I do!

Until yesterday, this had been a most ordinary week. But, yesterday we did something we never thought we would have a chance of doing. We were invited to a Thai wedding ceremony for our friends, Don and Nan. We just recently met Nan, but Don we've known for quite some time and he's now our home teacher. His visit last month marks the first time we've been home taught in 4 years. Wow. Needless to say, we think he is great, and were very happy for him to be married to a sweet lady like Nan.

We've planned on the wedding for a few weeks now, but Monday night we got a call from Nan and her friend, Napa, to ask if we could help out with the wedding ceremony. I couldn't understand what they needed, but told them to come over anyway and we'll do whatever they need. They came over a couple hours later and explained that Bishop Anderson wasn't able to be there to act as Don's Guests of Honor, and they wanted Jeff and I to play that part in the ceremony and party. To make a long story short, Jeff needed to learn to give marital advice in Thai, and I needed to stand and smile. Both things we are capable of. So, Jeff, being the genius and dedicated Thai student that he is, learned how to say many phrases in Thai for his "speech". A big thanks to his friends at work, the missionaries, and our wonderful Anutra! Is Jeff not amazing?

SO many pictures from yesterday, but we thought we'd share mostly the ones that show a little culture along with the people. We felt so honored to be a part of this wedding party, and although we don't know what everything symbolizes, we were loving seeing it first hand, and enjoying the traditions.

Kind of a funny place to start, because the morning part of the wedding was not a traditional Thai wedding in the least bit! It was held at our new church (we move in next month), and the Bishop married them. I was able to play my violin and conduct the music, which was interesting to conduct while singing in English, but 95% of the audience was singing in Thai! We were glad Bishop could be there for the morning so he could conduct the ceremony and give his words of advice based on his own 30 years of marriage. He's a little beyond us when it comes to experience!

There were very few children there, so it was nice to have so many people to help with our two! Jane found a balloon and was using it like a fitness ball in the hallway after the ceremony was over. Whatever keeps her happy!

We had about 2 hours at home, then off to the afternoon/evening events. This was a part of the ceremony where they had a whole bunch of people walk around a building holding platters of all kinds of food and flowers. Then they walked through three "doors", one of which was Jack and Janie holding a gold necklace they needed to pass through. Don was required to negotiate his way through each door with pink envelopes full of cash. The children thought this was great, and loved being a part of it. Jack and Jane both got an envelope of their own. Jack was THRILLED! He's never had 100 baht before! The flower thing on the left of the photo is what Jeff was carrying as a part of the group.

As they came in, they placed everything on this table for all to see. Notice the cooked chicken (and maybe pork) at the end of the table. Also, the big pan of cash on the lower right hand.

Are my kids not SO cute in these Thai outfits? They were so excited to get all dressed up!

So, here's the story about MY Thai outfit. When they came on Monday, they measured us all for traditional clothing. I made sure to tell them that I'm BIG and TALL compared to Thai women. I was sure everything would be fine if they remembered that. Well, I don't know what happened, but when I got my clothes, I tried them on and was sure they had confused my clothing with Napa (Nan's good friend) because the shirt was extremely short and I couldn't even button it up! I have no idea what happened. I eventually made the skirt work, but in this shot, I only had my normal (very wrinkly) dress on with the sash. I felt like an idiot for messing up the entire Thai look, but what's a girl to do? I'm just NOT a size 2 and 5 feet tall like most Thai woman! BUT, everyone else looked wonderful, so like my mom always says, "smile, and no one will notice!".

Don put out loads of money on a platter (pictured above) to offer to Nan's mother as dowry. A woman packaged it all up, then they presented it to Nan's mother in a special way. It was interesting to watch, I just wished we had a running commentary on what everything means! I love the amount of respect they show their elders here.

Later, we all went into the big hall and Jeff and I were able to place string on their heads symbolizing unity between them, flowers around their necks, and we ran water down each of their hands, then stepped back to watch as many others did the same while offering congratulations and encouraging words. We all stood for pictures for probably a good 45 minutes, as we had people come and go, yet we were in almost all the pictures! Even after we were done, Jack had been turned into a prop and stayed for even more. What a good sport!

