I picked some pictures from our summer in Thailand to represent our time there. If you put your mouse over the picture, the description will show at the top. Enjoy!
Jun 29, 2008
Jun 28, 2008
It's 3am, do you know where the Children are?
They are in our room, standing on the bed, asking for milk and now watching tv while Liza and I just want to sleep. Oh how I love jetlag. :-)
Jun 27, 2008
Safely Home
We made it home last night safely at about 1am. The last flight went pretty well considering how extremely tired we all were. We all got to bed by 2 and the kids were up at 5:30. Liza was up with them then they all went to bed around 9:30 and slept until 3pm. They are in bed now and we are hoping they sleep until 5 again at least.
Jun 26, 2008
Last day in Samui and trip back to Bangkok
Our last day we had someone take a picture of all of us on the beach.
Zach and Isabella enjoyed hanging out in the tiny waves.
Isabella looking serious on the ferry ride back to the mainland.
Zach waiting for the train. He was so excited to see real train engines.
Liza and the kids in our train car. We put the beds up around 8 and the kids had no trouble going to sleep. We were up at 5:30am but other than that, it was a good night's sleep. The train may be slow, but is a lot more comfortable than 24 hours on a plane!
Zach and Isabella enjoyed hanging out in the tiny waves.
Isabella looking serious on the ferry ride back to the mainland.
Zach waiting for the train. He was so excited to see real train engines.
Liza and the kids in our train car. We put the beds up around 8 and the kids had no trouble going to sleep. We were up at 5:30am but other than that, it was a good night's sleep. The train may be slow, but is a lot more comfortable than 24 hours on a plane!
Getting her hair done
While we were in Samui Isabella decided to get some braids put in to her hair. They could do the whole head, but none of us thought she could sit long enough for that, so she decided she would just get 4 braids done. They ended up doing 9 because she did so well and they thought she was so cute. At one point she had 3 ladies working on her hair at once!
The finished product on each side. She had trouble with one of them yesterday, but other than that they are all still in. She really likes them.
The finished product on each side. She had trouble with one of them yesterday, but other than that they are all still in. She really likes them.
Lunch on the Beach
There was a place on the beach where we really enjoyed eating. We ate there twice and had some very good hamburgers and french fries. The kids (and us) were happy to have a change of pace on the food.
Above is the view of the beach from where we were sitting. Below is a treated version where you can actually see that it is Zach sitting in the chair.
Isabella enjoying some chocolate milk while waiting for our food to come.
The view from the resturant of the beach and the crystal clear water beyond. It was so beautiful there!
Above is the view of the beach from where we were sitting. Below is a treated version where you can actually see that it is Zach sitting in the chair.
Isabella enjoying some chocolate milk while waiting for our food to come.
The view from the resturant of the beach and the crystal clear water beyond. It was so beautiful there!
Our hotel
Here are some pictures from our hotel in Samui...
Isabella was taking a nap this afternoon. This was the first time all summer that Liza and I could sleep in the same bed. It's been like being the Cleavers in Bangkok with twin beds and it was nice to have a king for the week.
You can see the other part of the room here with Zach's bed in it.
We loved the pool. We would usually go to the beach then come back and swim in the pool. Isabella likes the beach better, but Zach always had more fun in the pool. We think he just felt more secure in the closed in space.
You could see the beach from our balcony through the bungalows. It was a short walk over to the beach.
Zach got the industrial crib from the hotel. He was sleeping with one leg out most of the time. :-)
Isabella was taking a nap this afternoon. This was the first time all summer that Liza and I could sleep in the same bed. It's been like being the Cleavers in Bangkok with twin beds and it was nice to have a king for the week.
You can see the other part of the room here with Zach's bed in it.
We loved the pool. We would usually go to the beach then come back and swim in the pool. Isabella likes the beach better, but Zach always had more fun in the pool. We think he just felt more secure in the closed in space.
You could see the beach from our balcony through the bungalows. It was a short walk over to the beach.
Zach got the industrial crib from the hotel. He was sleeping with one leg out most of the time. :-)
On our way home
Hello from Tokoyo again... we got up at 4am this morning for the taxi ride to the airport. The kids did very well on the trip to Tokyo. Zach slept most of the way and Isabella did great. Now we have the 12 hour flight to Chicago, but at least we are able to hang out again in the family room of the Tokyo lounge. We've got almost 4 hours of layover in Chicago then finally we'll get home. We've got more pictures from the lat days in Samui, but I'll have to put them up later. For now, sawadi crap (goodbye)!
