21 down...79 to go!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
54. Skinny Dip
We completed this one kind of by accident. After spending an entire day at the water park we went down to the beach in hopes of catching a great sun set. Kaid and I were playing around a bit in the surf when he began to complain about some chafing. I had him take his suit off so that he could rinse off in the water. Amanda got a couple good pics of him...then he immediately told her to delete them. Anyone who knows Kaid knows that he doesn't even like to be in his underwear in front of anyone who is not in his immediate family. We did delete them. Or at least we'd like you to tell him that if he ever asks you!
21 down...79 to go!!
21 down...79 to go!!
Nam 2010
Last year, my brother Jord had decided to come to Asia to visit us, as well as tour around SE Asia for a month. With Amanda's encouragement, I joined him on the Viet Nam leg of the journey from Dec 10-18, 2010 before heading to Thailand for the holidays.
Our trip started with a short 1 nighter in Bangkok. We did not book anything in terms of accomodation, but we did know the general vicinity we were going to stay for the next 20 hours or so. From the airport, Bangkok has a public transit train you can take from the airport to the city...all for 50 cents!!! It was pretty convenient as the airport is a good 30 or so kms from the city center. We hopped off the train in the district that we wanted to stay and hoofed it down the road looking for a bed. I definitely should have worn shorts that day because it was hot and muggy there...jeans were not my butt crack's friend...trust me! It was just chilly when we left Macau that afternoon and was definitely not shorts weather. We finally found a room at the Bangkok Inn/massage parlour for $42/night, which turned out to be the most expensive hotel of the trip, considering we were only there for a short time. Once settled we headed out for a huge Thai feast on the street and checked out the local scene. We were up and ready to head to the airport at 4:30 am (I set the alarm without accounting for the time change, so we were actually up at 3:30!). Hanoi was the next pitstop.
Day 2 started with a bit of panic as we headed to the wrong end of the airport to board our flight, only to almost run out of time and miss our flight. The correct gate ended up being 1.5 kms away and the departure board was saying Final Boarding already. Man did we ever have to full out sprint to the gate in order to make it.....the crew was looking like they were closing the gate when they saw us sprinting from a distance and heard my container of mints clacking from afar! We had filled our exercise quota for the month on our 2nd day. Prior to the trip, I had arranged a Visa On Arrival in Viet Nam and it was a piece of cake rather than go through the "official" way. We had quick breakfast at the airport (totally awesome coffee) and quickly fell victim to the Hanoi mafia taxi scam. To make a long story short, always get a taxi at the actual taxi line rather than accept an offer from some friendly dude...basically we lost $50 US and learned a valuable lesson regarding traveling in these parts. The average monthly wage in VN is around $200 US/month so these crooks made of pretty good. We finally made it to our hotel, and once again we were winging it and didn't have a reservation, but good thing the Especen hotel had one room left for 1 night. The cost was $24/night and it was a great room, free wifi and good location in the Old Quarter.
After settling in, we toured around on foot to explore, and it was definitely safer walking than driving in Hanoi! Imagine a city's downtown with no traffic lights or rules, and that is what driving in VN is like! Drive in any lane, any direction at any time! Crossing the street is a game in itself everytime and it is all an eye opener compared to back home. Hanoi made Macau seem pretty organized and we were shocked when we initially moved here!
We decided to do a cruise on a junk at Halong Bay for 2 days/1 night and the next morning, the tour company picked us up at the hotel. Halong Bay was a 3 hr ride from Hanoi and it was 3 hrs of cheating death on those roads...single lanes, but you still passed whenever you wanted as the oncoming traffic would have to veer into the shoulder. It was CRAZY!!!! It was also 3 hrs of constant horn blowing as well. Back in Canada, we blow our horns if we're mad at another driver, in VN, the horn is used to let people know you are coming and to look out. I think it is part of their driver's training, if that exists at all!