We were in a whole series of pictures that the children were not in before the one above, so all the while, Jack and Jane were just running around this room while I tried to stay calm for the camera. I'm sure I did a lousy job of it, because every time Jack came near this cake, I was stressing out! I had these visions of it toppling over on top of him before everyone even sat down to eat! I'm happy to say that besides orange soda all over my dress, Jack's pants, the white chair cover, and floor, oh, yes, and a broken glass, no cake touched the floor. Whew!

We all sat down and had dinner while the program carried on. They eventually called Jeff up, the guest of honor, and he was incredible. I think everything stopped when he got up there and started to speak Thai. Everyone was SO impressed, and it was very obvious they were pleased with what what he said. I thought I was off the hook when I knew I could count on Jeff to represent us, but no. They called me up too, and I said a bit, but in English, so I think about 5% of the crowd understood (Jeff pointed out later that besides a French woman from church, we were the only farangs there all night). Speaking at a wedding is fine, but when you also have two children tugging on you and wandering in all directions, it's a little rough. Throughout the entire night, we were SO grateful (as we always are) that Thais are so fond of children. Anywhere else, this would never have worked!

This little boy was Nan's nephew, and Jack and Jane were very fond of him! They had a GREAT time on the dance floor!

Jack and Jane are always dancing together lately. Jane will spontaneously grab Jack's hands and start singing "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream...", so having music and a very captive audience, they went at it and entertained the whole crowd!

And, eventually, they got cake! They brought over this huge piece for the children, and Dipu let them dig right in! Dipu and Napa are good friends of Nan and Don, and we've had a small amount of contact with them at different church functions. After spending this day with them, we have realized they are SO WONDERFUL! Our kids love them, and they were so helpful and fun to be with! We are hoping to hear a wedding announcement from them soon too!

We took pictures in the morning, while we were getting in our Thai dress, before the ceremony, during the ceremony, after the ceremony, in our normal clothes, during the program, and as we went to say goodbye, it started all over again! It was kind of like a "line" in the traditional western reception, except instead of people just offering their congratulations, they all stopped to take pictures with the bride and groom. And, there were at least 3 BIG cameras (with huge lights) going the whole time. It was crazy. But, they'll have lots to remember this special day by! By this time, we had spent the last 5 hours at this place, and were all pretty beat! It was a HUGE day! It made me super excited about my brother's wedding day in April (YAY Jesse and Danielle!), because I think it will be fun to have a day like this with our family being all together! Although, this day was crazy with our two children. Add my sister's families (8 more kids!), and it will be quite a sight! I can't wait!

If you are wondering if we did anything else during the week, the answer is... not really. Like I said, it really was an ordinary week. But, we did spend a short time at Ocean world, so our picture of the week is Jack holding this awesome snake! Like I said in my latest post (Joanna tagged me), Jane also wanted to hold it all by herself, but I didn't quite trust the snake with a two year old. She was a little too excited for my comfort level. Maybe in another year or two.

Jane loved this turtle and walked up and down this side of the tank with it for several minutes. These turtles really are quite impressive and have become something we look forward to each time.

Jane's also become a little "nurturer" recently. She has us help her wrap up this little baby so she can carry it around the house. It's funny to see her putting the baby to bed when we go places or helping the baby sword fight with Jack. She can be so gentle, but watch out! If she gets distracted, that baby is the first thing to go! It's hilarious!

I know I've asked this before, but does anybody else let their children go out with weird things on their heads, or in costumes or something? My kids always want to, and I rarely think it's worth the hassle of saying "no", so I let them. Do your kids like to do this too?

