What the new year has bought so far....!

Greetings All!

These have got a little mixed up due to my lack of technical ability but I can't bear to do it again so bear with....

Amber and Poppy discovered the enormously popular football game - available in all shopping centers - Amber was Chelsea and Poppy Real Madrid! However after getting the game to work, the girls (much to the amusement of local Thais - who take it very seriously) made their players spin in circles and skip down the pitch - very amusing!!

Roland Rat in the school pool - Poppy's hair was a very bad shade of green due to all the chemicals that get thown into the pool - the answer washing hair in tomato ketchup and wearing a swimming cap - hence our new little rat daughter!

Amber Rooney just chilling! (and trying to keep her ever expanding bikini bottoms on!)

The girls and I hopped into Hugo (our truck) to nip to 7/11 and met a yam truck leaving the fields behind the school - now they know where they are grown and how!

See - technical inability - more skipping down the pitch!

At a local market - of course - I AM PIZZA!

New footwear required - never expected Amber to go for these in a million years - she loves them!

Ian has found his creative side and started to paint?! So far we have a pink one, a red elephant and 3 orang-utans - girls are now living in fear that they might have to house one of his creations in their rooms!

Bad hair day for Poppy!

Sleepover time! Both nestled on their beanbag chair/bed things. Have now moved into one bedroom together and loving it - the other room is now their playroom.

Our first attempt at making banana pancakes together - they were amazing - will definitely repeat this one!

At the shopping centre.............

Foot, fish nibbling take two.....

Only this time I think we were the first victims of the day - it was excrutiating! The fish were very hungry and it was all we could do to keep our feet in the water!

Poppy on the phone to Nanny!

Chinese New Year!

A new discovery last week we came across The Glass House in Jomtien - on Ian's day off - lovely relaxing place, piped music, big fat cushions and a superb view.

Robinson Crusoe couldn't resist doing some beach combing - now on our balcony and will become 'something' soon!

Apologies! Not a bad spot for lunch though!

On Ian's night off we went exploring a little with the girls and found the Sanctuary of Truth - need to visit it properly now to see it closer.

Boats by the restaurant (could be Ian's next picture?!)

Just to give us a little reassurance when we arrived in Thailand - we discovered that Jimmy White has bought a place here "in a perfect location" - what more can you ask for than gigantic posters of Jimmy White everywhere?!

Well I think that's it so far - apart from sharing a few menu options we came across this week when we visited some waterfalls - food was fab - but the options we didn't go for were; "Penetrate", "Penetrate on Egg", "Boil Be Delicious" and "Mix Total Up The Friend"!!!!

I don't think I can add anything to that?!

Love from us all in Thailand XXX

Happy New Year World!

Well - Happy New Everyone!

We have returned from 3 weeks away - Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai - a very different Christmas but a good one!

By the Mekong River for lunch

A quick boat trip to Laos for a passport stamp! Ian bought a snake is a bottle of whisky but had it confiscated on the flight home (as it was in his hand luggage and liquid - not because it was a snake in a bottle of whisky?!)

We are standing in Thailand, Burma is behind and Laos to the right - no opium in sight now!

We were the crazy Farangs who set off on bikes most days around the town much to the great amusement of the locals!

'Can we play again' should be the phrase of the holiday - after teaching the girls 'Poo Head' (their version) it was a regular pastime - we also discovered en route that apparently playing cards is illegal - we escaped OK!

At our hotel in Chiang Saen - cold - amazingly! (this was Christmas Day)

Great presents from Aunty Susan - Pippin got taken everywhere!

Our baht bus journey to the lovely hotel for Christmas Day lunch - a perfect burger! (seriously in need of some western food! - bliss!)

It says it all!

Amber and Poppy both got to ride on the shoulders - a great experience - and very bristly!

Drinking locally grown tea in a Lesu hill tribe village out of handcrafted bamboo cups. Great stuff - girls walked for 2 days and loved it sleeping on a bamboo bed under a huge mossie net - and again it was cold - sat around a camp fire in the evening!

Oops - back to Christmas Day - obviously haven't totally sussed technology yet!

Back to the hill tribe village with Amber helping to cook!

Eating at a local market in Chiang Mai (my favourite place of the whole trip!) Ian asked in fluent Thai for the local dish of Khao Soi (which is fab!) but ended up with a plate of plain boiled rice!

After seeing round an amazing temple in Chiang Mai on New Year's Eve we then had a 'monk chat' which was fascinating - girls questions; Amber - 'why do dogs follow you around all the time?' and Poppy - 'where do you go to the toilet?'

New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai was incredible - an experience I will never forget - 1000's of wish lanterns going up everywhere, people everywhere and fireworks - quote Amber 'going left, right and centre' - it was awesome! No-one really knew when midnight struck but nobody cared the celebrations had been going on all night!

On our way up to a temple on New Year's Day (big mistake, huge!) a  journey that should have taken half an hour took 4 hours - the clutch on the baht bus gave out and we had to bundle to get one home - all good experience and the kids munched roast chestnuts all the way back?!

Really beautiful temple and definitely worth it (but can't fit another photo in!) - what else would you be doing on New Year's Day?!

 Funny sign huh?!

Another bar in Chiang Mai where we had a surprise meet up with friends from school!

The main reason for going to Chiang Mai was to visit Hope - an elephant that Aunty Susan adopted for Amber for her birthday - totally worth going - amazing, inspirational place! However - Hope is a rather naughty 12 year old bull elephant that no-one can go near apart from his mahout and he wears a bell around his neck 'so you know when trouble is on its way!' He flings poo at the vet we were told and all the elephants are a little wary of him! Amber got to see him a lot though and we all got to feed many ellies!

Washing the elephants in the river turned into a family waterfight - we had to call a halt though when Amber caught a huge floating elephant poo and was about to throw it at us!

This is the infamous Hope!

Ian receiving a nice elephant kiss!

You have to have a bottom shot - it would be rude not to!

Mud wallowing - fabulous to watch and we were soooooooooooooooooooo close!

Tubing in the river whilst elephants bathed.... Amber also nearly met a water snake en route!

Ian having a man to elephant chat

We managed to do 'Flight of the Gibbon' which was awesome - and funnily enough not nearly as scary as the high ropes course in Gulworthy! (I didn't hug a tree once!) There were about 30 zip lines, abseils and scary steps - we all loved it!

'I'm a little fairy'.............

The girls had their hair cut for the first time in Thailand - and washed - all for £3 each - I think they shall be returning to a salon soon!

So - that was a mammoth session - sorry if we've bored you there - I promise the next one will be smaller!

Have a superb New Year everyone!

Liz, Ian, Amber and Poppy xxx