BOY OH BOY

Boy oh Boy have I forgotten what it is like to have a one year old boy around...
Austin help me to remember a few things....

1. Spaghetti is good but can fly across the room and it is pretty funny!
2. The maids at the Courtyard have job security!
3. The car seat in the back creates a perfect place for window painting!
4. Learning to walk at a rest stop on a road trip is sheer pressure!
5. Nectarines are good but MESSY 

A June Bride

One of my favorite musical movies is" Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" - and one of my favorite songs is  "June Bride"... (Maybe because the young women are dancing and singing about getting married while they are in corsets...it always makes me laugh) 

 "Oh, they say when you marry in June, you're a bride all your life.  And the bridegroom who marries in June, gets a sweetheart for a wife." 

And what a lovely BRIDE she is...

I love this bride like she was my own daughter.

  Congratulations Amanda

(and Jason too!!)

Young and the Old

I would like to have titled this entry...The Young and the Restless (kind of sounds like a daytime soap opera, doesn't it);  except I am the one that is always restless and I sure do think that I am 50 years young so the blog would have been all about me, I am not that narcissistic!!  Now, that is a long run on sentence and Laura would have taken the "slap chop" to it and made it all proper English like so it is a good thing she is sleeping while I am blogging.

Yesterday I took Austin to visit his paternal great grandparents and this is the outcome...

Top Left - Audrey, Gramps and Grandma Gailey

Top Right - Nana (ME) and Austin 

I think he is bored with all the picture taking!!

Bottom Left - The four generations

Bottom Right - John with Gramps and Grandma Gailey

Rest Stop Expose`

After not being able to drive in Thailand for the past year I was eager to get behind the wheel of my truck.  John and I set out for our first road trip of the summer a week ago.   I soon found out that driving is a little tiring especially when you are still suffering from jet lag... 

John doesn't drive yet and so I had to make frequent road side stops for a 10 minute power nap.  John decided that he wanted to do a rest stop expose!

A River Runs Through It

This past week as I was able to spend sometime in Logan, Utah, I was asked to teach some classes at Utah State University.  Cache Valley is one of my favorite spots in Utah--okay and by favorite I mean favorite during the non-SNOWING months.  I stayed an extra day so that I could visit with Scott and Danise, who were the best adoptive substitute parents to me while I was attending BYU!  After leaving their home in Nibley, I drove a little north to Hyrum and decided to head east up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to get a look at the river.  Utah has been experiencing flooding this summer due to the heavy snow-pack, that is still visible on the mountain tops. While watching the river rush down the canyon I was reminded of the book I read a few years ago called... A River Runs Through It.

  The Blacksmith Fork River was definitely running through the canyon.

My favorite color is GREEN and the Canyon didn't disappoint me....

Thank you Cache Valley for a great day!!

Flight Plans & Jet Lag

There are days when I feel like I am just flying under the radar or days when I feel like I am about ready to crash and burn.  I try to remember if I filed a flight plan for this flight that I find myself on, called …Airline: MYLIFE: flight number 1960 

Flight plans are documents filed by pilots, in this case ME or at least my mind, with the local Civil Aviation Authority, in this case me, again, prior to any departure from my normal life.  (That would assume that flight pattern of my life has been normal – which it has not, so hence the need for constant flight plan changes!! Glad I am not the Air Traffic Controller!!

 The plans would generally include basic information such as

·        Departure and arrival points – and the conclusion of the flight  (Important dates in one’s life)

·        Estimated time en route (How long will I be flying in this life? In other words how long will I live?)

·        Alternate airports (Which in my case could be like the countries to land in… or new jobs)

·        What to do case of bad weather (Such as loss of job, family member, friend or mind!)

·        Type of flight (Is it going to be smooth sailing or full of turbulence)

·        Pilot's information (What is my potential…What are my talents and gifts)

·        The number of people on board (It seems that the original flight has gone from 6 down to 3 in a few short years)

·         Information about the aircraft itself (What limitations will I have?  How do I best use the aircraft for the best possible flight time?)

 Flight plans are highly recommended, especially when flying over inhospitable areas such as

·        Being a teenager

·        Making decisions in life

·        Rising children

·        Growing older and becoming an empty nester,

·        Watching the price of things rise above their worth

·        The loss of a loved one, whether it is family or friend.

The flight plan can provide a way of alerting rescuers if the flight is overdue, or as in my case sometimes if the flight, the pilot (ME) and plane are just plan LOST.  Don’t you just have days when you feel lost and out of control?  I wish I could remember the flight plan so that I stay on course and not crash and burn!

Going to bed and going to sleep might help…..Jet Lag is not a good thing!

Holiday and a Hike

Here in Thailand we do not have the privilege of having American Holidays off, like Memorial Day.  We do however have the advantage of having off some of the Thai Holidays.  Visakabucha Day being one of them.  It is a Buddhist public holiday, this year it was held on May 17th.  The day commemorates the birth, the enlightenment and death of Buddha.


Unfortunately for John, he still had school; the International School of Bangkok is an American based curriculum and follows US holiday schedule. Fortunately Ron did have it off and so we took advantage of the nice HOT weather and decided to get outside the city and explore....


Erawan National park is about 2 1/2 hours away and with a driver it was fun to play games on my iPad and leave the driving to someone else.  The major attraction of the park is Erawan Falls, a waterfall named after the erawan, the three-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology. The seven-tiered falls are said to resemble the erawan.

You can walk to the top level and back in about 2 hours, it is a fair trek which is slippery and tricky in sections, but it’s well worth it if you are up to it.


You can reward yourself with a swim in one of the beautifully blue pools on the way back down, however I couldn't resist and jump in to one of the pools on the hike up to the top. There are harmless little fish that live in the pools along the trail that nibble at the skin on your feet, this makes for a slightly less relaxing swim but an amusing experience as laughter rings out all around.

The hike was not hard compared to some of the hikes I took in Hong Kong, but it had the familiarity of being back in that beautiful hiking terrain.  One of the things I miss most from my time in Hong Kong is the ability to hike everyday.  This little get away was well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive for me...

Light in Her Eyes

In my many travels thought out Thailand I have met and visited with many different people.  There were the small children of the Hill Tribes learning English is a very primitive one room school house.  And those lovely Thai's waving to me as I ride my bike past there stilted houses, always ready to offer directions with hand signals.  I remember meeting some small boys that swim to take their bath in the surf of the Andaman Sea, frolicking naked among the waves without a care in the world.  


As I traveled around the Seattle area today I was struck by how unhappy people were.  Thailand is know as the land of smiles and they are a very happy people, even when they have so little.  My mind recalled my meaningful visit with a 92 year old Thai woman on one of my adventures last month.  She had the light of happiness in her eyes and I knew that is what I wanted to achieve in my lifetime.


To be happy always, no matter what, with plenty or with little - it is a choice to be happy, you just have to choose it for yourself.

  

“Happiness should be measured by what I create.”

Heidi Gailey 2010 Mantra

Austin Feeds Nana

Austin was eager to share his green cupcake with me.  I love this little monkey.  He rocks my world!