Koh Kret

Yesterday, we went with Anutra and her family to a tiny island, Koh Kret, just 20 km from Bangkok. I've been wanting to visit this place since we moved here, and after 11 months, we finally made it! We drove there with Anutra, Bird, Faa, Oam, Ian, and her nephew, who's name I can't remember (I'm terrible with names here, it's really quite embarrassing), all in their little pick-up. People sure know how to make things work here!

This is Faa, Jane and I on the boat that takes us across the Chao Phraya River so we can actually get to the island. It cost 2 baht/person and took about 3 minutes.

This is what the boat actually looked like. They had several running people across the river all day. They just really have good systems for things here. It seems like everyone just happens to know how things work here, so signs are unnecessary. OR could it be that there are signs, and I'm just so used to ignoring them, I don't notice anymore? For instance, Jeff and I were watching a movie on TV some time ago. All of a sudden we noticed they were speaking a different language, but we had no idea what they were saying because we are so used to ignoring the Thai subtitles that we didn't even notice, until it was too late, that there were English subtitles for that part of the film. Very nice. Sorry, kind of a side note.

First things first, ice cream! we stopped at the first coconut milk ice cream guy we passed (we probably saw 10 after this) and loaded up. He put the ice cream in bowls made out of banana leaves and then garnished it with a flower. I even got mine with blue sticky rice in the bottom. Delicious!

We walked along this market looking at all the food and handicrafts. I took this picture standing next to this man who was selling magic tricks. Really, if you pay him 20 baht, he'll teach you how he does his tricks. I thought this was awesome, and really, his magic was impressive! So, I paid him 20 baht, he took me to the side and showed me the trick, it was great, at least what I could understand! I left feeling like he was the best business man in the world. I paid 20 baht (which you could almost buy lunch with) and left with a pair of Popsicle sticks! It was fun though, and now Jack thinks I'm amazing! This picture was taken on our way out, just when it was really starting to get hot and busy. One thing we love about Anutra is that she loves to start early!

It was tough getting Jack to leave this spot! These tubs were filled with... can you guess? Starting on the left with the green one: small catfish, some kind of water snakes, tiny turtles, (pink tub) toads, and then snails. They were up for purchase, but we were glad Jack didn't know that. It was sad to see them in such small containers, especially the toads all piled up on top of each other in a bag and barely able to move. But, it was quite the sight for a curious little boy, no doubt.

These are the turtles a little closer. If I had to leave with something, this would have been it. They seem pretty innocent and really are quite cute. But, since I can barely keep my plants alive, I think I'd feel guilty adding one more thing I need to feed and water!

Jack is always asking for things wherever we go, and it doesn't help that there are people trying to sell things everywhere here. So, he has started to earn his own Baht which he can use if he wants something (this way, when he asks for something, I say, "did you bring your Baht?". He then gets really excited if he did, and if he didn't, he promises himself that he'll bring it next time and we move on. Works like a charm!). He remembered to take some of his Baht this day (which he has been saving up for almost a month!) and he was loving life. He kept saying, "I want to buy something!". He spent 30 Baht (almost $1) In Koh Kret and left with a bow and arrow, a little Thai toy, and this sucker. A little boys earnings go pretty far here! Notice this sucker is in the shape of a crocodile. We got to watch the man make some, pretty cool.

Koh Kret is famous for their pottery, and believe me, it is everywhere. Anutra's favorite thing is to make pottery here, so she wanted me to try. How hard could it be, right? Wrong. I was terrible. Embarrassingly, this is the best my creation ever got. From here, it just went down hill. Previous to this, I had watched a man make several small pots, each taking him around 1 minute. They were beautifully shaped with designs on the side and a wavy top. He made it look so easy! It was really fun to try this, and honestly, someday I'd really love to learn how. All the instruction I got was "hands wet" and "soft, soft". I'm sure there is more to it than that. I didn't bother taking mine home, it would have just been a sad reminder of how non-artistic I am. But, I think I'm adding this to my "things to do before I die" list.

I took my camera to church today, and got a picture of my nursery class. I didn't even try to get all their faces, it would have been impossible! But, this was one of the few minutes where the children were all content and quiet (you guessed it, snack time!). My little class is getting bigger and we can all barely fit in our TINY room, but come January, we'll lose our older kids to the older classes, so for now, we are enjoying who we have. Starting from the left: Eli (blonde tip of his head!), Kambren, Liza, Jane, Brigham, Hyrum, Narissa, Angelina, Charlotte, and a little girl who wandered in, we're not sure where she's from, who she is, or what language she speaks, but she sure enjoyed being with us!

