Happy Birthday Woody!!!

Nathan and I were able to have lunch together a few Fridays ago. He bought me an ice cream cone for dessert. When the wrapper fell off of the bottom of the cone I picked it up and looked at it and thought out loud that it would make the perfect birthday hat for a doll. Nathan said, "It looks like it would fit Woody." And suddenly I knew what we were doing that evening, a Birthday party for Woody. Why not?

We had a Cowboy Camp Birthday party, circa Toy Story 2, and the kids were so into it. The most fun for me was watching them all help each other get ready. They shared all of their best Cowboy stuff amongst one another and gave opinions on what was more "cowboy-ish".  They even shared some of their best gear with Nathan and I. 

As soon as Nathan got home he and Kohen started getting things set up outside. Nathan later told me that as they worked to get things moved and set up and the fire going, that Kohen was his shadow and referred to Nathan as "Sheriff", so stinkin cute! 

Any stuffed pony on the premises was relocated outdoors. The guest of honor, Woody, rarely left Kohen's side. 

We put a candle in a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and sang Happy Birthday to Woody in three different languages. I think it was Woody's best birthday yet. 

We had borrowed a fire pit from our neighbor and we'd been warned about the wood here; to say it was smokey would be a gross understatement. It was chokingly so. Plus it happened to be really windy out when we were cooking so that wasn't exactly idyllic. Luckily Nathan had located some Weinhardts Rootbeer at an import store (I didn't dare ask how much they cost) and that was the treat of the night.

We kept having to move the kids further back from the fire because of the wind but again, with soda in hand they didn't seem to mind much else. Nathan and I risked life and limb cooking hot dogs for everyone. And since there were no graham crackers to be found, even at the import stores, we improvised for the s'mores ("delicious hot shmoes!"), using the local "Digestive" cookies that can be found.

SMOKING.... HOT

The fire that is. ;)

As the festivities were dying down, at one point I turned around to find Kohen had shared his bottle of soda with the birthday boy. I kid you not, that Woody can drink his weight in Rootbeer, sheesh!

It was a windy but fun party. And the kids have already penciled in Woody's birthday for next year.

January-ness

One of my least favorite things happens every January. The 4th Grade Flea Market. The market that the 4th graders put on using collected and donated junk toys is for a worthy cause, but I cringe every time I get the flyer that it's coming up. 

My unbelievably excited children will got to school with a very small sum of money and come home with backpacks overflowing with broken and trashed toys (that I will ironically spend the next year trying to sneak out of rotation and into a donation box) that they proudly reveal to me claiming each to be their new best toy EVER. 

My favorite from last year: 

Aly found this awesome role model at the market. She didn't seem to notice the wardrobe malfunction. And trust me, I checked, that is how the dress was made to fit, so I'm not sure what's missing but let's just hope something is.  

So this year I was so proud of Kennedy when she came home with the nicest pair of rollerblades! They were her size -though they adjust to 4 different sizes- practically new; and she has been wanting a pair for at least a year. She was sent with 100NT (about $3 U.S.) and these cost 88NT- they were certainly the best deal at the flea market, in my opinion.

 So far she has worn them around the house a lot because it is the smoothest surface around. Pretty uneven and rocky outside. But she has complied with my rules and even wears her helmet in the house.

 Scarlett is teething like crazy. There is nothing to show for it yet besides a lot of drool and and redness on her fists from her gnawing on them. She is still sleeping like a champ though, so no complaints there.

 It has been "cold" (Like 15* which sounds frigid until I admit thats in Celsius) and rainy and gloomy for weeks. We have had a rare sunny and warm day every three weeks or so and we make good use of it. On this day we did homework and snacks outside to soak up every drop of the fleetingly beautiful weather.

 It's orange season here and you can buy fresh squeezed orange juice from street vendors. You may have to trade your first born child for a pint of it but hey, I needs me Vitamin C so I don't get scurrrrvy! Solution? Buy the oranges and squeeze them ourselves. The whole family gets involved taking turns juicing, which makes everyone enjoy it so much more. YUM.

 There has been lot's of time for indoor play this month... And that's the best I can think to write about that.

And we celebrated the Chinese New Year. Before CNY break Aly had the Kindergarten Red Market where there are all sorts of fun activities, games and food. If you can't tell by Aly's face paint, it's the year of the DRAGON!
Hold that thought, more on that later...

Jensen Spa

I love to try and come up with easy activities to do with the kids, usually on Friday nights. Something to look forward to that we can all do together that isn't just pizza and a movie... though there are still plenty of those pizza/movie nights too. 

