Family Photos

In November we had family photos taken in Georgetown by a visiting photographer from Australia.  It was a fun morning and the photos captured our family and the beauty of Georgetown.  I had every intent on using these as our Christmas photos, but alas, life happened and I didn't get around to it.  Enjoy some of our favorites!

Adalyn: 18 Months

This little love is 18 months!  Adalyn has been a true joy to be around this month.  She is nothing but happy and her smile is really infectious.  This month has been an explosion of affection and interaction, melting mine and Eric's hearts on a daily basis.  She loves giving and receiving cuddles, kisses and hugs.  Her increased self awareness has led to an increase in communication which is awesome.  She can tell us when she's tired, hungry or has gone to the bathroom.  She loves to helps when we are in the kitchen and she loves to go for walks with her stroller.  We continue to go to playgroup each week and she loves hanging out with her friends, especially the older girls, Josie and Skylynne.  She loves to go to the playground and play on the slides and swings.  We celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving this month and had family photos taken. We also said "farewell" to Adalyn's Fairy Godmother, Julie, who returned to Australia.   It was a great month and it's a special time to watch Adalyn become a little girl.  Here are a few pictures for Adi's 18th month of life.  Enjoy!

My little kitchen helper

playing with pumpkins

Helping momma make bread

This big girl loves to sit on the couch

And in her bumbo seat...

This face is precious! 

Playing the drums with daddy

Somersault prep

push, push, push

Success!!!

Loving her ice cream cone

Adi's favorite hat...

Going for a walk with her momma

Playgroup

Trying to get 20+ toddlers to sit still for a picture is fun!

Adi taking a reading break on the road...this kid kills me

Goodbye Auntie Julie, we will miss you!!

Playing with the big girls!  So precious!

On to the next month.  I wonder what adventures there are in store for Adalyn?!?

Thanksgiving 2014

Last weekend we hosted Thanksgiving for 22 of our friends at our place.  As Thanksgiving is our favorite American holiday, we wanted opted to share the tradition with our non American friends, although a few Yankees were invited too.  We spent the evening sharing traditional Thanksgiving fare like, turkey, stuffing, cranberries, green beans, and pumpkin pie.  It was a lovely evening and I'm pretty sure everyone left happy and very full.  I must mention the Turkey.  Getting a turkey this year in Penang was quite the challenge.  Luckily our friends, Jim and Sharon, were our turkey fairies this year.  A turkey was bought in Singapore, smuggled (drove) across the boarder to Malaysia and flown back domestically to Penang.  Our turkey had quite the passport.  Eric did a stellar job with the meat, smoking it on our bbq and it turned out absolutely delicious.

We spent Thanksgiving day with our friends, Marcie and Jeff at their house.  We had a very nice and low key evening.  The girls all played, while we enjoyed lots of yummy food!  I hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful as ours!

Our Sri Lankan Adventure: Private Villa, Beach and Friends

While the first half of our ten days in Sri Lanka focused on exploring the highlands and culture, the second half of our trip was all about relaxing.  The beaches of Sri Lanka are well known for being quiet and gorgeous. They are not overrun with tourists or huge beach resorts, yet.  The beaches are clean with nice surf and nearly deserted, at least where we stayed.  For our beach time, our friends Jeb, Andrea and Sam flew in from the US to hang out with us.  We rented a fabulous beach villa at Six Degrees North, where we were pampered and very well looked after. Our villa had four bedrooms, a private dining area, yard, pool, beach and staff.  It was beyond incredible.  We dined on some of the best Sri Lankan curries, spent long afternoons in the pool and marveled at some of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen.  Mornings came early for us, as the sun was up before 6 and the roti man's alarm clock followed soon after.  Eric, Adi and I spent our early morning sipping tea, eating cookies and going for nice walks down our deserted beach.  Literally, we were the only ones on it, except for the local fishermen.  Aside from a day trip to nearby Galle, we stayed tucked away in our villa.  It was so good that I'm almost positive we will go back. Here are some pictures of our amazing time!

After six hours in the car, Miss Adi couldn't wait to go for a swim

Adi and Eric playing in our front yard

The complete villa, house in the back, dining upstairs and our amazing private pool

And then there was the beach...Oh the beach!

Only our foot prints in this sand

Portland High School Class of 2000 - Reunion in Sri Lanka

Long, lazy afternoons at the pool = AWESOME

And the sunsets....WOW!

 Day Trip to Galle

Buddha monument for those who lost their lives in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami

Adi and Upul at the Galle Fort

The pouty lip 

Snake Charmer...

One day trip was enough for us to decide that we had it made at our villa.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there!

Early morning beach walk

Big surf and fun fun waves

Local Fisherman pulling up their bamboo nets.  A very big undertaking

Happiness with a Pringles Can

It's safe to say that Adi loved the pool!  Loved!

Poolside Bubbles

Our last sunset

Our last perfect morning at the villa.  Tears were shed when we left.  Absolute perfection and I'm a tough critic.  

We spent our last night in Sri Lanka close to the airport as we had an early morning flight.  We chose a great hotel in a quiet location.  On our drive we ran into a processional after mass.  It was amazing to see the cultural and religious diversity of this country.  Absolutely beautiful.

Saris and the Cross a beautiful combination 

Sri Lanka sent us off with a final gorgeous sunset.  This country was amazing.  This trip was the best trip in Asia we have taken.  I'm not sure what or why but everything was pure magic.  All I can say is, I must go back, and soon.