Oct - Nov 2010 ~ Almost gone.

The Christmas count down is on. Since we are now in a Buddhist country vs. a Catholic prodominelty practicing country of Panama, Christmas is not widely celebrated. I miss the Arrocha store in Panama and all the beautiful decorations we shopped for each year. There is small shops that have decorations but not to the extent we have been spoiled with.

The tree will be going up in the next week or so but will be very interesting with Essie. She is like a little kid, something always in her mouth and chewing at things she should not be. A stinker we call her but everyone eats her up and she is a great addition to our family.

In this update we are heading back down Halloween memory lane for 2010.

~ Halloween 2010 - Chiang Mai ~

We had to be a bit creative this year for halloween because there is not a selection of customes anywhere really. Most people either get their coustumes made or piece things together. This is our first halloween and approaching Christmas here so I know what to look for when I head back to Canada in following years.

The kids did fantastic at creating some unique get ups. They were completely unrecognizable which was good fun. Trick or treating was done around the school campus creating a neighborhood feeling which helped with the spirit of things.

(can you guess who these strange children are?)

(no one knew that it was Easton under the mask and hair. His teacher had to ask other kids who the kids with the big hair was, it was pretty funny. East was a Aztec warrior with awesome hair)

(My little man Ev was on Old Man. He said he wanted to dress like Daddy :)

(Em was the ugliest witch I have ever seen. No one recognized her and she won an award for Best Costume)

(for the Halloween Bake Sale we had to get creative instead of the usual cupcakes. Ingrediants here is not always easy to track down. These fun treats were perfect for the kids to make and a pain in the butt for me to gather supplies. It all payed off though because the kids won for bringing the best bake sale item in and we sold out. They turned out awesome our little ghosts)

(I am so proud of the kids, they did a fantastic job making and packaging their treats)

(this was just great fun putting together. The kids have watching it hundreds of times, it is great for a laugh)

~ Em turned 11 yrs. Old ~

(Em is getting closer to her teen years. Her birthday was Saturday November 6th and we celebrated by participating at International Day at school and taking her out for a quiet dinner. Notice her gift wrap... wrapping paper is very expensive here and is not very nice. This gift wrap is hand made paper found at the market, which is beautiful)

~ International Day ~

There is 32 different nationalities represented at school and International Day is a time where you can express and share your own country and culture. We were decked out in our Canada gear and at our Canuck booth for a donations to an orphanage, we tatooed Canadian logos on everyone who came by. Maple leaf pencils, stickers and bandanas were also sold to help support the orphanage. By the end of the day $300 was raised which was fantastic.

(how awesome do these guys look. Mac (on the left) had RCMP suits made for himself and the President of the school (who is Canadian). They looked awesome and very real, down to the finest details. It was a great day of tasting different foods, watching various ethnic dances etc. We have been involved with many International Days since we left Canada and each one of them has be so interesting in their own right)

(our birthday girl all decked out CANADA)

~ The Party is On ~

(we had signs all down the road ... we had fun making them)

(it is hard to see but we decorated the whole yard with Krathong Lanterns instead of balloons (because balloons are hard to find here... crazy) I had this sign sign made for Emma's birthday and it looks so little on the fountain)

(one of the many Krathong lanterns hung around)

(here is Moe, our amazing helper so excited for the party. She was like a little kid herself)

(Let the games begin!... Trent had the kids doing relay races. They had to start at one end of the pool swim while pushing a ball to the opposite side. Jump out put their ball in a bucket and run over to the jumpy, slide down, run back and swim back to their teammates to tag off. It was great fun)

(here is the waterslide we rented for the day, a perfect playground for the kids)

(here comes Ev racing down the slide, the speed down was fast)

(my cutie boys)

(my handsome husband BBQing up a feast of good old Canadian burgers which were so delicious ~ thanks for your help with the party :)

(This was a momentous year, Emma along with her girlfriend decorated her own cake. They did a great job and Em got exactly what she wanted. I sadly though have been ripped of my joy as the official cake decorator, but the consolation was Em's friend saying to Emma "your mom is so cool, she let you decorate your own cake, my Mom would never let me do that!" ~~ thats right I AM COOL..haha

(some of the kids gathering around and can't wait to dig in)

(Essie our cutie but still very much a puppy who loves to play and play and play, but we have finally curbed the 5:30am play time)

(Oh my Girl is growing up into a wonderful, amazing, loving, smart young lady. I still can't believe I have an eleven year old, I only just turned 23 myself :) ~ (in my mind at least that is truth). Happy Birthday Sweetheart, we had a fantastic day!

Loy Krathong ~ A beautiful festival ~


Loy Krathong is as old as Thai heritage and represents a close bond between Thai culture and water. The festival takes place on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month when the water level is high and the climate is cooler. Participants ask water spirits to sail away their troubles in their krathongs, which are containers traditionally made from banana leaves and carrying offerings of incense, lotus flowers and sometimes small money.

