More Samui

Some more pictures from Samui Island...

Caleb loved the stray cats that joined him at breakfast. Can you tell who drops the most food at our table?

Krista and Lori riding the waves.

Italian food (for a change) at Prego - delicious!

Aunty Jo-Ann and Caleb.

More cocktails to go - who can say no to a pina colada on the walk home?! Not me!

Island Life

Samui turned out to be a very relaxing vacation. Our biggest decisions of the day were what to eat at the breakfast buffet and where we should go for dinner. Most days were spent on the beach on the lounge chairs under a huge umbrella tree that provided shade for the entire group.

By the time dinner was over and the babies were ready for bed, it was the perfect excuse for the adults to get to bed early. Of course, there were a couple late evenings. While the girls night was tame, the boys showed up late with a sandy and soaked Jeff, blaming a cheap bottle of Indian rum!

Breakfast on the Gulf of Thailand.

At the beach.

The restaurant with a playroom - a wonderful discovery!

Dinner off of Chaweng Beach.

Drinks to go.

Transport via the back of a truck - the Thai taxi.

Destination Koh Samui, Thailand

On Christmas Day, we awoke early to pile into two vehicles destined for the airport. Checking in six adults and three infants took a bit of time but we were able to still enjoy a coffee and even get in some Skype time at the airport. We caught our Air Asia flight, pleased to see that they now have assigned seats and we did not have to rush onto the airplane. The flight to Bangkok was uneventful. The five hour layover in the Bangkok domestic terminal went by rather quickly especially when we discovered Bangkok Airways Boutique Lounge with playroom (Anna and Caleb were very happy with this find). The flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui was quick - so quick in fact that the landing took all of us by surprise. Not only did it come quickly, but hard. We guessed that the landing strip was not very long. On arriving in Koh Samui, you could quickly tell that we had arrived in holiday paradise. Open-air shuttle buses took passengers from the airplane to the thatch-roofed airport. The air was warm and humid and everyone looked ready for the beach (making me want to trade in my pants and runners for a swim suit and flip flops right there). Our hotel transfer was no where in sight so we hopped in a minibus/taxi. Within 15 minutes we were at First Bungalows on Chaweng Beach. And within another 15 min, I was in shorts and a tank top. It was already late in the day and almost dark so we headed out to find dinner at a nearby restaurant. The beach would have to wait until the morning...

Caleb at Ton Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Watching the airplanes.

On arrival in Koh Samui.

Reading about the 'Christmas Star' and 'Happy Snowman' before going to sleep on Christmas Day.

(Thanks for the books, Matthew!)

Huge Thanks

Caleb, Kevin and I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful gifts (and baking) from family and friends. Caleb received so many wonderful gifts this Christmas. He is a very lucky boy. We are so lucky to have Jo-Ann, Jeff, Anna, Krista, Kris and Jacob spending Christmas and New Years with us. Our guests have made this a very special Christmas.

We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas season and Happy 2010. We are off to Thailand tomorrow so stay tuned for more Southeast Asian adventures from the Meyers, Marvins and Jewetts!

Merry Christmas From Ho Chi Minh City

Merry Christmas! Santa found everyone in Ho Chi Minh City this morning. We awoke to stockings and presents under the tree. It was a relaxing day that started with breakfast while we opened gifts. Then Jo-Ann, Jeff, Krista and Kris enjoyed hot stone massages. After a morning swim, it was time for the perogie lunch feast. Amazingly, all the children were napping so all the adults could enjoy lunch together. Dinner was not as quiet but tasty none the less. A man on a motorbike showed up at around 4 pm with a cooked stuffed turkey, gravy and cranberries. It was fantastic. All I had to do was boil and mash potatoes, make the bean dish, and put the carrots in the oven. After dinner, we went out to the green space by the river to find the Christmas Eve Compound gathering. By the time we got home, Anna and Caleb were black from playing in the skate park (not actually skating but rather just crawling up on the ramps). The children are now fast asleep and the rest of us are enjoying nightcaps!

Christmas presents and stockings.

While we waited for everyone to come downstairs, Anna needed to open something so Jeff thought the chocolates were a good idea (and so the beginning of many chocolate boxes being opened was started).

Caleb and Mom checking out Caleb's stocking (made with love by Gramma Alvina).

Caleb giving Christmas gifts to Trang and Sau.

Jacob and his new puzzle from his buddy, Caleb.

Family shot on Christmas morning.

Caleb's first taste of perogies.

Moms and Dads putting back perogies while the children all napped.