The main reason I took my camera was to get one last picture of Jack and Ali together. Ali's family flies out to Canada on Tuesday and as much as we will miss them, we are SO happy they will be able to start a new life there where they will be together and safe. Thank you, Canada! Ali has been one of the faces I look forward to seeing every Sunday. He is always smiling, and loves to find Jack after classes and run around in the gym together. Such a sweet boy.

Masoud, Hanieh (holding somber Jane), Ali, and Shahnaz. Hanieh, the daughter, spoke today in Sacrament meeting. She spoke of how her life has changed since she joined the church. It was so sweet and simple. As little as we really know about this family, and I'm pretty sure our paths will never cross again, I know we will never forget them.

On a totally unrelated note, can I brag a bit about my husband? I knew Jeff had a gift for language before we came here (just like I knew I didn't have a gift for language), although he's never really had a chance to study one seriously, but I am blown away day after day at his Thai. He listens on his mp3 player to Thai lessons to and from work almost everyday, he studies little cards he's made up that he keeps in his wallet for when he gets a free minute, and the thing that is most impressive is that he is not afraid to use what he's just learned. This is where I really lack! He has guts. He is constantly asking people about how to say this, or pronounce that, or why it's like this... he eats it up! I really enjoy learning Thai, and while I think I'm probably better than the average expat with no previous ties to Thailand, I am still not very good. Jeff has started to learn to read and write Thai during the last month. He learned all 44 consanants and 30 vowels, and is actually starting to read signs and other random things we come across. I am so impressed. Then, today, he tells me that Cecile, a French women in our ward, came up to Jeremy Beck and had a short conversation with him and he understood everything she said (note from Jeff: I understood the words "tired", "blessing", "French", and "oil", which was enough to understand what she was asking for). Where does he get this? He thinks it is really silly that I make a big deal about this, but honestly, we know people who have been here for 10-15 years who can't even come close to doing what he does. He really has found a "thing" with language, and it's so fun to watch him get so excited about reading a McDonald's bag, or noticing that it takes 3 letters in Thai to say the abbreviation "S". It's awesome to be out with him and have him bust out some random phrase or question to someone, and they know exactly what he's saying. He's amazingly comfortable talking to random people in or about Thai, and they, of course, love that he's making such an effort. I knew my husband was awesome, but come on! How does he just keep getting better?

Every Sunday evening, Jack "performs" for Jeff what we've worked on during the week. We thought some of you might want to see his "tukka tukka" variation. Notice Janie coaching him with "1-2-3" which is what we always say to remind him to put his 3 fingers down in the right parts. She is his biggest fan. Is he a boy, or what? Mom and Dad, did we SWING our violins around like that when we were four?



I never dreamed teaching the violin to my own child would be such a challenge (because it's every day, not just once a week, like when I was teaching other people's children). It's SO much fun to watch him be so proud of himself when he "gets it"! And, I have to say, it really is quite an accomplishment for both of us!

Little Miss Jane

Today is Jane's birthday. Anybody else SHOCKED that she is two years old? I can hardly believe it! I remember so well all the details of my labor with her like it was yesterday. I remember holding her for hours and hours wrapped up like a burrito as a newborn (also when she was 9 months old, which was when she finally stopped wanting this!). I remember singing her her first lullaby. I remember the way Jeff looked when he held his daughter for the first time. Life is good, isn't it?

This week was a fun one, where we got to do some things a little different from our everyday activities. Jane, of course, doesn't really get the whole birthday thing, but it was fun to spoil her a little bit anyway.

Tuesday was actually Anutra's birthday, so we spent the evening with her and Bird at a Korean restaurant. She is obsessed with Korean things right now because they are completely caught up in a Korean TV series. From what we can tell, Korea is the Asian Hollywood. They are the ones pumping out all the good series and movies over here. Although, we have yet to see one. I'm sure Anutra will get us going, but how exactly do we enjoy Korean TV with Thai subtitles?

The food at this place was great. I even ate raw tuna. Have to try everything, right? My favorite moment was when Anutra came out of the restroom and says, "You must see the bathroom, it's very sexy!". She was right, but I was giggling at her choice of words. This place was super modern and sleek, and thankfully, very empty. Between the kids running laps and eating their own bowls of ice cream, we actually got to eat and visit too. We LOVE Anutra and Bird, and love that they want to spend time with us! This picture was taken from the balcony. Aren't they cute?