Jun 23, 2008
Elephant Trek
Yesterday we decided to go on an Elephant ride with the kids. We'd been talking about it all summer, so we finally were able to do it. It was a lot of fun. There was an elephant show, a monkey show and an elephant ride. The kids, especially Zach, loved the ride.
Two young elephants were in the show demonstrating their many skills.
This monkey is trained to pick coconuts. Liza held it's hand for the picture. Zach touched it for a second, but Isabella would not go near.
As we waited for our turn to get on, Isabella looked down on the big elephants. The one we rode was 34 years old.
Zach enjoyed some juice while we rode the elephant.
Isabella sat next to me and enjoyed some juice as well.
Here you can see the terrain we were on. It was pretty steep and up through the trees. I'll tell you what... I would not want to have to go far by elephant. It was a slow and bumpy ride! The kids loved it though and I'm glad we got to go.
Two young elephants were in the show demonstrating their many skills.
This monkey is trained to pick coconuts. Liza held it's hand for the picture. Zach touched it for a second, but Isabella would not go near.
As we waited for our turn to get on, Isabella looked down on the big elephants. The one we rode was 34 years old.
Zach enjoyed some juice while we rode the elephant.
Isabella sat next to me and enjoyed some juice as well.
Here you can see the terrain we were on. It was pretty steep and up through the trees. I'll tell you what... I would not want to have to go far by elephant. It was a slow and bumpy ride! The kids loved it though and I'm glad we got to go.
Jun 22, 2008
Trip to Samui Island
Today is Sunday and it is our third day on Samui. It is very beautiful here and lots of fun. We came on Thursday night and it was quite the adventure getting here. We started at 5pm by catching a cab to the train station. Everyone thought we should leave very early for our 7:30pm train because traffic can be so bad in Bangkok. We left at 5 and arrived at 5:15. So much for bad traffic! On the up side, we had plenty of time to eat and then we got on to our train about 10min before 7. We had a 1st class cabin with 2 beds and then we got another bed in the 2nd class car as well. We all stayed in the cabin until it was time for bed. The porter came and made up the beds and then Isabella went to sleep on the top bunk and Liza and Zach slept on the bottom. They locked the door and I went to sleep in the car with 19 other people. It was actually quite nice, but I slept better knowing that all our stuff and Liza and kids were safely locked up.
Zach and Belle looking out the window as the train started to move. They were so excited to be on a real train.
Belle slept on the top bunk.
I stayed until lights out then went out to the other car.
We got up around 6AM and had breakfast. The train arrived in Surat Thani (said Sur-at Ta-nee) at about 7am. We then got on a bus to take us to the ferry. That was a 2 hour ride in perhaps the slowest bus ever with pretty bad A/C... but there was a little French girl that had toys and played with Isabella and Zach.
We finally got to the ferry and loaded up.
Isabella was equally excited to be on a "big boat."
The Thai flag was flying on the bow. This was just as we were pulling out to go to the Island.
This part of the trip was about an hour and a half, so we explored the boat and tried to keep the kids busy.
We spent most of the time in a cabin with a random Thai TV show going. The kids don't understand a thing, but are still glued to the TV. I don't understand it. :-)
When we got to the island, it was another 30min taxi ride to the hotel. We were SO ready to be there. We were not disappointed with the hotel that Liza had found on the internet. It is really beautiful and has a beautiful beach.
Here is one view down the beach right by our hotel. You can see the palm tree covered mountains that wrap around the cove.
Our hotel looks like a boat. We are in the room at the top in what looks like the wheel house. It gives us 2 balconies and lots of extra space for the crib that the hotel provided for Zach.
Here are Isabella, Zach and I at the beach on the second morning. The kids LOVE the beach.
Zach had a blast playing in the sand.
Here is the view down the other side of the beach. Big beautiful rocks go out in to the green and blue crystal clear water. We saw lots of fish swimming by as we waded out in to the water.
More to come... Too bad we couldn't be HERE for 5 weeks!
Zach and Belle looking out the window as the train started to move. They were so excited to be on a real train.
Belle slept on the top bunk.
I stayed until lights out then went out to the other car.We got up around 6AM and had breakfast. The train arrived in Surat Thani (said Sur-at Ta-nee) at about 7am. We then got on a bus to take us to the ferry. That was a 2 hour ride in perhaps the slowest bus ever with pretty bad A/C... but there was a little French girl that had toys and played with Isabella and Zach.
We finally got to the ferry and loaded up.
Isabella was equally excited to be on a "big boat."
