Thoughts on 22 Dec '11

This is from my notes I wrote down while we were on vacation in Thailand. No, it's not too late to use this.

It seems I can't escape the Middle East; or the Middle East can't escape me. Either way, I must be destined to be inextricably reminded of Islam at every corner I turn. Our hotel is located near one of the few mosques in Southern Thailand. I hear the call to prayer at the proper times each day.

After we visited the Phuket Aquarium, we explored a bit down the boardwalk. Along the way, there are vendors making street food from their scooter stalls. A car pulls up for some chicken satay and greets the vendor with "Salaam aleekum!" and the vendor responds, "Aleekum essalaam." Fabulous, it's like I never left home. Except when we get back to our hotel, I'm laying out swimsuits to dry on a balcony overlooking the northern Andaman sea. And a coconut tree is swaying in the jasmine scented breeze. I'm not kidding; the scent is sometimes so strong, it's unreal. I could never mistake this for Bahrain, or Egypt, that's for sure.

Papaya and banana trees grow amongst rubber trees right off the side of the road. And greenery chokes everything else that stays in one place for too long. It's December and the temperature is in the high 80s with humidity at pretty much perfect.

See? I told you!

I had a bunch of ideas backlogged in my notes app. I kept my phone near me most of the time on vacation so that I could "jot down" moments and thoughts while we were in the moment. This is from Dec. 21; the first day trip we took. We did some sightseeing and then rode elephants. I will have to scan in the family elephant pics. As much as I *didn't* want to buy the gimmicky photo that the travel place takes & then tries to sell you at the end of the trip; I did buy it. Only because it was a great picture. Really! I was stunned.

- Playing "Find the Shrine" is a good car game in Thailand.
*At every place of business or home, there is a shrine to Buddha. They leave offerings of food, water & such and light incense. The shrines range from super-fancy to kinda shabby. You know one thing I observed? Most of the super-fancy were mostly bereft of assorted offerings and were at nicer houses & establishments. The not-as-fancy ones were usually overflowing with offerings and at more humble homes & businesses. Hmm, interesting. I can't believe I didn't get a better picture of a shrine. But then again, I was a bit unsure of the acceptability of photographing a shrine up close; there are signs to take off your shoes before approaching them.

- Any day that ends with a camera strap burn on your neck has been a good day.

- Truly finding the balance between capturing the moments and living the moments is a delicate tightrope to walk. I don't want to miss a thing but I want to be in the moment. Photographing is enjoyable, but sometimes I come back from an outing and feel like I was looking through a viewfinder the whole time. Kind of like tunnel vision.
*When making a memory or having a new experience, you feel like if you don't photograph it, it didn't happen. The lesson I learn over and over again --> Guess what? Even if you don't have photographic proof, it still happened.

stop and think about it.

Beach bums

The first few days we weren't in any rush. The hotel had it's own stretch of beach for guests only and it was nice. There are plenty of "have to see" beaches, but those are also the most crowded ones and the ones booming with discotech music all day & night. Not my kind of beach. The Capri Beach Club, as it was called, had beach chairs & loungers, shade, beach, grassy area and a cafe where you could order meals & snack AND charge it to your room. That meant not having to bring our wallet to the beach. BIG BONUS!

Where the waves break, the sand is literally chock full of every kind of shell you could want to find! And that spells heaven for my little hunters & collectors; mainly Grant & Mairyn. The beach was lined with coconut trees and all of them had coconuts at some stage of development. The club said they monitored the trees on our beach so that there weren't any in imminent danger of falling to the ground. Grant found a coconut further down the beach, just laying in the sand. He hauled it back to me and wanted to shuck it. Aw shucks, Grant, why don't you ask me to do something hard? Fortunately, it was a bit waterlogged and part of the husk was pulled back. So we husked a coconut right there on the beach. We got our own brown, fuzzy coconut! The part where the husk was pulled back, there was a crack in the shell, so we pulled that part off and got to peer into a newly opened coconut, all white and fragrant inside.

Back to Back

We're back. Back from Christmas break and back to school. I've got a memory card with over 1300 images and videos just staring at me, needing to be weeded through. I have this plan to break it down into manageable chunks. I jotted down little notes just about every day, so that when we got back, it wouldn't seem like this huge, unmanageable memory of a dream to conquer.

