Thailand Day 5...

December 31

Sarah and Brynn got a chance to pet and feed the elephants.

Feeding the elephants was the highlight for Brynn!

 

The girls enjoyed the elephant ride as a trio!

 

The amazing view from an elephant!

 

The girls were afraid it was going to tip on numerous occasions.

Highlights of the Day:

1. Susan received her first "Thai Oil Massage" today. She enjoyed the special treatment!

2. I enjoyed the morning with Aubrey as we watched plenty of Bowl Games and the UFC event.

3. For dinner, we stayed in tonight and enjoyed pizza from Ooh La La!

4. Sarah and I contemplated going out for New Year's tonight, but after realizing that we were old and did not enjoy the party scene, we elected for a movie in bed!

Thailand Day 4

December 30

 

Susan and Sarah enjoyed this fried rice dish for lunch at a restaurant on the beach.

 

My little diva got treated to a pedicure on the beach.

 

Aubrey continued her sunbathing ways today.

 

Brynn loves working on sandcastles. She wears herself out carrying buckets from the water to our chairs.

Random Happenings...

1. Sarah and I enjoyed a couples "aroma oil" massage today. It was fabulous. I would post pictures, but they are NSFW!

2. Brynn got her first taste of  "no" water-wing swimming tonight. She sank pretty quickly, but did not freak out. We are going to work her slowly into swimming without floats on this vacation.

3. The hotel that we are staying at has a pretty good restaurant. It has some great wings for a cheap price. I have eaten them for lunch the past two days. 

4. Tomorrow's pictures should be exciting, as Sarah, Susan and Brynn have booked an excursion to ride elephants. I hope to also post some video of the event!

Thailand Day 3...

December 29

 

I am not sure about Brynn's face in this picture, but I love the intensity!

 

Brynn has been practicing floating on her back in the bath tub. She was eager to show off her new moves this year in the pool. The practice paid off as she nailed the back float!

 

Aubrey enjoys the pool chairs much more than the water.

 

Laying out by the pool with her hat in order to keep that bald head from burning!

With Brynn not feeling well, we decided to take a day off from the beach. We stayed at the pool and inside the condo. Brynn loved the pool! We went swimming early in the morning and late at night. She constantly jumped off the side and swam on her back. She loves being dunked, but not thrown in the air. Sarah and I went to Patong to shop for groceries. We found a great driver who we plan to use for the rest of the trip. We enjoyed an amazing meal for supper. It was a restaurant that we had not tried the previous year. I enjoyed Shrimp with oyster sauce, while Sarah and Susan split three dishes... chicken with red curry and coconut milk, Thai Omelet and Thai Chicken Salad. I actually liked their curry dish best of all!

Thailand Day 2

December 28

Aubrey experienced her first visit to the beach this afternoon. Instead  of showing the typical childlike excitement most children produce, Aubrey gave us this...

 

Eventually, Aubrey came around. She dropped her bathing suit cover-up and gave us this glamor shot...

 

After posing for some pictures, we decided to let Aubrey adventure into the water. This endeavor did not last long, but we were able to snag a picture.

Brynn was so excited about visiting the beach this year. Despite still being sick, she got to enjoy an hour of fun in the water and sand.

With the visit from Susan, Sarah and I are actually able to spend some alone time. Today, we shared a romantic stroll down the beach.

 

Few Random Notes...

1. Thailand food still rocks. I have knocked back some Chicken with Chili and Onion for lunch and Shrimp Cakes for Dinner.

2. The old, European women are finally covering up. While bikinis are still the fashion for all shapes and sizes, topless does not seem as prevalent. Men, however, are still rocking the speedos!

3. If anyone knows of a job that pays 6-figures in Thailand which requires very little work, but a lot of playing on the beach, please shoot me an email!

Thailand Day 1...

 

Brynn tripped over her suitcase and wiped out in the Chengdu Airport. With her being sick lately, everything is a major ordeal! 

Aubrey was pleasant on the flight. Sarah was a trooper and held her for most the airtime.

Sarah showing off her Super Mom skills with one asleep and the other in a Dora the Explorer trance.

Aubrey enjoyed having the seat to herself for a few minutes.

The Perdue clan enjoying their 1st Class seats!

Tuesday December 27

Our flights to Thailand started without much excitement but ended with a BANG!

The Chengdu Airport was actually mild with very little wait time in the lines and on-time flights. Chengdu was actually the best airport for a change.

After making an error in our initial bookings, we were forced to rearrange our second flight. Instead of Air Asia for Flight #2, we booked ourselves on Qatar Airways. Our times between flights were only 2 hours, so I knew we must move quickly. After getting off our initial flight, we asked about the location of Qatar Airways. We were told it was at the "other" airport in KL which was an hour bus ride away. Luckily a taxi driver told us that he could get us there in 20 minutes if we allowed him to drive "very fast". Sarah was hesitant, but I gave him the go ahead after checking with a couple of policemen that he was legit. After driving about 170 KMH, we arrived at the new airport with 30 minutes to spare.

After the rush and initial freak out, our fortunes turned for the better. Somehow, our tickets were in 1st Class. Sarah, Brynn, Aubrey and I enjoyed a 65 minute 1st class flight with Red Snapper and unlimited drinks. I watched the end to HPDH 2 while Brynn enjoyed Dora the Explorer. Sarah and I have vowed this will not be our last 1st class flight.

We arrived in Phuket about 45 minutes before Susan and just remained in the luggage area to wait. Brynn was ecstatic to see her Nana and Aubrey was her always cheerful self. We found a man to transport us to our condo. He fit about 10 different pieces of luggage into his compact car. I was thoroughly amazed!

Our condo is great. It is on the same beach as last year. The condo is much larger and much nicer. The only drawback is that it is located about 5 minutes further from the beach. After looking around for a few minutes last night, we settled in for the night. Sarah, Aubrey and I in one bed and Brynn and Susan in another.

I plan to blog everyday from Thailand. So be on the lookout for pictures and stories.

Santa visits China

Santa Claus decided to visit China early. We are leaving for Thailand two days after Christmas and Santa thought it would be nice for Brynn to have a little time to play with her doll house. She loves it! It has provided hours of entertainment the last couple of days.

Aubrey also received an early Christmas present....her two front teeth. It has been a rough couple of days for our sweet girl. Teething has not been easy for her, but her two bottom teeth finally poked through last night. Hopefully she will be feeling better today!!!

A Chat with Santa

This summer at Cracker Barrel Brynn noticed a doll house in the store and said she wanted it. I said something like "maybe Santa will bring you one at Christmas". Since that day, it has been all about the doll house that "Ho Ho" is going to bring her. Santa has also been informed that it must be a "pink" doll house!

Thankfully we had some elves visit us from the states and a doll house was included in their luggage. Even though Brynn is only two, she already knows how to find Mommy and Daddy's hiding spots for Christmas presents. She spotted the doll house on one occasion, but luckily two-year olds can be distracted easily!

We did not think we would be able to see Santa this year so we wrote him a letter. It went something like this...

Dear HoHo,


I have been a very nice girl this year. Please bring me a pink dollhouse. You can leave it under the tree. Don't forget I live in China. I will leave you cookies, milk and coke.


Love, Brynn

Last Sunday night we went to hear our high school choir sing and to our suprise Santa was there. Brynn was a little nervous at first, but finally went to sit with him but insisted I went with her. Of course, she told him she had been nice and would like a pink doll house.