Our journey begins yet again to different time zones and food 🙂
The kids finished school June 16th and we flew out the very next day to make our multiple day journey back to North America. I know alot of people hate traveling but it is always excitement around here getting ready for the anticipated trip.
We had a night in Bangkok, a night in Korea as well as a night sleeping on the plane to finally land in Los Angeles. The first shower off the plane is always the best 🙂 After landing in LA we rented a mini van to make our drive up the coast. Determined to get over our jet lag as fast as possible we drove, ate and sang for hours until we checked into our hotel in a beautiful beach town Pismo Beach. Just as we were eating supper at 7pm, the boys could barely keep their heads up, it was time to hit the hay. The first night back was great with many hours of sleep and an adjustment to the chilly temperatures.
~ Travel Days ~
(our dinner in Korea was a traditional Korean soup, it was delicious!)
(On our stopover in Seoul Korea, Emma’s friend Hanna came to visit us at the hotel. It was such a great visit with Hanna and her dad, awesome people)
(Oh this was the highlight of Korea for some of my family members. An electric toilet that had a seat warmer, and few other options to rinse ones bottom clean as well. These are very common in Korea we were told)
(ran to the convenience store for a few snacks down the street and our options were bags of fish, squid, seaweed (one of the boys fav snacks) and other interesting treats)
(The kids passed up on the squid and opted for ice cream shaped in funny cones)
(While we were waiting for our flight we met a very nice gentleman from Japan who spoke not a word of English. He was very gifted at origami creations and spent an hour making the kids all different animals and a Santa Claus. Love meeting people like him 🙂
(Ev finally drifted off into dreamland. To many options on the plane to play unlimited video games and movies but he finally crashed)
~ We have landed ~
(the drive though the Napa Valley California was beautiful. We really appreciated the large open highways with lots of distance between each car 🙂
(Em thought she was tricking us with her sunglasses on, but we noticed her sleeping patch over her eyes. She desperately wanted to sleep but we would not let her… we had to keep her awake to get her time clock on mountain standard time ..haha
~ Pismo Beach ~
(Spent the night in the tiny beach town Pismo Beach on our way to San Francisco. Em jumping with joy in her cozy sweater excited to go ride the sand dunes with the boys)
(Off they go… Trent found a place to rent a four seater dune buggy along the coast. My family disappeared in the sand dunes for a few hours having fun getting stuck and racing around. Trent was beaming ~ this is his kind of fun)
~ San Francisco ~
(Oh, the famous shot in the opening credits of the sitcom “Full House”, the kids were so excited to be here)
(Again PLEASE! the kids kept repeating as they wanted to go down the crookedest street in the world over and over… Lombard Street, San Francisco )
(instead of just driving over the Golden Gate Bridge we showed the kids up close the structure and rode bikes over the bridge. It was spectacular, the views were perfect, not a cloud in the sky)
(love my family! These three little travellers love checking things off the travel list)
(To ensure the kids were tired enough we took them to this awesome gym full of trampolines so they could bounce until their legs were all wobbly)
(how do I resist”PLEASE MOMMY, can we please go bounce again tomorrow?”)
~ To The ROCK ~
(Took the kids to Alcatraz to experience what prison life would be like if they are bad!)
(Can you guess who this cutie is freezing his toosh off?)
(The kids were fascinated by Alcatraz and the whole story of the attempted escapes. They now have an understanding what time in jail would be like and they would prefer not to ever be sent there as inmates, I think the field trip was successful 🙂
(San Francisco had great street performers)
(Me and my man. August we celebrate 14 years of marriage ~ wohoo we have had fun 🙂
(Riding the rails. The munchkins loved hanging off the cable cars through the San Fran streets. It was so cold for us we could barely feel our hands)
~ Back to our roots ~
(Spent some quality time in Calgary at the end of June. My Mom & Jack poured a new patio and we all left our mark in it. A fun way to leave our imprint)
(At the park getting eaten by the mosquitos, but having fun like usual. Harlow joining the munchkins)
(Em loves her time with her Mama and the kids favourite dogs Shadow & Coco)
(Easton cutting my Mom’s grass for her. Back to Canada means back to manual labor and not being concerned about cobras or scorpions hiding in the bushes)
(Nice visit with the Dezall family and Trent’s parents. All the grandkids growing taller.
