Little Man Party

 Our friends invited us to their son's first birthday party with a "Little Man" theme.  We were issued bow ties at the door.  She had made this photo booth with props where we got a family snapshot.  They even had a blown up picture of their son's face, and we played "Pin the Mustache on Gunnar."  Very creative!

Claire turns five!

 In some ways, we can't believe it has only been five years since we started having kids, since life before that seems so distant, but Claire continues to hit big milestones like learning to pump on the swings, cracking eggs herself and the biggest one--deciding to give up her "taggie" and stop sucking her thumb on her own.

Paul turns one!

 Paul's birthday fell during our vacation, so we celebrated a little late (poor third child), but it didn't matter much to him. He enjoyed the attention and made a mess of his cake. 

Krabi

The second week of Shawn's family's visit, we flew down to Krabi (near Phuket) and hung out at the beach. J and I splurged on two rooms, and it made all the difference. I actually found the vacation relaxing. We stayed at a Sheraton resort with nice amenities for the kids (pools, playground, kids' club), so J mostly took the girls out, and I got to read books while Paul napped. Heaven.

One day, we rented a boat and went out to tour some of the little islands nearby, like the one pictured above.  

Safari Park

I think close encounters with animals are going to define our time in Thailand.

Saturday morning, our plan was to visit the Bridge on the River Kwai and take a scenic train ride from there to a waterfall. The train was delayed enough that we had to scrap that plan, so we ended up at yet another animal park. This one was safari-style where they take you around in a mini-bus to see and feed the animals. This was quite the experience, as you can see from the picture above. 

Then, like every animal park, there were some animal shows. A crocodile show, an elephant show, and the worst one: a dog show. Picture a few neighborhood dogs pulled together by some kids to perform a few tricks. That was about how exciting it was. Then they had the audacity to send around a golden retriever carrying a money basket. Well, it must have been a hungry dog, because as it passed Isabella who was eating a roll, it snapped it away from her, and bit her hand. Despite the assurances of the park staff that their dogs had their shots, we watched the bite carefully, and luckily, no infection set in. Yikes!

Tiger Temple

One of the famed sights of Kanchanaburi is a "Tiger Temple." Apparently, monks often take in unwanted animals, and somehow at this temple, they ended up with some tiger cubs whose mothers were poached (or something like that). It grew from there, and now it is a tiger refuge turned tourist attraction. You definitely leave with mixed feelings (like many of the animal attractions in Thailand), but it is so unique, you think you have to do it.

The tigers that you can pet are chained, and you have to go individually with a guide, only during the tigers' nap time. I stayed back with Paul (quite a hefty entrance fee--all for the upkeep of the tigers, I'm sure).  However, we were surprised that even Sylvie was willing to go by herself to pet a tiger. She usually shies away from animals. We got lots of pictures of the girls petting tigers. Try not to judge our sanity as parents. :)

Damnoen Floating Market

 J took Friday off, so we could take a little overnight trip to Kanchanaburi (west of Bangkok near the Burmese border) and see a variety of sights. Shawn's family hired a driver, so we followed his lead and caravanned first to the Damnoen Floating Market. We had heard it was more touristy than authentic, but it was the most convenient for our itinerary,  so we went ahead.

We all got on a rowboat (which luckily we didn't have to row) and started to navigate the canal where vendors sell from their own boats and little stalls on the side. For the first 20 minutes, it was so crowded that we hardly moved at all. In fact, it was hot and stinky from the "speed" boats that were spewing exhaust, and I almost abandoned ship with Paul. But, finally things cleared out a little, and we were able to see some traditional homes and at least enjoy the ride a little more.