Happy Chinese New Year!!!

This year it is the year of the Rabbit!!!

The trip to Thailand opened my eyes to many things but one big thing was how traditions are passed down through generations. Talking to many elders on my travels really made me realize that Kevin & I need to teach our children more about their own cultures and build new traditions in our family!!

Everyone knows how I love to gain information and stories through older peoples experiences. A couple of older woman said to me that North  Americans don't spend enough time talking to their children, telling them stories(not reading telling), teaching them tradition and finally one of them said teaching them to listen to their elders!

So Simon wanted to do another detectives club so I thought why not do a Chinese New Year Celebration! The kids had a great time we decorated the house and i asked them what they wanted to do!!! Simon and Mary invited 14 of their friends and they all learned a little about China, as well as some of our traditions, did some crafts and ended with a snowball fight in the yard:)

Here are some of the pictures from the party!

Our mighty DRAGON!!!

Dressing up!

Mary & Amiee

Say Chinese New Year!!

Say Bum Bum:0) Love the difference of the pictures!

One of my best friends Danelle helping me with the craziness:)

Teaching about China!!

Love this picture!!

All the kids with their dragon masks!!

Best friends:)

 Thank you to the mom's who brought the snacks and to Danelle for your help love you!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

  Hope it's full of love, health and good fortune!

Love Christine

Happy New Year!!!

Well we are home and finally settled into our routines again!!! Christmas and New Years where very busy but also a lot of fun!!! Simon and Mary are back at school and very excited to have all their friends around them again. Kevin starts his new job on Tuesday so life at the Yang house is getting back to normal.

I have the most amazing friends a girl could ask for! As most of you know the trip home from Thailand was long and stressful but when we arrived home they had decorated our house for Christmas, bought me a poinsettia, put up the tree and stocked the fridge!! Yes I'm a lucky lady and I love them dearly:) Thank you so much guys you all know how much you all mean to me!!

Well that's all for know!!! Here is my family on New Years Eve for my cousins wedding!! Enjoy!

Love to all!!

We loved Thailand But..................

Please let us get home!!!!!! We are stranded in Phuket sleeping at the airport and will miss both our connecting flight:( Please let us make it home for Christmas... this is when traveling really sucks. They said we were delayed for fog but Kevin thinks it's because South Korea was doing missile testing today and North Korea said that they were going to strike back if they did. Doesn't that make you warm and fussy all over.

Oh I can't wait to get into my bed when it will happen I don't know???

love to all from a chair in Thailand airport:)

Tham Pung Chang(Elephant Belly Cave) & Wat Tham

November 19th!

Well TJ, Cara and Mae have left us and we left Club Med on the 12th and headed off the island of Phuket to Khao Lak were all the boats leave to the Similian Islands! Kevin was going to dive the whole week but ended up with a ear infection so only made it out one day:( We stayed at the Le Meridien for 7 days it was fabulous 5 star +!! Oh ya even movie stars.....

November 14th

One of the days we went on one of our last adventures to the Elephant Belly Cave & Wat Tham! Below are pictures from our day!!

Inside the elephant Belly cave!!

Arriving at the Wat Tham the best temple we saw in Thailand by far!! It's right inside a mountian!! The monkeys wanted Simons chips he ended up dropping them to get the monkey off him;(

going into the temple!

Amazing

Simon in the caves with bats hanging behind him!

Hiking in the caves

Getting a blessing from the monk(my first)

We had a great day of adventure!!

This is probably my last post until I get home!! We leave tomorrow night at 1:15am from Phukrt!

I can't wait to get home! totally homesick....

Love to everyone!

Christine

Longboat and snorkeling!!!

November 9th, 2010

And off we go to the Island of Ko Po!! The kids and man I think love the names of some of the islands in around Phuket they get to potty talk with out getting in trouble for it! The 7 of us rented a longboat to explore the island right off Kata Beach and do some snorkeling.  

Here we go!!!

Simon with a star fish on his head! Had to watch out for the jellyfish but show so many squid very cool!

Mae holding it!

Snorkeling as a family!

The girls on the boat while the boys were snorkeling!

boys snorkeling!!

Another star fish!

Heading home after a very enjoyable morning!!

Love to all!!!

Just so everyone knows not much internet connection here so sorry to those I haven't written back.

Patong with TJ

December 7th!!

Oh yes I did it and got home safe and sound!!

Well I don't know if most of you know this but I have known TJ longer then Kevin back in my school practicum days and the accounting firm!! I was one of the guys and treated as must and have many fond memories of my time there not the working part! Through TJ, I was lucky enough to meet Cara now of course his wife and a very good friend of mine:)

Well TJ will always be TJ and loves the night life so i willingly agreed to join him for a night out in Patong!!  We had a great time as always and I won't go into much detail because I really don't know who is following my blog at this point! But many whiskies, beers, strip clubs, message parlours, drunk phone calls to Canada, live bands and tuk tuk's later we arrived back at Club Med at 1:45pm very reasonable I thought;) 

Here are a few photo's of our adventure!!

To many drinks:)

TJ with a man girl!

I think that's all I should post!!

Thanks TJ for the memorable evening with to much education!

Love Christine

Jungle Waterfall hike and Gibbons Rehab Facility!!

December 3rd, 2010

Before getting rid of our car we decided to take one last adventure on the island and headed to the Gibbons Rehad Facility in the Northeast of phuket island. This is where they bring the monkeys to help safe them and also adopt them out to new homes! The singing the monkeys do in the jungle was stunning to hear you just can't imagine unless you hear it yourself 

Here's Simon saying to loud...

Hiking up to the waterfall!

It was so peaceful and Simon loves his adventures he wanted to find some animals I did not!!!;) Tallest waterfall in Phuket 15 meters high.

Bamboo hanging:)

Mary's turn!!

We had such a awesome morning in the jungle!