silk road journey

Fun at school!

2011-09-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

This past week at school, the kids had "Tiger Pride Week." Every day, they were able to dress a little different. My favorite days were crazy hair day and disney day!

This is our son, "Old Man Joe." Notice the balding!

Aiden wanted squares on his head. We decided to make them stand up at the last minute!

Cali had half her hair braided and the rest in a pony tail.

For Disney day, the kids were pirates.

ARRG!

2011-07-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

This past week we spent the whole time with friends and co-workers at a conference. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the beautiful location.

The kids spent almost every afternoon in the pool with their friends! They had a enjoyed hanging out with friends they knew and made new friends too!

Square Dancing was not something I ever aspired to attempt but, well, the things you do when pressured by your peers! Ha ha! Any way, it turned out to be fun and a great way to get to know co-workers. They were all so patient with me as I constantly messed up. (I'm the one in the cowboy hat.)

Ben, on the other hand, was the most popular volunteer (not voluntary)at skit night! He does not like skits but he was a great sport when called upon. It was pretty funny!

The kids had fun and learned a lot in the kids program!

Cali learned a new skill which she showed off to everyone who would look at her!

Ayrik and Aiden learned some volley ball. They loved playing with the teens and adults who were very patient with them!

Evening meetings were interesting.

Oh so sleepy.

I love that smile!

Not all of us thought the meetings were interesting! Cali fell asleep every evening meeting.

New Things

2011-05-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Thailand is amazing! Since coming here we have tried a lot of fruit. Much of it has been things we have never had before (at least while in the States.) These fruits are all in season right now and all have unique flavors but 3 of them have similar textures. The ones in the back are not potatoes but something called Longkon. (I don't know how to spell it! The others from left to right are rahmbutan, mangosteen, and lychee.

I think it is so amazing how much variety there is in this world!

Aiden has been dying to try century eggs for a while so we bought some for him at the store. After opening one to see if it needed to be cooked we decided it would be a good idea to boil them.

Come to find out, they do not need to be cooked and are supposed to be gooey like jelly. Hmm. I had tried one in China a few year ago and did not feel the need to do it again.

Any way, the kids liked the flavor but not the texture. They were still squishy after boiling! Some of the kids ended up spitting them out. So I thought it was pretty funny when Aiden asked for them again the next time we were at the store!

I'm so proud of them for being willing to try new things!

2011-03-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is one of our language learning videos. Hope you enjoy. Our teacher is the one doing the actions and talking.

Catch up

2011-02-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

3 Months in Thailand and no blog! Wow! I think it's a new record. To be honest, it is because I have discovered the ease of uploading photos to facebook so if you want to see more of our life in this beautiful city check out my photos there!

Thailand is proving to be as beautiful as everyone says. The people are friendly but the language is not. (esp. the alphabet!) What a challenge!

We have moved into a very nice neighborhood which has several parks the kids like to play in. One is just a door down from us!

Sometimes I think I had monkeys instead of boys!

This is an amazing waterfall outside the city. The water contains some mineral that causes a build up on the rocks - making them like cement and not at all slippery! The kids were able to climb up to the very top.

The boys were helping us learn words for carrying things. Thai has a specific word for carrying something like this.

One thing we've been enjoying every once in a while is the many chain restaurants. There is nothing like this in Mongolia!

Ben towers over most people, even when they stand on the curb and he's on the road!

This is Ben's scooter, affectionately known as 'Piglet.' (he wanted a hog but...this was cheaper!)

Our first time at a McDonalds.

Enjoying Ben's favorite food - raw water buffalo!

Ayrik turned 7! We played pin the tail on the monkey. you can see the monkey behind his head!

Just random happenings

2010-09-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

The kids and I got to go to NASA with their Nana. They had a blast! lol

Getting ready to see a 3D Imax about the Hubble. Styling!

We spent some time with my parents recently! So much fun!

We tried 'paint your own pottery' with Ben's parents. The kids loved it!

Cali turned 5 this year!

How pitiful!

Aiden learning to shoot a bow.

Face Painting

2010-07-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

Cali was a saber tooth tiger.

Batman of course!

Little monster.

Scary!

Shaving with Daddy

2010-06-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

The kids have been fascinated with Ben's shaving routine lately and wanted to try it themselves!

Lathering up!

Shaving with a plastic butter knife. =)

So much fun!

random stuff

2010-01-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is a giant gingerbread house we saw!

Our handsome little pirate.