If you ever have the chance to go to VN, Halong Bay is an absolute must! The cruise was excellent from top to bottom. We stayed on a wooden junk the entire 2 days with all food included and the scenery was breathtaking! Just check out the photos.
Each meal was at least 4 courses and the tour guide and crew were first class all the way! It was nice to get away from the noisy city and dirty air, and for $125 US you can't beat that! If you want to know who we cruised with, drop us a line and I'll forward the info.
Right after Halong, we flew south to Hoi An for 3 days, a small place packed with tourists and famous for food and tailors.This time we actually booked a hotel that seemed good and it did not disappoint! Thien Thanh hotel was excellent for $40/night with free breakfast every morning and free wifi. All we did in Hoi An was eat and get clothes made! We hit a recommended tailor (tripadvisor) and we each had some sweet gear made within 24 hours! Jord had a suit, 2 shirts, a wool coat and a pair of pants made. I opted for a wool coat, a pair of pants and 2 shirts. We were extremely pleased with the final products as they all fit like a glove! I even brought a pair of Amanda's capris and Kylisha's jeans to be copied by the tailor and they were both happy with their clothes! We also had some shoes custom made at a different place. Jord opted for a pair of Golas for $15 bucks and I chose some boot style dress shoes for $22 US. I mean you choose the style out of a magazine and they actually measure your feet and make the shoes from scratch....all within 24 hours!! Both the pairs turned out great and we were in awe in how fast they were finished.
Our hotel offered fishing from the back deck for their guests and we thought we would give it a try. Jord's future admirer showed him the ropes with the sport and he spent a good 2 hrs trying to catch one. Meanwhile a little kid caught 3 and I caught 1 while Jord was still shut out. Later that day, he decided to give it one last try for at least another hour with no bites. He was quite frustrated by the snubbing he was getting and hung up his line an tackle for good.
I don't know why I do it, but I thought I'd try the old Hoi An haircut. Note to self....do not get a haircut at a place that does not have an actual hairdressers chair!..or hairdressers! The haircut took about 1 hour and was scary to say the least, considering the lady (I refuse to call her a hairdresser) used unconventional methods to achieve the end product. In the end it wasn't too bad of a haircut, if you choose to ignore the bleeding neck I had from her using a straight razor to shave the edges..good thing I didn't get a shave as well! Upon our departure from Hoi An..Jord had an admirer that worked at the hotel and she was quite sad to see him leaving...what a stud!
After 3 nights in Hoi An we headed to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).. me for 1 night and Jord for 3 nights. I thought the traffic in Hanoi was bad...HCMC was even worse. The streets were way wider, but that didn't mean you had more room, it meant they could cram even more traffic into the lanes. I also think the sidewalks are considered a lane in VN as we saw various vehicles (legal and makeshift) driving through foot traffic on the sidewalks! For my only evening in HCMC, we headed to the Central Market a few blocks from our hotel. The short distance actually took a while to travel as here, we had to cross 10-30 lanes of traffic going every direction imagineable. It was actually pretty fun as we would latch onto people crossing and they would do the same with us. Strength in numbers! The Central Market is a huge market selling everything...mostly fake, but everything! It was so confined and crowded that we only actually roamed through there for about 20 minutes, then made the treacherous walk back to the Nguyen Khang Hotel. On the way we stopped at Highlander Coffee Company and had a late night snack and bevvy.
The next morning was the end of my VN adventure so I could head back to Macau for a night then off to Thailand for 2 weeks over the holidays. Overall it was a great time and Jord and I never would have thought we would have been in VN together having a blast.