(Easton and his class came up with the idea to make and sell krathongs to earn money to support the charity organization they choose in class. They are such amazing kids with a love of giving! Trent and I went to school to get a lesson and help out the kids in making the beautiful krathongs, it was a great afternoon)

(all of Gr. 3 working very hard at creating their master piece to sell for 40baht)

(Easton's very first krathong, he and Trent worked hard on it. To make a krathong you use the truck of a banana tree, banana leaves, flowers, three incense and a candle)

(here are some of the completed krathongs the kids made. They were absolutely stunning and very creative. I love this festival just for the fun of making these floats)

(Em snuck in to make her own, we just chatted and created)

(here is Em's final product for the big sale ~ beautiful)

(with the sale of the krathongs and donations Easton's class raised close to 5000bhat which worked out to around $280. Now the kids have to decide how they are going to manage the money with their charity www.childfund.org The kids are going to purchase some farm animals for some children's families to help them out. Check out the website it is pretty fascinating)

(Gr. 3 Class all decked out in their traditional Thai attire. The class lead the school assembly with a small play on the history of Loy Krathong and what it means to Thailand. They did fantastic, so proud of this bunch of kids)

(Sunday evening we went to the river in our village to release our krathongs for good luck and to pay respects to the water God. The river was lite up and it was so peaceful at the waters edge and with lots of fireworks lighting up the sky very late into the evening)

(Trent releasing his krathong into the river among other beautiful arrangements)

~ Yi Peng Lantern Festival ~


On the same weekend of Loy Krathong was the Yi Peng Lantern Festival. It was amazing, the sky was lite up with thousands of lanterns and wishes floated up to the sky with each lantern. I made a quick video to give you a taste of this amazing time in Thailand. Turn up your speakers and ENJOY!

(press play to enjoy some of the wonders that Thailand is so famous for)




Well it is time to sign off once again. I have so much more to update but these pages could go on and on sometimes. We send all our love and hope all our loved ones back in Canada are staying warm. Enjoy the wonderful festivities around Christmas and when your not visiting and enjoying yummy treats drop us a note.

With lots of love until next time.
*Trent. Jody. Em. East. Ev Essie *

Nov 2010 - Cambodia adventure + more

The fun continues... I am a wee bit back logged on my blogs with enjoying the moments in a day and not recording them as much, soooo I am travelling back down memory lane to the end of November :) (seems so long ago now)

Thailand has some amazing waterfalls and these particular falls were interesting. The beauty of them was not for the grander, it was that we could walk up through them because their formations were made of none slip limestone. It was pretty cool.

(my amazing crew up for any exploring. We made our way down a path to the base of the waterfall to then make our way back up ~ getting a little wet of course)

(we could not keep up with the kids, they left Trent and I in the dust, like little monkeys climbing up the falls)

(my precious girl ~ she is growing up into this amazing young lady)

(lots of photos of Trent this day because he was closest to me the whole time. Now this was the strangest feeling, your mind says this is completely wrong being able to climb up through a waterfall and not slip... it really played with your senses)

(a quick video of what I am talking about)

CAMBODIA ~ Phnom Penh

Trent and I had to make a visa run and so we ventured down to Cambodia for 3 days. The kids stayed back at home in the care of our helper Moe and our good friend Bec, the kids had a great time with them.

Cambodia has a extremely sad history, Trent and I felt so ignorant not knowing how horrific it was. The Khmar Rouge took power in the late 1970's and through starvation, torture, forced labor and execution ~ all this resulted in a genocide of close to 2 million people being killed in two and a half years. Everyone we talked to was affected in some way, being it their parents, aunt, uncle or grandparents ... a very sad history but the Cambodian's we met were not shy to talk about it, they wanted us to know.

Because of this injustice on Cambodia, many countries and organizations moved in to help. With this huge flux of foreign humanitarians and the influences they brought, many Cambodian's spoke English which surprised us. This poor country was stripped of everyone who was educated and powerful and for many years had no great leadership because of it. Cambodia is starting to get on its feet and in the future it will be interesting to see where they end up on a global spectrum.

