Farewell Mimi…

Cambodia will never be the same…at least the airport won’t be…

Dear Mimi ~

I miss you so much…I am so happy that you came to visit me…I was so sad when you left that I had to stay home from school another day.  I love my new life and I’m happy that my daddy and mommy are together, but there is nothing like cuddling up with you on the bed and watching some “Thomas and Jerry”…or having you help me eat my food because I just want someone to sit with me and do it…or sharing our little stories about which animal we like more, which state we are from, how Thomas chases Jerry, how sometimes I make bad choices, about how the Dinosaurs need water to drink…there is nothing like a Mimi to sit and share these stories with…you focus all of your attention on me and I miss those days.  I remember when mommy would go to the Dr. and you would come and play with me and sit me in your “racecar” and let me honk the horn; how you would pick me up from school and take me to get ice cream and I would tell you how my mommy is sitting in a tree watching us; how you would bring us Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner; how I could go to your house and play with ALL of my toys in the “treasure chest”…I know you love me and have lots of time for me!  I loved taking you on MY TIK TOK, showing you Dreamland, taking you to Monkey Business, swimming with you at the Sofitel…I love that now I know that we both have blue eyes…I have not forgotten you and I love you and miss you so much.  I can’t wait until I see you again…

~Zachary

…and the rest of us love and miss you too…

Another Birthday Celebration!

Happy Birthday Leak!  She just turned 25 on August 13th and we got to celebrate with her…we went out on a boat ride and brought our own bottle of wine and a few beers…(You don’t even have to bootleg them…it’s all OK…someone’s going to tap that market soon!)…We were anticipating the “cool breeze” I kept promising Mimi since she’d arrived…alas, we did not get a cool breeze, but we enjoyed each other!

For our own sanity, we (Mimi, Leak & Mommy) took the boys to Monkey Business to burn off some energy and Zachary just HAD to wear his new shoes from Mimi…”Golden Shoes (aka, fake Guccis) and his skate shoes…but he couldn’t decide, so he wore one of each!

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Since it was a special occasion, Zachary got a SIP of wine, and apparently it wasn’t enough…because here is pouting because we won’t give him beer after his wine.

Finally got him…added one drop of wine to water…and he was happy as can be…you see, he just wants to have a party going all of the time…and he cannot order “Cheers!” if he has nothing to toast with!

Mimi…I am so bummed that I have not one picture to post of you on the boat…I did not have control of my camera on the ride…and you would probably KILL me if I put the pictures up of you in mid sentence the “special police” always seemed to capture!!!

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We finished the night at the house with Leak’s favorite birthday cake and then Zach’s girlfriend and BKK took her out for a late dinner while Dad & Mom stayed in for the night!

Doing it up!

A few weeks back, Jim did our date night up right and had reservations at Armands…took me to a rooftop bar and then we finished with some friends at the Aristocrat (Wine & Cigar Bar in NagaWorld!)…Nothing beats a good date night with your hubby!

LOVE LOVED LOVED Armands…this menu is all he serves…Escargot…To DIE for…Steak…melts in your mouth…Wine List…Fab…just a perfect night!

He was in charge of this picture…love some fun!

We love this new bar…until 8 pm, they have Buy 1, Get 1 on their DELICIOUS wine…and the ambience is quite delightful as well…big chairs, live music…Perfect!

A wife, a “grilfriend”, a nanny, a …

Zachary is learning about families at school…and he now has all of the above mentioned in his life…at the same time…maybe 2 wives (his dad says that any man who would want more than one wife is nuts)…more than 3 “grilfriends” and his nanny is also a wife and a grilfriend!  Don’t forget his “boyfriend” too…which I’ve had to teach him is his BFF, to which he’s changed it to his “BKK, like Bangkok!” (his words!)…His first “love” in Cambodia was Phavy…she stole his heart at the 4th of July party and they have been “going steady” since then!…good thing Mom hearts her too!!!  Very happy in my son’s choices in women so far!  I have a new friend!

And let’s not forget life’s little lessons with Husbands & Wives…

Zachary:  Sometimes wives just need to listen to their husbands.

Mommy:  You’re right…ONLY sometimes!

Back to the Grind…

So it’s been awhile since I’ve had anything to say…I know, really, when do I ever not have anything to say?  It’s been a tad quiet around the house since Mimi left…and even though our schedule was different while she was here and we are now back to normal…we miss her.  We ALL miss her…haven’t really known where to start, how to write about all of our fun times…so I’ve just stayed quiet~!…but I will start with this…and then back track…

Since I am “back to the grind”…here are some of my morning sites while out running.  (Yes, I take my camera running with me…but only when I’m pushing the boys, as I have a pocket for it!)

Out fishing on an inner tube…very resourceful folks!

I’ve seen these guys out in the provinces…but this was my first time in town!…at first glance, I thought, “Wow, I haven’t seen horses here yet!”…

This shot is for you Christina Brown…it’s some of the only ones I’ve been able to capture after our phone convo!

Oh yes, that is an elephant in the middle of the city…and YES, that is how he gets in and out…*NOTE…NO door…gate…NOTHING…I guess he just likes to hang out there!

He really is beautiful…you might think you were really in a different place if it weren’t for that fence…wait…I AM in a different place!!!  (and I LOVE it here!)

…Or how about some “rat sized bats” squealing from a tree…

Sambo & Looking for Monkey’s

Zachary has been SO excited to take Mimi to meet Sambo and show her the monkey’s!  He really wanted to ride the elephant with her, but Sambo was a little TOO big for Mimi’s taste!!!  So, we settled on feeding this beautiful beast:

Zachary stayed back the ENTIRE time telling Mimi, “You go feed that elephant.  I don’t like it when he gets his SNOT all over me.  It’s gross.  OK?  So you can feed him!”

As you can see in this very last photo, Mimi was a little apprehensive about that “trunk and snot” as well…the first photos were Mimi feeding Sambo a “bunch” of bananas…this last photo is Mimi feeding Sambo a “single” banana!!!!  Bless your heart Mimi…you do many things you would not normally do for the benefit of your grandchildren’s enjoyment!

…and then we walked and drove and drove and walked looking for monkey’s…Where did they go?  Well, according to Zachary, the lead monkey led them all on to a plane and flew them to Bangkok and they live the “Big City” now.  Truthfully, we have no idea where they went…normally they are sitting there stealing hard boiled eggs from unsuspecting kids, picking their butts at the post office and fighting each other at the park for someone’s sugar cane juice…so, we drove around town looking for monkey’s and never found any (we swear they are all over normally)…

My boys WANT me all of the time and finally I got them together in the car and Trevor was his little loving self and couldn’t stop kissing his brother…if you could hear him, you would smile.  He’s SO happy to be with me and his brother and kissing him…he gets so excited he can’t contain himself!!!

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On a side note…

So…yes, we ride around in cars and tuk tuks without car seats.  It freaks me out, but it’s the way it is here.  We probably ride in a car 2 times per month (if that) and they sit on our laps (unless we are going out of town, then the car seats come out).  It’s SO bizarre to me that this is my life.  This is my life…I ride around in a tuk tuk, if I go for a run and I’ve run 7 miles and I’m tired, I flag a moto driver down to drive me home for $1, date night starts with Jim & I on the back of a moto heading to the River Front, Zachary owns a helmet so he can ride on a moto…this is the way it is here.  Coming in future posts…a photo montage of my “moto sightings”!!!