It was a great vacation. We've never done anything like this; go somewhere for Christmas. But I'm glad we did it; I think the kids are finally starting to appreciate and remember these kind of experiences. Last summer, when we camped in the Redwoods, visited great-grandparents, and exposed them to all things wonderfully Southern Oregonian, something sank in. It is the first of the shared memories by all of the children, from oldest to youngest.

So, I'm going to sort through the photos and notes and get 'er done! Tomorrow, "The Journey to Thailand".

First stop on one of the day tours: Kata View Point, Southern Phuket Island

O Christmas Tree

I love putting up the Christmas tree. I wasn't planning on doing it this year, though, because we are going on vacation. Yep, we're going on vacation. Where to? Somewhere we've never been before. It feels too exotic to even say. Ooo, a destination Christmas! I feel embarrassed even mentioning it. We *don't* go anywhere for Christmas. We already travel in the summer. And, contrary to popular opinion, we do get sick of airplanes. Our options were a bit limited because we did *not* want to deal with jet lag. I didn't even want to deal with a trip at Christmas, but when you are practically handed tickets, we couldn't pass it up. So, we'll be in Thailand for two weeks. Boom.

Awakenings....or not.

Last night and this morning felt like we were answering the infamous Shakespearean question, "To be, or not to be..." Awake? Asleep? Happy? Grumpy?

We thought we'd just let the evening flow and see where it took us. Putting kids to bed before they're tired is just plain lunacy. They eventually all dropped like flies within 30 minutes of each other and all mid-activity. Mairyn was practicing creative somersaults into a pile of pillows and, well, who wouldn't fall asleep in a pile of pillows? Jacqui was the next to succumb to sleeping bliss; she had draped herself over the footstool and face-planted right into Dr. Seuss. Grant was in the act of changing into p.j.'s; got his shirt on but sat down on the bed to begin the pants and just flopped over. We did lead Eliza in the direction of bed with the pretense that she could read in bed until she felt sleepy. I went to dig out her latest novel and when I got back, she too, was asleep.

We all slept ALL night. We ALL slept until 10:30 am. (went to bed at 9:30-10pm) Except for Spencer. The kids & I seem to be on the same flow, but Spence is off. Even though the first day back, we all did the same thing; didn't nap the first evening, bed at the same time, get up at the same time, but yesterday afternoon, Spencer did take an afternoon nap while none of us indulged. Spence was up at 3am & left for work around 7am. How interesting.

Today was a struggle just to function. A perfect day for vegging on the couch and watching movies, reading or playing games.

Grant at Harris Beach in Oregon. Can't wait to put up pics of the a-mazing family vacation we had.

Timing

It's all about timing. What a time to try and jump back on the blogging wagon. I tell ya, I had visions of grandeur. But living in a hotel for two and a half months does nothing for one's motivational feelings. We've moved out, btw. Spencer is back. (as of Sunday) Families are headed back to Bahrain. We're starting our R&R right now, Bahrain is prepping for our return at the end of June. Wonderful time to arrive! They're ordering some hot, muggy summer weather for us.

Another thing about timing; right when I find the time to be online, we're going to be *very* disconnected. We are embarking on The Great Western Adventure 2011; loading up our rental vehicle, a 15 passenger MAV (mormon assault vehicle), with camping gear, suitcases and 4 kids. The 2011 GWA will loop through Oregon, Washington, Montana and end up where we started in Idaho. Between the good graces of friends & family, camping & the occasional hotel, we will journey through the wonderful & amazing Northwestern Pacific. I'm looking forward to introducing my children to the joys of camping and the singular beauty of this geographic area.

I'm also looking forward to typing with both hands. I've got two of five fingers out of commission. Do you know how long it took me to type this out? Too long.

Pointer finger: Shard of glass, sliced right through the fingertip pad; ring finger: slice on the same place as pointer man, a day earlier on a windowsill.

I will update whenever I come into contact with a WiFi signal.

Plots & Schemes

Merry Christmas to all! We had a wonderful Christmas; truly the best in a long time. Our first together since 2008. That was also the year we began 'group gifts'. It was what we called a Wii Christmas. {Ha, you can laugh at the double entendre.} All we got was a Wii and two games. We spent the day together figuring out the Wii and playing all the games. And the kids felt no lack. This year, we did something similar. We got Eliza & Mairyn an iFlip & a super awesome cool tripod. Plus a book called 'Attack of the Killer Video'. Grant & Jacqueline got a basketball hoop & two balls. They also each got a DS game to play on my DS. And that's it. There were prezzies from grandparents, too. Here is the post-present opening bliss:



I seriously think Fisher-Price and Ikea get their instruction booklets from the same company. No other toy company requires yoga, quantum physics and a bit of magic to properly assemble their products. We are still trying to get the 'Grow To Pro Bball hoop' put together.


