Whew...a whole week to catch up on. And not just any old week; it's the week before Christmas. And it's not just any old week before Christmas; it's the week our family decided to take its winter getaway. I will try to not be my usual verbose self so as to prevent this entry from going on...and on.....and on....and on.......
We decided that this year we would spend the first week of our Christmas vacation in Phuket, Thailand. However, when Scott saw how high the rates were the closer the dates came to the 25th, he decided we were pulling the kids out of school a couple of days early to buck the system. We had arranged to leave the night of the 17th. From here on out I will give a day by day break down of the past week.
December 17th:
Scott's cousin, Elder Barlow, just completed his mission here in Singapore. Actually, he was transfered out of Singapore the month before we arrived so we never had the chance to see him until now. His family flew here to pick him up, and we were lucky enough to have them stop by the morning before we left. We all had a wonderful visit and it was fantastic having the opportunity to catch up.
After the Barlow's left, we headed over to the boys' school to watch Andrew in his Christmas concert. Andrew's class sang "Santa Lucia" and they all held small candles in the darkened auditorium while they sang (it was very sweet). However, because of those wonderful special effects, it was too dark for me to get a picture of him while he was singing. Once the concert was done, we whisked both boys out of school and left for the airport. Before leaving school, Jacob's teacher gave him a Santa Claus hat as a Christmas present. Jacob was so excited that he refused to take it off. The only time he took it off during the following 24 hours was at the security check at the airport and when he went to sleep.
December 18th: Scott's Birthday!!!!
Here are the boys setting off to have breakfast our first day in Phuket. Jacob looks like baby Santa on holiday, and Andrew looks like some sea creature trying to stay warm. (If the temperature drops anywhere below 87 degrees, Andrew insists on wearing his sweater).
In order to celebrate turning 33, Scott took the boys out on a Wave-runner. Not only that, he allowed Jacob to drive!!! Of course, the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever (even though Andrew wanted to get off 20 minutes into the ride).
While Jacob and Scott finished up their hour on the Wave-runner, Andrew and I started to build a castle...which then turned into a giant pit with a wall protecting it from the waves.
When the waves started to encroach on the pit, Andrew started to throw large clumps of sand at the ocean in hopes of fighting it off. Jacob joined in on the effort and soon it looked like they were rein-acting some kind of war scene; down in the trenches throwing grenades. Of course it only took a few minutes until they were throwing the "grenades" at each other and they were having an all out sand fight. The locals on the beach thought it was hysterical.
At dinner that night, Jacob was very excited to surprise Scott. He excused himself to go to the restroom, and then asked our waitress if she could bring out a piece of cake and sing to Scott. It was so cute of him - and I think that Scott may have been genuinely surprised. After we ate, we decided to go for a walk on the beach. While there, we noticed large lanterns floating up into the sky. They were beautiful. We then found out that we could send some off ourselves. Another neat experience, and a great way to end Scott's big day.
December 19th:
We decided to go on a boat tour of the Phi-Phi islands. We were taken by speed boat to about five different islands. Our first stop was on the island where "The Beach" was filmed (though I don't think anyone actually saw that movie). I took this great picture of Scott and the boys only to have Scott be a little put out afterwards. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until he pointed out two unwanted extras in the photo.
Here is a close up of them if you did not notice them in the above picture.
And here is my lame attempt at removing them from the picture withOUT the magic of Photoshop. This was done by hand ladies and gentlemen.
We took a stop where everyone could jump off the boat and go for a swim. Scott and Jacob were the first two off the boat. Andrew was more interested in raiding the cooler for an orange soda. After he had polished off the entire thing he agreed to go in the water.
The water was so deep it was somewhat scary.
At the next stop, we were supposed to jump off the boat to go snorkeling. Again, Scott and Jacob were the first ones off and out. I was in charge of convincing Andrew to get in the water. He and I snorkeled for maybe 20 minutes. Actually, I snorkeled while Andrew took a free ride on my back. Once Andrew realized he was allowed to throw food to the fish, we were out of the water and on the boat looking for food. Here he is, happy as a clam.
And here are the two adventurers. Jacob was so excited about the snorkeling that I could not get him to come up for a picture.
Jacob was not the only one who got carried away by the snorkeling. Scott wandered the farthest from the boat and was almost left behind. Everyone had finished snorkeling and was on board (well, everyone, except Scott). All of a sudden, the engines turned on and we were taking off. Jacob and Andrew both leapt up and started to yell, "My dad! You forgot my dad!!!" The engines were turned off, and in the distance we could all see a little snorkel spout quickly making its way towards the boat.
The water was so deep it was somewhat scary.