Our good friend, Crisse DeJesus (mother of Jack's friend, Kurt, from the Philippines), is in the hospital tonight with something they haven't figured out yet. Instead of having a primary presidency meeting like we scheduled right after church, I went to Alice's house and watched everyone's children (7 to be exact) for several hours while they moved Crisse from one hospital to another trying to find the right care at a reasonable price. Crisse is also in the presidency with us, and this was going to be the first time we could get all 4 of us together at once, and she's in the hospital! I think she's going to be fine, but she's in a lot of pain and will probably go in for a CT scan tonight. We're a little worried about her, so please remember her in your prayers.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

I'm sure... more than you need to know

My lovely sister, Joanna, has tagged me for a little questionnaire that is sure to tell you many things about me you never wanted to know. I'm the queen of too much information, and here I go again.

20 years ago - I was almost 8 years old (April 28) and was SO excited to get baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was also practicing a LOT for my first time at the National Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho coming up in June. I was in Ms. Chandler's 2nd grade class and adored her. I remember her reading us books in Chinese and thought she was the coolest. I spent a lot of time doing violin, dance, playing with my friends, and I adored everything my perfect older sisters did. This is me on my baptism day. Isn't my dad a stud?

10 years ago - I was a Senior at Provo High School and ready to be DONE! Although I did love being in Student Government, Choir, and I happily quit the basketball team this year to spend more time with my violin. I had just finished my senior recital (a HUGE deal for me). I auditioned for Ricks College music department (10 years ago exactly) and was SO sick, but was blessed to still be able to pull it off. I was extremely lucky to have so many good friends at this time in my life who helped me learn to appreciate the little things. I also look back and am amazed at my parent's patience with me at this point in my life! I was a good girl, but definitely not a perfect child!


5 years ago - Jeff and I were in our wonderful little 1 bedroom cockroach infested apartment in Logan, Utah while we both attended USU full time. I was teaching 15 students, Jeff was working part time and donating plasma 2x/week, something I was also doing until we got pregnant. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with Jack (and feeling good!) and was a few days away from giving my senior recital that I was very nervous and excited about. Also, Jeff was getting ready to graduate and the job market was terrible. We said countless prayers that we could find a job he enjoyed that would pay the bills. We were SO excited to start our family!

3 years ago - We were living in our cute little West Jordan home, certain we would be there for years to come, and loving the traditional family life. Jeff had a steady job he liked, we had one adventurous son, and a daughter on the way! Jeff was training for his first marathon and I couldn't have been more excited for him! I was playing with the Orchestra at Temple Square, conducting the ward choir, taking classes online, and loving that I got to stay home and play all day with Jack! Jeff was (and still is) the most supportive and loving husband ever.

1 year ago - We'd been in our new apartment for almost 2 months after living 2 months in hotels in our new city, Bangkok! We were loving everyday adventures: trying new foods, finding new places to take the kids, exploring markets, and always meeting the most fascinating people! Jeff was called as Elder's Quorum President and I was called to serve as nursery leader. Jane was the perfect and most flexible little girl with moving to such a crazy city, and Jack was enjoying whatever was around the next corner. I had decided on a school for Jack to start attending and wondered how Jane and I would ever survive without Jack to entertain us all day! We were thrilled to be living somewhere that had never even crossed our minds! Bangkok was awesome, and much to everyone's surprise, we did not miss home.

This year - We started this year vacationing in Hong Kong, and it's been great ever since! Jack is loving school, has some really nice friends, and has progressed by leaps and bounds in his swimming class. Jane is a fish as always, loves her playgroups, her nursery class at church, and is my constant sidekick. To the mothers who don't know me at Jack's school, I learned today that I'm described as "the young one who always has her little girl with her". I love exploring new places in the city, finding new treasures at markets, visiting with other parents, taking the kids on outings, and working in the Primary. Jeff keeps busy with work, learning Thai, church work, and being a fantastic husband. We're both enjoying not doing yard work, car maintenance, and hardly any fix-it projects on our rented residence! We are feeling extremely blessed to have found so many dear friends half way across the world.