I must have done something to deserve such a generous Christmas because my wildest dreams came true. I got this:



And this:



Aaaand, this:

Apparently, Spencer thinks I'm da bomb diggity. He's been "collecting" these presents and decided to save it all up for Christmas. The only bummer? Next Christmas is going to be really hard to top! But seriously, if I didn't have work, house & children to tend, I would disappear into my kitchen & office and not surface for a few months. I also have to say that one of these wasn't such a surprise. A few nights ago, Spencer was wrapping the serger. The kids wanted to help wrap Mommy's present and so were in the room with him. I was out in the living room, away from their area when I hear Grant's outside voice declare, "Wow, Mommy got a new sew-er!!" It was then that my suspicions were verified that I was *probably* getting that serger I wanted. I was still excited on Christmas, but I'm one that likes surprises. I can wait. I like the suspense. But I was adequately floored when I discovered those other two large boxes under the tree.

What else did we do today? Nothing. We played with our new toys, ate ham sandwiches and were together. It was a very perfect day. Oh, and the temperature was a perfect, porch-sittin', clear sky enjoying 73F. A light breeze from the ocean and peaceful suburb living. Love to all!

A Resolution

Photo taken by Eliza (psst, she's working toward her own camera. she'll get it soon!)

So sorry I've been delinquent in the blogosphere. Between trying to suck all the quality time out of Spencer that I can, battling with cabin people and going to the BYU game in Provo this last weekend, I've barely had time to catch a breath! I meet myself coming and going. And now it looks like I've got a sick Jacqui, I'm going to have even less time. So I'll cover the last few "blog-worthy" events in my least favorite, but efficient, format; bullet points and I'll elaborate soon. I promise.

#1: The Cabin

Last Monday morning, I woke up ready for a fight. I pulled up all records pertaining to the Island Park Incident, found the office's phone number and ate a piece of chocolate (to bolster my resolve). I was ready. I got the phone, dialled the phone number and introduced myself calmly, but assertively. Every possible response from them had a solid rebuttal.

"Hi, this is Lydia Penrod. I would like to speak with Susan, please."

"Oh yes, this is Susan. I talked with the owner and we're going to refund you for the whole amount. I was an unfortunate turn of events and we would really love for you to stay with us again. Is a check ok?"

Huh? Good thing I was sitting down! That's it? Ok, yeah, I'll take a check. Really, that's it. And I think we will try and do it again.

#2: Catching up

Spencer and I have been enjoying our quality time together. As most expats know, keeping up with your favorite T.V. shows is very difficult overseas. **sidenote** hulu really needs to solve that. **un-sidenote** We get around that problem by just buying the series on DVD. I don't mind that I'm a year behind. If I want to watch the next episode and find out if Sylar really is dead, I go ahead and watch it! That's the magic of DVD. I got all of our favorites a month or so ago, but just haven't had the chance to watch them. Wonder why? I told Spence I wouldn't wait, but, he came home and I still hadn't watched anything. So we've been digging into Heroes. Very, very good vacation time!

#3: The BYU Game

To be brief, it was a sweet weekend. I will elaborate with more pictures and details soon. But for now, all I can say is that even though we lost, it was all still worth it. Provo in the fall time, wonderful weather, getting together with old Cairo friends, kids cooperating with a fall photo shoot, and Ikea. What more could one get out of a weekend??

The beginning of the end

Friday morning dawned beautiful and peaceful. There was a huge bin of toys in the basement for the kids to play with and they had graciously let Spencer & me sleep in. We were roused by Mairyn, who was hungry. She's usually the first one hungry. We had planned ahead and brought frozen french toast sticks for this first morning. Nothing like making something that usually takes a lot of effort in one minute and thirty seconds in the microwave. I went to get her a glass of water and . . . nothing. Just the all too familiar rush & gurgling sound of no water in the pipes. (We had enough water outages in Egypt to not be fazed too much by this) I called the point of contact, a property management company located in Island Park. Sunny Sharon was just as surprised as I was and said she'd call me back.

Sharon called back and said that there was some construction going on nearby and that they had needed to shut off the water.

"It should be on in a couple of hours." she said.

"I have 4 little kids, how am I supposed to get them a drink of water or flush the toilet or wash the dishes?"