At the next stop, we were supposed to jump off the boat to go snorkeling. Again, Scott and Jacob were the first ones off and out. I was in charge of convincing Andrew to get in the water. He and I snorkeled for maybe 20 minutes. Actually, I snorkeled while Andrew took a free ride on my back. Once Andrew realized he was allowed to throw food to the fish, we were out of the water and on the boat looking for food. Here he is, happy as a clam.
And here are the two adventurers. Jacob was so excited about the snorkeling that I could not get him to come up for a picture. 
Jacob was not the only one who got carried away by the snorkeling. Scott wandered the farthest from the boat and was almost left behind. Everyone had finished snorkeling and was on board (well, everyone, except Scott). All of a sudden, the engines turned on and we were taking off. Jacob and Andrew both leapt up and started to yell, "My dad! You forgot my dad!!!" The engines were turned off, and in the distance we could all see a little snorkel spout quickly making its way towards the boat. Here are just a couple more pictures from our day out at sea.
December 20th:
The next day was spent at the beach and pool. That night Scott was adamant that we eat out at a local restaurant. (Up until this point we had eaten solely at the hotel). We decided on a charming place located on the beach. It was picturesque and absolutely beautiful. We all ordered our fruit drinks and watched the sunset.
And that is where the good part of the evening ended. After polishing off our beverages, we spent the next hour waiting for our food and being attacked by mosquitoes. We were all starving by the time our meals arrived. Scott and Jacob both ordered the barbecued crab. I would have burst out laughing when their food arrived had I not been so hungry. There were maybe 3 ounces of meat in each of their little crabs; it was all claws and shell.
However, who were they to complain when Andrew and I still hadn't even been served! It took another 30 minutes for my lame meal to arrive. My dish only had claws...so zero crab meat for me. They totally forgot about Andrew's meal - so we had to wait another 45 minutes for him to eat. That experience reinforced why we had been eating at the hotel the entire time.
The highlight of the evening was when Jacob caught a crab while Scott and I were waiting to pay the bill.
December 21st:
And that is where the good part of the evening ended. After polishing off our beverages, we spent the next hour waiting for our food and being attacked by mosquitoes. We were all starving by the time our meals arrived. Scott and Jacob both ordered the barbecued crab. I would have burst out laughing when their food arrived had I not been so hungry. There were maybe 3 ounces of meat in each of their little crabs; it was all claws and shell. 
However, who were they to complain when Andrew and I still hadn't even been served! It took another 30 minutes for my lame meal to arrive. My dish only had claws...so zero crab meat for me. They totally forgot about Andrew's meal - so we had to wait another 45 minutes for him to eat. That experience reinforced why we had been eating at the hotel the entire time.
The highlight of the evening was when Jacob caught a crab while Scott and I were waiting to pay the bill. 
December 21st:I woke up with the worst stomach pains ever! Followed by what follows stomach pains. (Another gift from the local restaurant where we had dined the night before). Unfortunately for me, we had prepaid to go on an elephant tour that afternoon. I think I would have loved the experience had I not felt like I was going to toss my cookies the entire time. Here were our accommodations for the 40 minute elephant ride. (Going downhill on an elephant with an upset stomach must qualify for some type of torture).
After the elephant ride we were taken to see the monkey show. I was somewhat uncomfortable with my children holding hands with a monkey that had been coughing through its entire performance, but I was too sick to object. Besides, the pictures turned out pretty cute.
After the elephant ride we were taken to see the monkey show. I was somewhat uncomfortable with my children holding hands with a monkey that had been coughing through its entire performance, but I was too sick to object. Besides, the pictures turned out pretty cute. 
I don't remember taking this next picture. By this point my muscles had all contracted and I was dying to run to the nearest restroom.
On a happier (and less vile) note, the boys had a great time. I think their favorite part was feeding bananas to the elephants. Scott was a sweetie and sent me to bed the second we got back to the hotel. From what I heard, the rest of the day was great for the boys.
December 22nd:
Today we tried doing some shopping in Phuket. Jacob and Andrew both chose Thai boxing face-masks as their souvenirs, Scott got a soccer jersey, and I bought a box of Immodium (which I personally feel should be considered one of the ten wonders of the world). To celebrate all our purchases, we went and got an hour long foot massage. When we got back to the hotel we decided to head down to the beach. Andrew was not happy with this idea and kept asking, "Can't I have one day off from the beach!?" Don't worry Andrew, it's back to real life tomorrow.
1 comment:
Catherine,
Happy 33rd Birthday to Scott--what a great place to celebrate!! I loved the pictures of Jacob as baby Santa and Andrew as a sea creature--both look adorable. Your crab dinner and elephant ride made me laugh, as well as many of your other funny comments. You all look great--The Family of the Year. I miss you soooooooo much.
All my love, Mom
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