Our trip started with a short 1 nighter in Bangkok. We did not book anything in terms of accomodation, but we did know the general vicinity we were going to stay for the next 20 hours or so. From the airport, Bangkok has a public transit train you can take from the airport to the city...all for 50 cents!!! It was pretty convenient as the airport is a good 30 or so kms from the city center. We hopped off the train in the district that we wanted to stay and hoofed it down the road looking for a bed. I definitely should have worn shorts that day because it was hot and muggy there...jeans were not my butt crack's friend...trust me! It was just chilly when we left Macau that afternoon and was definitely not shorts weather. We finally found a room at the Bangkok Inn/massage parlour for $42/night, which turned out to be the most expensive hotel of the trip, considering we were only there for a short time. Once settled we headed out for a huge Thai feast on the street and checked out the local scene. We were up and ready to head to the airport at 4:30 am (I set the alarm without accounting for the time change, so we were actually up at 3:30!). Hanoi was the next pitstop.Day 2 started with a bit of panic as we headed to the wrong end of the airport to board our flight, only to almost run out of time and miss our flight. The correct gate ended up being 1.5 kms away and the departure board was saying Final Boarding already. Man did we ever have to full out sprint to the gate in order to make it.....the crew was looking like they were closing the gate when they saw us sprinting from a distance and heard my container of mints clacking from afar! We had filled our exercise quota for the month on our 2nd day. Prior to the trip, I had arranged a Visa On Arrival in Viet Nam and it was a piece of cake rather than go through the "official" way. We had quick breakfast at the airport (totally awesome coffee) and quickly fell victim to the Hanoi mafia taxi scam. To make a long story short, always get a taxi at the actual taxi line rather than accept an offer from some friendly dude...basically we lost $50 US and learned a valuable lesson regarding traveling in these parts. The average monthly wage in VN is around $200 US/month so these crooks made of pretty good. We finally made it to our hotel, and once again we were winging it and didn't have a reservation, but good thing the Especen hotel had one room left for 1 night. The cost was $24/night and it was a great room, free wifi and good location in the Old Quarter.
After settling in, we toured around on foot to explore, and it was definitely safer walking than driving in Hanoi! Imagine a city's downtown with no traffic lights or rules, and that is what driving in VN is like! Drive in any lane, any direction at any time! Crossing the street is a game in itself everytime and it is all an eye opener compared to back home. Hanoi made Macau seem pretty organized and we were shocked when we initially moved here!We decided to do a cruise on a junk at Halong Bay for 2 days/1 night and the next morning, the tour company picked us up at the hotel. Halong Bay was a 3 hr ride from Hanoi and it was 3 hrs of cheating death on those roads...single lanes, but you still passed whenever you wanted as the oncoming traffic would have to veer into the shoulder. It was CRAZY!!!! It was also 3 hrs of constant horn blowing as well. Back in Canada, we blow our horns if we're mad at another driver, in VN, the horn is used to let people know you are coming and to look out. I think it is part of their driver's training, if that exists at all!
If you ever have the chance to go to VN, Halong Bay is an absolute must! The cruise was excellent from top to bottom. We stayed on a wooden junk the entire 2 days with all food included and the scenery was breathtaking! Just check out the photos.
Each meal was at least 4 courses and the tour guide and crew were first class all the way! It was nice to get away from the noisy city and dirty air, and for $125 US you can't beat that! If you want to know who we cruised with, drop us a line and I'll forward the info.
Right after Halong, we flew south to Hoi An for 3 days, a small place packed with tourists and famous for food and tailors.This time we actually booked a hotel that seemed good and it did not disappoint! Thien Thanh hotel was excellent for $40/night with free breakfast every morning and free wifi. All we did in Hoi An was eat and get clothes made! We hit a recommended tailor (tripadvisor) and we each had some sweet gear made within 24 hours! Jord had a suit, 2 shirts, a wool coat and a pair of pants made. I opted for a wool coat, a pair of pants and 2 shirts. We were extremely pleased with the final products as they all fit like a glove! I even brought a pair of Amanda's capris and Kylisha's jeans to be copied by the tailor and they were both happy with their clothes! We also had some shoes custom made at a different place. Jord opted for a pair of Golas for $15 bucks and I chose some boot style dress shoes for $22 US. I mean you choose the style out of a magazine and they actually measure your feet and make the shoes from scratch....all within 24 hours!! Both the pairs turned out great and we were in awe in how fast they were finished.