Jack's friend, Pinky, came over to play this week. She doesn't speak English, and Jack doesn't speak much Thai, but they play together great! She is wearing her school uniform. We see Thai children in different variations of this uniform all over the city during the week. Very cute!

So, on with our Jane. The star of the week! She LOVES ba mii (egg noodles, surprisingly like Ramen!). She eats it forever, and eats every noodle. If I don't keep her bowl filled, she starts on the ones that have fallen on the floor!

Jane LOVES to play Jack's violin. So much, that we have to practice while she is sleeping or Daddy is here. She wanted to get it out this week just for fun, so I let her play on it for a while. She played and played, and made some interesting sounds! No matter what is coming out of this fiddle, though, she is PROUD of it!

I have been talking about doing it forever, and I decided this was the week! I finally took Janie to get her hair cut! I heard about this great place for kids that is cheap, so we tried it out. The girl was so sweet and fast, and Janie hardly knew what hit her! According to Jane, she went into this great place with awesome toys, sat down to watch Barney (not MY favorite, but it works), played with a blowdryer, and then posed for pictures. She just got a trim, but it was nice to get rid of some of the wispys, and she even still has curls!

This girl was so cute. She actually put braids in Janie's hair, which I don't know if I could do with that little amount, but it was cute. Notice, Jane is still watching Barney at this point.

Thursday, we met Scarlett and Sasha and their mothers at the Emporium to see a rain forest exhibit throughout the mall. There were lizard and porcupine cages along with many others, scattered throughout. Someone could hear a parrot sing while they were testing lipstick! I felt bad for the people who really were there just to shop! We got lucky and got a last minute ticket in to see the tiger cubs! Janie loved it, although we had a hard time keeping her off the snake that was also in this room. She thinks she can touch ALL snakes, just because she can touch the ones at Ocean World. Scary!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the park where the kids played like crazy and Heather, Liza and I got to visit. We love to eat popsicles at the park! These are some pretty serious eaters, too. I LOVE watching my kids eat something they really love.

Janie loves climbing up the slides at this park (I know, I'm a terrible mom for letting them climb UP! I figure, if they aren't in anyone's way and it's safe, go for it!). She always gets to the top and says, "I did it!". I love her expression when she is so proud of herself.

Friday, I took Janie to a class at Little Gym. They let every kid have a free trial class and since I'm too cheap to actually PAY for a gym course for my 2 year old, I decided to just enjoy the free one! She loved doing somersaults over the huge balls, flips on the bar and especially the balance beam. It was fun to just let her run and play on new, safe, and clean toys. We had a GREAT time together. No pictures of this one, unfortunately. We were too busy, and I didn't want to seem like an annoying mother who's getting a free course and disturbing the class with pictures!

After her class, we went to the exhibit one more time to see the butterflies, her favorite! She stood and watched them forever! She kept flapping her arms every time one would fly to or away from the glass. She was in heaven! This exhibit was AMAZING! There were LIVE plants all over the mall, even around the escalators! I've never seen anything like it.

We spent yesterday at "The Mall" (this is actually the name of it) Bankapi where they have a water park on the rooftop. We decided this would be a fun place to have Jane's "party", which consisted of the four of us! We decided to splurge and start off with ice cream at Swensen's! Their ice cream is like a work of art! We all picked out our own creation, even Jack and Jane. Jane's was actually a face on the ice cream scoop with the chocolate covered cone as the hat. And Jack just wanted a strawberry scoop with sprinkles. I wish you could see the spoon Jeff ate his with! Very fun.

Theirs all looked pretty good, but mine was definitely the best. It was AMAZING! Chocolate ice cream, truffles, whip cream, bananas, with a shot glass full of hot fudge. Wow, can't do this very often!

We then went upstairs for some rides. The kids thought it was great that they actually got to put money in the machines this time! I kept reminding them, it's because it's a BIRTHDAY!

Swimming is Janie's FAVORITE thing, so we played and played, but didn't get any good pictures of Jane because she was too busy playing! But, here's a fun one of Jack. Don't you just love the swim caps everyone has to wear? Trust me, I was lovely.

After a couple of hours, it started to rain. This, of course, didn't stop us. Then, it started to pour. This was okay too, we were already wet, right? Then, Jane said it was time to get out. Not with words or motions, but with her lips. They were blue. I think she would have gone down the big slides again and again, floated in her tube, and splashed in the shallow water for hours, but I decided to be a responsible mother and put some clothes on her!