Good friends.

A couple weeks ago we had snow and ice in Florida! Yuck. Here you can see some ice on the ends of the palm fronds!

Christmas #1

2010-01-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas this year!

Lots of fun!

Nana and Ayrik and Cali.

This was a giant gingerbread house! (actually made of gingerbread!)

Family picture 2009

Christmas 2009

2010-01-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

This year we had the joy of having 2 Christmas celebrations! The first one was with Ben's family and the second was with mine. These pics are from the second one where my whole family was together! (it's been 3 years since that has happened!) We had so much fun!
Above is a pic of Grandma reading to the boys.

Just having fun!

Some of the uncles and aunts. =)

Uncle Dan gave the kids puppets for Christmas!

Which one is weirder?

Our sweet little niece, Katelyn.

She was ready to go sledding!

Cali loves her cousin!

Trick-or-treating

2009-11-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

We had a clone trooper, Boba Fett, and Thumbalina! They loved all the candy and costumes!

I had fire coming out of my mouth! lol.

2009-10-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

On our last trip from the countryside, our car died halfway to the city! Here we are trying to limp to the nearest town!

Cali and Diesel the kitty

Cali turned 4 in July

Back in Florida, Aiden learned to swim in 2 weeks!

Ayrik is still working on it! They all love to be in the water.

random pics

2009-07-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ben and a friend

This lady wanted her picture taken with Cali but Cali was too shy. I finally convinced her to do it but got a super silly face. Oh well!

Two wrestlers at Naadam.

After seeing the wrestling, Ayrik was dying to try it. During a break he convinced Cali to wrestle with him. (There was no way Aiden was going out there where people could see him!) Everyone thought it was the best thing in the world to see to little foreign kids wrestling. It was so cute!

One of the Naadam races.

Archery is the last of the "three manly sports" that make up Naadam.

Aiden and Ayrik enjoying the local wildlife. =)

Aiden turned 7 in May! (That's his cake he's sitting with)

New House? Definitely!

2009-05-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

This is the loft after the men had finished building! See the last post for before pics. I am so excited about all this extra space! (you can only see half of it in this pic.)

This was the kitchen space before...

...and after!

We used to have a closet in this corner of the living room.

Now we have stairs!

This was the bathroom before. Check out the bucket shower! It worked fine but I like the new one MUCH better!

A toilet and sink and hot water heater! Whoopie!!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped with this!

A New House?

2009-05-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ben and a team of guys have taken 2 trips out to work on our house. It was pretty rustic with no indoor plumbing and very little space. They spent many hours fixing up the attic space, adding a septic tank, building stairs, putting on a new roof, installing sinks and a toilet as well as countless other things. These pics are from after the first trip. I'll post more when I get them! The picture above shows the work on the septic tank. These two men dug through the perma-frost which was only just starting to thaw.

Ben, working on insulating the "loft."
This area will be our home school room and offices.

Hmm...I guess this one came before the other one.

Half of our new roof.

Thanks guys, for all your work!!

New bikes!

2009-04-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

We recently bought some bikes for the kids. Here's Ben teaching Ayrik.

Ben teaching Aiden.

Cali trying out her training wheels.

Aiden loves to figure things out!

Buddies

Mongolian wedding

2009-04-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

We recently were invited to the wedding of Ben's best Mongolian friend. (Pictured above with his bride) It was a wonderful experience and felt honored to be there!

Katlin and I with our good friend.

This was the first course! We were served 2 more before dessert. We were so full.... The liquid in the bowls is not cream of mushroom soup but salty milk tea! Actually quite yummy.

Here we are getting our picture taken with the bridal couple. Who ever wanted to could go up and have that done after the ceremony. We also had to sing a song before presenting them with our gift! I was so glad there was a big group of foreigners there so Ben and I didn't have to do it alone. That would have been a disaster! lol

More Malaysia pics!

2009-03-13T01:21:00.000-07:00

One of Uncle Ben's favorite memories!

Good friends.

We went to a restaurant where you could catch the fish that you were going to eat! The kids all got to help and loved it!

I wonder if this is what Eli will look like when he grows up. lol!

Ayrik was being himself.

Aiden enjoying the water slide.

The ladies and I went to a fish spa. It was one of the weirdest things i have ever done. All the fish surrounded our feet and ate the dead skin off (see below). It tickled like crazy (above) and i could barely keep my feet in the water! After it was all done though, my feet were incredibly smooth!