L-R … Everett. Easton.. Emma.. Christina.. Jessica.. Ryan & Bradley)
~ Canada Day in the Park ~
(Spent a few days in Sherwood Park/ Edmonton visiting family and hanging with the Drews… Always a fun time! Celebrated Canada Day at the Sherwood Park parade… love my boys national hair!)
(Happy Canada Day Schmu & Drew kids, all growing up sooo much… xoxo)
(The boys were excited to get hockey sticks back in their hands ~ game on Man)
~ Family Tour ~ 🙂
(The kids are so fortunate to have Great Grandparents who they have a relationship with. Ken is fun because he loves timbits and walks around the pond)
(Here we are visiting my 81 & 88 year old grandparents who went on a 12 day cruise in Europe… Awesome! The kids love coming to see my grandparents, especially Emma, she has a great time with my Gramma… special times)
(ADORABLE Cohen, my cousin Jill’s baby. This was the first time we got to meet the cutie and we all fought over who got to hold him. Soooo Sweet. My kids are no longer the babies of the family they are turning into the big kids)
(The touring continues..haha. Some of us met at my Aunty Penny’s (thank you) which was great for an afternoon of many laughs. Great catching up with the cousins)
(Jody. Donny. Brooklynn. George. Lori. Jenna. Aunty Penny. Trent. Everett. Jill. Emma with Cohen & Easton)
(Jody. Donny. Brooklynn. George. Lori. Jenna. Aunty Penny. Trent. Everett. Jill. Emma with Cohen & Easton)
(Here we are with Braden (another cousin). It has been a few years since we have seen him and he has grown up into such great guy. Your Mom would be so proud!)
(Tracked down yet another cousin, Brett at work. It was fun embarrassing him at the grocery store..haha.. I know his Mom is beaming down on him!)
(A great visit with Ava, Brittany & Falon (cousins again) Went to see Monty as well but he had ran away ~ true to Monty’s style and so we did not get a chance to spend time with him, next time)
(A great dinner with Uncle Don & Michele. Thanks for meeting us and for a fantastic evening together! xoxo)
I am fortunate that most my family all lives quite close to my grandparents and we can all see each other even if it is for a short time. The kids are troopers being on the move.
~ Time to get to the Lake! ~
Enjoyed the month of July at the lake. The weather was a bit more moderate than we are used to, but for the most part the kids did not notice 😉 I on the other hand might be turning into a wimp (I like it hot). We had back to back company this year, so there was no shortage of laughs and visiting. It does not seem to ever be enough time to catch up with everyone. Until next year!
(Our summer home)
(Our extended summer family! All the kids we have watched grow since they were born…
So much fun at the lake)
L-R… Hillary * Keidis * Harlow * Lauren * Nickolas * Everett * Nolan * Reagan * Easton * Amy * Emma * Avery
(Our annual self portrait on the lake… I think this is year 16 of us floating around here)
~ Fun with Visitors ~
(The Olynyk crew came for a week this year. It was busy with 7 kids 🙂 Many laughs)
(Of course Bonnie and the kids came… They spent 10 days this year which the kids loved)
(Harlow & Keidis *** Cuties!!!)
(Oh Keidis… your so cute enjoying your cheezie..haha He loves the boat and being on the water, he’s one of us)
(Trent’s favourite activity on the water, he loves riding the wave)
(Em scurfing like a natural. The kids have fun just getting out there)
(The boys and Reagan getting the ride of their life ~ the best place to be 🙂
~ Happy 40th Babe ~
Trent does not turn the young age of 40 until September however it was only fitting we have a Canadian party since we will be in Thailand on his actual 40th. It was a freezing but fun night of celebrating followed by a live band from Vancouver that were awesome.