Anyway, one night I got the idea to have a spa night. The best part is that Nathan will play along and help me. He was in charge of finding spa music online, among other things. I happened to have a pair of new fleece pajama pants for each of the kids that I'd found at Costco so I rolled those up and put them in a basket. My mom had sent a Christmas package full of contraband, aka: treats, so we got those set up along with warm water basins for the kids to soak their feet in.

Playing the part, Nathan and I stood at the bottom of the stairs all professional and called the kids down. We welcomed them to the Jensen Spa and out of the basket handed them each a pair of pj pants to go change into. Then, speaking in near whispers, we led them into the "spa" where we had the lights off, candles lit, and relaxing music playing. As we led them to their seats the kids were all giggly and excited but seemed to sense the mood and stayed surprisingly calm. 

 We told them their treats were provided by Pixie and Papa John this evening, and they all dug in while they soaked their feet. Nathan and I then sat on a stool at their feet and after each child picked out what lotion or balm they wanted, we gave them each a foot massage. Nathan got off easy though cuz Ander didn't want to be distracted from his treats by having his feet tickled. Fair enough.

Quote of the night was by Aly as she sat eating her treats and soaking her feet: "*sigh* This is the life... by the way, do you actually know how to do foot rubs?" As if she was only now questioning Nathan and I's credentials, half way through her spa experience.
It was so much fun and came together in about 15 minutes. That is the best kind of activity. Low stress and preparation, but great memories.

Politiking in Taiwan

All of this crazy political nonsense going on in the States right now (read: all things Newt Gingrich) has left me eager to write this post. At the beginning of January Taiwan had it's own Presidential Elections. Things are sticky politically because Taiwan is actually known as the Republic of China, and so China likes to have it's slippery fingers wrapped around as many necks as possible in the good 'ol R.O.C. 

The current leader, President Ma, is at the head of a party that seems to want to play nice in it's on-again-off -again relationship with China; possibly considering getting back together. At the head of the opposition party was a woman, Tsai, who seemed to stand for letting Taiwan be on it's own two feet.

But before I show you ads for them, let's start with a local yocal.

Vegetables anyone? A bowl full of veggies comes with every vote this candidate's way. That's what the sign says. Well, it might say that. If either of us read Chinese characters we might be more sure. At first I didn't even believe this joker was running for office, but the number in the circle at the top of the pic is the number you would vote for him with! Crazy? Um, yeah. But nutritious.

Now we get to the good stuff. Current President on the left... engaged in a Hand Huddle with another political hopeful in the middle and Vice President Wu on the right.

A HAND HUDDLE, people.

But it only got better when I discovered these billboards all over with: hand holding, bookended with mighty fist pumps. Let that sink in. Then, take another look; their fingers are interlaced. It's like Awkward Family Photos, Politicians Edition. 

They were so proud of this pose that they just exchanged the middle guy for another government hopeful, slapped the requisite matching shirt on him and confidently intertwined their fingers before he even knew what happened to him. Though, the guy doesn't seem too upset about being at first base with the President in such a public forum.  I heard a rumor or two that the President is the type to actually enjoy um... male bonding. Just rumors though. Certainly an idea not discouraged by giant billboards like those.

Okay, I had to wait until Nathan was driving before I could manage to snag this awesome bus ad. I pretty much risked life and limb as it was trying to gather these pictures, a lot of the gems were discovered while I was driving. There were buses everywhere with what I like to call "The Infinity Fist Pump", where wrapped all around the length of the bus are a line of the politicians from the Presidents party engaged in powerful/hopeful fist pumps. Fist pumps for miles.
I died laughing every time I saw it.

Leading everyone in the obviously catchy gesture was Ma and VP Wu. I so wish I could have been a fly on the wall of these political photo shoots. Can you even imagine? Better yet, can you imagine American candidates participating in such tomfoolery? I sincerely hope I live to see the day. 

This is that first candidate, with the veggies, remember? with the other Presidential candidate, Tsai. She had a different take on ads. She kept things classy. Basically they took a picture of her in the above pose and photoshopped it into pretty much any and every ad. I felt like she was keeping a certain level of decorum. She wasn't going to stoop to fist pumping in varying degrees of fervor, no, she keeps her arms folded and in control. Maybe representing how she would lead this country.

At the end of the day Tsai lost. And I have to wonder if it was because she shunned the fist pump. 

It appears that the key to victory in Asian politics is very simple: Engage in constant, energetic, fist pumping.

Coco Palms 2012 NYE

Our first morning on the beach, here are the kids with one of their favorite Uncles, Shayn. He is amazing with the kids and they love him to pieces. No for real though, we have to make rules about not smothering him for his own safety!

