Halloween and more

Originally, the plan was that we would leave exactly two years from the time we arrived, which would have been last week. Thanks to everyone being flexible because of Jack's school schedule, we were able to stay a bit longer. Because of this, we're able to be here for a couple holidays THREE times, instead of just the planned two. Last weekend we celebrated our third Halloween in Thailand, and although it is a completely "American" Halloween, we were impressed by how many people actually got into it. The Japanese families in our building (roughly 80% of the tenants) decorated their doors WAY more than we did. Of course, because we thought we'd be gone, our Halloween boxes are in the bottom, back corner of our storage room. (Jeff was so relieved I didn't ask him to help me dig them out. We just got by with homemade decorations this year.) The Japanese moms at Jack's school (can you tell we live in the Japanese part of Bangkok?) almost all had some kind of costume, cape, or devil's horns on for his school's party. I was impressed! I thought for SURE I'd be the only one with any kind of a costume! Our first Halloween, which was two days after we arrived, we saw NOTHING having to do with Halloween. Obviously, we were living in a hotel, we knew no one, and we spent the evening at the mall getting dinner and were all in bed by 8pm. Thank you, jet-lag! So, you can bet I was feeling the "mom-guilt" for that one. Luckily, the last two years I've been able to redeem myself as far as providing a fun Halloween for the kids.

We went with Jack to school that morning, and Jane was SO excited because she knew she got to actually "go" to school, instead of just waving goodbye to Jack as he went into his classroom. So, the plan was for Jane to be Tinkerbell, as she had requested since Halloween was first discussed. I thought that was awesome since we already had the costume (thank you, Santa). Come Friday
morning, Jack's getting his Spiderman suit on, I'm putting on my Super Cape and mask, and Jane decides we need to be a super family, something that Jeff started a couple weeks back. He'd dress everyone up in capes and give us secret missions (e.g. rescue all the stuffed animals and take them into Jack's room into the super helicopter, A.K.A. the top bunk). Jeff's brilliant. Even Jane got into it. So she wanted to be Batman instead. Batman? Awesome, even EASIER! I don't have to do anything special to her hair! (Is it wrong to be excited about one less thing?) So, we were the "super family", and we were getting all the looks as we walked the 10 minutes to school.

I kind of like to see their faces too.

I volunteered to be in charge of Jack's classroom activity that all the other kids would rotate through. I was happy for a chance to be a "room mother" as my mom seemed to be every year I was in Elementary school. She was the coolest. And still is. I always looked forward to her bringing a huge smokey bowl of punch that no one could take their eyes off of. I thought about doing that too. You can EASILY get dry ice here, just order something take-away from Dairy Queen and you're set. I decided to keep it simple and stick to just providing sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. Next year, I think I'll go for the dry ice punch too. Way cool for six-year-olds. Anyway... we enjoyed Jack's general assembly with all the children. Then entered the best clown I've seen in Bangkok yet. And honestly, I've seen a lot of clowns. He was totally geared for six and under, not too squeaky or loud (some clowns have squeakers in their mouth and that's how they "talk". It's fun for about two seconds). He did magic, balloons, and was just really low-key funny. Jack and Jane were completely entranced the entire time. I loved watching them sit there together, laughing and looking so big.

It was fun to be involved with Jack's class and get to know the kids a little better. I think maybe three kids out of the fifty that came through had decorated cookies like this before. Is this an American thing? It was hilarious to watch the nursery class (mostly two-year-olds, give or take six months) come through. Are these kids REALLY in school? I know it's totally normal here, but I can't imagine sending my two-year-old to school for three to four hours a day!

Jack had a fun day at school and loved playing the games (pin the tail on the black cat, musical chairs, monster bowling, etc.) as well as eating chocolate fondue and other delicious treats. He was a little wired when he got home, so I was happy we had a few hours of down time before our evening began.

Even though our building was planning a huge Halloween celebration, we committed early on to head out to Nichada (the big American feeling neighborhood) to the Gibbons family's home for their annual Halloween party. They are so good to open their home up to us inner-city folks who would otherwise have a very non-traditional Halloween for our little ones. Jane was funny with her costume AGAIN! She certainly looked cute, but it was hard to convince her of how much she REALLY wanted to be Tinkerbell. (I just wanted ONE last use of that cute costume!). She loved it once it was on and Jack danced her around the house.

