Germs? Nah!

We have had a wonderful, very low-key week. It is one of the first weeks that we haven't had company for dinner at least once! It was a nice break, but now we are ready to get back to our normal busy life. Although, I have realized over and over again since we arrived here, that our life is busy in a completely different way. It takes a very long time to get anywhere here, so everything ends up being completely exhausting and time-consuming. But, I have not been nearly as consumed by callings, planning, rehearsals, school, activities, etc. as I was before. It's been nice to realize that doing less actually makes me be able to enjoy the things that I am doing a lot more. My real joy is found in being with my amazing husband, and two adorable kids!



On that note, Jack and I got to go on a very special date on Saturday. Jeff and I have realized how fun it is to have one on one time with each of the children, so we are now taking turns taking Jack and Janie out at different times. It is always fun for all of us! Jeff took Janie shopping and Jack and I got to go to a very anticipated movie, Charlotte's Web. When Jack and I first started reading chapter books, this was our first and he loved it, just like I had hoped. Then he received it as a gift from Santa, so we read it again! He loved it even more! The movie didn't open in Bangkok until just this month, and this was the first chance we had, so it was very exciting!

We had some lunch, then went to Central World (Trade Center) to the NICE theaters! And wow, they were nice!



This isn't a hotel, this is one of the lobby areas! There were people just sitting around reading newspapers! They brought Jack a special cushion to sit on so he could see the screen easier, and the concessions were the same prices as the grocery store! Jack loved the movie and got so excited as each character came out. I was impressed that the movie was straight from the book, with just a couple of added characters, but even several word for word phrases. Of course, there is a lot of wisdom in this book, I highly recommend it. I kept watching Jack's reaction to each event and character, especially near the end when Charlotte died. I could see it hit Jack when he realized what was happening, and he turned to me with tears in his eyes and asked, "why does Charlotte have to die?". The movie dwells on this a lot more than the book, so it hit him pretty hard. He cried softly in my arms for the rest of the movie. I was so touched that Jack understood and was sensitive to this, but it also made me cry to watch my son discover something 3 year olds don't usually think about. But, it did give us an opportunity to talk about some very important things, so it was turned out to be very positive. He is definitely just a little boy in every way, but he seems to understand some things amazingly well. Anutra talks about how Jack is an old man in a young body because he is so bright. I definitely agree after this experience.


Jack and I caught a truck taxi on the way home from the train, he thought this was the coolest. They are actually easier to find on our soi than a taxi, and a little bit cheaper, and Jack was exhausted, so we decided to do it as a fun treat.

Saturday evening, we all had a fun time with our friends eating MEXICAN food! That is definitely the cuisine we have missed the most, so we were thrilled to find out that there is a Mexican restaurant out in the suburbs by the Strate's home. We got together with them and the Selways for dinner and finished with desert and games at their apartment after. We traveled for an hour to get there and 1/2 hour back, just to be with our friends. How many times have we NOT wanted to drive out of West Jordan for this same thing, thinking it's too far? This is definitely changing our perspective on things! Every second in that taxi was worth it! We are so grateful to have friends that we enjoy so much, and the kids get along so well!


This is Jane playing with Jake while the adults were playing games. She LOVES Jake, and he wants a baby sister so bad, so this works out really well. Every time I am with Jake, I just want to take him home with me! Janie had fallen down the wood stairs onto a tile floor not long before this picture was taken, so Jake was sure a big help! Luckily, Janie is the toughest girl I know. I guess having an older brother and parents that like to wrestle encourages that a bit. I actually started teaching Jake violin this week, so I am happy to have that time with him each week. He is just a good kid, inside and out.


Earlier in the week, we had the monthly luncheon with the "city sisters" from the ward. There were 5 of us, with 5 kids. Mary Jane, Som, and I met earlier so we could let the kids play before we ate lunch at the Emporium. These three are quite the little trio. Here they were playing one of our favorite games, "red light, green light".


Jane and Jack love this play place at the Emporium. We come here fairly regularly to burn excess energy, and let them play with new kids. Jane watched Jack climb the pole one time, and since has LOVED to hang onto it and drop off onto the padded floor. She is a little monkey, always wanting to dangle from things! One day, at the Children's museum, there was a booth on bats. There was a bar that you could hang on and a timer to tell you how long you hung on for. I put Jack up there, and he held on for 19 seconds, which I thought was pretty good! Janie ( 2 1/2 years younger) hung on for 14 seconds! And, I think now, she could do a lot longer! It's pretty exciting when they can just roll around on the floor and have it be comfortable, because carpet is rare here. Our entire apartment is hardwood and tile, and we don't have rugs yet, (the main reason I let my little monkeys jump on the beds). So, here they can fall all over and not get hurt. Janie has also perfected her somersault, and loves the zipline, which she loves to slide down by herself. She surprises all of us daily with how adventurous she can be!