 Cecily and I took turns staying back in the bunglow with Scarlett and Ander for naps. When we came two years ago and Ander was a baby he slept out by the pool a lot. Scarlett was good but not quite that chill. She definitely prefers to go to sleep in her own bed.

 We got lunch including freshly cut mangos on the beach one afternoon, yum!

It rained off and on a few of the days but most of the time was truly beautiful. We had to put sunscreen on very often. No one believes me that the UV rays are more intense here. But after some initial burns of the doubtful *cough*Shayn*cough* even though sunscreen had been applied (just not frequently enough) I earned a little credit. It is gorgeous but that sun is intense.

 So grateful to have Cecily's extra pair of helpful hands around! Ander loves his Cecily.

 Also thanks to Cecily, Nathan and I got to go out with just the adults almost every night. It felt so awesome to be able to get the kids settled, then leave them in Cecily's capable hands and go have dinner with adults. We were actually able to enjoy our food, have uninterrupted conversations, not have to stagger our eating/soothing babies. Glorious. That was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.

 They set this contraption up on New Years Eve day for the party that night but Nathan and the kids got to break it in first. LOT's of fun, and surprisingly, no tears!

 Shayn and Nathan spent a day on a gorgeous course. These boys seem to make a good pair for golfing. They always have a good time. They also went and watched Muai Thai Fighting one night. I am a little disappointed because I would've liked to have seen some but when we parted ways it was really late and us girls thought for sure they were going to miss it. It turned out that it ran later than we initially thought. The boys talked about it for days afterwards; even got a knock out on video. Pretty cool. 

 New Year's Eve the Coco Palms put on a huge dinner with "entertainment" and games for the kids etc. It was their first time putting on a big NYE party and you could kind of tell. But we made the most of it and the children ran around to the different games winning prizes and having a blast.

 Randomly, this pic reminds me of how everyone seems to have their own opinions on who Scarlett looks like. To us she looks a heck of a lot like Kennedy did as a baby. Either way, she fits in.

 One of the first pictures of all of us. I love it. I love my family.

 And I love my seesters. We had a fabulous time together. (I am LOVING this chicken!) And they were forever patient with the considerable entourage that is my children. Nathan and Shayn decided two years ago when they were visiting us over Chinese New Year that they would meet us in Thailand to ring in 2012. I still can hardly believe we pulled it off.

 The live music was really offensive on the ears and I kid you not, I could've given a better performance of the songs they were singing karaoke to. It was a bit painful, to the point of giving us giggles.

 Eventually we gathered the kids up to do a few fireworks of our own before sending them off to bed.

 As the New Year approached here were fireworks and lanterns going off and lifting off everywhere. It was truly as magical as we'd been led to believe it would be. On our particular beach the lanterns they had for you to use didn't seem to have enough kerosene and had difficulty with lift off. After a little trial and error Nathan and I were able to launch several successfully. We felt like old pros.

It was a wonderful week and I am so grateful we got to spend it with family. What wonderful memories we made... And what a great way to welcome in 2012.

Koh Samui Thailand

Everyone was excited to get the chance to ride an elephant. We chose the perfect day to go because it was overcast and though it was still really hot it was at least not as boiling as it could've been. Nathan and I rode with the babies.

Cecily (our favorite babysitter), Kennedy, Natalie, and Aly rode the second elephant...

And Shayn and Ashley took Kohen with them. Their elephant had awesome looking tusks and used to have a career of some sort. Our elephant guy kept trying to explain to me by repeating "Hollywood, Hollywood."I just nod and smile. 

Feeding a baby tiger was pretty cool. It was heavier than I would have guessed and his paw was as big as my face and you can see he put his paw in the crook of my arm to try and get at the bottle but his paw was so heavy I almost couldn't hold it. Crazy. But cool.

My sister Natalie immediately broke out in a rash after holding the tiger. Who knew you could be allergic to tigers? Sounds so much cooler than being allergic to cats.

We hiked up to the cleverly named "Waterfall #2" and the kids all eventually made it into the water with Nathan. They were wearing clothes and it was fun to see them hesitate and then go for it, not worrying about getting their clothes wet.

The funniest moment by far was when Nathan hiked back down out of the waterfall with Ander, whose regular diaper had now swollen beyond capacity. Nathan went to set him on his shoulders and Ander's diaper finally exploded off of him and dropped to the ground. So there Ander sat, with a naked tush on his dad's shoulders. It made for a great picture but you'll just have to trust me on that one.

Getting to ride on/hold/feed wild animals, truly made for a memorable day.