(The view from our hotel. This traffic intersection was insane especially at rush hour. Panama, Thailand and Mexico driving holds nothing to the craziness of the drivers here at times)

(Our driver and our mode of transportation for a few days. This man was always flashing his toothless grin happily showing us around. We had a good conversation one day with him and by Cambodian standards he had been quite a savy busness man, he could afford his own cart and bike)

(This is the memorial that houses all the remains of all the executed people that were found in the surrounding killing fields. This memorial is frequented by many people to try to bring healing and closure to the mass tragedy that Cambodia suffered by the Khmar Rouge)

(it was very disturbing walking into this shrine that preserved 9000 skulls of men, woman and children from the genocide. It did not seem real that I was staring at the skulls of small children especially. On the bottom shelf are clothes that have been recovered in the surrounding fields. All the people who were killed were never executed with a bullet it was always by blunt trauma and brute force ~ very disturbing)

(this video gives a quick glance at the poverty that has engulfed Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We are traveling just outside the city here)

(Our driver asked Trent if he wanted to shoot an AK47 "Sure" was Trent's response "Crazy" was mine ... so we drove what seemed miles and miles away to a military field with active military personal training as we drove up. Trent had his choice of weapon and for a very expensive price Trent shot a round that lasted about 5 seconds. He was like a little boy. We heard rumors that in years past for $2000USD you could shoot someone on death row. That is to crazy)

(After the high of shooting a round with an AK47 they asked Trent if he wanted to throw a grenade... We went a bit farther back in the field and after a quick lesson (while my heart was racing) Trent pulled the pin and threw the grenade into a pond of water.... The ground shook and rumbled beneath our feet. SCARY

The Markets ~

I love to experience them!

(I mentioned I was looking for a hat and Trent picked out this one ~ ah ya.. not what I had in mind ) haha

(If you look at the tags in your clothing right now I bet 75% of you are wearing something made in Cambodia... there are mass clothing factories here. Old Navy, Gap, American Eagle, Eddie Bauer, Gymboree, Zara, Adidas, Nike the list goes on. In this picture I am showing all the extras or defects that did not make it to North America which end up in piles on the street, in the markets, EVERYWHERE. It was unbelievable. I bought a Zara sweater for $5 that I paid for the exact same one in the store for $50. Crazy stuff)

(clothes were everywhere)

(deciding on tonights dinner)

(Looking for big shirts for Trent is always a challenge so you can imagine our surprise when Trent asked a lady if she had any Big Big shirts and she came out with this one. A Saskatchewan Roughrides official CFL shirt in a 2XL. How crazy is that, in Cambodia ~ a far ways from home. Cost us $5.00USD which was still a bit to much)

(I love taking pictures of the older generation, they show so much on their face. This old lady was all smiles when I asked her if I could take her picture)

On the Streets...

(On the streets of Phnom Penh most vehicles were either Lexus or bikes, not much in between. What do you do if you don't have a truck but have to move tires ~ be creative....)

(he could be sitting on one of the veggies you just ate tonight)

(street taxi man)

(more goods for transport. I was amazed at how much a small bike could handle. There was some creative stacking)

(we did a quick tour of the Royal Palace. It is nothing compared to the Palace in Bangkok but still some nice digs)

(Cambodia's colors of the week for the Royal Family)

(Me and my budda friend, pondering the essence of life)

We had a great trip, we learned and experienced a new country, our kids were well taken care of and we got our visa for Thailand ~ life is sweet!

Back HOME!

(Oh she is growing up and it is so fun to be apart of it. Em is packed and ready to head off on her Gr. 5 camping trip for 3 days 2 nights up in the hills of Chiang Mai. The class had a great trip ... visiting a hill tribe school, hiking up a mountain, sleeping in their tents and singing camp fire songs)

(Ev is crazy over soccer, here is one of the teams he plays on. Ev has also moved up with the big boys and plays soccer with kids on the under 11's ~ he loves his soccer (oh excuse me ~ football as it is known here, very confusing ...lol)

(Ev does not like when someone else goes for his ball... )

(Trent yet again coached and lead Emma's soccer team to the championship game. I lost my voice from cheering so loud, it was very exciting. I contribute a few of my grey hairs on the stress of watching the kids play their sports ~ but it sure is fun)

(we had fun taking our annual Christmas card picture. I am thankful we finally got one where everyone was looking. If you did not get our card it is either I don't have your address or you have moved... so if you could forward me your info that would be fantastic ~ before we know it, it will be that time of year again :)

(my amazing kids and their best buddy Essie xoxo)

I have a few more blogs in the wings of this update. This weekend I hope to sit down and get them done before the crazy events of the week unfold....

Emma and Easton are starring in the school senior production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" so next week they have all their performances in front of live audiences, can't wait.

Also the big track meet is on Thursday against all other schools, each of the kids have made the track team and are competing in an array of events. Always a big day at the CMAC.

Trent and I both feel privileged enough to be coaching teams at the school. Trent is coaching the boys U11 basketball team and I am coaching the girls U11s. I have some hard working girls who I am so proud of, we just won our first game and I have no voice left from yelling so much :)

Well I need to get some shut eye while some of you are just starting your day.

With lots of love.

Until next time.

Everett. Easton. Emma. Jody. Trent