Janie, in general, has really grown up just in the last 2 weeks! She is talking and signing more than ever. She is hitting the "parrot" stage, where she will repeat (or at least try to repeat) almost anything. She has the sweetest little voice, and I love how well she can communicate with her words and signs. I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me, that she is really learning three languages at once. She says several Thai words, many English, and does just as many, if not more, signs. She seems to just pick whatever is easier in whatever language and use that. Sometimes it's a combination of two. We are thrilled with how well she is picking up on any of it! She is such a little sweetheart, and gets SO much attention wherever we go. All the staff here stops whatever they are doing when Janie or Jack walks by. They hope to get a Janie greeting, "ku kah!" (her version of hello in Thai) with the traditional wai. Everyone melts, including me!

This video is the traditional home movie. Bad photography, unnecessary talking, and not everything went like it should, but it is priceless to US! If you are one of those parents who worries a lot about your kids and germs, this might drive you crazy. I am a pretty laid back mom, and my kids have awesome immune systems, maybe this is why? We took this last month sometime, but thought you would still enjoy it. I LOVE watching my kids interact and enjoy each other like this. There is nothing like having a sibling! So, thanks Mom and Dad for giving me three!

Makha Bucha and Sattahip

This week has been so filled, my usual Sunday blog isn't even up until Tuesday! We returned yesterday from a weekend outside the city, so I'm just getting things pulled back together! Check out this belly... isn't she simply irresistible?

More details on this to come...

The bad part of the week was that I didn't take pictures of as many things as I usually do. Monday evening, my cousin (actually first cousin, once removed, is that right?), Rikker, and his wife, Kao, came over for dinner. It seems so crazy to actually have family here in Bangkok, but we were so grateful that they would come over and visit! I attended Rikker and Kao's wedding, but hadn't seen them since, so this was a treat for us. It was so fun to visit, especially when they know SO much about the ins and outs of Bangkok, which are endless. They will be here for 6-7 months, but we hope much longer!

For the last few weeks, I have been researching schools for Jack to attend starting next month. They take schooling here very seriously, particularly in the expat community. It is common for one year of an 8 year old's schooling to cost more than Jeff's entire University education. I find this a little excessive, but admire the dedication to education. I visited 7 schools, and chose one that I was particularly impressed with and felt would fit Jack well. They invited him to do a “trial day” on Tuesday, so this was big for all of us.

Jack was THRILLED to go to school, but I, on the other hand, hardly knew what to do with only ONE kid! Janie and I went and dropped Jack off at 8:30am, and had the whole morning to ourselves. Jack didn't hesitate about me leaving for even a second, which I was 99% excited about. Janie and I had fun putting together puzzles, reading books, shooting hoops, and taking naps (okay, maybe that was just Jane). I was SO excited to pick him up after school, and even got to talk to another parent who has been very happy there. Several of the teachers came up to ask what school he has attended before. It's very unusual that a four year old hasn't been going to school for at least one year, most have started at two! I was happy that he felt at home there, and made some good friends. We are starting the paperwork, and Jack will start going every day, 8:30-12:30, the week of his 4^th birthday (April 25th). Every day seems like a lot, but there isn't one school here that doesn't require 4 year olds to attend every day. I was just glad I found one that gave me the option to go half-day, that was unusual! Like I said, they take it very seriously! Have to get ready for those prep-schools, right? I just hope Jack can have a good experience, and enjoy seeing English-speaking friends every day.

We had a fun play date Wednesday morning with a woman, Anna, I met at a play place at the mall. She is from Sweden and has been living in Bangkok for roughly a year. She has a 2 year old, and is expecting her second in 2 months. We had a great time playing with the kids, visiting at her apartment, not too far from here. It was nice to meet someone else wonderful from Sweden (like the Norins, are they all like that?), and also visit with another mom that speaks perfect English!

Thursday, Jack's friends came over to play. They were all on our bed chanting “3 little monkeys” for at least 15 minutes. I loved it!

This might seem silly to all of you who have friends across the street, or 2 houses down, but one of the highlights of my week was meeting 2 people in my building who speak English! One is a woman from New Jersey who is expecting in September. The other is a Japanese woman who stays at home (can you believe that?) with her daughter who just turned three. Her daughter did just start school, but it's SO nice to meet another stay-at-home mom! It was a treat to be able to visit with someone in English in my very own building! That's 3 new friends (counting Anna from Sweden) in one week who are moms and they speak English. It's a record. What a blessing!

