Chilliwack so far

Julia's first taste of solid food!












red peppers are yummy, too!














momma duck with 2 ducklings under her












the new car seats seem to be comfy














Ella's best friends, the chickens

Ella's HK birthday party

11 toddlers
3 primary schoolers
5 babies
over a dozen adults
No wonder we only had time for a few quick photos!

Cupcake time!
They loved decorating their cupcakes with sprinkles





Pool time!







Arts and Craft time






time to relax, cool down and watch a movie






It was a bittersweet day. Our good friends are re-locating back to Melbourne. They will be sorely missed


Ella opening her gifts the next morning. A Play-Doh kit is my
go-to bday gift. I was happy to see Ella loved receiving one from one of her little friends.

Tutu Cake. Cast your vote

I have big ideas (and absolutely no plans in place) to throw Ella a Tutu birthday party while we are in Vancouver.




Do you think I could make one of these cakes for her?




Which one would you like to see at her party?
And are you free July 23 or 24th?

lost in translation

Today is Ella's last day at playgroup and they are having a fancy dress party. We borrowed this Snow White costume from Evie down the street. How do we not have a princess costume for Ella??
SO CUTE!!

beautiful tree in bloom beside our place.

Update: This tree is called Flame of the Forest tree

Julia can sit upright by herself now and LOVES it! She falls over a lot but she is so over laying on her back and tummy






Playing in the clubhouse before Ella's ballet class




Ballerina's



Point your toes






Only 2 classes left this term. Parents were allowed into class this week to watch and take pictures

I am so happy my kids wake up happy like me and not grumpy like their Daddy

Ella tries ice skating

Hi Daddy! I'm skating!










Ella did well and had a fun time








Thanks for the mittens, Aunty Hilary





I think it took us longer to get to the rink then to do our 4 laps, but Ella had fun and that was all my back could take.

Phuket Thailand

I guess sometimes I just like a challenge.
Like deciding at 9 am that it would be a great idea to pack up our family of four, find a catsitter (Leah is in the Philippines), book a hotel and spend 5 days in Phuket. And we have to be on the bus to the airport at 1PM.
Our plane landed at 5 and it is a 45 minute car ride to the hotel. Ella fell asleep about halfway there and stayed asleep thru check-in, unpacking in the room and ordering room service. When she woke in the morning her first words were, "Where are Grandma and Grandpa?" because the last time she was in a hotel was with them in Bali.

Considering I spent all of 5 minutes researching this hotel and the only picture I looked at was a small thumbnail, we were happy. Wouldn't stay there again, but it certainly suited our basic needs.
First order of business was a massagee for Suds.




Ella quickly became fluent in Thai, able to say thank you, hello and tuk tuk. She also quickly mastered the art of "No thank you" while walking past all the touts for dvd's/suits/food/tuktuk

The pool was obviously a hit!





At home Ella doesn't have a nap, but on holiday she does. We woke her for dinner and she was NOT happy about it. My desperate attempt to get something in her ended up with her even refusing a glass of milk! Although an hour later when walking past a roadside snack cart she happily accepted a doughnut


After dinner we decided to walk back and found ourselves in a dodgy back alley situation. You know when you are driving down East Hastings St (with your doors locked) and you see a family of 4 with cameras around their necks and you just know they are LOST? That was us. So we walked a little further and took a photo of course :)

No trip to Thailand is complete without some elephant action. I asked the tour coordinator at the hotel if the zoo was a "sad" zoo or was it a happy place? He didn't know never having been there. Which should have been my tip-off because who in San Diego hasn't been to that zoo? The elephants were happy and well treated, guided by their handlers with only words and gentle hand gestures

Julia loved the elephant show!





This baby tiger seemed OK, however there were several adult tigers that were NOT happy and in small cages. There was one tiger out (chained) and available for photos for about $7. There were 2 Aussie girls who had just finished their photo and raved to us about it. We had agreed and were about to step up when the handler picked up a rod and smacked and prodded the tiger into a better photo position! At which point I spun on my heel and said NO WAY! Poor tiger :(

Ella was so scared, she thought the croc was going to eat her:)



It is the rainy season in Thailand and we were caught in several downpours. Luckily for us we were in the bar district for this one...


and Ella was sleeping so we could relax and have a drink in peace....






and with bar hostess' more than happy to take care of Julia we were set!!



When the sun was out again Suds and Ella went tide pool exploring





Lots of temples and holy places to make offerings at





Luckily for us Molly Malone's was willing to turn the hockey game on. Again, both kids were sleeping and we could watch the game in peace


Street side food vendors are common. This one was serving soup but we also saw crepes, satay, fruit, noodles, doughnuts, fritters and rice.

3 girls in their swimsuits!!




The view of Patong Beach






Sunset on our last night






Morning we left. Ella slept and slept while we packed. then she woke up with this untamed lion mane hair do! Both girls were in great spirits this morning.