Durian, the smelliest fruit ever. Ben wanted to try it so we all went and gave it a go. I did not like it although it didn't taste as bad as it smelled. Both Ben and the kids liked it though!

Malaysia trip

2009-03-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time with our family in Malaysia. The cousins hit it off and are great friends now. Cali and Gabby are shown above.

The kids all enjoyed the albino python at the Batu Caves.

(Left to Right - Cali, Aiden, Gabby, Eli, Ayrik)

We celebrated Ayrik's 5th birthday while there!

One of our rare family pictures.

Ayrik riding an elephant with his Great-Uncle Ed.

Our whole group!

Aiden with his Papa.

Random pics

2009-02-06T00:26:00.000-08:00

Cali was a flower girl for some friends.

good friends

Ayrik turned 5 this month!

Lego is the best!

Astronauts

2009-01-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

This past week we recieved the last of our Christmas packages. (Thank you Papa and Nana!) The funny thing was, we had received the first of the 3 a week before Christmas. The other two, which were sent at the same time, came three weeks after! The mail can be so strange some times!

Aiden was very excited about his new book and toys!

Ayrik was almost dancing with excitement!

Cali loved the candy!

They were ready to go to the moon but settled for going to bed in their astronaut suit!

Snow

2009-01-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

We have had quite a bit of snow this year (for Mongolia) and the kids have enjoyed playing in it!

This is Aiden, if you can't tell!

Ayrik loves to throw snowballs at mommy!

Snow angels! (Or rather dirt angels)

Sliding down the little hills in our yard.

Presents

2008-12-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of you who sent us packages! It has been such a treat!

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma! The boots are great!

Thank you Uncle Jon-Jon and Aunt Dora!

Cali's favorite was her new 'lipstick' (chapstick).

Party!

2008-12-29T21:24:00.000-08:00

This was Christmas party #2! We had a blast playing 'Scum' (or "slave" in Mongolian) with our friends as well as enjoying a potluck.

The kids had a great time being silly and running up and down the halls with their friends.

We had the traditional foods of bodz, hoshor, tsoivan, as well as some western things. Very tasty!

Playing Scum.

Cali and her friend were pretending to be wild animals! Pretty scary, if you ask me!

Ginger bread party

2008-12-29T00:11:00.000-08:00

Katlin was feeling festive!

Put boys together and out come the knives and guns!

We had a party at some friends house and while there the kids got to make Ginger Bread houses. It was a lot of fun and very special!

Even Cali got to help (or was it eat?).

Aiden liked the icing!

Ayrik worked hard to stick on as much candy as possible!

Here's the finished product! (yes that is a lollypop glued to the roof!)

2008-12-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from our trip! We spent some time in Tienanmen Square. The kids loved running around.

Aiden was the only one who enjoyed getting his picture taken by all the Chinese tourists. Some random people wanted us to pose with them so here we are. They also wanted us to make the peace sign.

Cali and CJ insisted on holding hands while we pushed them in the strollers.

Young love.

Aiden and Ayrik making scary faces at the Beijing Aquarium.

The great wall. (duh)

Like the boys hats?

Train trip to Beijing

2008-12-05T03:27:00.000-08:00

We recently took a trip to Beijing for meetings and relaxation. It was so nice to be together as a team and we came away very encouraged. Here are some pictures of our train trip down.

This is my very good friend. She came with us along with 2 other ladies to babysit while we were in meetings.

Aiden enjoyed standing in the train's halls and looking out the window. (Running up and down was great too!)

Daddy's baby girl

Girl time!

Aiden, Ayrik and thier buddies playing on the top bunk in our coupe.

Dinner with friends. (No sharing please!)

Aiden and Ayrik watching the train wheels being changed. Aiden had stayed awake for this as they do it in the middle of the night. He had missed it both of the other times that we had seen it and was very disapointed. They have to lift up the whole trian car!

Introducing Katlin!

2008-11-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Recently, Katlin O'Dell came to join us! We are very excited to have her here. So far she has done a lot with the kids and has been available to help in any way she can! She's amazing!

Story time with the kids.

Winter is coming!

2008-10-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

Daddy's baby girl!

We took the kids to a 'fall festival' where they got to beat each other with foam sticks! They loved it!

Cali was throwing snow balls!

"Make one for me please, Mommy!"

Aiden has quite the arm!

More outside play time.

2008-10-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Ayrik was having a rough day.