So, on to the weekend! We left early Saturday morning to meet up with Anutra, Bird, and Bird's brother, Boy. (This is in front of their home, about 30 min. out of the city). We were off to Sattahip, a city 2 hours out of Bangkok and right on the shore! We were SO excited for a change of pace from the city life. It was our first time out of the city for more than a few hours, and we were excited to take some deep breathes in the clean, salty air! They were so nice to invite us to stay with them on a Navy base in Sattahip because they have a connection through their friend who is currently an officer in the Navy. So, we got super cheap accommodations, and first class tour guides!

The roughest part, no doubt, was getting there and back. Bird drives a medium sized pick-up and we fit all seven of us in there. Yes, seven! It was not comfortable at all, but we endured it because we love being with our friends, and it was a great way to see things that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to see. There's no way we could have gone to a place like this on our own. There's no public transportation, and we would have had one heck of a time communicating! Going with Thais is the only way to venture off the beaten path like this. We loved it. We really prefer not to always be in the main touristy areas because we like to see where real people in Thailand spend their time, and how they live. The resorts are not geared towards Thais because they are relatively very expensive. Although, we might still have to try one out, just once, before we leave.

So, we spent both afternoons at the beautiful beach in the wonderfully warm water and amazing sand! A couple of observations while we were there: I didn't seen even one woman in just a bathing suit. Everyone was wearing clothing instead of swimsuits, or at least on top of their swimming suits. So, we did too! I would have stood out even more if I would have just been in my swimsuit and shorts! In all the hours we were there, I counted three other foreigners. All three were wearing speedos with HUGE beer bellies. Jeff said it was officially 3 ½ because of the size of one of them. We noticed that people at this beach actually swim! Anutra thought it was crazy when I told her that a lot of people go to the beach simply to sunbathe. Everyone here is either in the water, or the shade. Many had long sleeves or long pants to cover their skin from the sun. I loved that people of all ages were playing in the water like (and with) their kids! Anutra, Bird, and Boy all ran into the water as soon as possible and just played! It was great!

Jack and Janie loved the beach. I think they would love it if we went everyday. Janie mostly loved the water, and Jack mostly loved the sand. So, they were both happy! We hope to head back to the beach in the next month, or maybe for my birthday! It was beautiful!

Saturday night, we went to the Temple to worship in honor of Makha Bucha day, the reason we had a 3 day holiday. Anutra and Bird taught us what to do as we held our Lotus flower, incense, and candle and walked around the temple 3 times. The three times around, as well as the 3 sticks of incense symbolize Buddha, the Tribidal (their scripture, containing words of Buddha), and the monks. Very interesting.

After our walk around the temple, we went to the market for dinner. We found a vendor that serves a favorite dish of the kids, so we planted ourselves there. We ordered way too much because Janie didn't eat much, and Jack laid his head down on the table and fell completely asleep while eating his first bites of chicken!

Think we did a little much this day?

This type of vendor is very common here, and we eat this dish regularly. It is called Khaaw men gai, and is boiled or fried chicken over rice cooked in broth with a yummy soup. Very delicious and kid friendly.

We walked around the market place for a while during the day and had fun looking at all the shops. We found a shop with silly toys and Anutra bought this for Jack. He would blow something and the side things would pop out. She spoils my kids regularly with things they love, but I would never buy them, so it's a pretty good arrangement. We were quite the parade walking down those streets, being so white! Janie and Jack must be SO tired of greeting in Thai, although I have to admit, Janie continues to get cuter and cuter every time she wais. The attention is well-deserved!

We walked out onto this pier to look at these boats that Bird worked on years ago. He attended the Navy academy, and has since been working for the Marine police. Jack loved the boats, but unfortunately they were all locked because of the holiday weekend! Bird and Anutra are hilarious together. They are like a couple of kids... but forty. I love it. Isn't that water just beautiful?

We spent a lot of time just relaxing in our rooms, and we all loved this. The kids had a chance to unwind, so they could be ready for our next adventure. Jack and Jeff also enjoyed practicing with Jack's slingshot and going on "lizard finding expeditions" as Jack calls them. They would find several every time, mostly right there in the lobby! These little lizards are everywhere. We've even had some in our bedroom at home, 15 stories up! From what we hear, it doesn't matter where you live, you will have lizards! They are pretty innocent, so it's usually just exciting when we spot one on the draperies!

