Sunshine

This is what our pool has looked like much of the past 2 months... woe is not us, I love rainy season & its moods

And sometimes stars line up... this rare day, girls matched sunshine with day off from school 

Il soleil... a French family has recently befriended us and stirred fond memories. At a sleepover this past weekend, Ry explained to their French daughter (who has spent most of her life in Thailand) the beauty that is pan chocolat fresh from French bakery. Wonder what American goodies and common Engligh or Spanish words & phrases will need explaining to our girls. I've already noticed several.

I was helping Ry with a project labeling flower parts, and then she took off & in a half hour's time, made a quiz for Dad. The girl is mad about science & animals, and will probably soon join PETA. Interesting how she picked the deer just a couple weeks before Nov 15, coincidence, as she knows not that hallowed Michigan date

I married a poet

Riley Mei (and Allie) came home this week with school pictures that had been taken a couple weeks ago.  Of course, adorable. But I ask Ry, what happened to the hairdo I did (for 20 painful minutes with my two left hands) that photo day? She replies, the photo lady took it all apart and redid it to make it look nice. Hmmm.

Another reminder that we don't all share the same tastes... Khun Nang and I were putzing around the house getting things done and my Tam - Rockin list was shuffling on stereo. I had to leave for school and asked Nang if she wanted my music while she worked.  She crinkled up her nose and said no. Politely. Now I feel bad for subjecting her to classic U2-Metallica-Kansas-INXS, but how can one not be a fan? We're even the same age.

Rob's not really enjoying Malaysia this week, but so goes his grind. Allie's getting along much better with her clarinet, we're ALL happy to report. Both girls rocked report cards & conferences last week. Ry cantered last lesson with her pony. I've learned to make the world's best pizza crust from a Venezuelan friend married to an Italian. 

The sun is shining on us, even though it rains.

Khao Yai

Khao Yai National Park, 3+ hours north of us, a UNESCO World Heritage site and considered one of the world's great national parks because of its size and plant & animal varieties. Lots of wild elephants, birds, reptiles, large cats & even a few tigers. We sampled just teeny smidgen, and hope to return with more time and a longer camera lense

First day we had a quick lunch in park & saw nothing but monsoon. Second day, monkeys galore were out. Kept our distance, this little one yawned and its fangs were enormously scary

Ry was first to spot babies in trees, here at least 3 



Pictures don't do justice, but we stood amused at base of these trees for more time than I care to admit, just taking in the moment... probably a good dozen to 16 babies swinging around, maybe 8 or 10 parents nearby

Every km down this park road we'd come across one or a handful

Further along this pair entertained us with the parent looking really perplexed at times & trying to reign in the little one. Yep, we are genetically very similar and parenting is hard

A blur of flying fun

Wouldn't have minded seeing a cobra from comfort of car, but had to settle nicely on a monitor lizard

We see lizards all the time, all under a foot long... this was a treat, though even this size is considered fairly common here. We followed it for a few minutes before it climbed back into the woods. Tempting, but we weren't prepared to follow it

This little family appeared to be discussing something... baby between them

After seeing a fair bit on our drive into the park, excited to hit trails... wearing leech socks because that's not a Disneyland bridge & trail

Yep, it's not easy, but it is good

Wondering what we might see around every corner. A few years ago, visitors stumbled across an elephant giving birth

Combing through vines & trying not to slip down muddy hill, 3/4 of us exclaimed at the exact moment how cool this hike was. We heard some incredible bird calls right after a downpour, though we didn't see much mammal/reptile life. Wrong time of day, dawn & dusk are where it's at... next time

Let's see if it holds Dad...



Lots that reminded of autumn back home

Even kind of felt like autumn, much cooler than at sea-level, yet still we sweat

Those leech socks are pretty porous, felt lots of good mud ooze between the toes

Rotini tree, or so we named it

Camera didn't give justice to the sea of green that we stumbled upon, and thankfully not into... it was still and breathtaking

At first we thought these were cute little inchworms... they were all over

Fun to watch

But then we realized they were leeches, and they were all over us

Leech socks mostly did their job, but a couple still managed to attack after we cleaned up. Here, Ry's piggies, she's such easy prey these days it seems

Only foreigners we saw in the park, with the lense & photo chops we need

Outside park along road, becoming immune to this sight, ready to see a wild one

The long weekend began... at 5am... with a road rally Isuzu had for suppliers

Our new wheels, Mitsubishi spacewagon, covered in rally stickers

Scavenger hunt from Bangkok to the Park took a long, too many hours for little girls

Pit stop... Thais get creativity points for their toilet signage

Yep, but he was driving & our driver was trying ever so sweetly to navigate us through the 100% Thai scavenger hunt. Perfect conditions for deeply desiring a morning drink, I will attest

Great Elephant Lodge... monsoon, monsoon, go away

In hotel lobby. We've seen many more escargot here than we did in France, but not dining on them here

After dinner hold-the-balloon game

Gathered all the kids on the Isuzu sponsored stage & asked "What kind of car does your Dad drive?" Hilarious

Final morning

Monsoon quickly kicked out the lovely morning, but didn't keep us from venturing into Khao Yai for adventures described in opening... anxious to go back & try to stumble across our own wild elephant!