Our hotel offered fishing from the back deck for their guests and we thought we would give it a try. Jord's future admirer showed him the ropes with the sport and he spent a good 2 hrs trying to catch one. Meanwhile a little kid caught 3 and I caught 1 while Jord was still shut out. Later that day, he decided to give it one last try for at least another hour with no bites. He was quite frustrated by the snubbing he was getting and hung up his line an tackle for good.
I don't know why I do it, but I thought I'd try the old Hoi An haircut. Note to self....do not get a haircut at a place that does not have an actual hairdressers chair!..or hairdressers! The haircut took about 1 hour and was scary to say the least, considering the lady (I refuse to call her a hairdresser) used unconventional methods to achieve the end product. In the end it wasn't too bad of a haircut, if you choose to ignore the bleeding neck I had from her using a straight razor to shave the edges..good thing I didn't get a shave as well! Upon our departure from Hoi An..Jord had an admirer that worked at the hotel and she was quite sad to see him leaving...what a stud!
After 3 nights in Hoi An we headed to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).. me for 1 night and Jord for 3 nights. I thought the traffic in Hanoi was bad...HCMC was even worse. The streets were way wider, but that didn't mean you had more room, it meant they could cram even more traffic into the lanes. I also think the sidewalks are considered a lane in VN as we saw various vehicles (legal and makeshift) driving through foot traffic on the sidewalks! For my only evening in HCMC, we headed to the Central Market a few blocks from our hotel. The short distance actually took a while to travel as here, we had to cross 10-30 lanes of traffic going every direction imagineable. It was actually pretty fun as we would latch onto people crossing and they would do the same with us. Strength in numbers! The Central Market is a huge market selling everything...mostly fake, but everything! It was so confined and crowded that we only actually roamed through there for about 20 minutes, then made the treacherous walk back to the Nguyen Khang Hotel. On the way we stopped at Highlander Coffee Company and had a late night snack and bevvy.
The next morning was the end of my VN adventure so I could head back to Macau for a night then off to Thailand for 2 weeks over the holidays. Overall it was a great time and Jord and I never would have thought we would have been in VN together having a blast.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
30. Visit the beach where “The Beach” was filmed
We took a day trip to Koh Phi Phi last Wednesday and one of our stops was Maya Beach where the movie THE BEACH was partially filmed. It was pretty much one of the most beautiful places any of us have ever seen.
Check out the longtail driver having a snooze in his hammock:
20 down...80 left to go!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Basketball, Some visitors, and some Christmas Parties
The weekend before last Amanda took her basketball team to Hong Kong to a U20 basketball tournament. 95% of Amanda's team is 14 years old or younger. Take a wild guess at how they fared. Actually, they did VERY well considering the school has never had a girl's basketball team. And-they had only had about 4 practices before the big tournament. Kylisha managed to rack up 17 fouls in 5 games (and was fouled out once). It's pretty cool that she is able to play basketball...back home she wouldn't have had this opportunity. They were able to meet kids from other International Schools and are looking forward to their next tournament in Shenzhen in January. Amanda LOVES her team and is always telling me what a nice bunch of girls they are. Both Kylisha and Amanda have been RAVING about the amazing weekend they had.
Kylisha's friend makes a foul shot:
My parents and brother Jordan have been here visiting and we have really enjoyed the company. I took my brother to Zhuhai for a day of shopping and Kylisha and I took Jord and my parents to Hong Kong for the day on Thursday. We took them to the giant Buddha and it was COLD up at the top! Much different than our last visit there! It's been good showing my parents around Macau. My dad has discovered the delicious dumplings at Senado Square. He's made a few trips in the last couple of weeks. We are excited to spend 2 weeks with my family in Thailand. Looking forward to some beach time-my mom and Amanda have always dreamed of going to Thailand together. When Amanda got the job here they began planning a Thailand trip together. Should be fun.
