Pictures from Malaysia

Good Bye 2007!

We got back from our Christmas vacation to Malaysia last night. I can hardly believe that it's the last day of the year. I don't even know where December went. I was so busy I didn't have time to post anything this month. I'll have to do a mega post of pictures in the next couple of days. Keep checking! We had a wonderful time in Langkawi with the Omdahls. They were the best part of our vacation and we miss them terribly already. What a beautiful place it was, wish we could meet everyone there.

K.C.'s Birthday

Our little KC is now 4 years old. He's been acting older than his age for so long that my brain says "only 4?"

KC's previous b-days

KC got to go to school this day and had lots of fun being in the spotlight. They made him a little crown. Then once he got home we baked some cupcakes.

Vanya takes the Happy Birthday song to a new level.Isabel enjoys a cupcake

Can you believe he's only four?

Tokyo Disney

A couple of months ago, Vanya came up to me and said; mama, why don't we earn stars to go to Tokyo Disney? So we made up a chart and decided that once they earned 100 stars we would go. When they woke up yesterday we told them the happy news - we are going today!Since it was the middle of the week and a cold day, we didn't have to wait in line for any ride for longer than 20 min. The boys had so much fun and Isabel's eyes were WIDE with wonder. It was a beautiful time to go, everything is decorated for Christmas. Here are more than a few pictures of our day.

Thanksgiving and KC's fieldtrip

Monday the 19th, the kids and I went to the park down the street and collected several leaves and twigs. That evening we created the following sign in preparation for Thanksgiving.
They boys were so proud and we had a blast playing on the leaves and dirt. Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, we celebrated on Friday, which happened to be a holiday - labor day.
Then on Wednesday the 21st, KC had his first fieltrip. Isabel and I joined KC's class at the park. It was so great to watch KC interact with his teachers and friends. It was a beautiful day. They played a few games like a jelly bean run, parachute, etc.

Then on Friday we had 4 families and the missionaries join us for a Thanksgiving feast.

The bird

The cooks

The mouths to feed

We had lots of food and and amazing display of desserts. The guests (17) arrived around noon and we ate all day long. I have to say, the turkey was the best I've ever made, brining really pays off. They guys played xbox, the children played tirelessly and the women ate, cooked, ate, cleaned, ate some more, and then we even had time to watch a movie. I think next year we'll start even earlier so we won't have so many left overs and I can start my diet sooner (we still have desserts in the freezer!).

Vanya's Note

When I went to bed last night, I found this note on my pillow:Translation:
I love you mama. You are having breakfast in bed tomorrow.
My sweet little Vanya... he has brought me breakfast in bed before - taking after the wonderful example of his cousins in Vietnam. Unfortunately, I had to wake him up this morning to go to school. As soon as he opened his eyes, he said "I meant breakfast tomorrow". I can hardly wait...

An Evening with a Geisha

Tuesday the 13th we went to the American Club to enjoy dinner and entertainment provided by Geisha. They danced, poured sake for the guests and even asked for a few volunteers to play some games.
The person that lost had to drink a small cup of "sake" as punishment.








We had so much fun being so close to them and touching for just a second a part of Japanese history dating back to the seventh century.

We Are Here To Stay

Well, that is for at least 2 maybe 4 more years. Cameron found out Friday the 9th. He was offered a new position at work so he'll continue to work at Amway. We are all very happy and excited for his new job and the opportunity to be expats a little longer.

That gives everyone a chance to save more miles/money to come and visit us!

A Day At The Park

Well, everyone caught Vanya's bug. Isabel got sick on Wednesday and KC got it Friday. We tried to take it easy this past weekend. Saturday afternoon the kids were getting restless, so we went to a nearby park. Isabel went down the slide by herself for the first time and the boys had fun just running around.

Halloween Celebrations

We've had so much fun celebrating Halloween. Last Saturday we had a party at church where the children got to dress up and participate in various activities. Then today there was a big celebration at the boys school. Unfortunately, Vanya didn't get to go because he was sick. KC had fun playing and was happily surprised when Daddy showed up to have lunch with him. Later in the day we had "trick or treating" around our neighborhood. As always, the funnest part is giving out the candy. We didn't have a lot of Japanese children this year, because they decided to trick or treat last Sunday. Still, we went through 2 big bowls of candy. Cameron and Isa spent the whole time at the house giving out the candy, while the boys and I went around the neighborhood with our secret map of the homes that were participating. It was a lot of fun and the boys got lots of goodies. We'll let them have one piece a day, so it'll last them for a looooong time.