We rode the train to meet Jeff mid-way from his work. If the kids didn't already draw enough attention... my goodness.

We caught a taxi out, and half way there (it's about 40 min. out of the city) Jane started freaking out about her costume. So, before we even arrived for the party, she was wearing her pajamas I'd brought for her to wear on the way home. She was happy, so that's what matters, right? At least they had Care Bears on them!

The kids loved Trick-or-Treating, and it was definitely like a traditional Halloween. The kids walked up to each house (minus the scary ones for the girls), and got all kinds of good candy! Jane caught on after about two houses and was completely sold. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is only to her benefit! I wished I could have gotten a picture of all the decor; some of these homes went all out. Some of the houses were even providing treats for parents. Have you ever been offered a jello shot while Trick-or-Treating? I have. You just don't see that in Utah!

We had a wonderful evening with our friends, enjoying the Gibbon's beautiful home, visiting with everyone, letting the kids play, trick-or-treat, and watch fun Halloween movies. It felt just like home. Michele even cranks up the air so it's a little bit cold (luxury!), so we can enjoy our hot soup. It was awesome. I love this tradition, and have always been grateful for other friends (thank you Heatons!) who have provided a fun place to go after (or before) the kids do their
trick-or-treating where we can all unwind and enjoy each other's company! I would definitely like to keep this tradition going. Plus, I just love soup, but in this heat, it's NOT enticing to cook over the stove all day!

Here are all the little ones after they collected their loot. From the left: Alina, Narissa, and Anna Ungrangsee, Jane, Madeline Beck, Lucas Beck, Jack, and Isaac Beck. I don't know how we missed getting Sophia Gibbons in there!

It's been fun to see everyone's Halloween traditions through your blogs. Such cute costumes, fun parties, and cute kids! This is our last year to be out on Halloween without jackets, in sandals, and sweating. It's been fun, but like I said, I'm ready.

So, here's the question for all the parents. What do you do with all that candy? Every year until now, I've managed to recycle it back into the candy to give out, after my kids have had their night's worth. They've never noticed, they're always so sugar happy from all they've eaten that night. This time, we ended up with two buckets of serious candy! Do you eat it yourselves? Do you let your kids have free reign? Do you ration it out for each day? Do your kids ration it on their own? I've been using Jane's for rewards, and Jack hasn't questioned my authority over letting him choose a little bit each day, but that won't last forever. At what point do you just let them just have it without interceding?

Am I a mean mom?

I didn't get a good picture of Jack's class doing the cookies, but can you tell JANE enjoyed the process at home? This girl loves flour. She was eating it and spraying it all over the kitchen. Yes, very fun, until clean up time! We sure enjoyed all that hysterical laughter!

Jack's latest quiet time creation. This kid loves building stuff, and I love it because he'll sit and read, or play with Jane in his forts forever. He is so cool.

So, honestly, what do you do with your children's Halloween candy?

Six more weeks...

This week we hit our two year mark. October 29th. I can't believe it's really been two years since we arrived in Thailand. As I expected, the time has flown by. Since the day we got here, I knew 2 years could never seem like enough. There's just so much to see and do, so many things to experience and learn. So many places to visit. No way could one family do it all in two short years when we also need to carry on a real life!

So, our time is coming to an end. We have six short weeks left, and until last week, I was feeling pretty sick about it. I imagined myself being happy to be home for a while (of course, why wouldn't I love to see my family and enjoy the holidays???), then after settling in, feeling like I'm ready for another change. I always have felt bad for the families who leave here; very few want to, and many are worried about the culture shock of going back to their home countries. It doesn't matter if it's Japan, Canada, the U.K. or the U.S.A., there's a culture shock there. I've worried about that a little with Jane, as she's spent twice as much time in Thailand than she ever did in the U.S. If you've never lived away from home (wherever that may be), maybe this makes no sense. I've always dreamed of living abroad. I've always dreamed of living in a big city. I've always dreamed of traveling the world, especially with someone I love. It's unbelievable to think that it's all happening. I'd hardly dare ask for more, but admittedly, I've wanted to stay in Thailand rather than return to our other life so soon. Until last week, that is. Maybe it's the feeling of the oncoming holidays. Maybe it was having Fay here for a week, loving my children like only family can. Maybe it was Jack on Halloween night amazed that kids were riding their bikes in the street, right by their houses! (Imagine that!) Or, maybe it's me feeling ready to have my own transportation that I can actually STRAP my kids into! Whatever it is, I finally feel ready to come home.