Jordan accomplished the UNTHINKABLE the other day-he managed to receive a FINE FOR LITTERING. This is is funny and extremely ironic. Everyone here litters.
A LOT.
Jord paid his fine (almost 100 CAD) because the officers told him if he didn't pay he wouldn't be allowed back in the country. Poor guy.
Last weekend was Amanda's staff Christmas party at the Hard Rock Hotel. There was good food and lots of door prizes. After the party we went to the after party and then the after after party. I am not able to blog about the happenings of the night as this is a family blog. Let's just say it was an "interesting" evening.
On Wednesday we had our Christmas dinner. Amanda figured we wouldn't be able to pull off a traditional turkey dinner in Thailand, so she arranged it early. She found a restaurant in the City of Dreams that cooked a 13 pound turkey. Then she made some mashed potatoes and salads and we had a Wednesday night Christmas feast. Our friends Dane and Kirsten came for dinner and Kylisha invited three friends over. It was a good time. We had cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jord who turned 30 back in September (since we had all missed it).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
14. Watch the HK harbour light show at night
So Amanda and her friend Gill went to HK to do some shopping after their half day of parent teacher interviews on Friday. They went to SoHo for lunch, hit up Ikea for some household items and did some other girly stuff in Hong Kong (such as strip down to bra and panties and have a tickle fight). After the tickle fight, they got dressed and headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui's waterfront to watch and take photos of the Symphony of Light show on Victoria Harbour. Amanda snapped these awesome photos while she was there.
19 DOWN...81 LEFT TO GO!!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Amanda speaking
Hi folks!!
Let me preface this by saying that this is Amanda writing this post...not Les. He has made it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with this post. Fair enough.
I miss you all. A LOT! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about someone from back home and get a little (okay, sometimes a BIG) lump in my throat. Thanksgiving was horrible for me. I spent a couple of days crying. I missed our traditions. I missed the crisp fall air, and I missed all of you and our pets! Thankfully there are wonderful people here who helped me understand that it is perfectly normal to be a little homesick at times (especially around the holidays). Still doesn't make it any easier.
We've missed some pretty wonderful things back home. 3 babies have been born (and another one is on the way in the next few weeks), our annual back to school BBQ didn't happen and my best friend turned 35. I've missed Val Chow cookies and some dinner club time with my ladies, and I missed my mom's birthday. I haven't played a soccer or basketball game since July and I miss my team members a lot. Every night my feet search the end of the bed for Brady, Lola, and Kitten who should be there. And every night they are not there.
I miss my brother and sisters terribly and would kill for a hug from my mom and dad. I want to have a beverage with Jolene while we cook dinner together. I want to go to a movie with Lynn. I want to eat good things and drink bellini's, mojitos and strawberry quicks with Kim, Sandra, Susan, Leah, Ally, Michelle, Nicole, and Val. I want to go for slurpees with Leah, Kim and Lisa. I want hugs from Amaya, Eden, and Brielle (my nieces and nephew) and Shaye, Darby and Rielly (my" family by choice" niece and nephews). I want to take the dogs for a walk around Clarkdale Meadows and visit with the moms from Kylisha's soccer team.
I miss Kylisha's pals and our house back home. I miss tea time with Brad and I want one of Dan's delicious caesar's! I want a giant Loni hug (and I desperately need a haircut too, Lon ;-) I want cuddles with Sara and Missy and I miss Myrtle too! I would do anything for one of Gail's egg salad sandwiches, Cathy Borelli's pizza or Sara Elsafadi's fattoush (and a hug from each of them)!! I miss Hope Mission Fridays and stopping for bubble tea. I miss my old students who would pop by my classroom to say hi (or come and help for the afternoon). I miss my dryer, oven, the Sherwood Park recycling program, and my KitchenAide mixer A LOT! I miss all the little things, which now (being on the other side of the world) seem like much BIGGER things.