Jeff thought this was too funny, we had to share it. It's a plus size women's store called "Fat Story". How do you think this would go over in the states? Thais are just so matter of fact about their weight here. I'm sure they think it's weird that we use words like "Plus", or "women's size". Why don't we just say it like they do? I tend to think their way is a healthier approach in a lot of ways. Anyway, it's an interesting culture difference.

Since Jeff had meetings Sunday morning and afternoon, we decided to do almost everything on Saturday, so we finished off the day with blowing out candles on her cake at home. She actually understood the whole candle thing, which was fun. Although, Jack was more than willing to assist her if need be.

My darling Jane in her big two-year-old Birthday dress with the flowers she personally picked out from the vendor. Is she not the sweetest thing ever?

A few fun facts about our Janie Grill:

Every morning when Jeff leaves for work, she has to hug and kiss him multiple times. She runs and hug him and let her legs dangle, then kiss him on each cheek and grab his face so she can kiss him on the lips. She also LOVES our "family kiss" after our family prayer. She dives right in and wants to do it over and over again! She is so affectionate, we can't get enough of her!

She loves books. When she finds a book she wants to read, it doesn't matter where we are, she will yell, "read it! read it!". This is great, unless we are in church! Her favorites are The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear. She's also really starting to enjoy our Curious George collection. We got some GREAT video of her reading with us last night. In Goodnight Moon, she says "Mouse" like this: "Mouw...sh".

Her favorite songs are: I Love to See the Temple, I am a Child of God, and 'A' You're Adorable. She will often cuddle up to me in a taxi and say "Temple!", and close her eyes to listen. This makes taxi rides quite easy some days.

When I ask her if she wants something, occasionally she won't answer, "yes!", she will say, "ME!" and raise her hand. I think this comes from me asking the children "who wants...." questions.

She is almost completely potty trained! Yay! I can't believe we are almost diaperless!

This is Jane enjoying her birthday presents she opened today. She didn't want anything to do with a doll in this stroller, although Jack sure tried! It was fun to give her some girly things for once! This girl's been raised playing with tools and trucks! Not a bad thing, by any means, but it's fun to enjoy having a GIRL! Notice the cute flip flops. She picked these out herself, although she can barely walk in them!

I am continually amazed at Janie and how she adjusts to all the change in our lives! She's stayed in countless hotels, traveled so many hours and lived in Thailand for almost half of her little life. She seems to always adapt better than we dare hope. She has no idea how many people she makes smile when she walks past every day. The kisses she blows to random construction workers, taxi drivers, or cashiers brighten so many faces, especially mine. I wish everyone could have a daughter.

Here's a video I put together in honor of our sweet Jane. You will see some familiar pictures, I'm sure, but they are our favorites from the last two wonderful years since Jane joined our family. Blessings, blessings.



We found out some fantastic news today. The sweet family from church who had to report to immigration last Wednesday, through some miraculous events weren't required to stay in the Detention Center until they move to Canada in a couple of weeks. It was an answer to all our prayers. Jeff visits the Dhakhal family in the Center again this week, but thankfully, it is just one family, not two. Having people we know and love having to worry about safety in their home lands and immigration problems, has made us very aware of how wonderful it is to be Americans. So many of our everyday problems suddenly seem embarrassingly insignificant.

Cute enough to eat.... literally.

Last Sunday, I met the wife of a man who's been in Bangkok on business for several weeks. While she was here we decided to get together and do some touristy things! I LOVE doing touristy things, but what I don't like is the touristy atmosphere. I always feel like everyone is trying to take advantage of me because I am a foreigner, and for all they know, I am fresh off the airplane! Also in touristy places, vendors are much more aggressive. If you even glance their way, or (gasp) stop to look, they will hoard you with their postcards, paintings, and all kinds of knick-knacks. I was nervous to take my wallet out to buy some water, but luckily, I was off the main pathway a bit. I hate feeling this way because this is the only time I feel this way in Bangkok. Generally, the locals are always happy and sincerely helpful, even the vendors!

So, Michelle and I met up in the morning to visit Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. We took the train and then caught a river taxi, which is always fun. I am learning the ropes a little better now with the whole river taxi thing. I now know NOT to go to the official looking counter with the colored maps marking each pier that advertises selling tickets. Go to the small desk off to the side with a random girl and a tray of money with tiny paper tickets and no sign whatsoever. It only cost us 18 baht instead of 100 baht or more. I'm wising up!

