Tim and Paul had a great time in Krabi. He came back scratched and sore from their hiking, climbing, kayaking, snorkeling...also very happy. Quite the manly weekend. It was GOOD to have him home! Here are a few more scenic views from beautiful Krabi in southern Thailand...
The women and children held down the homefront. It was perfect to have Crystal and her boys here, and Emmy and PJ had a ball together, entertaining each other and giving their moms the novel experience of free time. They were bouncing with the excitement of their first "sleep out", but, in truth, the sleeping part was not the most successful aspect of the weekend. The real crankiness didn't set in until Sunday, so it could have been much worse. Emmy's big request was that we go to "Old McDonald's", where "you get dolls with your food". So that was our exciting outing...
Of course, the playground was a wonderland for them. They were too intimidated to navigate the tubes initially, but then our friend Miss Dana arrived, took off her shoes, and showed them how it was done...they were fearless and giddy after that. The funniest part about the experience was that Emmy discovered she does not care for the food at this establishment. She would have none of it. So next time we'll go for playground and ice cream...
I just had to get a picture of the high chair, circa 1970. I really think they're the same ones we had at McDonald's as children, metal and plastic, complete with Grimace, the Hamburglar and the whole gang.
The most interesting part of the McDonald's experience was that there was a table set up for Songkran with a small Buddha statue, draped with flowers, and a silver bowl of water that people poured over the Buddha when they came in. It was a bit surreal to see the meshing of fast food and religion...it really was a picture of how the Buddhist faith pervades Thai life.
Emmy has discovered the joys of playing in the hose. We were having one of those 'it's too hot to go outside there's nobody to go visit we have nothing to do' kind of days, and I decided, you know what? We're not going to languish, we're going to play! So we donned bathing suits (the children did; I generally feel uncomfortable in the yard in a bathing suit) and sunscreen, and Emmy had a fabulous time, plus I got to water the yard. She is just the perfect picture of summer fun! We tried to get Asa in on the excitement, but we discovered that there's no good way to squirt a 7-month old with the water hose without it being pretty stressful for him, so he was content to enjoy watching Emmy in her water wonderland.
I'm not sure what caused the dreamlike quality of this photo, but isn't Asa looking like quite the little patriot? I think Emmy looks a bit stressed by the responsibility of holding him up...
In other news, Barbie has invaded our house. Well, not really Barbie, technically. A $3 special from a "Barbie" kiosk at the mall. Emmy has long admired this beauty in the homes of a couple of neighbors, so we decided to take the plunge and she has been in raptures about this addition to her imagination menagerie. Tim brought this Thai outfit home for her as a treat the other day, and she is quite the picture, is she not? Tim did the hair, too, but don't tell him I told you that...