I feel ready to have a house. I feel ready to have a yard for my kids to play in. I feel ready to mow the lawn. I feel ready to only go to ONE store and be able to buy all the groceries I need. I feel ready to have Sunday dinners with family. I feel ready for my kids to spend regular time with their grandparents, to play with their cousins, and to remember how awesome their aunts and uncles are. I'm ready to live in a place where it's normal to have your three year old home with you. I haven't really felt homesick since we've been here. A little here and there after a phone call with parents, but not like I feel now. I am actually looking forward to coming home. I'm happy about it! And, thankfully, so is Jeff. Saying goodbye to Auntie Fay did it for Jack.

Just watching him have to say goodbye to Fay broke my heart. He looked at me after she walked off with those big eyes and just teared up. He was homesick for family and he didn't even know how to express it. We shed a few tears together, then talked about the things we still have to look forward to before we fly out. We realized we're finally ready!

I'm SO thankful for my homesickness. I never thought it would come. I thought I'd be leaving a big chunk of my heart here with unfinished business. Now I realize, although a part of my heart will always be here, I'm ready to take the rest to my family I'm missing so much. So, although I'll enjoy this last six weeks in Bangkok, (and they will be filled weeks!) I know I'll feel much more ready to step on that plane than I thought. It will be hard, but how could it not be after all the growing up I've experienced here?

Living in Thailand has definitely been an adventure. I think the next chapter of our lives (part of which will include trying to remember how to be a Utah housewife) just might be our biggest adventure yet! Especially come May (drum roll please...) when we welcome the next baby Hillman into our home! As much as we would have loved to experience the medical care in Thailand, we are THRILLED that we will be near family when our little one is born! Even though our child will be born in Utah, we keep being reminded, as the news is getting out, our baby was "Made in Thailand", and not to forget it. Now, to think of a Thai name for this little one... any suggestions?

So, SIX more weeks of delicious, cheap pineapple and mangoes. SIX more weeks of cheap transportation and not having to use parking lots. SIX more weeks of sweating when you walk out the door. SIX more weeks with our Bangkok family. SIX more weeks of the language, smiles from strangers, all the delicious food, and living a life we'll likely never live again. It's been a wonderful two years, but the time has come, and I'm happy to finally feel ready.

Fay is HERE!

We've been SO spoiled this week to have Auntie Fay here! She arrived on Tuesday evening and has been an awesome addition to our family. We just wish we could keep her!

Jack was extremely excited that she was coming, even though, honestly, we haven't ever had this much time with her before. You would hardly have known it; Jack and Jane took to her like they'd spent days and days with her before. And why wouldn't they? She's a grandma of two boys and two girls, very close to their ages, so it's safe to say, she knows kids!

We have spent our days doing fun, some touristy, and some not-so touristy things. Here's a quick run-down of some of our favorite moments during the week.

Fay starting a fire in her bathroom with her curling iron. Oops! Thanks to marble counter tops, no harm done!

The kids have been so fascinated by her reading glasses this week. Jack loved wearing them on the tip of his nose so he could see over them to read with Daddy.

We spent a morning at a Thai school for children who's parents work during the day and cannot care for them. Khun Bird invited us to celebrate his birthday by donating drinks and little pencils to the children. We didn't feel like we got to help much more than just serving them their meal, but it was an awesome experience, once again, to see these sweet children and see the good that is going on here. I didn't take a ton of pictures here like I did last year, and unfortunately, you can't see many of these cute kids, but here are a few from last time, if you're interested.

Visiting Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), which I've been wanting to see since we got here. Usually, by the time we've seen the other temple, we're too tired to cross the river to this one, but we were smart and started with it this time. It was really different from the others, and we loved that you could climb up a good part of it, although it was a little freaky with the kids! VERY steep!

Riding the truck home... Fay was up for anything, which always makes it SUPER easy to get around. She never complains, never loses her patience, and always seems like everything is exactly what she would choose. I have a LOT to learn!

