Busy much...? Go to Thailand!

Holy crap! I'M BLOGGING! Yes, you can put your eyeballs back in their sockets and stop pinching yourself... it's actually true! (And you just thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth....funny what new parenthood does to a persons free time...weird)

Sooooo...to celebrate being away from blessed blogger land for all of 10 months (yes...our peanut is now 9 months old! Where does the time go?) we thought we would start out BIG...like a trip to Thailand big!!! Okay!!! Party on!!!!

First a little update on the last past 10 months:

1) Had a baby (duh) who is the cutest little thing since puppies, baby ducklings...and all that other soft mushy stuff! Grace Mina Parker was born on Oct 19, 2010 at 8pm weighing 7.5lbs

(Sorry there aren't any pictures posted on here...you already know I'm a slacker.... oh okay...here's one or two....isn't she cute????)

2) Being parents totally rocks!

3) We signed on for another year out in hot Beswick. :)

4) To save me from an untimely death due to boredom (there's not much to do at home alone) I bought myself a brand new Husqvarna sewing machine which I am in love with and am thinking of starting a small online shop... hey I make clothes all day anyway, mind as well get paid to do it!

Okay...and now onto Thailand....

We spend almost every school break last year in Beswick in front of the a/c unit so this year I'd had enough! I decided we needed to go on a REAL vacation. So I picked a spot on the map I'd never been, contacted a travel agent and poof! Trip planned! Unfortunately our travel agent wasn't up to speed ("What do you mean that's not how you spell your name? Oops! I'll have to see if I can change that with the airlines in time"...) and we got all the way to the airport...WITHOUT OUR PASSPORTS ("umm honey, you're gonna have to drive 4 hours home to get them...)...but we finally made it to beautiful Chiang Mai, Thailand! Despite the pre-flight 'bumps' we had an absolute amazing time! Here are some snaps from the trip... (and be forwarned...there are A LOT of pictures... but really? It's Thailand, would you expect anything less?) :)

Chiang Mai was a great choice for our first trip to Thailand. The people are over-the-top helpful, love babies (celebrity status everywhere) and it's not so touristy that you can't tell the difference between Thailand and home...perfect!

The view from our hotel room in the Holiday Inn Chiang Mai

Pork anyone? A local Thai market...

First stop.... A Hill Tribe village just outside of Chiang Mai to see how most Thai people live! It was an amazing contrast! The village was gorgeous and the crafts they made were amazing and yet they lived in poverty with very little money other than that made from selling their handicrafts. I have very rarely ever seen a place so beautiful where the people are so happy... despite their circumstances.

Us with a local girl and our tour guide Pomm

Next, the Doi Suithep Buddist temple... perched on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. I was actually quite surprised. I never expected a Buddist temple to be so..... gold!!! The temple was interesting but absolutely dripping in gold leaf, colored glass and neon fabric....not what I would expect from a group of people who dresses in matching orange togas and shaves their head...! It was still fun to see the elaborate designs and learn more about the Buddist faith.

Ring a bell for good luck!

Like I said...neon colors...so unexpected

The Goddess that gives the people water...it comes from her long hair...

Prayer tree

Gold, gold everywhere!

Adventure number 2 in Chiang Mai was a trip to the Chiang Doi Elephant camp where we watched the elephants get their morning baths, then watched a demonstration on how elephants are used in small villages to help build...oh yea...and of course the elephants did lots of other tricks to make all us tourists clap and squeal with delight! It was indeed awesome! The show was followed by and hour long elephant ride and a short bamboo rafting trip (and yes...we checked ahead of time...all baby friendly and safe...as long as you can hold on to your precious little squirmer, there is nothing to worry about! ) :)

At Chiang Doi Elephant Camp

Early morning bath for all the camp elephants

Time for some heavy liftin'

Earth saavy elephants...recycling bottles....

Putting his trainers hat back on!

Picasso the painting elephant

Hey Look! That's us!!!! :)

Our Elephant guide was so funny! He joked with us the whole time! Great trip!

Bamboo rafting

After the elephant camp we were treated to a gorgeous buffet lunch (did I mention the food in Thailand is to DIE FOR? no??? Well it is! I haven't stopped craving it since we got back. I am now making it a prerequisite that we live near a supermarket that sells Thai food...must learn to cook...must eat Thai food....)....

What was I saying? Let me wipe the drool off my face... oh yes...the buffet was at a butterfly and orchid pavilion which we strolled with our happy full bellies! It was gorgeous! Plus I caught some gardening tips for growing orchids... which I'd like to have someday..... :)

Chiang Mai was also a haven for SHOPPING! Gotta love bargaining! I ended up getting everyone's Christmas presents plus a ton of new duds for our fam for practically nothing! I will never buy clothes in Australia again...so overpriced! Plus I need an excuse to go vacation again...buying mass amounts of clothes is a good reason, right? :)

Modelling her new duds! OMG! She's the cutest baby ever! :)

Traditional Thai dress! Too bad it dyed her blue! That's right...I had a smurf baby....

Not only did we go to the beautiful north of Thailand...we also decided to venture for 3 nights down to beachy Phuket.

And let me tell you...if you are looking to just lounge by the beach and swim....or see one heck of an AMAZING show (Fantasea)...then Phuket is the place for you! We stayed at Le Meridian (most awesome hotel ever! Highly recommend it!) and enjoyed soaking up the sun.

For one evening we took a shuttle out to the theme park Fantasea. It was incredible! We couldn't take pictures of the actual performance but lets just say it was the most incredible, mind-blowing pyrotechnics/acrobatics/dancing/magic show/elephant show EVER!

You must see it...seriously...GO!

Welcome to Le Meridian! Umbrella anyone?

Okay...now tell me this isn't the CUTEST picture ever! Grace loved the sand and the beach...until the first wave came in...then she practically climbed my leg trying to get away.

Don't worry honey...mommy will protect you from the big scary waves... :)

Swimming in the largest pool ever. There could be a resort full of people and you would still have room to swim! Love it!

Grace's first lick of ice cream...hey it's vacation! Calories don't count! lol

You never even have to leave Le Meridian...just pick an activity and go, go, go!

Fantasea! One word...AWESOME!

"Seriously dad! Who is this creepy person next to me?"

Where the most incredible show ever is held...

"Guys! I've had enough! Who are all these strange people?"

Fantasea also has carnival games, shops, and a 'zoo' filled with only white (or albino) animals including white crows, white snakes and white tigers! (And all the lights are black light in the zoo)

Who knew cockatoos glowed under black light?

And finally comes Bali....

Which we were never supposed to be in...which was yet ANOTHER mistake by our travel agent

(Seriously? Who IS this woman???"whoops! Did I give you a 36 hour layover in Bali?

Isn't that okay?")

No...it is NOT okay! So we ended up having to book a hotel room in Bali at the last minute. Luckily Sam's sister Hannah was vacationing in Bali with her hubby so we caught up with them and enjoyed some more great food...did a little bit more shopping...ah! Life is good!

P.S. Our hotel room had the coolest wall design...I want......

Catching up with Hannah for dinner.....

WHEW! Okay...I'm done...

But just for now. This was not the end of our vacation.... after 11 days abroad we flew back to Australia and immediately met up with Sam's family for a camping trip around Kakadu National Park! (I know.... call us crazy!)

That is for another time, another post...