Happy Halloween

My cute husband.

Hope you're having this much fun today!

Fall Sports

I am not sure what happened this fall, but we had a bit of a revolt when it came to sports.  We haven't experienced this for a while, but the seasons seemed to end well despite a rough go of it.  Micah played machine pitch baseball (no pictures :( .  He loved it so much in the spring, but moving up to machine pitch was a bit hard in the fall.  He did a good job and he really caught fire in soccer!!  He played on Phil's team with several boys from last year.  They started to really know the game and it has been fun to watch.  Phil has loved being the coach and spending that time with Micah.

 

 

Ben also played soccer this fall (no pictures :(  I am almost convinced I need one of those smart phones that follow you around so you don't forget to bring it to your boys' games).  It was a bit unorganized this year and a rough start.  And middle.  And end.  We moved Ben up to kids in his grade instead of age group.  I am not sure if the jump was too big or if he is losing interest, but we will try again in the spring and see what comes of it.

Jacob decided to play another year of baseball with the Vipers.  He is playing up a year and so it is also a challenge to compete against these bigger boys (especially batting).  Even though that was rough, Jacob decided he would like to try his hand at pitching and was able to pitch in several games at the end of the season.  He did a great job!!  It is so fun to watch his concentration and see boys actually swing...and MISS Jacob's pitches.  I'm proud of him for his hard work and miss watching his games and practicing pitching with him. 

 

 

 

Jacob has moved on to Jr. Jazz basketball.  It has also been a little rough (do you sense a theme here) so far, but it is fun to try something new.  Basically the fact that everything doesn't always go smoothly is another one of those life lessons we try and help our boys learn from sports.  One of my wise, (experienced in kids'sports) friends says, "There's a time to shine and a time to stretch."  I think we had a stretching fall...we're hoping for a relaxing winter and a nice shining spring!!!!

Fall Recess

We just had the perfect weekend (according to me!)  On Thursday and Friday the boys were out of school, so Thursday we headed up to Logan for the annual Pumpkin Walk.  Different contributors make scenes out of pumpkins and gourds.  It is something we used to do as kids, so it has been fun to continue with our own family.  Luckily we got some cousins involved as well, which makes it even funner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed to grandma's house after to make carmel apples!  Yum!

Friday when dad got home, we headed out to the Homestead.  The weather was perfect.  We went for a swim in the crater, got Jacob a baconator from Wendy's (can't stop talking about it) and watched baseball while we ate our traditional vacation ice cream pie.  We had a fall (meaning the bases were leaves) baseball game: Parents vs. Kids.  In the morning we enjoyed some shuffle board, went on a hay ride to the above "pumpkin patch" and ate some delicious bbq and fudge.  Micah already misses the homestead and so do I.  I love having the opportunity to get away from life and just spending time with the family.  I love fall and love that I got a few fall pictures along the way. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Happy Fall!

We 8 9 on 10/11/12

Not quite as exciting as Bangkok, but we thought we needed a way to celebrate 10/11/12, I mean how often does that come along??!!  So we decided we had better eat nine of something  (Get it?  Ate 9 on 10/11/12?).  What better than ice cream toppings!! We each made our own Sundaes with a little of each topping.  Yum!

 

Dad goes to Bangkok

Last month Phil was given another unique opportunity to see a new part of the world.  This trip took him to Bangkok, Thailand

 From the unfamiliar...

 

...to the all too familiar, here's some of what he saw!

 

The obligatory picture of Phil's Hotel...

 

...and the views from his window

 

On his first day, Phil spoke at the National Health Care Conference.  The boat picked him up at the Hotel and took him up river to the hospital

 Hard to take good pictures when the boat's moving...

...but some pretty cool sights along the way

Probably the coolest view en route that morning.  More on the Temple of Dawn to follow....

Sorry guys, this is about as clever as my photography gets (Phil through the captain's rear view mirror)

 Speaking at the Conference (Orthotic Management of Cerebral Palsy...which is pretty fascinating, if you're into that sort of thing)

 Phil with some of the other presenters during the session

 A very thoughtful gift from the Princess.  Just her way of saying "Thank You"

 Phil at the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, his home for the next four days.

Lecturing at the school the next morning

 Welcome reception that night with dinner, music...

...and dancing!

  

 

Bangkok at night...pretty impressive!!!

Working with a few of the locals...about 100 of them!  (From Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tanzania and Japan)

Alright everyone, tighten up...you on the end, open your eyes!

Not how we do it back home

 The view when we sat down to dinner

The view when Phil got up to leave

When in Rome, do as the Romans.

When in Thailand, buy custom tailored clothes

Goes well with scrubs!

Dad, his friend Charlie and the Tailor that made it all happen

 Every building and home has a shrine.  This is the shrine for the Prosthetic and Orthotic School

The people leave gifts for the gods, usually food.

 The trip was mostly work, but there was a day of sight-seeing at the end.  Can you find Phil?

Couldn't decide if this was more impressive from a distance or close up

Yes, it was that steep!

View from the Temple back out towards the river

One of many temples we say that day

The view from the canals off of the main river

Yep, floating soup salesman!

During the rainy season, the back-canals are protected from the higher waters of the river by a series of locks up and down the river.  This was the view when the locks opened up and four dragon boats were headed our way

Outside the Grand Palace

The pictures really don't do it justice

If these demon monkeys really do offer protection, this is one of the safest places on earth

Just to clarify, yes, Phil's riding an elephant

 

 The next time you check your text messages, just think, you could have done it from the back of an elephant like this guy

 A few hours north of Bangkok, this used to be the Grand Palace, before Myanmar came in and devastated the area

 ...a very beautiful, peaceful place though

Spectacular in its time

All and all, a truly magnificent experience in an amazing place.
Bangkok is busy and crowded, but with the most patient, gracious people.