Friday Fun Day (in Paradise)

I really love my new job working at the Consulate, but it makes the time I have home with our kids extra important. Friday Fun Days have fast become a favorite tradition. The kids take turns planning the day, so each of us get one Friday per month to plan, and it has been so fun. We've taken trips to Sticky Falls, the zoo, and more.

Today was Funny Guy's turn and he chose minigolf, so we headed to Hansa Mini Golf and invited a few friends to come along. It was great!

The day was cloudy with almost enough of a breeze and only a few scattered sprinkles. The golf place was beautifully landscaped and each hole was more than enough of a challenge.

We had fun trying to identify all the famous regions and their sculptures. When we finally finished, we headed home for lunch, ready for round two of the fun day: banana pops.

We experimented with peanut butter, melted chocolate, m&ms, GF pretzels, and coconut. It made a giant mess but delicious snacks.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of games, swimming, and movie night. Oh yeah, and sampling some of our amazingly delicious chocolate-peanut butter-m&m-pretzel-coconut frozen bananas.

So much fun crammed into one day that it's a good thing Friday Fun Day only comes once a week!  (Oh wait, tomorrow is Saturday and we are headed out to the lake with a bunch of friends . . .)

4th of July in Paradise

The week of the 4th of July was a whirlwind of work and events and fun. Wednesday, the U.S. Consulate threw the biggest party of the year, a chance for all the VIPs here in Northern Thailand to rub shoulders with Uncle Sam's representatives.

Putting together an event like that, with over 500 people in attendance, is no small feat and we all had a job to do. My Man and I left for work at 6:30 that morning and got home just after 11pm.

My Man did a fantastic job emceeing the event (in both Thai and English!), sharing the podium with the U.S. Embassy's Charge' de Affairs and Chiang Mai's Consul General.

I was able to coordinate some of the decorations to go along with the "Route 66" theme, including three authentic classic cars to display. Everything went great and we were very happy when it was over!

Thursday My Man and I took leave so we could have an extra-long weekend.

We considered heading to the beach, but then realized there is a lot we still haven't had a chance to do here.

We opted for tubing on the Mae Ping river first. The water was muddy and still pretty low thanks to the drought and delayed rainy season, but it was a relaxing float and we had a blast splashing each other, swimming, and floating.

The Chiang Mai Tubing company even lets you take a floating cooler full of drinks and snacks to enjoy on the float (which lasted about 3 hours).

It was the perfect day with beautiful clouds to temper the tropical sun and a slight breeze to keep things comfortable. We passed some Thais fishing with nets--I'm not sure if all our splashing and laughing helped by pushing fish down river toward them or hurt by scaring them all away!

When we got back to the Chiang Mai Beach Club, we hung out for a few more hours, enjoying all the fun activities there as the Reggae tunes put everyone in a carefree mood.

We played giant jenga, tossing a football, read in the hammocks, and overall just enjoyed a wonderfully lazy afternoon.

It was almost as good as actually being at the beach!

We had the entire place to ourselves and can't wait to come back with friends.

We got back home just early enough to call a new family who arrived in town Tuesday to take them to one of our favorite restaurants in Chiang Mai (The Salsa Kitchen). We went to the new location not far from our house (on the 1st ring road) and it was delish and they definitely have the very best guac in town. Even better, our kids hit it off with the new kids, and we enjoyed a fun evening getting to know new friends.

Friday we headed back out of town to Mae Gnat Reservoir.

We had reserved a longtail boat to take us out to Ekachai Floating Restaurant. The ride took about 10 minutes winding up through the reservoir.

One of the kids, who will remain un-named to protect her identity, exclaimed, "It's like a mini-Lake Powell!" Um, yeah, because there is water and it's a reservoir. Most of the parallels stopped there though. Mom and Dad, take note, it might be time for another Lake Powell family reunion! :-)

We passed a few different floating restaurants before arriving at Ekachai. I loved all the potted plants and the thatched roofs.

At the restaurant, we had a table waiting for us where we stashed our things before jumping into the water to swim.

Not too long after we arrived, it started pouring rain.

Rather than run for cover (like everyone else at the restaurant), My Man and the kids ran from our covered table straight to the water to swim in the rain, a family favorite.

Their only complaint? The rain didn't last long enough. It was beautiful and sunny the rest of the day.

We snacked on fruit platters throughout the afternoon, between bouts of jumping off the dive platforms, kayaking around the reservoir, and swimming in the perfectly cool, deep water.

There were two dive platforms, a high one and a really high one.

It didn't take long for My Man and Young Man to start wowing the other tourists. My Man showed off his acrobatic skills with flips and dives while Young Man became adept at catching a ball mid-jump.

Darling Daughter and Funny Guy enjoyed the dive platforms too, though they opted to stick to the medium-high platform, which was still pretty high!  Funny Guy might have set the world record for most jumps in one afternoon, going back to jump again and again and again. 

The kayaks were another huge hit and the kids went out to the little island and then out to explore along the shoreline.

And while it may look like all I did was take pictures, most of the time I was swimming and jumping and kayaking right alongside everyone else (when I wasn't enjoying the sweet sticky fresh pineapple My Man kept ordering). My only complaint? I would have enjoyed a hammock. :-)

Too soon, our boat arrived to take us back home. We liked it so much, we are already planning a return trip!

 

Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July celebration at the River Market restaurant along the Ping River. They had raffles and games and wonderful food and music and fireworks! 

Young Man and his partner won the balloon toss and everyone had a blast with several gunny sack races.

 There was face painting too (though we aren't exactly sure what they were painting!).

 The kids all won bubbles as one of the prizes and had fun with those.

The kids played for hours in the grassy field near the river while the adults mingled, relaxing, eating, and talking. It was the perfect way to spend the 4th of July away from home, and it was almost easy to pretend we were at a regular neighborhood BBQ in the States. Well, except for the fact that Phad Thai was on the menu.

During the fireworks, which were spectacular, My Man started an impromptu rendition of the Star Spangled Banner with all of our friends joining in. It was so good that the event organizer herded everyone up on stage for a repeat performance.

All in all, we had a wonderful day celebrating family and friendship and freedom. At last, we headed home, happy, full of delicious BBQ, grilled corn, and mashed potatoes, and grateful for the wonderful liberty and heritage we have inherited from our courageous Founding Fathers.

Thank goodness Sunday is a day of rest, because after four days of crazy fun and celebrating, we needed one!

At Home in Paradise

As I was driving home today, ticking off my "To do" list in my head, I realized, life is back to normal!  I was driving without GPS, the crazy traffic, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles weren't giving me panic attacks, things were good. I need to remind myself, each time we move, that the great stress of upheaval and newness and change (along with the accompanying excitement and intrigue) eventually passes. I've realized that six months is my magic number. Give me six months anywhere, and it will become home. This morning I went shopping, stopping at three stores to get the best deals on oats, dairy products, and pantry staples. I came home and made granola and baked oatmeal and prepped dinner. I took one kid to a birthday party and the others to a playdate and lunch across town. I nonchalantly flicked an ant off my glass before I took a drink, barely noticing. I walked the dog around the neighborhood while our kids laughed and rode their bikes alongside.  I handwashed dishes without stopping to mourn our lack of a modern dishwasher. I took the kids to the orthodontist and planned meals for the next week. I checked email and submitted insurance claims and played a game with the kids. All in all, it was a wonderful day. An ordinary day. One of the very best kinds.