We spent a day at a Tiger zoo outside of the city. It was a new place for all of us, and we weren't disappointed! We saw a tiger show, and those tigers were gorgeous! (gotta love that lady's outfit).

This is Jack petting a baby crocodile. Very cool.

Fed a bottle to the baby tigers. You can tell Jane was a little bit hesitant, but who can blame her, not all of the cubs were calm, and if they really wanted to, I think their paws could reach through those bars! This one was already sticking through some. We were trying to stick to the lazy ones.

You could pay 150 baht to get pictures with a number of different animals, but being cheap like we are, we didn't want to pay the money. While it was raining, we were kind of stuck under an awning with a bunch of these animals. Our kids were SO excited to pet them. Jane was drawn the entire time to the little bunny, and Jack kept going back to this huge snake. The guy finally let us just take a picture with our camera, which we were grateful for since Jack loved this snake so much! No fear from this boy! I didn't feel too guilty about not paying for the picture since I think Jack hanging around with this guy was getting other people to pay for their picture.

Jack had the camera a good deal of the day. I thought this was cute! Look at all those gorgeous teeth!

Did I mention that Fay is up for anything? She is so adventurous and didn't want to miss a thing. We were impressed that she took the opportunity to get held up by the elephant. Very cool and only 50 baht!

We've fed crocodiles before, but not like this. This was an adventure for us too! At first, dangling a dead chicken from a "fishing pole" seemed a little mean, like we're teasing the crocodiles, but then I remembered... they're crocodiles! It was awesome. That croc that is jumping out at Jeff's actually got it that time, and I got an incredible video of one going after Fay's. I love that you can hear their jaws snapping shut so well. It's incredible!

We did a crocodile wrestling show, which we've seen before, but it's always fun to watch. This one has the only girl wrestler that I've ever heard of. Jack gets really intense during it, and last time, we actually just walked out. Maybe I'm a bad mom for submitting my kids to potential violence, but it's part of the culture, right? I love how Jack was holding on to Fay here; you can tell he's really into it.

Waiting for a taxi in our lobby. This is the first time in a while that I've heard any name more than "Mom!" in my house. Is it okay that I've loved that? We've heard, "Auntie FAY!" about 1,000 times a day. At least. Jack and Jane want her for everything! She's done story times, taught them how to finger crochet, read books, sung songs, drawn pictures, played computer games, board games, and tonight Jack could hardly go to sleep because he was so excited about the cards he and Fay were making together.

Yesterday, Fay and I got to go solo to the Chatuchak market, which I love. She was an awesome shopping buddy. We found lots of fun things for both of us, and were in and out in about three hours. That's about three hours shorter than my usual visit, in case you were wondering. I don't go very often, so when I do, it's to stock up. It was nice this time to focus on what she wanted, and just be along for the fun!

We also got to bring Fay to church with us today. It was fun to show her off a little bit, and to have her there to help prepare for Primary stuff! She shared a bunch of her awesome Tabernacle cards and CDs, and just was happy to let us introduce her to so many of our Bangkok family! One sweet sister even brought us lunch at church today, which was SO sweet. We got to sit and sample delicious Sri Lankan food before the meetings started. We had NOT planned well for a long day at church, so we were especially grateful for all the effort that went into that meal. I feel like people just keep giving and giving and I have NO way to repay them for their thoughtfulness and service.

I know this is brief, and we have SO many more fun pictures, so maybe Fay will share some on her blog. Since Fay is going home tomorrow, I'm ready for our last night of visiting. We have LOVED having her here. She has been such a help with the kids, housework, and she just has an overall positive glow about her. I have always loved my Aunt Fay, but I have never been able to spend this much time with her! I feel SO blessed to have had this chance to get to know her on a whole different level. As we visit, it's fun to see little bits of my Mom come out in her. Or Grandma, or her twin, Gaye. In a way, I feel like I've had more than just Fay here, since we've talked about all of our family so much! It's nice to get the first hand update on everyone and feel so much closer to so many. I know our time does need to come to a close, and I know for a fact she is missing her husband and kids. Thanks to everyone for sharing your wife, sister, Aunt, mother, and Grammy Fay with us!