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE it here. I really do. Every day I wake up and feel blessed to be here. Our family is loving every minute of this adventure and we are so happy that we were given this opportunity. The weather is great, we have amazing friends who we never would have met had we not come, and we are seeing and doing things most will never be fortunate enough to experience.
BUT...I just wanted to let you know that you're thought of often, remembered very fondly, and missed terribly. All of you! You are important to us and we love you!!
Thanks for Skyping and calling us! It means a lot and keeps me going!!! LOVE YOU!!! So much!!! <3
Amanda :-)
Let me preface this by saying that this is Amanda writing this post...not Les. He has made it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with this post. Fair enough.
I miss you all. A LOT! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about someone from back home and get a little (okay, sometimes a BIG) lump in my throat. Thanksgiving was horrible for me. I spent a couple of days crying. I missed our traditions. I missed the crisp fall air, and I missed all of you and our pets! Thankfully there are wonderful people here who helped me understand that it is perfectly normal to be a little homesick at times (especially around the holidays). Still doesn't make it any easier.
We've missed some pretty wonderful things back home. 3 babies have been born (and another one is on the way in the next few weeks), our annual back to school BBQ didn't happen and my best friend turned 35. I've missed Val Chow cookies and some dinner club time with my ladies, and I missed my mom's birthday. I haven't played a soccer or basketball game since July and I miss my team members a lot. Every night my feet search the end of the bed for Brady, Lola, and Kitten who should be there. And every night they are not there.
I miss my brother and sisters terribly and would kill for a hug from my mom and dad. I want to have a beverage with Jolene while we cook dinner together. I want to go to a movie with Lynn. I want to eat good things and drink bellini's, mojitos and strawberry quicks with Kim, Sandra, Susan, Leah, Ally, Michelle, Nicole, and Val. I want to go for slurpees with Leah, Kim and Lisa. I want hugs from Amaya, Eden, and Brielle (my nieces and nephew) and Shaye, Darby and Rielly (my" family by choice" niece and nephews). I want to take the dogs for a walk around Clarkdale Meadows and visit with the moms from Kylisha's soccer team.
I miss Kylisha's pals and our house back home. I miss tea time with Brad and I want one of Dan's delicious caesar's! I want a giant Loni hug (and I desperately need a haircut too, Lon ;-) I want cuddles with Sara and Missy and I miss Myrtle too! I would do anything for one of Gail's egg salad sandwiches, Cathy Borelli's pizza or Sara Elsafadi's fattoush (and a hug from each of them)!! I miss Hope Mission Fridays and stopping for bubble tea. I miss my old students who would pop by my classroom to say hi (or come and help for the afternoon). I miss my dryer, oven, the Sherwood Park recycling program, and my KitchenAide mixer A LOT! I miss all the little things, which now (being on the other side of the world) seem like much BIGGER things.
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE it here. I really do. Every day I wake up and feel blessed to be here. Our family is loving every minute of this adventure and we are so happy that we were given this opportunity. The weather is great, we have amazing friends who we never would have met had we not come, and we are seeing and doing things most will never be fortunate enough to experience.
BUT...I just wanted to let you know that you're thought of often, remembered very fondly, and missed terribly. All of you! You are important to us and we love you!!
Thanks for Skyping and calling us! It means a lot and keeps me going!!! LOVE YOU!!! So much!!! <3
Amanda :-)
Halloween, Happy Birthday, and random stuff
We celebrated Halloween a little differently this year. The school had a Halloween dance that we attended right before the fall break. Kaid had a great time running around with his friends (and with all the boys in Amanda's class, his favourite people)!!
