Thailand

We took an adults-only trip to Thailand in November to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. It was everything we hoped for and more. While its still fresh in my mind, I'm going to blog all the details of our itinerary and hits/misses in the next few weeks.

We had limited time without the kids so we had to plan our itinerary carefully. The weather also came into play as the islands on the Eastern side of Thailand were still in the rainy/monsoon season. We opted not to do a tour and planned our own trip instead, but it was a lot of work. If I planned a trip this involved again (with 3 different destinations and all the travel logistics) I might look into a travel agency to do some of the leg work. Once we debated and researched all the options, this is what we came up with:

Day 1:	SEA > BKK
Day 2:	Bangkok
Day 3:	Bangkok
Day 4:	BKK > CNX
Day 5:	Chiang Mai
Day 6:	Chiang Mai
Day 7:	CNX > HKT
Day 8:	Ko Yao Yai
Day 9:	Ko Yao Yai
Day 10:	Ko Yao Yai
Day 11:	HKT>BKK>SEA

For the most part, everything worked out and we enjoyed all of the destinations on our trip. However, if we did it again we would probably spend one less night in  both Bangkok and Ko Yao Yai and add a second island for those two nights. 

Back to School

Well there was a fun-filled summer that I totally didn't blog about, but I'll catch up on that later. Now all three girls are in school! Lexi and Zara started 2nd grade and Ariana started Montessori preschool. So far they are all enjoying.

Art Birthday Party

The twins decided on an art party for their seventh birthday. We invited their friends and created several art stations in our backyard and topped it off with a double sized ice cream cake. It was a blast!

The art stations were canvas painting, coloring bookmarks, decorating fabric totes, candy necklaces and glitter tattoos. As it always goes in our backyard, the kids ended up running in the trees and playing tag in the lawn by the end of the party.

Ariana is Three!

Well I think this officially makes us out of the "baby phase" of parenting? I guess Ariana hasn't been a baby for awhile, but I was still changing diapers until recently so I think that qualifies. It will really feel like a new stage of parenting when she starts preschool in the fall. I'm equally parts excited about the school-age phase of traveling more, more spontaneity without nap time and sad that they are all growing up so darn fast.

We had a fun party with most of our families last weekend. Ariana requested a pink cake, pink balloons and Paw Patrol and we made it happen. She isn't big on sweets so I made a light cake with whipped cream frosting and lots of strawberries (her fave fruit) and she still didn't eat it! The rest of us loved it though and the twins are already begging me to make it for their birthday.

Cousins! 

Ariana is so much fun. I always said three was my favorite age. She is getting a little more feisty and throwing a few tantrums, but most of the time she is cracking us up with the funny things she says and does. Her big sisters still think she is the cutest little sister ever. She is SO excited to get to take swimming lessons this summer and maybe some ballet too now that she is old enough. 

She loves Littlest Pet Shop, Paw Patrol, playing games on the Kindle, swinging, bubbles and dancing in her pink dress. She is still a pretty picky eater and loves macaroni and cheese or any kind of noodles, cheese, ham, steak, Goldfish crackers, strawberries, blueberries, greek yogurt, popcorn and french fries. She is about 27 pounds and 37 inches tall and wearing size 3 clothes and size 8 shoes. 

Hawaii (The Big Island): Part 3

This is the third and last post on our recent trip to the Big Island. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

DAY 7: After a very long day the day before trekking around the entire island, we were ready for a relaxing beach day. We originally planned to check out a different beach, but the parking lot was full so we found ourselves at Spencer Beach State Park. We lucked out and ended up loving this beach for its super calm water and tons of shade. 

After a long morning and picnic lunch at the beach, we headed back to our condo for some rest. Then, per our usual habits, we went and swam in the pool before we grilled dinner at the pool. We had another long day ahead of us. 

DAY 8: This was our last day in Hawaii. Sob. We spent the morning packing up and checking out of our condo and then headed down south of Kona to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park. On the way we stopped to play at this awesome wood park and ate our picnic lunch there. 

Once we got to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park, the kids were excited to get another Junior Ranger workbook and walk around. This place is translated as "the place of refuge" and has a lot of spiritual significance as well. 

After that we headed into Kona to check out the shops, grab a quick dinner and get one more shave ice! Then it was time to turn in our rental car and get to the airport. Our red-eye flight left at 10pm and arrived in Seattle around 6am (3am Hawaii time). Thankfully the kids slept the entire flight, but we were all still tired. We picked up our car and drove back to Yakima and spent the rest of the day unpacking and napping. 

So all that was a pretty great vacation! We had awesome weather and a variety of adventures and relaxation. One thing to take into account in your planning is how BIG the island is. If you don't like driving long distances, it might not be the right island for you. I would also say the hiking isn't as great as Kauai.