Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Just a regular day here in Malaysia with school and work!  

Hope everyone in the US is enjoying food, friends and family!!!!

Life is Good with Thanksgiving…even in Malaysia!!!

8 and a Half

Hannah turned 8 and a half of Monday.  

Tonight, she lost her 6th tooth and is a human jack-o-lantern!!!

Life is Good, but chewing is a little challenging!!! 

The Price is Right?!?!

Which costs more........

A 14 pound turkey or a custom frame for 5 pictures size 8 by 10?!?!

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Turkey was 151 RM(about$50)

Frame was 137 RM(about $46)

One of the many examples of cheap services in Malaysia and expensive products.

The girls love the frame for the dress up area of the playroom. We are hoping the turkey is yummy!!!!

Life is Good and turkeys are expensive!!!

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"Concession Stand"

Was informed they aren't sneaking snacks under the table. They are having a concession stand.

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Life is good with snacks.

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Busy Day at School

Yesterday, was a busy day at school.  The BIGS participated in the Terry Fox Run at school.

 Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.

"What did Terry Fox say?!?!?!!?....Run, Run, Run,......." By Kaylee

 Hannah thought it was great that they let Grade 3-5 run through the whole school.

 While I was waiting with Macy for her group to start we spotted Hannah on the field.

 After warming up, the preschoolers started running.  Macy ran around the playground/field 10 times.

 After a quick popsicle break, I did a "cooking" lesson with Macy's class.

 We read 5 Silly Turkeys and made fruit turkeys.  A banana for the body and other fruits for feathers.

During the flag parade a few weeks ago, I only got pictures of Kaylee.  For this event, I didn't get any of her.  While her group was running, I was in the Studio for the Christmas Bazaar the school was hosting.  

It was a busy day of running, cooking and selling.

Life is Good!

Work dinner= FUN!!!

I was able to join Justin and some of his coworkers for dinner tonight. This week he has about 60 people from his team here for training. Tonight, they split up into small groups. Our group went to our favorite Mexican place....La Mexicana.




We had Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia represented at our table. They were all so friendly and funny. This was the first time most of them had tried Mexican food. I think they will all be trying guacamole and salsa again.
It was nice to meet people Justin works with. Now I want to go visit their countries next time he goes!!
Life is Good with interesting dinner companions.
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Fun Day on the Fish Farm

I went on the Grade 1 field trip today with Kaylee. They are about to start their Field to Table unit, so they went to a vegetable and fish farm.

This farm also has a restaurant so they were able to experience the whole process...growth, picking, preparing and eating.

Each group had to complete a scavenger hunt and take pictures that showed each task. For example, a tool used to prepare food or something that shows what is done with the waste. Each item on their list had a bolded word they had briefly talked about in class.

At first, I just thought this man was cleaning the fish. Then I noticed they started out alive at his station. I am glad the kids didn't notice and ask questions.

They quickly realized it is hard to use a net to try and catch fish....even if you drop food for them!!

They were pretty tired by the time lunch rolled around.

I think it was a great idea to do the field trip at the start of the unit. Now they are going to incorporate the kids' pictures into the lessons.

This farm was definitely different than the one back in Iowa. I am sure Daddy and the other girls will want to see it too. Maybe we can take Grandma and Grandpa when they come this spring.

Life is good with fun field trips.

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Fun Festivals

On Friday, the girls had Deepavali "Festival of Lights" day at school.

They loved dressing up, getting henna art and learning more about the culture.

Today, we headed to the high/middle school campus for the International Fest.  The school was FULL of people and was busy with activities.  There were sporting events, food stalls, live performances and a craft fair.

The Bigs helped sell root beer floats for the Girl Scouts.

 The 3 BIGS were part of the American skit that recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang a few songs.

Whitney did a great job being the supportive sister.

During the performance, the husbands were on booth duty.  They made some sales and somehow ended up buying 3 loaves of bread.  Maybe next year they can open a boy clothing line and enter the different craft fairs with us.

Next year, I hope to try more foods, see more performances and maybe "win" something in the silent auction!

Life is Good with fun school events.

Home Sweet, Sweaty Home

Last breakfast with Mickey, and we finally remembered to bring the autograph books!

After breakfast we headed to the gift shop to spend the remainder of "their" money.  They did a great job spending wisely and looking at a few stores before purchasing.  

 We headed to the airport at 10 for our 12:45 flight. 

Kaylee liked the corn in a cup from McDonald's.

 The excitement of days with the Mouse wore Whitney out.  She slept through customs and lunch!

 She woke up just in time to get on the plane.

3 are in a good mood, 1 is not!

 Luckily, she turned that frown upside down since she was my seat partner!!!

 They thought it was funny they had seat H and K.

 This was a quick trip, and we didn't see any of Hong Kong besides the 20 minute drive to the Disney property.  We are already talking about when we should go back and do Disney again and see some of the city's sights.  Disney does such a nice job with everything from food to entertainment.....We kind of forgot we were living half way around the world for a few days.  The weather was nice and not as humid as Malaysia, so the break from constantly sweating was great.

Whitney watched a little TV before bed with her new friends.

Life is Good with Disney!

A FUN-FILLED DAY

We got our fill of waffles and bacon to start of the next day.  

 Whitney warmed up to the idea of a 5 foot mouse.

I think 6 is the perfect age for Disney.  Kaylee loved everything about it...the Princesses, the other characters, the parade, the fireworks, the shows and the rides.  Kaylee will still watch some of the Disney Junior shows with the younger girls and likes all the movies.  Hannah felt like she was too old for some of the characters.  Macy couldn't do all the rides.  Whitney did a lot of napping.

 We were there when the gates opened and headed straight for the princesses.  Only Belle and Snow White were out.

 We all enjoyed Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters ride....I think Daddy enjoyed it the most!

 Then, it was back for princesses.....

We missed out on greeting Aurora..... 

 My favorite ride:

 We were in Orlando 4 years ago and I don't remember the ride there having characters from the movies mixed in with the children.  Maybe it does now, and maybe it did then.  The girls liked finding them, and looking for countries some of their friends are from.

 Vietnam

 Chinese Lion Dance

 The Big went on Mystic Manor the day before with Justin and they wanted to take me on it.

 Kaylee and I went on the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars....She said it was the worst part of the trip.  We saw that it went part way up a hill and then went backwards.  She was ok with that and prepared for it.  She wasn't prepared for it stopping again and then going very quickly forward again.

 We tried to turn her day around and headed back to hopefully find Aurora.  

We didn't find her, but something even better happened....... 

A Disney employee asked if we would want to go on Cinderella's Carousel with her!

OF COURSE WE DID!!!!

Cinderella escorted the girls to her carousel

 Chatted with them while we waited

 I thought the girls were having their picture taken a lot by strangers before.......This was crazy!!!!

 We never did get Aurora's autograph, but I think they will never forget this.  Poor Whitney napped through the whole thing.

 

 The girls wanted to see the parade again, but we cut it short because it started to rain.

 What gets more attention than Kaylee dressed as Cinderella?!?!?!

Kaylee dresses as Cinderella with an umbrella!!!

 Whitney got a lot of paci and blanket time on this trip.  If she would stay in her stroller she could have them.  She may go through withdrawl this week!

 Getting a few pose suggestions from Hannah

 We spent dinner with our new friends, celebrating an 8th birthday.  It was amazing how well the girls all played together.  It was like they have been friends forever.

 Fireworks from our room and sticker swapping.  The girls filled their autograph books with the stickers they had collected from Disney works .

Life is Good with new friends and memories you will always remember.