The Thai flag was flying on the bow. This was just as we were pulling out to go to the Island.
This part of the trip was about an hour and a half, so we explored the boat and tried to keep the kids busy.
We spent most of the time in a cabin with a random Thai TV show going. The kids don't understand a thing, but are still glued to the TV. I don't understand it. :-)When we got to the island, it was another 30min taxi ride to the hotel. We were SO ready to be there. We were not disappointed with the hotel that Liza had found on the internet. It is really beautiful and has a beautiful beach.
Here is one view down the beach right by our hotel. You can see the palm tree covered mountains that wrap around the cove.
Our hotel looks like a boat. We are in the room at the top in what looks like the wheel house. It gives us 2 balconies and lots of extra space for the crib that the hotel provided for Zach.
Here are Isabella, Zach and I at the beach on the second morning. The kids LOVE the beach.
Zach had a blast playing in the sand.
Here is the view down the other side of the beach. Big beautiful rocks go out in to the green and blue crystal clear water. We saw lots of fish swimming by as we waded out in to the water.More to come... Too bad we couldn't be HERE for 5 weeks!
Jun 21, 2008
Tsunami Relief Video
We came to Thailand to teach video production to the Thai staff, and to produce a video that shows how Campus Crusade in Thailand has ministered to the victims of the diaster and how they have invested the money that was donated to the relief effort here.
Below is the main screen of the DVD we produced.
Here is the video that we spent 5 days capturing on 3 different islands, 5 days sorting and translating and 7 days editing. We had a great time working on the project and working with the Thai staff. They did much of the work during filming and in helping with editing and were wonderful students. I hope you are as encouraged by what the Lord has done in the wake of the tsumami as I was in the process of working on this project. Hopefully you can read the subtitles in this tiny web version.
Below is the main screen of the DVD we produced.
Here is the video that we spent 5 days capturing on 3 different islands, 5 days sorting and translating and 7 days editing. We had a great time working on the project and working with the Thai staff. They did much of the work during filming and in helping with editing and were wonderful students. I hope you are as encouraged by what the Lord has done in the wake of the tsumami as I was in the process of working on this project. Hopefully you can read the subtitles in this tiny web version.Little Acrobat
The other night Liza was talking on the phone to her mother and laying in bed. While she was talking, Zach climbed on her and stated climbing up the wall with his feet. He's pretty much a monkey - likes to climb anything he can. Here you can see him work his way up all the way to the bed, then he'd fall over, laugh, and do it again.
Park fun day with mommy
On Tuesday Sunee and I took the kids to the railroad park, so named because of the two railroad cars on the property. The bigger deal was that it had grass, a playground, a pond, and a wonderful bike path. Yes, you read that right. Think Central Park in Bangkok. Now, with the liabilities mounting, but no chance of lawsuit, I took our lives into our hands...
...I rented a bike with 2 kidseats--one in front and one in back. For less than a $1. We could have ridden all day if we had the time, and energy. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I hadn't even ridden a bike with a trailer on it, let alone balancing both children and myself, but there were no spills.
It was a beautiful overcast (meaning cooler) day in a beautiful park! If only we had found it earlier in the summer. :)
...I rented a bike with 2 kidseats--one in front and one in back. For less than a $1. We could have ridden all day if we had the time, and energy. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I hadn't even ridden a bike with a trailer on it, let alone balancing both children and myself, but there were no spills.
It was a beautiful overcast (meaning cooler) day in a beautiful park! If only we had found it earlier in the summer. :)
Father's day
For Father's day we went out for Pizza. It's pretty pricey here so this was a big treat. We went to a local department store where there is a pizza resturant.
The kids enjoyed it too. We like Thai food, but I must confess I'm looking forward to more variety when we get home.
After pizza, we went up to the play place in Robinson. Isabella enjoyed riding the free ranging bear. This is one thing you wouldn't see in an American mall. :-)
While we were at church Sunday morning, Isabella fell and busted her lip again really bad. It swelled up huge and had a big cut on the inside. It is almost a week later and it is just now looking (and feeling) normal. It should be totally healed in a couple of days I hope.
The kids enjoyed it too. We like Thai food, but I must confess I'm looking forward to more variety when we get home.
After pizza, we went up to the play place in Robinson. Isabella enjoyed riding the free ranging bear. This is one thing you wouldn't see in an American mall. :-)
While we were at church Sunday morning, Isabella fell and busted her lip again really bad. It swelled up huge and had a big cut on the inside. It is almost a week later and it is just now looking (and feeling) normal. It should be totally healed in a couple of days I hope.
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