The dance was a fund-raiser for the grade sixes at the school and one of the events was a cake walk. Amanda loved the cake walk and desperately tried to win a cake. Basically, you are given a card and you hold that card as you walk around a huge table full of cakes. Music plays as you walk and when the music stops they draw a card. If your card is drawn, you are out. Kaidyn tried unsuccessfully to win a cake approximately 45 times. Once he became bored of walking around the cake table, his mother took over and marched around with the small children trying to win a cake. I am happy to report that she eventually beat out some poor crying children and won a cake.
This was in the taxi on the way to the Halloween dance. Check out the sign on the back of the seat...
The kindergarten kids got dressed up on the last day of school before the break and went trick or treating at the school. All the parents brought candy and as the kids walked by we put candy in their bags. After a few laps the candy ran out so the parade was over. Kaid thought it was a great time!
On Halloween Amanda asked some friends if we could bring the kids trick or treating to their apartments. Kaid got dressed up and we walked around Taipa to 6 different apartments. This took us roughly 600 hours. Our new friends were VERY generous with their treats and as a result, Kaidyn ended up with roughly the same amount of candy he would get back home (and Kylisha scored a season of Ugly Betty)! The highlight of the evening was our last stop. Our friends Dane and Kirsten asked us to come to their place last. As soon as we stepped off the elevator we could hear screaming and other terrifying sounds coming from 19B. There was also a considerable amount of blood outside the apartment. And, the door was decorated with scariness. We pushed Kaid forward to ring the bell (literally) and 2 scary monsters answered the door. They invited us in for a Halloween party complete with punch and lots of junk food. It was a great Halloween and a nice way to spend my birthday.
Kaidyn's birthday was in October and we didn't have a party for him. This was mostly due to the fact that he didn't know his friends' names. Amanda kept encouraging him to just ask the kids he played with at recess what their names were. Eventually he forwarded a list of five and we sent out invites. Last weekend Kaid had his birthday party at the City of Dreams at Kids City .It's very much like Qube at the Venetian. Slides, arcade games, ball pits etc. One thing really cool about Kids City is that it has a dress up room. We twisted Kaid's rubber arm and made him dress up as a prince. He had invited three girls to his party who were MORE than willing to dress up as princesses and pose with Kaid.
After they played for awhile we loaded them all into 2 taxis and headed home. We had pizza and cake and the kids played for a bit. Our friend Kerrie made the cake and needless to say, Kaid LOVED it!! She did an amazing job and we had enough leftovers so that the four of us could have cake every day after dinner for most of the week!
We've been sick. First Amanda, then Kaidyn and then me. Ever since we returned from Singapore we've been fighting sore throats, coughs and chest tightness. On top of all that, Amanda has had to do her report cards and I've been working A LOT! In the last 3 weeks I have subbed at the school 10 days. Apparently we are not the only ones feeling under the weather! It's been busy but good. I like working at the school. Every day is something different and sometimes Amanda and I get to have lunch together.
Other than that we haven't done too much lately. Amanda took Kaid dog walking last weekend and the workers there thought that because Kaid was small they would give them 2 puppies to walk. This turned into a bit of a gong show as the puppies had no clue how to go on a walk. At one point Amanda was carrying both puppies up some stairs on the trail and Kaidyn asked for a piggy back because he was tired. She declined.
Last Friday night Amanda and her pals went to a wine-tasting to celebrate their report cards being done. They managed to go dancing without getting kicked out and apparently they drank some bad wine because a few of them were terribly ill the next day!! She texted me a few times, but nothing funny enough to post. I was disappointed.
My parents are arriving on Thursday and we are all excited. The kids are off on Friday so we will most likely show them around Macau. We are also excited for the 3,000 tonnes of groceries, clothes, hockey equipment, Christmas presents, and care packages from our friends to arrive with them. I'm pretty sure there will be no room for any of their clothes to fit. They may be naked for the 6 weeks they are here!
Later!