Our first snow fall. Brr! (This is a view from our back yard.)

Chilly sand box!

New hair do!

Cali, all alone in the sand box.

Random Stuff

2008-10-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

We found a desk for Aiden's school work. Needless to say, there were not very many to choose from! He loves it though, so that's all that matters.

Ben and "Daddy's Baby Girl" as she often refers to herself as.

Cali received a package from Grandpa and Grandma for her birthday. We were beginning to think the package was lost as it was in the mail for 2 months!

I can cook! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!

Playing outside again

2008-09-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

Calamity Jane

Ayrik and Aiden were running at each other, pretending to joust with leaves.

I have no idea who won!

Playing outside

2008-09-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

The kids like to play in the sand box and fort made of tractor tires in our yard.

Aiden, on a mission.

Climbing tires.

To jump, or not to jump?

Ready, set, psych!

Daddy pushes high!

The kids call spinning around in a circle on the swing "a cookie."

Mmm, that massage feels good!

Ayrik

2008-09-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a sequence of pictures I took of Ayrik. Needless to say, he reminds us of Calvin from "Calvin and Hobbs." He is so funny!

Aiden starts 1st grade!

2008-09-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

1st grade officially begins!

Aiden is working hard at math.

Ayrik and Cali are there for the entertainment. They'll be off to play in about 2 seconds!

Hair cutting time!

2008-08-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Mom!

"I guess it wasn't that bad."

Ayrik before the cut.

Aiden and Ayrik after.

Playing outside

2008-08-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

The sand mountain.

The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill in the dumptruck until one of them almost had a run in with a pile of concrete! Ok, i guess it was a bad idea!

They won't play

2008-08-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Cheese! (Cali loves to pose for pictures.)

Is that a caterpillar in the garden?

Relaxing in the dump truck.

Visitors

Yesterday we were outside enjoying the beautiful summer weather. We noticed that there were 2 little girls visiting the family who lives near us. The family's grandson is also visiting. Aiden and Ayrik wanted them to play but the other kids were too shy! Oh well, maybe next time!

Little Kings

2008-08-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

King Aiden, "king of Canada" and King Ayrik, "king of America"

Arrg!

Off with your head!

Daddy's girl

Calvary turns 3

2008-08-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

Our little tom-boy wanted a princess party which she got, thanks to Papa and Nana! At first she didn't want to wear the dress but was convinced by hearing that 'Daddy would think she looked pretty!"

We celebrated out in the countryside with 7 of Cali's friends. She loved being the center of attention!

"I'm this many!"

Construction

2008-08-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Aiden and Calvary in front of our gate.

Without warning, construction started outside of our yard. A huge hole was dug for water pipes and the dirt was piled up outside of our gate! We were unable to leave or enter, except by foot for 3 days.

Finger painting?

2008-07-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

The kids wanted to finger paint. Little did I know it would turn into body paint!

Yeah!

Aiden was looking a little green.

Ever see a 4 year old with a five o'clock shadow?

Monkey see, monkey do.

Mountain view

2008-06-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

Playing with Daddy

We went for a short drive out of the city to one of the surrounding hills. It was wonderful to be away from all the buildings and enjoy nature for a while. The kids enjoyed picking flowers and running around.

This was a huge vulture we saw flying over the mountains.

Turtle rock trip

2008-06-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

We went for a picnic at Turtle Rock (a big tourist attraction outside of the city) with our team mates. It was a fun and refreshing time out in nature!

Our little mountain climbers. Ayrik was a natural at it and was very daring. Yikes! Aiden was much more cautious and did well too.

Aiden, his friend Micah, Ayrik and Calvary at Turtle Rock. It actually looks like a turtle from the other side.

Scorpion munchies

2008-06-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

We recently had a vacation in China with my brother and sister-in-law. While there, Ben and Mike tried scorpion on a stick!

Ben gives one a little kiss before eating it.

Mmm...tastes like bacon!

Eww...gross! (Ayrik wanted to try it but Aiden would have preferred the starfish on a stick)

Yummy!

2008-06-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

Aiden, Ayrik and friend Micah had a mud fight! It was finally warm enough to play in the water!

Nothing like mud!

2008-06-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

Aiden loves to play outside!

Ayrik loves it too but did not want his picture taken!

Totally oblivious.

2008-06-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

Aiden turned six this past May! He had a wonderful time eating his pirate ship and making his friends walk the plank!

Ayrik and Aiden

Calvary