Summer is Fading, but the Living is Still Easy

Just kicking up my legs and looking at a book.  Life is good!

I see trees of green and red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you, And I think to myself . . . what a wonderful day for a bike ride to the playground! 

Playground = obstacle course for the expert bike rider.

Logan’s friend Isabel launches herself off the highest platform.

And nearby, Naomi tries to figure out how she can fly too.  

   Nothing unusual.  Just a really nice day.

Sorry about the recent slow-down of posts here.  Other projects took precedence for a while, and frankly, I lost my motivation.  I was determined to get caught up before we went to Thailand but then that fell through and blogging didn’t seem quite so urgent.

Really, though, you shouldn’t complain—I’ve already posted far more this year than I ever have.

One more for the road.

Thailand or Bust?

If you haven’t already heard, we did cancel the trip to Thailand that we were supposed to be leaving for this Saturday.  There was a lot that played into the decision but one of the biggest factors was the flooding.  As it turns out, we are feeling pretty good about our decision.  The flooding has only gotten worse; here are some excerpts of an article posted on CNN today:

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Floodwaters have forced the closure of Bangkok's Don Muang airport and the evacuation of flood victims who have taken refuge there.

In a televised address Tuesday night, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the capital could be submerged by as much as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet).

The floods have killed 373 people and affected more than 9.5 million people, authorities said.

On Tuesday the Thai Cabinet announced public holidays for the end of the month due to high tides, which could further devastate the flood-ravaged country.

The holidays will be from Thursday to next Monday and will be effective in 21 provinces, including Bangkok, that are still under water, a government spokeswoman said.

Of particular concern were areas along the Chao Phraya River, which winds through the capital and is expected to overwhelm embankments this weekend.

The government has called the flooding the worst to afflict the nation in half a century and said some areas might require more than a month before waters recede.

The government has set up more than 1,700 shelters nationwide, and more than 113,000 people have taken refuge.

Overall damage from the floods has risen and could top $6 billion, with the worst yet to come as the waters destroy shops and paralyze factories nationwide, the Thai Finance Ministry said.

To put the pieces together for you: the public holiday is Thursday through Monday, we were supposed to be in Bangkok Saturday through Tuesday.  The area of particular concern along the Chao Phraya River is where our hotel was.  We had intended to take the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai but the tracks are flooded and our second choice for getting out of Bangkok would have been . . . the airport that they just closed and evacuated.

The really crazy part?  God was telling me a month ago that this trip was a bad idea and I didn’t want to listen.  Once Jake and I did start to reconsider I had to apologize to Jake (and God) for not paying attention when I should have.  At least I got the message before we were in the middle of all that mess!

So . . .  no Thailand for us right now.  It’s a little disappointing but overall, I think it’s a good thing.  Just wanted to let you know.

She’s #1!

Happy birthday Naomi!

I picked up party hats at the 100 Yen store just for kicks.  The kids had a grand time with them.

This was on her actual birthday; her party was a couple of days later.

For her party, we kept things super-simple.  Alejandro and his family (Crystal, Conner and Vincent) were Naomi’s only guests.

 
Yumm, homemade pizza.

You are My Sunshine! 

Wait for it . . .

 
Here it comes . . .

Mmmmm . . .

Atta girl!

Pure golden sunshine.

   
Opening presents of course.  Here, can you hold this for me?

What do you mean this isn’t how you do it?

Okay, I guess I could use a little help.

  Actually, I think I’ve got it from here.  Thanks!

It was fun, but now I’m ready for bed.  Night-night all!

This Time With Two

Henry and Janet are visiting—I can’t believe it’s been a year since they were here last time!  It’s also been over a year since we went to this wonderful beach/playground.  The last time we went I was still hugely pregnant with Naomi!

Now look at her!  Can someone please explain to me where the time goes?

 

 

Remember this picture of Logan (from a year ago)?  Well, I tried to (more or less) re-create the shot with Naomi . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the best I could do.  Oh well, shoulda known better!

 

 

 

 

 

I do like this one of the two of them though; I like that Naomi is looking right up at Logan.

Logan was really trying to be encouraging/helpful with Naomi that day.  Here he is waiting patiently for Naomi to get over the bridge, as you can see though, Naomi just wasn’t having it.

She’s really an impressive little climber though!

And of course Logan has mastered just about everything they put on playgrounds, including ziplines.

What a pair!

Sand Between Your Toes?

Or oatmeal in the diaper?  Take your pick.

Naomi vs. the Leaning Tower of Diapers.

My indoor “sand” box.  I actually prepped this when we were expecting yet another typhoon to give us something new and different while the storm blew over, but then the storm changed tracks and never really hit us.  The box is fun anyways.

The box contains oatmeal, not sand—the benefit of that substitution should be pretty obvious.

The oatmeal box has been a huge hit and the clean-up generally isn’t that bad.

This has proven to be the best way to cut down on the mess.

And there’s still room for both of them to play while Naomi’s sitting inside it!

Inside, Outside, Upside Down

More hodge-podge snapshots from our life.  That’s pretty much it!

This one is for my dad, to show him that the car he got for Logan is holding up well and being enjoyed a second time around.

We happened to hit the zoo at the right time for some elephant feeding.

This was nothing though—just wait until we get to Thailand!  We have an awesome elephant adventure planned there.

Maybe he is practicing his pirate face?

    Naomi rummages in the cabinets for some breakfast for her and her doll.

Painting with corks.  Not so much because I’m a good, creative mom but mostly because I couldn’t find the paintbrushes. 

Post-paint clean up. 

 Grammie sent Clifford for Naomi’s birthday.  Thanks Grammie!

 Just a little backyard fun.

  If he laces and she unlaces, does that count as teamwork?

This shisa sits at the top of a set of stairs.  At the bottom of the set of stairs there is a nice large field of grass.  In that field of grass there was SUPPOSED to be a playground.  The guidebook said it was there; it even showed pictures.  But the playground had vanished!

  I know that I was looking for the playground in the right spot because there were still a few remnants left, like this very large and still pretty cool castle.  Why the rest of the playground was no longer there is a mystery. 

  
But, as usual, we made the best of it.  We had a nice game of hide and seek at the castle, and also had a chat about how adventures don’t always turn out exactly like you expect.

Then we said goodbye to the shisa . . .

and trotted back home.