Saturday, March 24, 2012

Aleena Said

Aleena and I were talking about baseball the other day.  She told me that at first she didn't know how to play, and she had thought that everyone would be on the field at the same time.  We laughed about it, but I guess since she had only played soccer and basketball, it's not really that surprising.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Paying It Back

Tomorrow is the parent-student conferences at ISB, so the kids are "off" school.  They have to go for a short time for the conference, but otherwise are off school.  The conferences are normally spread out over two days, but today was a makeup day for the eight or so days that they missed because of the flood.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Lady Gaga

Tim and some of her friends are going to the upcoming Lady Gaga concert in Bangkok this May. Apparently Joy knew someone who was able to score them tickets before they went on sale to the general public.

While they did not ask me if I wanted to go, I was hardly upset, as I probably would have declined. One person in our family who did not take being excluded very well was Aleena. When she learned that her mom had tickets and that she (Aleena) would not be able to go, she started crying. At one point she was on the floor weeping loudly stating "I want to go". Tim was at work at the time, so I had the joy of dealing with that myself.

I explained that none of her friends were going; that this was only for the moms. Aleena asked who was going, and when I told her, she said that one of them should give up their ticket so that she could go instead. Unsuccessful with this tact, she wrote a letter to her mom, which included a picture of herself crying because she could not go.

Aleena has brought it up a couple of more times since the initial outburst of tears, and while she didn't cry, it's clear that she is not happy about it.  I guess I'm going to hear about this for a while.

Gymntastical

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Run, Hit and Catch

Jacob had a couple of games over the weekend.

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Ninety More Days

Tomorrow is my interview with Thai immigration to receive my ninety day visa extension.  When I get back from our April trip to Japan, then I will need to apply for my one year spouse visa.

If things go as expected, then that will probably be the last Thai visa that I need.  Our plan is to leave in the summer of 2013, so if my one year visa expires in April, 2013, I can make a trip or two out of the country if necessary.  Realistically, a trip is probably more work than just doing the paperwork, but it is also likely to be more fun.

Let It Rain

The girls camping trip was certainly a memorable one.  On their second day, a strong storm swept through the campsite, tossing around the tents, and even knocking over some trees.  Most of the girls were out doing activities at the time, while a few mothers who had stayed behind to rest frantically tried to zip up the tents to prevent everything from getting wet.

Some of the troops made the decision to head back home on Saturday night and forgo another night at the camp ground and the next day's activities.  Aleena's Brownie troop was one of those who chose to go home, while Tim stayed with her Junior group.  The lodge allowed those who stayed to move into rooms instead of staying in wet tents.  I think that this made for a more pleasant stay the second night, because while the rooms are not air conditioned, they have fans and are much more comfortable than sleeping in a tent.

I remember two years ago when Jacob and I camped at the same place while he was a Cub Scout.  We had not properly attached the rain guard on the tent that first night, and were rewarded with some rain in our tent.  Fortunately we woke up before things were too wet, and I was able to correct the problem.  We were certainly not the only ones to get wet that night, several families faring much worse than us.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

International Day

This International Week at ISB's elementary school, when the students celebrate their diverse backgrounds and countries of origins.  During the week, they were allowed to wear t-shirts that represented their homeland, and today (Friday) they are encouraged to wear their countries traditional costumes and outfits.  International Week was originally scheduled in November, but had to be moved back due to the flooding in Thailand.

Nalin and Aleena decided to wear traditional Thai outfits.  Aleena would bemoan the fact that there are not really American costumes, dismissing the cowboy motif.

The day starts off with a parade from the sports fields to the Chevron theater, where they have a student assembly. There are a lot of parents along the parade route, taking photos and waiving at the children.  After the assembly, the students return to their classrooms, where parents have setup stations to teach the kids about different countries culture.

Last year I went and took some photos at the parade, but this year I decided to sit it out.  Instead, I had the girls pose for some photos in my "studio" before they went to school.

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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Jacob's Birthday

Last Saturday Jacob celebrated his last pre-teen birthday in a pretty low key manner. The family went to dinner at a Korean BBQ in Central Changwattana at Jacob's request. After dinner, we returned home for some cake and presents.



As is evident from the photo, Jacob enjoyed the cake, even before he started eating it.