We Heart Bangkok, Thailand

I think Travis and I would move here in a heartbeat if there were jobs... We just love it here...

As I mentioned previously, we're staying at the Shangri-La Hotel. It totally rocks. There's a beautiful pool with loads of comfy poolside chairs and it's right by the sky train stop. The executive chef, Frank (Aussie guy), has totally taken care of Gabriella and her diet. She even had a yummy Thai curry that the chef said was gluten free. This is a huge relief for me because she'd be eating a lot of eggs, fresh fruit and veggies, and rice- if we didn't have this option. The buffet in the morning is the absolute best in the world!

After conferences, we went to a fancy aquarium at a high-priced mall. It was actually pretty cool and nice to get out of the humidity. They had loads of western restaurants, so we decided to go to Tony Roma's. Pretty random, right? Are those even around in Washington anymore? It wasn't that great but there was a Cinnabon there and that was a nice super yummy treat. We met up with Toby and Debbie's friends from Dubai who are super awesome too (Jennifer, Isaac, and Julie) at this hole in the wall down the street from our hotel. The food was amazing and not super greasy. Needless to say, I've been getting my Phad Thai and mango sticky rice fix.

On our last day, we had loads of swimming time and I went to a conference. A thunderstorm interrupted some pool time but at least we got some packing done. All in all, a wonderful trip...

*pictures on the way

Elephant Trek

Quinn, Karissa, Karina, and Gabriella

Kids we met at Dolphin Bay

Travis took Gabriella on an Elephant Trek and they had a great time... She got to feed the elephants and obviously they rode on one too. Good times!

Hou Hin, Thailand Vacation

Gabriella- Gettin' her Snorkel On

All Ready to Go!

Isabelle... Ready to Eat

Pool at the Dolphin Bay

Gabby Playing in the Corner

Loved that Water Slide!

Beach is Just Across the Street

View of the Beach

Relaxing...

Isabelle and Mama

Time to get my roots done. Ha!

All Dressed up and Ready to Swim!

Isabelle and Caitlin

Waiting to get her her Braided

Braids!

Night Market- It was so hot!

Karissa and Gabriella- New Buddies 

Tebo Family Portrait

I love family beach vacations, and I have to say... We seriously deserved this break. We work our booties off at ISB so we needed some quality family time.

We had a driver pick us up at 4:30 am on Saturday, which means we woke up around 3:15... I know, brutal. The plane ride was uneventful... Moments of hell mixed with relief. When we got off the plane we had another driver pick us up and we drove four to five hours to a place called Hou Hin and we're staying at the Dolphin Bay Resort. I'm a bit mixed about the place. Now that I've seen awesome beaches, I'm a bit of a beach snob now.

The positives... Our room is right next door to the massage room. You know I love that! It's super cheap to stay and the street food is good. The pool is absolutely perfect for both Gabriella and Isabelle. It's clean and has a water slide and a huge pool that's not very deep. Our room has a kitchenette (a must now with G's diet) and two rooms, so we can still hang out while Isabelle either takes a nap or goes to bed. The massages are amazing and super cheap and I only have to walk next door- yay!

The negatives... The food is just so-so. I love Thai food so this was disappointing, but to be fair, we were warned. The beach is not the beautiful blue of the islands and there are a lot of broken shells so you need to be careful where you walk. Everything closes down early, so if I wanted to party with friends we'd have to hang in our room.

Since we're Tebo's, we've met some people and Gabby made a new buddy. The family we met are also also teachers and work in Japan. We went to a night market last night and Travis is taking Gabby to ride the elephants today. Loved the night market! Lots of Thai crap but I love what they sell. I bought Gabby and I a dress. Also, our friends, the Armstrongs, are here and they have kids Gabby and Isabelle's age. In fact, Jack and Gabby are in the same class. All in all, I would actually go back, mainly because it's cheap and the pool is great for my girls. Our days have pretty much consisted of pool time, eating, hanging out, massages, and more swimming. Not too shabby for a vacation. Tomorrow we leave for Bangkok. We're staying at my favorite hotel... The Shang Ri La... Aaaaawe, I just go to my happy place just thinking about it...

Tebo Girls Dancing!

I seriously cant believe how much I love these girls... Travis took video of Gabriella and Isabelle Dancing. At the start, you'll see Gabby fall down and Isabelle goes over to her and gives her a hug. That's Isabelle. She's a total sweetheart. Very loving and already showing empathy. :)

Life is Full!

I won't bore you to death with how busy we've been... Going on play-dates, Gymnees on Sundays, swim lessons, and work/school. It makes for a full day. I'm literally "on-the-go" from 5am-7:30pm and go to bed around 8:30... Cant wait for Thailand in 2 1/2 weeks!

Update on the girls...

Isabelle
-She says "ayi" for everything! And says, "uh oh,"and "dada or daddy"
-LOVES Travis. I mean ADORES her daddy. She loves me too but they really have a special bond that is super sweet...
-Claps her hands when she us
-Gives us kisses, which is basically just opening her mouth and pressing it on our mouth or cheek. So delicious!
-Loves cheese, yogurt, blueberries, and avocados. She pretty much eats everything which has been fun, except cow's milk. It's too hard for her to digest right now.
-She has a thing for playing with panties (Beth's favorite word) and puts them on her head, wears it as a backpack. Every morning she does this, which has been a little routine.
-Getting more teeth!
- Ayi calls her "Isa" pronounced "Is-ah" without the "z" sound, more of an "s". This is now in the race for the nickname war that Isabelle will decide. I still just call her Isabelle- it's really not that long.

Gabriella
- Says she's going to be a "Barbie-Fairy-Doctor-Mom" when she grows up. Makes sene.
-LOVES her little sister and gives her cuddles
-Keeps bringing home "Fancy Nancy" books from the library
-Doing well in swimming and was the kid that demonstrated different strokes for her PreK-4 class. They're in the middle of a swimming unit.
-Loves anything to do with art and brings home awesome creations. She has a great imagination
-I can see her emotional development starting to blossom a bit... she's showing empathy and becoming a little more patient. The teacher says she works well with others and asked the new kid to sit by her on his first day. Dont get me wrong- we still have tantrums now and again and it mainly has to do with clothes. I know, she's only four!