I was so impressed at what was available at this beach to rent! You could rent beach mats, kayaks, or pay 50 Baht for a ride on this thing behind the boat. Anutra is such an adventurer and was excited to get us all in there! We were all going to go, except Jeff and Janie, but the driver was worried about Jack, so he and I ended up in the boat instead. But, after seeing how rough the water was, we were glad we weren't out there!

It was so fun to be with Anutra, Bird, and Boy and just to get away from normal life for a while. They were so great to expose us to new things, and of course, Anutra taught us new Thai words every chance she got. The problem is remembering them all! We feel so blessed to have found friends who have taken us in and showed us how real Thais live! We loved seeing their home, and Anutra's mother's home on the way back. We loved eating Thai food everyday, for every meal (even breakfast!), in Thai style. I certainly couldn't keep that up though, Thais eat a LOT! But, I can see why, the food is fantastic! We are having a hard time knowing how to ever pay people like them back for what they share with us! I can only hope that someday they will come and visit us in the States and we can show them how Americans live!

I apologize for this blog entry and how thrown together it must feel. I didn't have the time I usually do to organize my thoughts. Hopefully next week!

Be our guest...

This week has been busy and crazy, and we've loved every minute of it! As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words, so we've got plenty this week.

Our week started out with a visit Monday evening from our wonderful friends from Sweden, the Norin family. (Check out my Friends and Family post from last month). We were so excited to see them back in Bangkok when we got to church on Sunday and were happy they had time to come over for another visit. They have spent the last month living on an island in Malaysia and had one last week in Bangkok before heading to Hong Kong, New Zealand, California and UTAH!

The boys had so much fun together! Jack loved every minute with Oliver and Alvin, we could tell by the hysterical laughter heard all night! It was awesome. Jack really hasn't laughed that hard in a long time, besides the last time that they were here, of course.


I loved Jane and Ben together, even though they really are too young to actually play together. I think their blonde hair is so similar, especially the curly wisps around the face and in the back. Although, Ben does have more hair than Jane, which might explain why people still occasionally ask if Jane is a boy (doesn't matter how much pink, or how many clips in her hair), and Ben gets mistaken for a girl occasionally.


We all sat around their computer for some time looking at pictures of their island adventures and then listening to some Swedish pop stars. We absolutely loved our time with the Norins. They really are a wonderful example of the kind of family we hope to be. We hated to say goodbye, not knowing when we would see them again, so we invited them over for dinner again on Wednesday, and were happy they could fit it in! They are all exceptional, and we feel blessed to have had them in our home. Our hope is to one day make it to Sweden!
Jack, Janie and I went swimming for the first time since we moved into our new apartment. It was awesome. Jack is a little hesitant because it's been a couple of months, but I could barely keep Jane from diving in the deep end! Afterwards, we discovered that they love to shower. Jack occasionally gets in, but Janie never has gotten in with him, so it was a treat. They had a blast, and I practically had to drag them out when it was time to get ready for dinner!


Friday was a fun day for me and the kids. Anutra invited us to come with her and one of her English classes from the University to the Ancient City. Her students were giving reports on different sites in the Ancient city in English, and I think she wanted a native English speaker there. I really thought she was inviting us because she tells her classes about Jack and Janie, so she wanted to show them off, but I realized within the first few minutes that the presentations were being made specifically to ME! I got to ask questions and talk with each of the students about what they presented on, as well as visit with the other teachers. It was a fun day for the kids and I. We love Anutra, the Ancient City, and having 15 excited baby-sitters wasn't too bad either!

Jack noticed the microphone at the front of the tram about half way through our day. He thought this was the best. So, he started out singing "I'm a child of God" and "ABC's" and ended with phrases such as, "Next station, the floating market!" I was amazed that everyone still thought he was adorable after hearing his voice, very loud, for a very long time. He was pretty hilarious.


This day was also Janie's first day in her whole life where she didn't have a nap at ALL! The bus dropped us off in Bang Na, quite a ways from home, and we caught a taxi the rest of the way. I thought I was in for a taxi ride from you know where, but it was really one of my favorite long taxi rides ever (it took us over an hour to get home, and this is already in the city, with little traffic!). The kids played SO cute together, the driver thought they were hilarious, and Jack is getting really good at "I spy". Janie went down at 6pm that night, and slept until almost 8am. She was amazing! Hopefully, we won't have to do that one again though, I don't want to press my luck!

