SHIM + SONS

KIDS CAFES

 

{Moomah}

Today I'm guest blogging over at Sfgirlbybay. I'm sharing some of the inspiration for redecorating the boys' playroom and bedroom. You can read more about it here.

a fall getaway

A little fall getaway was just what we needed. This was the view from our cabin in Ashland, Oregon. There was snow the first night we arrived [the boys were thrilled!] but it melted the following day. We spent most of our time cozying up in the cabin with a fire crackling away in the wood burning stove. 

While Appah was at a meeting the boys and I explored Lithia Park. 

The boys loved the ducks at the pond.

And J collected as many gigantic leaves his two small hands could carry.

We also encountered a beautiful deer family. The boys climbed up a small hill to get a better peek.

The ground was covered with golden leaves.

And the boys wasted no time gathering them up...

...into a pile...

...so they could jump...

...roll...

...and have fun!

And then they discovered the joy of throwing leaves...

...over...

 ...and over again.

hello, spring!

+ returned from our trip to Hong Kong + Macau a few days ago

+ enjoyed the blossoms in Seoul

+ unpacked all our suitcases

+ did five loads of laundry

+ cleaned out the boys' closet [goodbye winter clothes!]

+ downloaded 1200+ photographs on to my computer

+ went grocery shopping

+ cleaned the apartment

+ took Big J to his swim class

+ ate some yummy potato dumpling soup at a local street market

+ made a few changes to Big J's birthday invitations

+ printed out Big J's thank you cards

+ wrote out my to do list for Big J's party [two weeks away!]

+ read through all the wonderful meal planning tips [thank you!!]

+ randomly selected a winner for the little giveaway [#45 - sabrina]

winter vacation :: part two

Our final destination was Khao Lak, Thailand, a small resort town north of Phuket. This was my first time in Thailand and I have to say I fell in love. The beach is beautiful, the people are so friendly and the food is amazing. 

We stayed at the Le Meridien Khao Lak, thanks to all those hotel points Appah has accummulated. This was our first time staying in a resort and I have to give the whole experience two thumbs up. The property was gorgeous and the service was top notch.

It was really nice meeting up with our friends from Oregon and Shanghai. They all arrived a few days earlier so they were all tanned/sunburned by the time we arrived. The boys had their friend J to play with and there was the perfect balance of group vs. alone time achieved during the vacation.

We ate at the resort's breakfast buffet every morning and during lunch time the men would take the mopeds into town and bring back local Thai food. Nothing beats eating delicious Thai food on the beach. Every evening we would go into town and either grab food at the local market [freshly made pad thai, noodle soups, sticky rice with mango, fried chicken] or eat at our favorite Thai restaurant [laab chicken salad, green curry, tom yum soup]. My mouth still waters thinking about the food. The other two men in the group took some cooking classes at the resort. Appah was the photographer since he took cooking classes in Bangkok last year.

Big J was very excited to see so many seashells scattered all over the beach.

He is quite the explorer and is always finding some interesting insect to chase after.

And Baby J had fun playing in the sand, although he is still not convinced that he likes walking on the sand.

The boys also had fun playing at the resort's kids club for a few hours every day. The boys had their own teacher and they loved her. She took them to the beach to catch hermit crabs and seashells and painted their nails in a rainbow of colors.

It was interesting spending Christmas at the beach, but the boys didn't seem to mind since Santa managed to deliver their gifts to our hotel room. And they even had a visit from a jolly Thai Santa Claus on Christmas morning.

My early Christmas present was a banged up shoulder, a nice long gash on my elbow and several scabs on my leg. My first solo journey on the moped was not a success and I've officially given up my dream of owning a motorcycle. Appah seems to think I need to practice a bit more, but really, the pain of having my wounds cleaned out every day was enough to convince me that I will forever be a back-seat driver. I had to laugh when the Thai doctor looked at my wounds and pointed at them and said, "ok", "ok", "not good", "ok", "not good", "ok", all with a smile on his face.

So friends, I'm sporting a nice sling, some nasty scabs and making daily trips to my doctor here in Busan, but really it was a wonderful trip and we're definitely heading back to Thailand next year!