The dance was a fund-raiser for the grade sixes at the school and one of the events was a cake walk. Amanda loved the cake walk and desperately tried to win a cake. Basically, you are given a card and you hold that card as you walk around a huge table full of cakes. Music plays as you walk and when the music stops they draw a card. If your card is drawn, you are out. Kaidyn tried unsuccessfully to win a cake approximately 45 times. Once he became bored of walking around the cake table, his mother took over and marched around with the small children trying to win a cake. I am happy to report that she eventually beat out some poor crying children and won a cake.
This was in the taxi on the way to the Halloween dance. Check out the sign on the back of the seat...
The kindergarten kids got dressed up on the last day of school before the break and went trick or treating at the school. All the parents brought candy and as the kids walked by we put candy in their bags. After a few laps the candy ran out so the parade was over. Kaid thought it was a great time!
On Halloween Amanda asked some friends if we could bring the kids trick or treating to their apartments. Kaid got dressed up and we walked around Taipa to 6 different apartments. This took us roughly 600 hours. Our new friends were VERY generous with their treats and as a result, Kaidyn ended up with roughly the same amount of candy he would get back home (and Kylisha scored a season of Ugly Betty)! The highlight of the evening was our last stop. Our friends Dane and Kirsten asked us to come to their place last. As soon as we stepped off the elevator we could hear screaming and other terrifying sounds coming from 19B. There was also a considerable amount of blood outside the apartment. And, the door was decorated with scariness. We pushed Kaid forward to ring the bell (literally) and 2 scary monsters answered the door. They invited us in for a Halloween party complete with punch and lots of junk food. It was a great Halloween and a nice way to spend my birthday.
Kaidyn's birthday was in October and we didn't have a party for him. This was mostly due to the fact that he didn't know his friends' names. Amanda kept encouraging him to just ask the kids he played with at recess what their names were. Eventually he forwarded a list of five and we sent out invites. Last weekend Kaid had his birthday party at the City of Dreams at Kids City .It's very much like Qube at the Venetian. Slides, arcade games, ball pits etc. One thing really cool about Kids City is that it has a dress up room. We twisted Kaid's rubber arm and made him dress up as a prince. He had invited three girls to his party who were MORE than willing to dress up as princesses and pose with Kaid.
After they played for awhile we loaded them all into 2 taxis and headed home. We had pizza and cake and the kids played for a bit. Our friend Kerrie made the cake and needless to say, Kaid LOVED it!! She did an amazing job and we had enough leftovers so that the four of us could have cake every day after dinner for most of the week!
We've been sick. First Amanda, then Kaidyn and then me. Ever since we returned from Singapore we've been fighting sore throats, coughs and chest tightness. On top of all that, Amanda has had to do her report cards and I've been working A LOT! In the last 3 weeks I have subbed at the school 10 days. Apparently we are not the only ones feeling under the weather! It's been busy but good. I like working at the school. Every day is something different and sometimes Amanda and I get to have lunch together.
Other than that we haven't done too much lately. Amanda took Kaid dog walking last weekend and the workers there thought that because Kaid was small they would give them 2 puppies to walk. This turned into a bit of a gong show as the puppies had no clue how to go on a walk. At one point Amanda was carrying both puppies up some stairs on the trail and Kaidyn asked for a piggy back because he was tired. She declined.
Last Friday night Amanda and her pals went to a wine-tasting to celebrate their report cards being done. They managed to go dancing without getting kicked out and apparently they drank some bad wine because a few of them were terribly ill the next day!! She texted me a few times, but nothing funny enough to post. I was disappointed.
My parents are arriving on Thursday and we are all excited. The kids are off on Friday so we will most likely show them around Macau. We are also excited for the 3,000 tonnes of groceries, clothes, hockey equipment, Christmas presents, and care packages from our friends to arrive with them. I'm pretty sure there will be no room for any of their clothes to fit. They may be naked for the 6 weeks they are here!
Later!
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