Saturday was a fun day of normal Saturday things: cleaning, shopping, and being together. We were excited because we had friends coming over in the evening, and Jack could hardly wait! Our friends, Mike and Emily, are returning to England next week because they are expecting their first baby. They have been married less than a year, and decided they wanted to spend their first year together teaching English in Thailand. We decided before they returned home, we needed to get everyone together to wish them well! It was a VERY fun evening. Lots of food, good conversation, and friends!

From the top left to right: Mike and Emily Maitland, Kaddi and Shane Strate, Mary Jane and Bundit Ungrangsee, Joel and Som Selway (on the couch), and Jeff and I. This was a self-timer picture, so you should all be very impressed. This is such a diverse group of friends, and everyone here has a story. It's fun to visit, and we all loved playing CatchPhrase together. You really don't realize how much you depend on your culture until you play a game like that with people who are NOT Americans! Emily had a really hard time describing "I love Lucy" (she'd never heard of it!), and Joel had NO idea what a "Caboose" was. Anybody know what a "Hat Trick" is? I had NO clue! I don't think that's cultural, it's just my inexperience with hockey, I guess!


We got together earlier this time than last, so we could get the kids to bed a better time, but really, we just spent more time visiting! But, the kids loved it. No problems with these kids, they get along GREAT! I think it's a pretty good mix of ages. Starting from the left: Jake Strate with Jane (Jane's first boyfriend, she LOVES Jake!), Narissa Ungrangsee, Cyan and Cyrus Selway, Megan Strate holding Alena Ungrangsee, and Jack.


The kids announced at one point that they were putting on a puppet show for all of us. They brought it out into the family room, and took turns presenting their wonderful stories which consisted mostly of whisperings behind the curtains and a few puppet fight scenes by the boys. It was pretty fun, and I was glad to seem them enjoying our puppet theater so much!

A special treat was that the Ungrangsees brought a favorite Thai dessert of Mango and sticky rice with a coconut milk topping. It was SO sweet and delicious! Mmmmm... I am hoping to learn how to make the sticky rice so I can do it myself!

Our crazy week didn't end at bedtime on Saturday, Sunday was also filled. We had our normal church meetings, where Jeff taught Priesthood, and I worked in the nursery with my friend, Kaddi. After the meetings, there was the baptism of a fellow from India. His cousin, Sancho, was baptized just 3 weeks ago, and they both simply glow. Jeff was honored to speak at the baptism and described it as the "the most amazing baptism ever". I haven't gotten all the details, because we haven't yet had a chance to really visit, because our day didn't stop there. I let Jack stay in the baptism meeting, while I took Janie out for some space before we headed to the Bishop's house with his family for dinner and Jeff's ward council meeting. We got to spend the afternoon with Sis. Sampson and their daughter Leslie, eating an amazing meal of meat and potatoes (beef! can you believe it?), and playing with their toys while Jeff was in his meeting. It worked out for us to get a ride back into the city around 5:30 with Bro. Andersen in the bishopric, who we adore. We think of him as our kid's pseudo-grandpa while we are away (there is a picture of him unscrewing the chair to get Jack out, at our Thanksgiving feast at their home). It was fun to spend time with so many people from the ward, even if it did make for a very busy Sunday.

If you are a Frog and Toad fan, you might recall the story about "the Letter". Toad talks about his "sad time of day" when he waits for the mail, although he has never received any. Well, I had a "sad time of day" today. As church was ending and I was maneuvering through our very narrow hallways packed full of people, I heard wonderful music and quickly saw a big screen with pictures of familiar faces on it. The youth were preparing for a fireside broadcast in the cultural hall and the music was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. I walked in, with Janie in my arms and was completely caught up in seeing MY Orchestra playing with the wonderful choir, and I wasn't in it. Seeing all those familiar faces and recalling the feeling of entering that wonderful Conference center to those voices, was overwhelming to me. When I saw Jeff, I couldn't hold it in any more and broke down in his arms. I knew there were sacrifices when we chose to come to Bangkok, but I don't think I realized how much I would miss serving in the Orchestra. I miss playing beautiful music, being surrounded by exceptional musicians, and feeling that extra spirit when I am sharing my testimony through music. What a wonderful organization, and it was such a blessing to be a part of it for that 2 years. So, these wonderful memories caused me to have a "sad time of day" as I recalled them all and was sad that it will be another 2 years before I am able to participate in it again. Like Toad, it was unnecessary to think about the possibilities of receiving a letter, or getting to play in the orchestra again, which makes us sad, but sometimes, you just have to mourn for a while and then move on. Toad went through this each day until Frog finally sent him his letter. I hope I can be done with it now and receive my "letter" when I return home.

Thank you all for keeping in touch and caring for our little family. We love you all!