c in December

This has been a terrific month! Both Kong Kong and Grandpa came back this month, which has been super exciting for C.  He loves spending time with both of his grandfathers.

Even though the weather has been cooler, there have been a few warmer days where we've made it to the pool.  C still loves to swim and is getting braver each and every time we go to the pool.  If he could have it his way, he'd be at the pool daily!

Have I mentioned that I love December?? I love this month as there are a number of events that have become tradition to attend.  We always go to the Hot Air Balloon show and love watching the balloons get blown up in the early morning light.  We always go to the Night Safari for Thai Father's Day to celebrate Matt and what an awesome dad he is.  Then of course there is Christmas Day and what is there not to love about Christmas?! :)

As C gets older, I hope that we have more traditions that become a part of our Christmas celebration during the month of December.  It just makes me happy to do things with my family and to look back to years gone by and see how things have grown, changed, and evolved.  Oh nostalgia...you get me good!

December

Swimming in December...the perks of living in Thailand!

C just LOVES the water!

Love seeing the hot air balloons get blown up in the early morning...


C really enjoyed seeing the balloons this year!


C & Mama


C & Papa


I would love to ride in one some day...


Yay for running into friends!

...All About C...

C has thoroughly enjoyed the month of December.  We've done a lot and C has loved it all! He continues to just impress us with all that he learns and knows.  Sometimes we just look at each other in wonder that this boy is ours.  I cannot believe that he is almost about to turn 2!

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

last hurrah

So apparently people aren't allowed to get married unless they've had a night out with friends celebrating the end of their freedom single lifestyle.  This is where our bachelor and bachelorette party comes in.

Matt's Buck's Night was a complete surprise, so he had no idea it was happening when it did.  It was a Friday night and he was off to meet our friend Morten for dinner.  He almost cancelled, but luckily he sucked it up and went.  Thank goodness too as there were a bunch of friends waiting at the bar for him, including his boss! :) He had a fun night with some fun stories to share, but you'll have to ask him about those yourself.  HA!

My Hen's Night was BRILLIANT!!! I have the most amazing friend and matron of honor, Angie, and she went all out for me.  That said, ALL of the ladies that came to help me celebrate are simply wonderful.  They went all out and embraced the evening fully, wigs and all! I knew it was coming but did not know any of the details until the evening of.  The evening started in TST where we went on the AquaLuna Junk first.  Then we went to eat at Loong Toh Yuen at Hullet House in TST.  Finally we ended the evening over in Central at LKF and basically bar hopped till 2 am! It was so much fun...like seriously...SO.MUCH.FUN!!!

Thanks to Angie, Claire, Jennifer, Karen, Katherine, Kristin, Laura, Nikki, and Maggie for some fabulous memories!!!

Embracing the green...

Angie!

Ladies on the Aqualuna...

Exotic dinner...

Posers!

Jello Shots!

Ice Bar...the beginning of the end...

Surviving till the end...with help...

non wedding fun

As we had quite a few guests come in from out of town, we planned a couple of group events so that people would have the opportunity to get to know one another.  It was great fun and gave Matt and me a chance to see everyone as we were often running around like crazy people! :)

We shared meals with friends and family, took a cooking class at the Thai Cookery School, visited the elephant and tiger camps, and hung out around town.  It was a special time with special memories made!

 

At Ginger and at the Sunday Market!

 

Cooking Class!

 Elephants!

 

Tiger Kingdom and Motorbike Fun!

art jamming

A bunch of colleagues friends from work and I went out to an art jamming session the other day.  What is art jamming you ask? Well, art jamming is when you go to an art studio and let your inner creative self come out and play for a few hours.  It is for anyone who wants to enjoy some music while expressing oneself on an empty canvas.  The studio we went to supplied us each with a canvas, acrylic paints, brushes, and different tools we could use.

Let me start by saying that I am NOT an artist.  My brother (the lucky guy) got all the artistic genes in the family.  He can create all kinds of magic with his hands.  I am not that fortunate.  I grew up with a stock image I could draw if it was demanded of me.  Yes, there was a beautiful house with chimney and brick path, trees and flowers on the sides, birds and butterflies flying in the sky, and of course the sun sitting at the corner amidst puffy clouds.  I got real good at this and could do variations to keep things interesting.  I occasionally added mountains in the background, rainbows in the sky, and even a pond with some fish or ducks.  So as you can see, my artistic abilities are truly limited.

So this art jamming thing sounded really fun initially to me.  A great time to go out and just hang out with friends.  Enjoy some girl time while drinking booze (yes...I was CRUSHED when I found out I had to paint sober...ha!).  The day before though I was all kinds of stressed out.  What was I going to paint for 3 hours?!? Thankfully I am a take charge kind of gal (occasionally) or rather a perfectionist, so I decided to print off some lovely paintings on the web of things I thought I could replicate or at least attempt to replicate.  After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Needless to say, we all had lots of fun.  I enjoyed myself immensely.  The painting was good, but the company was even better! We had an evening filled with paint, food, and lots of laughter.

My masterpiece! 

I love elephants and I used our wedding colors.

Can you figure out which is Matt and which is me?!? :D

what a week

This has been quite the week in my rather ordinary life.  Most of the excitement focused around food and friends, which I think happens to be a fantastic pair!

Monday started the week off with a belated Thanksgiving feast with a bunch of friends from work.  We had a wonderful meal with lots of fun and laughter.  Tuesday was the only day Matt and I had together and we spent it relaxing at home and eating a yummy curry that I made.  Wednesday was spent getting a foot massage and eating a lot of Thai food with my dear friend Angie.  Thursday was a delicious home cooked roast by Matt, salad by me, dessert by my friend Ashley, and lots of cookie dough to be had by all! We don’t often have company over, so it was nice to entertain for a change.  Friday was a night out on the town with our friends Angie and Morten over in Central.  We went to a tapas bar and had a lot and I mean A LOT of delicious food.  Saturday was the culminating event of the week.  It started off as a simple plan to just spend the day shopping, but ended up being an impromptu trip to Disneyland that started with a brunch and ended in burgers.  Disneyland was loads of fun and it was extra special as it was the Christmas Disney with lots of Christmassy cheer! Thanks to Matt, Angie, Morten, and Ashley for being troopers and for being flexible and allowing this crazy lady to change the plans.

As I didn’t take pictures of most of the week, here are a lot of pictures from Disneyland! Enjoy them!

 Group shot!

 Parade!

It's a small world after all...

Live show...haha!

 The fun to be had by ALL!

 Is it to early to wish everyone a Merry Christmas?!? 

weddings

My two good friends in HK got married 2 weeks apart of each other.  Angie and Morten got married in Bali at the most amazing resort, the Ayana.  Kristin and Zhao got married in GuangZhao, China in a very unique ceremony.

The pool we spent most of our time in and the view opposite.

 

Us and The Frederiksens

Fun with the fan and the bouquet that I caught!

Bridal party

Prom?!? No...LOVE!

beginning the second year in hk

Pictures life and of new friends and old friends here in HK.

First day of school...Matt had to get out and push the taxi!

Beginning of school staff event

Making gnocchi with Angie...fail.

Friends with GREAT style sense...not planned!

Game night at Mr.O's!

Angie's and Kristin's Hens Night

Mid-Autumn Festival in TST

Central Skyline