We had a GREAT morning together seeing the beautiful temple and palace, not really knowing exactly what we were looking at, even though I've seen it all before. I wished I knew more, but everything in this country has a meaning or a story behind it, so it's impossible to learn it all! It was fun to see it all again, but the best part was being able to visit with Michelle. I love hearing everyone's story who passes through. She is from all over the states, but is currently living in Japan with her husband and three daughters. It was fun to swap kid and foreigner stories with someone else who understand the challenges and rewards of living abroad.

After seeing the sights, we went to the Paragon for lunch (we weren't feeling too daring this day). Janie was a trooper through this whole busy morning (really, she was happy, pleasant, used the potty great, and of course charmed all the tourists), and Jack loved that he got to go home with Scarlett and have a treasure hunt with Jim. Everything went so smoothly.

This is us just before hopping on the train to head home. Thanks Michelle for a FUN day!

Jeff had a rare, and not so happy experience this week. Because I wasn't there, there's not much I can say about it, but I think it's noteworthy. Jeff and Brother States, went to visit a family in the Immigration Detention Center. The Dhakhal family are refugees from their home country of Nepal, and just a few months ago, Thailand tightened their laws on immigration and suddenly they were illegal. They are a young father and wife with four young daughters. Shortly after we arrived in Bangkok, this family was all baptized (all but Swastika, the youngest). Although we can't communicate with anyone but the father, we have fallen in love with them. It was Jeff's turn to visit and take them things from the ward. They have to go in pairs to visit, so one can visit the mother and one can visit the father, which is the only way that they get to all be together as a family (for that hour). Very sad conditions, especially for people that we feel such an attachment to. Very similar to the prison scene in Broke Down Palace, if you've seen that. Good news is, we found out today that they might get out temporarily until they are accepted by another country (most likely Canada). Sad thing is, one of our other favorite families from church is going in on Wednesday to meet with Immigration. They might have to spend some time in there before they are able to leave the country as well.

This is the Taghizadeh Kamal Abadi family. Ali is one of Jack's good friends at church. They met at the father and son's outing earlier in the year. A couple of weeks later, we got to see the entire family get baptized, and I will never forget it. Brother and Sister Taghizadeh Kamal Abadi both bore their testimonies afterward. Although it was in their native language (they are from Iran), it was so touching. (It was extremely bright this day, I thought that was nice of Ali to help Jack, even when he clearly is not enjoying the brightness himself!)

Both of these families have been so sweet to us since we've arrived here. There's so little we can do to repay them, so we ask you to please remember these sweet families in your prayers this week as major decisions will be made regarding their futures. Anybody else feel so blessed to be from a country that we feel safe in?

On a lighter note, Jeff took Jack to a birthday party on Saturday. I was a little sad I didn't get to go because it would have been my first kid party where it's all organized by a party planner! Can you believe how they do things here? I just have to laugh. Anyway, they had a bouncy castle, all kinds of food, and a magician/clown.

This is Jack assisting the clown during one of his tricks. How did this clown know that Jack is the king of ropes? Jack was feeling pretty cool that he pulled the rope so hard that the knot came out!

I guess Jack decided to do his own thing at one point and entertained himself! This is what Jeff caught him doing. He's hilarious.

Sounds like it was a great party, although Jeff said almost every kid was melting down at one point or another. I don't know what it is about birthday parties that turns kids into monsters. Sounds like Jack took time out when he needed it, thus preventing any kind of breakdown. He's pretty good at stuff like that, thank goodness.

You might think this looks like a lipstick mark on Janie's cheek. I wish. In nursery today, a little boy BIT her! As you can see, it was pretty bad. She is generally a very tough cookie (with a big brother, don't you have to be?), but this really got to her. She cried and cried until we were in a taxi on the way home. It was so sad. I think she'll be black and blue tomorrow. She'll probably feel fine, but I don't know how I'm going to explain it to the million people (front desk staff, all our favorite security guards, vendors, and grocery store clerks who all know Jane by name) that are going to ask me about it this week. How do I say, "I don't beat my child" in Thai?

It rained today. This is our drive home from church. Jeff was hanging out of the taxi window trying not to get splashed by the water that was surrounding the car. There is actually a sidewalk on the side of the road. It's pretty amazing how fast rain comes down here.

Jack fell asleep in quiet time today, and I didn't even know until the rest of us woke up from our naps! He sure knows how to find a comfy spot wherever he is!

We're kind of boring this week, I realize. Thanks for keeping up with us, even during our very uneventful times! We love you all, and are so grateful for wonderful friends and family who support us! Please keep in touch, we'd love to hear what you are up to as well!