"Didn't you bring any bottled water?" Sunny asked incredulously.

"No. We aren't camping and the description of the cabin said there would be running water."

"Well, this is just as much of a surprise to me. You could go down to the Shotgun Cafe and buy some bottled water."

What? No voucher? Besides the fact that it would take a whole heck of a lot of bottles to take a shower. (the kids had gotten in the hot tub the night before and went straight to bed. They were stinking of chlorine and needed baths) I could tell things were disintegrating fast so I gave her a time limit.

"I know that you didn't have any control over this outage, but you can give the construction crew an ultimatum. If they don't have it turned on by 11 (in 3 hours time) your paying customers will be leaving and wanting a refund. Got it?" (I may not have added the snotty 'got it' on the end. but I wanted to)

Sunny Sharon assured me that things would be sorted out. In the meantime, we had some good family time, forgot the dishes, and luxuriously watched a movie first thing in the morning. What else are vacations for? About 35 minutes in to said indulgence, the power goes out. Yes. The power. Fortunately, I still have 1 bar of service on my mobile and am able to call SS. She is just as shocked at this as the previous revelation and promises to get back to me. Again, the answer is the construction crew. Big surprise. We told her that the ultimatum still stands. And we waited for the next two hours.

Grant pretending to suck Spencer's brain out. This is what happens when the power goes out.

We took some nature hikes and explored around the cabin. But I had a sinking feeling that this would not all last. I was feeling generous and waited to call her till 11:30am.

"Sharon, there's still no power or water."

She apologized profusely but she didn't know if it would even be turned on for the REST OF THE DAY!! She offered to open up another cabin, maybe switch us to another area, etc. It's not like the next cabin was close. We were in the wilds. We saw maybe 3 other cabins on the winding road up the mountain. Besides, I wanted THIS cabin. (I know, I'm starting to sound like a 3 year old) But it's true. I told her that I had put a lot of time and money into choosing this perfect trifecta of a cabin. Awesome firepit, hot tub, satellite, and internet. None of the other cabins with in an hour's drive had that, she said. Well, we will be leaving, Sharon. She was flabbergasted.

"You're LEAVING??" she spluttered.

"Yes, I told you that if things were not resolved by 11am, we would be leaving. My husband is here for a limited time from Iraq . . . ."

I went on using the newly reunited Iraq widow card. She said we could apply this weekend to another time. When? He's only here for 2 weekends. Well, she said that she couldn't assure a refund for the two remaining nights because the owner of this cabin was "particular". Particular?? Listen, this is pretty simple. We paid for power and water, none of which have appeared yet today. (it was noon by now) Our time is precious. So, we left without a resolution. It took us another hour to pack everything up and there still wasn't any restoration of utilities. I may have been crying a bit along with the kids, but we managed to salvage the weekend. More on the weekend . . . tomorrow!

Take me away . . .

At the end of August, I found a wonderful site where I could reserve a cabin in the wilds of Island Park. I love camping; adore camping; would do it every other night if I could; just not with 4 kids. Renting a cabin is the next best thing. Actually, the best thing for us. I snagged 3 nights at off-season prices! There was an awesome fire pit.

Warm, bubbly and soothing hot tub. The kids splashed around in it before bed. Great energy expender; wish we could invest in one of these bad boys! Spencer & I slipped in after the kids went to bed, turned off the porch lights and watched the stars above. The Milky Way stretched out directly above us! It's times like this that I wish I could take pictures of stars. That'll have to wait until I get a really sweet camera upgrade.

And the wonderful finale? A sunset with clouds that look painted on.

It was meant to be!! Or was it . . . . .

Everyone's an individual

When we visit a place like Mt. Rushmore, or Niagara Falls, or the cool Dairy Queen down the street, I try to get an individual picture of each person. Something they don't have to share with anyone. It usually takes a while, but I like that they can pick out a picture from our family trip and go, "There's me at Mt. Rushmore." And only them.

*That last pic, btw, was taken by Mairyn.

Mount Rushmore

Traveling around the country has definitely been an experience. People ooh and ahhh when they hear we've lived in such exotic places, but there are some pretty amazing things right here in the US of A. Driving cross country; back and forth, within 7 weeks is a lot to absorb; like skimming a book, you get the highlights and a better "big picture" of it all. The driving has definitely been made easier with a new car and DVD system (bless you, whoever invented that). But the days still get long. Exasperation sets in when we've driven for so many miles to a certain destination and all that you get in response is whining & apparent ungratefulness. I find many "parent phrases" flying out of my mouth uncontrollably.