Yesterday - Gym. Practicing. Take Jack to school. I started out walking from Jack's school to the park, but got nervous when it started to rain and hopped in the first free taxi I could find. Jane and I enjoyed doing some organizing at home, then off to her swim class. I could hardly keep her in my arms, she just wants to swim away on her own! We went to Ocean World for a quick visit where Jack got to hold a snake all by himself, and Janie wanted to as well, but I had to protest on behalf of the snake (she gets a little excited!). We met Jeff for dinner, got the kids to bed, and Jeff and I curled up in bed to read Harry Potter.

Today - Dropped Jack at school and Jane and I headed to the Thursday market with Sukma and Brandon. We found lots of things we "need" and ate sweet popcorn in the taxi on the way home. Chatted online with both of my sisters (one of my favorite things!), and unclogged my toilet shoved full of toilet paper (without a plunger even!), compliments of curious Jane. Fun! Lots of emails and phone calls with Alice, the Primary President (this woman is amazing!). Took Jack to swim class, watched Hairspray, requested by Jack and Janie both, read lots of books, and put the kids to bed. Read and blogged until Jeff got home around 9:30pm from extra meetings for work and church. Now, I'm excited for him to finish dinner so we can catch up and get to sleep! OR, to read a little Harry Potter.

This year - We plan to head to Utah for 3 weeks in April (way excited!), then visit a few other places in Thailand before we head back to Utah for good in November. Jeff and I are planning to run the Salt Lake City half-marathon in April when we're visiting, and we wish we could find Jeff a full marathon in Bangkok in the fall that wasn't on a Sunday. I look forward to moving closer to family and back to a life where my kids have a yard to play in, car seats to sit in, and neighbors that speak English. Also, I miss Target clearance racks, Maverick frozen yogurt and the mountains.

As silly as I always think this "tag" thing is, I do enjoy reading other people's. So, on with the game.

I tag Vanessa, April, and Carol.

Mid-term break

The great thing about being at a British Curriculum school is that they have these awesome mid-term breaks every so often... well actually, about every mid-term. They always come at a good time when I'm feeling ready for some extra time with my Jack, and of course, Jane is always thrilled to have Jack home more often. I never quite feel like they're long enough because our week just flew by!

We had originally planned to head to the beach for the weekend, but for several reasons, it fell through at the last minute, and considering we are all still recovering from sickness, we realized this was actually a blessing in disguise. Although, I'm still longing for that fresh air! Hopefully soon. Staying in town definitely had its advantages though. Jack stayed on his practice schedule, Jeff and I both got good runs in on Saturday, we ate healthier, Janie got extra sleep (rather than less) to help her lingering cold, and we got some very necessary shopping done on Saturday. So, here's the quick version on some of our mid-term break activities. Also, Jeff had a holiday on Thursday, so took Friday off too, even though we were still in town, so that was the HUGE bonus of the week. Two extra days together!

Every morning this week, Jack and Jane busied themselves with building all kinds of forts. This doesn't show any of them really, but it shows how happy they are doing one of their favorite things.

Another favorite morning activity: blanket rides. An advantage we've enjoyed about having all wood flooring. It was hilarious to watch them switch and have Jane pull Jack. That girl is tough!

Jane's first real bowling game. The ball took forever to get down the lane, so she made herself comfortable each time.

We met Jeff for lunch, and he treated us to ice cream. I love watching my kids eat ice cream.

Anutra and Bird came over for dinner. Jane's been asking for Khun Bird randomly for the last few weeks, so he decided to come with Anutra this week.

Lots of play dates. Jane and Isabelle after swimming and a picnic in their compound.

Jack and Dylan being silly while eating lunch and Omer's house. I think we counted 17 kids at this playdate. The craziest thing was, it seemed pretty calm! They have a BIG apartment!

Jane LOVES to paint, and painted so much on this little "hello kitty" it was hardly recognizable! But, she did have a good marble effect going, and she never stopped smiling. How fun!

Had a little swim in our FREEZING swimming pool.

We'd heard about a place called "YoYo Land" for a while, and decided to try it out. It was much bigger than we expected and perfect for our kid's ages. Funny thing is, not a yo-yo in sight (Jeff thinks Yoyo is the name of a monkey character seen all over the place, and I think he might be right)! Just fun rides, games, and a juggling show with a scantily dressed assistant. Interesting.