(Love your cake! 🙂 A perfect summer, Canadian cake)
(All the kids made this super over sized card for Trent and everyone had words of wisdom to write inside)
(Happy Canadian Birthday Honey..haha… Turning 40 is a 6 month celebration)
(Thanks for coming! Love you all… Here is until who ever turns 40 next)
~ Kids Day 2011 ~
(ARRR my pirate boys. This years theme for Kids Day was Pirate and we had some scary buccaneers walking around… Always a grand day for the kids)
(The scariest pirate around was this big one with a ring in his nose and big earrings to match… Run kids run)
(Emma & Avery also participated in the Teen Challenge this year. One of the events was a jello eating contest. Em said she does not want to eat cherry flavoured jello again..haha)
(Another awesome Kids Day! Thanks to all the volunteers for making this day happen 🙂
~ Sock Hop ~
(Our Rocker Boys were back on stage this year showing off all their moves. Sock Hop is always fun getting out on the dance floor shaken it up (next year no walking on grass though honey…haha) This was one of our last nights at the lake for yet another year)
(2011 Klub Kal was a great one and now it is time to pack on up ~ until next year)
~ Flying out, time to head home ~
One last hug before we fly off. Thanks for letting us take over your house Mom… Until we see you again 😉
~ A stopover in Beijing YA! ~
(On our way back to Thailand we had a 12 hour stopover in Beijing, China. Lucky for us we were able to be stamped out of customs and we were free to roam for the day. True to how we roll, we put our bags in storage at the airport, hired a taxi driver and made the 45 min drive to the GREAT WALL OF CHINA spur of the moment. To cool)
(We are about to head up to the wall. I found it comical as some people around us were all geared up with backpacks, proper shoes, hats even walking sticks. Our crew showed up in the same clothes we had been in for days traveling, flip flops and my little camera that I had to buy an extra battery for on the street because my original battery was about to die (not completely prepared for this adventure) haha WE loved it though!
(We are hiking the Great Wall… pretty historic for us. Another one checked off our list)
(Em and her Daddy)
(You can see the wall stretching for miles surrounded by amazing beauty. It was a surreal moment)
(Em and I had lost the boys by this point and Em was tired of having her picture taken… I said click away who know when we will get back her again)
(THIS IS AWESOME!)
(A map of the Great Wall. It was pretty hot up on the Great Wall and our bodies had a nice layer of sweat covering it, a great workout which was fantastic. Now time to head back down the mountain to drive back to the airport so we don’t miss our plane)
(We took a chair lift up to the Great Wall and took a luge track down…. totally totally cool)
(loved these old men)
(a cart of rags on the side of the road, looked interesting)
~ Back in the Land of Smiles ~
(Finally made it to Bangkok. Had a night with a friend at our usual spot (beautiful) and had a great night of just relaxing before heading back to the crazies of school life in Chiang Mai)
(Well maybe life is not that crazy in Chiang Mai on a Sunday at brunch at the Four Seasons…. the kids are out feeding the fish in the pond)
~ Ms. Mattie’s Visit ~
(A teacher from Panama who now is teaching in Japan came for a visit. It was so fun to see Amy again and to show her what our normal life is like here and around Chiang Mai. The kids loved seeing her again! Thanks for coming Amy… until we meet up again 🙂
~ Trent’s real 40th Birthday ~
(Trent started his 40th birthday with a delicious breakfast spread made by Easton, then he lounged in and by the pool most of the morning. In the afternoon Trent and I ventured out to the Nest (little resort out of town) with some friends to celebrate a few mild stone birthdays)
(It was a private function this night at the Nest with delicious food, amazing surroundings, awesome music, and great conversation)
(The BIRTHDAY BOYS… Trent, Sean & Owen all turned 40 so it was a celebration for these young men)
Big Congratulations to my cousin Stephanie and her new husband Christopher on their recent wedding this August. Wish we could have been there to celebrate, we were thinking of you!
We had a brilliant summer back in Canada. I love that we can experience and appreciate so much from both sides of the globe.
Our friends Colin, Jen & Jax Newman are coming at the beginning of October which will be great showing them around and watching them take in what Thailand is known for… great food 🙂
I know I have not been so great at writing more, however I am back in action..haha.. My old PC computer crashed and I have finally made the switch over to a Mac (my children’s insistence) so I am not screaming at the computer like I used to 🙂
I hope the transition back to school is going swell for many of you.
With lots of love
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