Happy New Year!
Sorry this blog is late coming out, but we were in Thailand for the holidays and it was difficult to pick which picutres (out of the 1800 I took)to use in the blog. We had such a wonderful time in Chiangmia, Phuket and Bangkok, a special thanks to the Schmuland family for taking such good care of us, it was an amazing trip of a lifetime for us. But before we get on to the pictures of Thailand here is a picture of poor little Jaymee's tooth that was pulled out.
Sorry this blog is late coming out, but we were in Thailand for the holidays and it was difficult to pick which picutres (out of the 1800 I took)to use in the blog. We had such a wonderful time in Chiangmia, Phuket and Bangkok, a special thanks to the Schmuland family for taking such good care of us, it was an amazing trip of a lifetime for us. But before we get on to the pictures of Thailand here is a picture of poor little Jaymee's tooth that was pulled out.
Ouch! She was such a trooper.
Jaymee eye teeth that were pulled. She had all four "baby" eye teeth pulled to make room for all the teeth she has now. The dentist is hoping this will delay her adult eye teeth from coming down so that we can pull her permanent molars (down the road)and then finally braces!Okay on to better, more fun stuff pictures of our vacation. There are a lot, so grab a coffee (a warm blanket for those of you who live in Canada) sit back and enjoy.
Jody and I catching up
Trent and Rob catching up
Essie, the new addition to the Schmuland family
Front of house
Back of the house
View from deck
This what they call a rice shack, but the kids use it for a tree house.
When we arrived in Chiang Mia we were fortunate enough to see the Schmuland kids in their Holiday assembly, it was amazing. The school is beautiful...I want to go there!
The school, these are classrooms
Everette's class during PE
Boarding houses for kids
Sign. On the campus they have a little corner type store were kids can get treats and other things. Also at the school they have a golf acadamey, soccer acadamey and a wonderful arts program. Truly an amazing school!First dinner in Thailand
Of course our first meal had to include pork!
Ahhhhh BeeerAfter dinner we headed to the Fish Spa...yes you've had read correctly. It is a spa where you stick your feet into acquarium tanks and let the fish 'nibble' (I say this lightly). Afterwards your feet are so smooth and soft. It was really cool. As you scroll through these pictures of Thailand you will see that I really came out of my shell, I did A LOT of things I never thought I would experience!
Say Hi fish spa
Jody and I getting prepped
Rob and Trent at the fish spa
Kids getting ready for the fish spa
My feetn in the tank. The fish tickle a lot at first, but soon you begin to relax and its quite enjoyableTiger Kingdom
Here we got to actually pet a real tiger. They wouldn't let us in the large tiger cages (I was okay with that) because we had small children, so instead we got to visit with a baby tiger who was only six weeks old and one that was three months old. It was very diffcult for me to not pick the little guy up and put him in my purse...they are sooooooo cute!
Tiger Kingdom
Jaymee with the baby tiger
Jordyn and the the baby tiger
Me and the baby tiger
Rob with the tiger
The kids with the baby tiger
All the kids with the tiger (this one was three months)
Rob and I with the tiger (The purple on his shoulder is ointment because he and his brother played a little too rough and he got bit)
The big boys with the little boy
Look at the size of their paws!
Beautiful tiger
Kids feeding the fish after the Tiger Kingdom
Will dance for ice cream....Easton and Trent getting some moves down
Jody and Trent
Rob and I**WARNING**
(Kirsty and Mom and whomever else has a fear of snakes these next three pictures have snakes!)
Yes I'd like to say I conquered a fear this trip, that I actually sat through a snake show and even touched on the darn things, but I still don't like the things...I mean come on it is NOT right to be able to move on land without feet! So here is the proof that I did it and I don't have to do it again!
Jaymee, myself and Emma "watching" the snake show (this how I really watched the majority of the show) - Jordyn was right up front with the boys apparently the show was quite amazing with king cobras and jumping snakes....whatever
Daddy getting "hugged" by the snake
Jordyn and Easton with the snakeAnd Finally......
Me conquering my fears...I can not believe I touched a snake let alone made it through an entire snake show!Night Safari
This was really neat, we rode a tram that took us through a zoo. Most of the animals walked freely and we were able to feed them. The kids fed and petted Zebras, giraffes, emus and ostriches and lots of deer. We were unable to use the flash on our cameras because it hurts the animals eyes so I only have a few pictures.
Night Safari
Holding a "baby"white tiger (like the look in my eyes? He was a little agitated, the trainers were even nervous!)
Feeding a bay lion chicken
Poor little guy
Animal Planet at its best. Two lions going at it. We really experienced Animal Planet at its best this vacation, we witnessed lions going at it, elephants going at it and a shark giving birth....very cool.Off to the Nest
The Nest was this secluded little resort up in the mountains. We stayed there for a couple of nights to unwind. The kids ran and played and we got to sit around reading books, having Thai massages and at night sit around a campfire. It was one of my favorite things we did. It was so peaceful, especially after my snake encounter.
Our little hut at the nest
Bunk beds the Nest. The kids had their own room which was great.
Beautiful Jordyn
Beautiful Jaymee
Rob and Trent getting a Thai massage
Now that's bamboo!During the day we went to limestone caves and to a 500 step Buddist temple
Market outside the entry way to the caves and temple
Half way there
Almost there...500 steps
Top of the temple, it was very quiet and serene up there. There was to be no talking...which was difficult for Jordyn but she did it. Up top it was so quiet, it was the most amzing view.