Jack loved these air guns. What could be more fun than shooting Ultra Man figurines for 10 minutes?

Jane chose to ride the cars, which I was sure would freak her out. They were really fast! She absolutely loved it and wanted more!

Jack loved the dinosaur dig where he got to put gear on and dig around for old dinosaur bones. He wasn't successful really, but sure loved that 30 minutes digging in the dirt!

They had this little log flume ride that I thought was darling. Again, I was sure Jane would freak out (I don't know why, she never does on this stuff, I just think she will because it seems more for older kids) but, she loved it of course! They let them go around twice, and they were both a bit nervous on the first "drop", but loving it on the second! I wish our pictures of the actual drop would have turned out.

The best bang for your buck were these soft playground areas that were HUGE. I took the kids in and they played for 30 minutes, jumping, climbing, rolling, and dangling off everything.

By far, our biggest adventure of the week happened on Friday. We wanted to try out this restaurant we'd heard so many good things about from many of our friends. It's called Log Cabin and has several different restaurants stuck together. Thai food, American Food, a bar, and a Japanese Tepanyaki style area. We decided to go wherever the play area was, which, I was excited to see, was by the Japanese part. I love Japanese food, and I always love watching them cook my food in front of me, something that is always SO expensive in the states, but relatively affordable here. They had a GREAT little play area, and we were the only ones in the place so far, so we were happy to have it nice and quiet. The kids played, and Jeff and I ordered while they brought high chairs and plates and silverware especially for the kids. As the assistant manager is taking our order, I notice a tiny bug on one of the plates, so I get a tissue and squash it and the guy takes it away, bringing a clean plate. That made me a bit nervous, but this was a relatively nice place (with a play area, very hard to come by!), so I was sure it was just a fluke. We continued to order, when I noticed another small bug on the counter. I squashed it and let the guy wipe the counters off. Getting a little more nervous, I reminded myself that I'm not a sissy, I can handle a bug or two, right? So, we're visiting, playing, and waiting for them to bring out the food to cook (the best part!). They brought out our salads, and the kids came to sit down. While Jack's saying he didn't order a salad, I dig into mine and eat a cucumber with delicious Japanese dressing. Mmmmm. Then, I look down, and right by all my sauces, there's a huge cockroach. Immediately having a memory rush of our cockroach-infested apartment during our college days, I jumped up and announced we were leaving. You'd think living in an apartment with cockroaches for 2 years would make me used to them, but after finding one in my cereal bowl early one morning, I just can't do cockroaches anymore. I was SO disturbed by this, I couldn't think of anything else but to get out of there! As we are packing up, the chef comes out ready to cook our meals. I tell him in English, which he probably didn't understand, that we are leaving and not to bother cooking the food. I moved the dishes so we could point out the cockroach. He just kind of shrugs his shoulders and turns away. I couldn't believe it.

We have eaten in some pretty scary places. We regularly eat from shops on wheels that are parked on the sidewalk for the day. We occasionally buy fruit from guys who cut it with their bare hands. We're not germ freaks, or we would never survive here! But, never, in any of these places, have we ever had bugs in or near our food. But, even if we had, at least we only paid 30 baht for it! What can we expect? But, here, in a nice, reputable restaurant, we are bombarded with bugs, and they responded so casually. That's what's scary! Jeff and I were dumbfounded and extremely disappointed that a potential favorite restaurant turned out to be our worst food experience in Thailand! We spent the rest of the evening trying to get over this one. We were in a new part of town and after that, not feeling very brave. We ended up at a Sizzler down the way that felt like a piece of home. Although, I still had the creepy-crawlies all night long.

Looking back, I think the reason it was so disturbing was because it was in a place I expected it the least. I have always thought of myself as one who could take stuff like that without acting like a complete "girl", but there I was, walking out of a restaurant because of a bug. What would you have done?