Ayuttaya

Meditating Thai Dog

If you would like to get a glimpse of Thai civilization before what Bangkok is today, Ayuttaya is a good start.  Just about 80 kilometers north of Bangkok, Ayuttaya was the former capital city of what was then Siam.  Many Thai-Burmese wars occurred here in the 14th and 15th centuries, on elephants, no less. Temples and palaces were burned and buddhas and other valuables stolen... The remnants of that time reveal the prosperity and importance of Buddhism in this country.

Our friends Case and Maude were visiting for a few days after Christmas, so we had a good excuse to go there for a day excursion. The kids did not quite get what we were up to, but they were happy to get to ride more elephants at the end of the day!  

Saraburi

Sometimes I feel like Bangkok is its own country, and then there is the rest of Thailand. It takes a while to get out of this huge, congested city... But once you do get out, there is still nature, and space, and fresh air...

Tropical Scenes

Rayong is a little over an hour further east from Pattaya, but the peace and beauty there is worth the extra drive. For some reason, our family is not used to vacationing here in the past. After a few days of glorious beach and sun and seafood, we are sure to return!

Tropical Fun

We are not in California anymore

We are warm, dry, and safe in the land of the Smiles (with a new Priminister!).

In a few days...

We will be here...

It's been a while... I will look forward to seeing a peaceful country with peaceful people!

Winter Sunset and Long Live the King

Tomorrow, December 5, is the King of Thailand's birthday. Exactly a year ago, I was lucky to be in the same building where His Majesty was born 81 years ago. Now, I am sending good thoughts to His Majesty who is recovering from an illness.

Long Live the King! And also, Happy Father's Day to my very own father!

Turning Five

The Majestic Albatross

One of the amazing creatures we saw today... a relative of a seahorse, but much more fancy

They did it. They turned five today!

Even though the world seems to be in turmoil (including my native land -- can't everyone just try to get along? And please open up the airports again so that we can visit and others can go home!), our little family can still find happiness.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today to celebrate the occasion, perfect place for a rainy birthday like today. We got lucky and saw a real albatross presentation (and no, it's not just a big seagull). I will bet that the Wright brothers got their idea from these amazing birds. We of course saw countless numbers of amazing sea creatures that I never thought existed...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. May everyone find something to be thankful for, despite what is going on around the world, economically, or otherwise.

We sure are thankful that we have two wonderful, healthy, happy children to call our own! Happy Birthday to you, our dear ones.

Birthday Art

Claire's house

Momo's Ocean

The kids had their first official birthday party today. They will not turn five until Wednesday, but today was their day to celebrate with some of their school friends.

We chose to go to Blue Apple Studios to create some art before devouring in cupcakes! The kids had a great time, and all created masterpieces that I hope they will cherish for a long time!

Thanks, Cayce, for a great time!

One More

We couldn't resist another warm day at the beach!

Another Day at Home...with a friend

Not just any friend...her name is Princess! And no, she is not ours...

Warm November Day

We don't forget that we are lucky, in more ways than one. For one,we live in a place where it can be 80 degrees in mid November, and it happens to be by the beach. Add young children and low tide, and you get the best day on earth!

The day started out with Claire trying out a new Ballet class. We showed up surprised to learn that the class this morning was Ballet II, for children between 6-12 years old. Our little girl was barely half the size as the other students, but she stood right there with them, at the barre doing plies, as well as leaping across the floor. We were proud of her!

We also went swimming in a heated pool, though they didn't need to really heat it today since the air was so warm it felt like we could have been in Thailand!

The best part of the day, arguably, was the beach. The low tide, the warm sun, the crisp clear blue sky, made all the beach goers so giddy it was palpable.

We said goodbye to the big orange sun as it disappeared from the horizon. What a lovely day this was!

Colors of the Season

While most farms in New England have been put to sleep for the season, the farms around here are still cranking, producing beautiful veggies and fruits, nuts and greens...all through the winter. How very lucky we are to have this bounty.

Sometimes I feel like somehow I am cheating. How is it that we have more than enough food here, and there are places in the world that face famine.

Food for thought...for today.

A New Day

Yes. We. Can.

During the early morning as the sun was rising over the hills of Santa Cruz, our house was stirring from slumber. Was it a dream, I asked myself? Could it be that we now have Barack Obama as our new president?

I walked out of the room to see my almost five year old daughter coming down the stairs.

"Good morning, Mommy." she said in her cute little morning voice.

"Good morning, Clairey. Obama did it!" I had promised I would tell them first thing in the morning.

Her eyes widened. Her head perked up. "He did?" she asked excitedly, not really looking for a confirmation. She then ran back upstairs, into her room where her brother was still warm and snuggled up in his blanket, sleeping.

"Momo!!! Obama did it!! He got president!!"

"Yay!" I heard Momo's one word reply.

What a way to wake up on this new hopeful day!

Election Day

Claire's handmade sign

On the sidewalk, promoting the next president

On this historic day, for this country and for the world, we are anxiously awaiting the results of who will be the next president of the U.S.

It's no secret that our family is rooting hard for Barack Obama. Even our children can't stop saying his name. What a breath of fresh air it will be to have an intelligent, eloquent, decent human being be the head of this very large and diverse country (in a lot of trouble)!

We are hopeful. We are so hopeful. More than that, we are thrilled for our children and their generation. In my mind, today is about much more than the next four years...