Temple you do not walk on your feet towards the Buddha, you must scoot along on your knees, pray and walk back
MonkCaves - yes there were bats and spiders the size of my hand...but once again I did it!
Top of the cave
Emma and Jody
Rob and I in the caves
Rob trying to get through some pretty tight places
Trent crawling through
Caves
Who's is bigger?
All of us at the caves!Christmas 2010
Christmas Eve the kids decorated gingerbread houses, at night we lit some lanterns and made our wishes and watched them float up into the sky. To end the evening we lit fireworks, sang Christmas carols and headed off to bed to await Santa.
Making gingerbread houses...outside
Gingerbread houses
Christmas Eve firework show
Lighting our lanterns. We all lit our own and made our wishes and watched them float off into the night sky. It was amazing!
Christmas dinner....outside!
Here come the fireworks!
Chiangmai Christmas tree
Christmas Day at the Schmulands!
Jaymee and Jordyn stockingsNight market
This was a great place to shop! Jody and I started off our shopping night by hopping on a tuktuk and headed to the market. Once there we decided to have a nice foot massage (for $ 4.00) before we set out to do some shopping.
The night market
Entertainment at the night market
Me at the night market, this guy hand painted the t-shirt for meTime for the ELEPHANTS
Daddy saying "hi" to elephants
Jaymee ready to ride the elephants
Jordyn feeding the elephants sugar cane
Me on my elephant
Jaymee on her baby elephant
Jordyn on the baby elephant
Jordyn on the baby elephant
Rob on an elephant
Jordyn and Daddy on their elephant
On our way
Crossing the river
Getting a lift from a friend
Jaymee and her buddy
Emma hugging her elephant
Jody giving her elephant a bath
Emma on her elephant
Daddy washing the elephant
Picture of Trent from a top my elephant
Jody and I covered in black mud
Jody getting a facial
Pitstop, picking up some bananas and sugar cane, 30 Bahts = approx $1.00
Emma and me on our elephant
Jody on her elephantPhuket
So we decided to celebrate New Years in Phuket! Wow what an amazing place. The beaches were so beautiful, the sand was soft and the ocean was warm. Great place to bring in the New Year! But before we boarded our plane we must have a massage....
I mean really...this is the life!
Foot massage before flight to Bangkok. Massage parlors are literally everywhere...like the airport...something all airports should do, I think.
View of ocean could you imagine a thirty foot wave? The resort we stayed at was hit pretty hard by the tsunami 6 years ago. It was very surreal to picutre a massive wave taking everything out.
Beautiful Phuket
Rob and I in Phuket (yes I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt....I have fully acclimatized!)
The pool at the hotel
Pool in Phuket
Pool
Us
Jordyn flying at kite!
Jaymee flying a kite on the beach in Phuket
Boat races in Phuket
Emma and her Daddy
Welcome RAIN! We have not seen you for months! How you've been missed!
Body surfing (L: Jaymee, Rob, Trent, Everette, Easton, Emma)
Jaymee and Jordyn
Mermaid Emma
Jordyn and Emma swimming in the ocean
Happy New Year! Schmuland family
Easton and Emma on New Years
Uncle Schmu!
Schmuland Family
Richards Family
Me and my girlsBangkok
Finally we end our trip in Bangkok. It was disappointing because we ALL (except Jody) got a nasty bug, but we made the best of it. Rob and Trent went fishing and Jody and I took the kids to the acquarium.
Walking up to the train to take us to the aquarium
Riding the rails in Bangkok!
Glass bottom boat
Going on the boat
The girls posing with a mermaid at the acquarium in Bangkok
The girls with a sting ray
Posing with Nemo!
Penguin
Shark that swam over our heads
Ahhhhh...we've been eaten by a shark!
Kids watching a documentary on sharks
Little Miss Jaymee
Jordyn and the penguins
Swimming stingray
real coral, inside of a tank!
Massive spider crab!The guys go fishing
The huts out where the guys went fishing
Uncle Schmu fishing....good catch!
Daddy fishing...good catch!Some Miscellaneous pictures
Diva Jordyn
Everette walking on water...coolest picture ever!
Swimming in the pool
Rob and ISome funny products we found at the Chiangmia airport
Smart Oil for men....does it work? What specific area would that be for? Interesting.
Finally I can white all those hard to reach areas...that people see. Its funny how us "westerners" are always trying to get tanned, but everyone else is trying to get white...interesting.
Bust cream in a sqeeze tube...Finally!
This is a real haunted house. Apparently the guy that owned the house slaughtered his wife and children out of a jealous rage. They will not tear down the house in fear of letting the spirits out.
Monk
Our first pedicure of the trip
Where Rob got leather shoes custom made for his feet
Stupa
Uncle Schmu and Jordyn going for ride
Ahhh crocodile!
Emma and Jaymee
Dinner
The kidsWell that is it for our trip to Thailand. It was amazing and I can't wait to go back. We did so many things! The kids enjoyed themselves so much. It was great to catch up with our good friends and be able to share the holidays with them. Thank you again Schmuland family. We miss you all back home and hope your holidays were spectacular too. Happy 2011!!!
Love The Richards Family
XOXOXOXOXO