"I drove for 7 hours to get you here and you're complaining now?"

"You should be grateful to even be here."

I know that long hours in the car wear on everyone; no reaction can be predictable. Deep down, I know we're making memories. Niagara Falls? Check. Another little fold in the gray matter. National Monuments at our Nation's capitol? Got it covered. As well as a monumental tantrum on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Sakkara Pyramids, oldest structures on earth? Been there too many times to count.

When we were driving today, Eliza asked how much longer it would be. I told her it would be about 4 more hours.

"Oh, like the drive to Alexandria. It took us about 4 hours." she said.

She has a frame of reference! Mairyn, on the other hand, is still learning. She asks how much longer and it doesn't matter what you say, she'll moan and wish it was now. You can say 37 minutes or 37 hours, she can't tell.

This morning, I rolled out of bed at 4 am. I dutifully loaded the car, toted each sleeping child down to the van and rolled out onto the road by 4:45 am. Functioning robotically, I followed every turn Gina directed me to take. Somehow, 8 1/2 hours later, we arrive at the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone, SD just 2.2 miles down the road from Mt. Rushmore. And since we crossed into Mountain Standard Time, I gained an hour! We were walking into the Grand View Terrace by 1:30 pm.

The were all very excited and intrigued by these carvings in the side of a mountain. When we toured the visitors center, Grant liked the idea of guys using dynamite and blowing up rock. There was a little interactive exhibit where you select a picture, then push the plunger down and it simulates you blowing up part of the mountain during the creation part. Grant had to be reluctantly pried away. Jacqui & Grant really had the shortest fuses today. (hah!) But we did it. We saw Mt. Rushmore. Been there, done that, didn't buy a t-shirt; just a magnet for our collection.

Palmyra Temple

Visiting upstate New York was an adventure for all of us. It was (surprisingly) a state I hadn't been to yet. (outside of LaGuardia and JFK) Driving to Palmyra, we were set on taking it all in. My form of "absorbing" is taking pictures. Way too many pictures, in some people's opinions. Not mine. There can never be too many pictures. ;) We set out for the Joseph Smith Farm first and stumbled upon the Palmyra Temple first. It was on the list of places to visit, we just didn't expect to find it without looking. Really, everything we were going to see was like going to the monuments in D.C. It's all right there, within a few miles of each other. Although, back then, the mode of transportation was either on foot or horse, soooo. Anyway, here is the fam on the lawn by the temple. I love tripods. What doesn't show on our faces is that we are all getting wet bums sitting in the grass. It wasn't soggy-puddles wet, but it's the kind of wetness that you don't notice till you stand up. We all looked like we'd peed our pants! We dried off soon enough and continued on to the Joseph Smith Farm. More tomorrow!

Cute things

It's been a while since I visited Canada. I went to Winnipeg when I was a kid. Winnipeg was about 3 hours from where we lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. I don't really remember there being much that I thought was different from the US. I just remember the awesome childrens museum that we would visit. Of course, Niagara Falls, Ontario isn't that far into Canada, but hey, who's splitting hairs? I just loved all the little maple leaves everywhere! I'm sure part of it was for the tourism, but I liked it.

** Bonus Question ** (canadians are not allowed to respond! ;)

Do you know what poutine is?
And no fair running to Wikipedia or Google for the answer. I want to know
your honest answer or impression. What is it? I'll tell you what I thought it was tomorrow!

Niagara Falls

It's really late and I'm really tired. So I'll just put up some pictures and then fill in more of the story when my legs don't feel like lead and my eyelids aren't being pulled down by little sandbags!

In the Niagara Sky Wheel (a big ferris wheel with enclosed cars on it) to get a bird's eye view of the Falls.

The kids on the over look of the American Falls

Before we got on the Maid of the Mist boat. They had a poncho for every size, even Jacqui!

In the Horseshoe Falls!

Where we were. See the big cloud of mist, that's where the boat took us to get soaked!

The only angle I could get that had both Falls in it. The left hand side is the American Falls and the right side is called the Horseshoe Falls. The Horseshoe Falls is the one that people would go over in a barrel. We went in a complete circle on the boat. From right below where the kids are standing, along the bottom of the Am. Falls, over into the Horseshoe Falls and back to the shore. The ponchos did quite a good job of keeping us dry. We had a great time!