preparing for that as well.    I still feel like I am busy all the time. Between the children's activities and various meetings, appointments, classes, and other things to keep the house running, it is not uncommon for me to come and go from the house 3-4 times a day with barely enough time in between to switch gears.  I often hear, Abhie, our maid say, "You're leaving again?  You just got home!"   I can't imagine life here in Thailand if I had to actually clean the house or take all 3 kids with me everywhere I went.  

Although November is a little calmer then October, there is still lots going on.  Tennis and T-ball are starting.  The two older children are in Cubscouts on two different days.  This weekend is the USMC Ball, next weekend we are going on a camping trip with the Cubscout Pack. Justice will be traveling, my Thai class continues, Thanksgiving, Justices b-day party, etc. etc.   The list goes on and on.   In between the chaos, we want to get out and do things around Thailand.  

My next post will highlight some of the things that we have done in the last month or two.  It will include a trip to Safari World and our first beach trip to Hua Hin where we rode on elephants, banana boats, and horses!   

Someday Life in Thailand will Calm down. Right???

     

         I know, I know... It has been awhile since I posted. Sorry. It has been an exciting and exhausting month. All three of my kids are now in school full time.  I thought this would mean extra sleep and relaxation time. I was WAY wrong at least so far.  The first week was a staggered start for the kids.  On Justices first day, Brosnan had a meet and greet in his class, the second day Brosnan started and Arcadian and a meet and great. By Thursday they were all in school from 7am - 2pm! Celebration time right? Wrong. I felt like I was in school those first 2-3 weeks. There were meetings galore, PTO, new parent orientation, medical, and of course several trips to Nurse's office with Brosnan during testing time, helping monitor lunch, and then helping with Insulin calculations and doses after lunch.  I needed to make sure that Everyone involved was comfortable, competent and knowledgeable regarding his daily care.  The nursing staff and teachers have all been wonderful and after a week I slowly started to wean myself out of he picture and hand over full control to the staff.  There have been several learning situations for all of us but we are now a month into it and everyone seems to be on the same page and getting into a routine. Enough about that.

         Soccer started the second to last week of August and Cub scouts has started as well.  Soccer is currently M, Wed, Thurs, and Saturday.  3 kids, 3 different teams. Each and everyone is miserably hot and sweaty.  I feel bad for the kids.  Heck, I feel bad for myself when I am sitting watching them play.  Sports is good for kids right?  Even if they complain about it?  Justice (the husband) says that they complain about it because they play to many video games.   He is probably right. It's okay though another month of soccer and it will be over...wait...then Baseball starts.  It is never ending.

         WE FINALLY got our UAB (unaccompanied baggage shipment).  The one that was supposed to be here within 30 days of our arrival.  It was a little late, showed up just shy of 3 months after our arrival.  The kids were in heaven for about an hour as they played with their toys, then went back to video games... I am not exactly sure what we were thinking when we packed.  My most useful items in the shipment was my desktop monitor, keyboard, and misc. desk items, and of course my Keurig Coffee maker.   Even with the odd items that we put in the 30 day shipment, it is very nice to see more of 'home' around the house.  Our 90 day shipment should be delivered within the next week or two and our car should follow shortly thereafter.

SNAKE FARM

Even though we are super busy with the kids and day to day life, we have found some time to do some site seeing.  A few weeks ago we went to Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute's Snake Farm.   The snake farm had lots of snakes. Many of which I hope to never see anywhere but in the cages that we saw them.  Almost all of them are native to Thailand. The snake farm does venom extraction that is used to make anti-venom for hospitals in the community.  

   

Brosnan and Arcadian looking at the snake cage 

King Cobra- Can you imagine seeing this in your yard????

The snake handler's brought out various snakes to show the audience.  This snake was NOT in a cage, but on the floor in front of the crowd.  It is a big snake that looked very vicious.  I hope that this snake never crosses our path!

COFFEE In Thailand

  Thankfully the Thai's enjoy a cup of java as much as I do.  Especially, a nice iced coffee in this hot humid weather.   A friend of mine introduced me to this man. He is a mobile coffee man. For 18 baht (a mere $0.60) this guy will make a fresh cup of really bad for you coffee. Some whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, fresh brewed hot coffee, and a touch of Thai happiness, poured over ice into a cup (or small plastic bag).  It was sweet, ice cold, and delicious.   He travels around the local streets outside of Nichada.  I have seen him a few times, always in a different spot.  I am happy I was introduced to him early on in my Thailand adventure and hope to see him many times!

    I will leave you all with a beautiful sunset I caught out one of the bedroom windows.  The photo on my iPhone does not do the colors justice.  It was absolutely breath taking and I have not seen one quite this lovely since this night.