Cambodia, Day 2

Day 2 of our Cambodia trip was spent visiting Ta Prohm, which is where Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed, though we haven't seen it yet.  This temple is especially cool because it has these amazing trees growing all through it-- and I mean literally through and all over the walls, floors, roofs, of the temple.

A downside to the trip was that our family was sometimes as much of a tourist attraction as the temples.  Here we are trying to take a family photo, and this Chinese woman just jumped right in with us so her friend could take a photo of us all.  (Personally, I wouldn't have the forwardness to do something like that!)  Most of the time we tried to laugh it off, but when strangers started trying to grab the children to take pictures with them, Mama Bear came out and had to draw the line!

One of Finley's favorite part of the trips (aside from suitcases and airplanes) was the tuk tuks.  We rode in them to get to and from town in the evenings for dinner.  They are attached to a motorcycle on the front, and Finley declared that he did not like how loud the motorcycles were, but he liked tuk tuks.  He spent all day everyday asking us when we would get to ride one again!

Cambodia, Day 1

We had a fantastic trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia!  The Cambodian people were so kind and friendly, despite the unbelievable poverty and corruption in the nation.  (And they were very understanding of our cranky children who were trying to cope with difficulties of even close-by traveling.)  We spent each morning touring around ancient (over 1000 years old!!) temples, so I have lots of photos of them to post.  Though 4 days of temples was a lot to take in, it was incredible how each was unique and beautiful in different ways.

The first day we visited the most famous, Angkor Wat, which is also the largest.  According to our guide, modern day buildings in Siem Reap are still restricted to being shorter than Angkor Wat.

We saw quite a few monks at the temples as there are still functioning monasteries at many of them. 

Grass to run around!

Marcia-- this one's for you.  :)

F's Christmas Play

Finley's school put on a short Christmas play and party last week.  It was so fun to see his first performance and Nate and I were terribly proud!  He was a sheep.  Afterwards there was a magician and Santa gave each of the students a gift.  Here are some photos, and I'll have to get the video up later. 

Finley Sings in Mandarin

I finally caught Finley singing songs he's learning at school in Chinese!! Click here to see!

Sibling Silliness

Here's a quick video of our two silly kiddos. :)  Click HERE!

Elise 13-14 Months

I better hurry and get this 14 month post up before Elise is 15 months!  First, here is a long overdue little video of Elise at 13-14 months old.  CLICK HERE.

At 14 months old, Elise is learning new words and phrases such as "row, row, row" (your boat), "that's all" when something is gone or finished, and "ow" while showing me where she's hurt.  She is also in the middle of getting two more bottom teeth, for a grand total of 8.  Elise knows she's not supposed to walk on the couch or chair (because she likes to then plop down and risk falling off), but she does it anyway and thinks it's hilarious.  Cheeky girl!

Elise knows several body parts and can point to them-- eyes, nose, mouth, ears, tummy.  She loves the songs "If You're Happy and You Know It", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus".   Elise is also really into "5 Little Monkeys" and shakes her finger and pats her head along with it-- so cute!

Elise's growth stats are: height 90% (79.5cm) and weight 58% (9.5 kg).  When she was born, we thought Elise was going to be our chunky baby due to her chubby cheeks, but we were wrong!  It appears that for all the blonde and blue Finley and Elise got from Daddy, they must have gotten Mommy's height!

Pandas & Plants

I have a lot of blog updating to do, but it's been hard.  Both Nate and Cathrina have been gone!  So bare with me, and I promise there will be a video soon of miss Elise and a 14 month update.  For now, here are some photos to whet your appetite.

First, these are from Ocean Park.  We saw the pandas this weekend, and Elise especially loved it.  (Let's be honest, the animals and educational factor are the main reason we have OP passes.)

This is from a date night to a Szechuan restaurant.  This is a Szechuan fried chicken dish, and as you can see, it is full of hundreds of peppers.  Spicy but good!  We left with very full bellies.

It's finally planting season here.  The weather is sunny and clear most every day and a high between 70-75.  Gorgeous.  My thumb is anything but green, but I'm trying!

 The kids' favorites are the tomatoes.  Elise will go snatch them off the plant (ripe or not) and pop them straight into her mouth if you don't watch her like a hawk.

Finley loves the tomatoes too.  He's showing off two here before eating them.  We never make it downstairs with the tomatoes; it's all I can do to get the kids to let me rinse them off before eating them!