In the Kitchen

In preparation for Christmas Eve dinner, Kevin and I made perogies. I have to say that we are getting rather efficient at perogie making. We each have our own job. Kevin rolls the dough and cuts the circles (he takes his job very seriously - perfect dough thickness is critical). I add the stuffing and pinch the perogie closed (I take this job very seriously - a sealed perogie is critical). As soon as we venture outside our areas of expertise, the quality of our perogies deteriorate.

Can you tell which perogie is Kevin's pinching (or lack of) masterpiece?

Perogie Number 96.

Christmas Pasta

My mom sent over some Christmas pasta so we enjoyed it for dinner with Trang's meat sauce and special topping. The topping is our favourite part - fried garlic, basil and chilli. Caleb could not get enough of the pasta and I would have to say that this meal ranks as his messiest ever. We are trying to get him to practice using a spoon but tonight, he was more interested in eating as much pasta and sauce as he could by the handful.

Snowflakes and angels

Bowl number 2 of 3.

Pasta sauce from head to toe.

I Love My Daddy

Sometimes before bedtime, we bring Caleb into our room to play and read some books. After reading all his new books from Aunty Kelli and Uncle Bryce, Caleb was having a ball practicing his standing skills on our bed and fooling around with Dad.

Caleb and Daddy

My favourite boys!

Mr. Mischief

Without Anna and Jacob around this weekend to play with (everyone is off exploring Central Vietnam), Caleb has been getting into some mischief. It is all innocent and of course, it makes Mom and Dad chuckle!

Caleb has figured out how to push open the shower door (which was great until he got his fingers wedged under the glass door the other day). He loves playing in the shower with the shampoo bottles and loves it when we have just used the shower so he can splash around in the water. This photo was taken just before we headed to the pool where he was going to get wet anyway!

Another new discovery is the toilet paper roll...

This activity seems to be even more fun when you rip the toilet paper into tiny little pieces and try to eat them.

But how can you get upset with a face like this!

The Clown Car

We managed to fit six adults (plus our driver), three children and three strollers into our car tonight to go out for dinner. Lucky it was a very short ride to Restaurant 13! We opted to walk home to burn off a few calories after our extravagant meal of spring rolls, salad rolls, pork claypot, cashew chicken, morning glory with garlic, sweet and sour squid, and shrimps cooked in coconut milk. We washed it all down with red wine and Saigon beer!

Off to dinner.

Riverside dining at Restaurant 13 (Jacob is fast asleep in his stroller).

Jeff and the HCMC Tour

Jeff arrived late last night from the airport with Kevin to find Kris, Krista and I sitting on the patio enjoying warm weather and white wine. Now that everyone had arrived, it was time to check out the city sights! We headed into the city to do a bit of a walking tour down Dong Khoi and Le Loi Streets with stops at some favourite shopping locations - Lucky Plaza, Saigon Square and Ben Thanh Market. After a pho dinner the night before and Vietnamese planned for the evening, we enjoyed lunch at our favourite burger spot, The Black Cat.

The gang (minus Kevin who had a morning teleconference meeting) in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Krista with the impressive Notre Dame Cathedral gingerbread masterpiece in the Caravelle Hotel.

Lunch at the Black Cat.

The Jewetts in Vietnam

The Jewetts have arrived! We are so excited to have a full house for Christmas. Welcome Krista, Kris and Jacob - here's to a terrific holiday and wonderful Vietnam experience!

Kris and Krista - jetlagged but all smiles.

The Three Muskateers - Anna, Caleb and Jacob. This was Caleb's first meal of pho ga (Vietnamese noodle soup with chicken) - he loved it!

Sweating Santas

I barely got my camera out in time to capture this beauty...

Can you spot the Santas?

It's Beginning to Feel Like a Vietnamese Christmas

I have been finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it is +35 degrees out! So, last night we cranked the air-conditioner, put on some Christmas tunes and poured some Baileys. After enough Baileys, we were ready to take on the evening task of putting up the Christmas tree. We had a great time - mostly laughing about Christmas' past and telling each other about some of our favourite Christmas experiences.

Put the red sticks into the holes under the red dot - how hard could this be?!

The 'fluffing' process.

The finished product - with the exception of the star on top that we could not figure out how to get it to stay on the tree!

Sunday Fun

We headed out this morning to show Jo-Ann some more of Ho Chi Minh City. We visited the Jade Emperor Pagoda. The pagoda itself was good but finding out that a bird pooped on Anna after we got in the car was not the highlight. The day could only get better! After the pagoda and an impromptu stop at a toy store where we picked up a car/walker for Caleb and Anna, we walked down Dong Khoi, stopping for lunch at Girval. Considering we had two children who were getting rather tired and the restaurant (like most in HCMC) was not equipped with high chairs, we had an enjoyable lunch and caffeine fix... oh, cafe sua da, how I love you. We stopped in a few shops before walking up Nguyen Hue and over to Fanny's Ice Cream (a local favourite that has not disappointed any of our guests yet and Jo-Ann was no exception). By this time both Caleb and Anna were fast asleep (can you believe that they both missed out on ice cream!?!) so we continued our walk down Le Loi to Ben Thanh Market. The market, as always, provided lots of photo opportunities and some more shopping. I had spent every last bit of dong in my pocket by the time we left. We continued on to the backpacker district for a much needed ice cold beer, followed by an evening swim on our arrival back home.

Jo-Ann has lots of great photos from our day out - the ones of Caleb and Anna at the beer stop are my personal favourite - check out her album.

Morning playtime - Anna was into the puzzle and Caleb was grooving to the music.

People were more interested in Anna and Caleb than the pagoda.

Snacktime - Caleb's favourite part of the day.

Caleb slept right through the chaos and noise that is Cho Ben Thanh.

Beer o'clock

Ready to head to the pool.

The perfect finale to a terrific Sunday.

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb

In so many ways, I cannot believe that I am writing this post. This day, one year ago, is so vivid to me and so are many of the 364 days that followed. But that is the thing about time... it goes by! And in a rather short time, we have gone from a fragile baby boy to an energetic, moving toddler!

Caleb's birthday celebrations were shared with his friend, Louis, who lives down the street at Lily 5. Since Caleb and Louis were born three days apart, we thought it made sense to do a combined bash. And it was a terrific idea until this morning, when we got the call from Louis' parents. They were driving home from the medical clinic and called to tell us that Louis has chicken pox. So, Louis was there in spirit and his Mom and Dad took turns attending the party. I cannot thank Bel and John enough for all their help. The food was incredible thanks to you guys and of course, cook extraordinaire, Ms. Thao. This was your party too and even if Louis had to miss out, I am so happy you were both able to be there.

It was a really special day for all us! Thank you for all who attended especially Jo-Ann and Anushka. It was very special to have immediate family at Caleb's first birthday when we live so far away. Thank you also for all the Skype calls, emails and birthday cards from everyone around the world. Caleb is a very lucky boy to have so many wonderful family and friends who care about him so much!

Because Caleb and Louis have such wonderful people in their lives, they were able to give to those less fortunate by donating gifts. So many wonderful gifts were brought over today that we know will make many more children happy. Thank you!

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

There are lots more pictures in Caleb's 1st Birthday Album.

Bruised Elbow

In a valiant effort to save Anna as she tumbled off the couch, Kevin hit his elbow which quickly swelled... the resulting bruise is down his arm to his wrist! Here's hoping it is not more serious.

Ouch!

One Camera Missing

I don't think I have updated on life in general in a very long time. So much has gone on including getting my wallet stolen, starting work full time, two trips to Melbourne, spending time with Jo-Ann and Anna, going to Cambodia where Kevin ran his first half-marathon, and losing a camera. The loss of our camera was even more depressing after a full day of taking lots of photos around Siem Reap on Saturday. The good news is that we still have our old backup camera and the even better news is that Jo-Ann is taking lots of photos of her time with us so you can check out her blog and album.

So instead of back tracking too far... I'll start by telling you about our awesome weekend in Cambodia. Kevin ran his first half marathon - the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon in support of landmine survivors. I was so proud of him for running the 21.1 km and still smiling at the end of it all! All the training paid off as he finished the race in just over two hours. I just found some really cool photos of our guy wearing bib #245 (see, I don't even need a camera).

While Kevin and I are at work and Jo-Ann works on her thesis from home, Caleb and Anna have been enjoying their playtime together. Jo-Ann claims that the incidents of Anna trying to sit on Caleb have decreased significantly and in fact, the two cousins appear to be getting on very well. Often, Caleb and Anna playing together is Anna racing around the house while Caleb does the crawling sprint after her.

Snacktime!

A favourite playtime activity - dismantling the tupperware cupboard.

Discovering that the toy bin is way more fun when all the toys are removed.

Hanging out in the bike carrier.

PS If anyone comes across a camera while in Cambodia, let me know :)