Holiday celebrations in Bangkok - Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures of our Christmas and New Year's in Bangkok.  For Christmas evening we attended the Christmas party at our hotel - it was poolside and very pleasant.  They kept filling our glasses with some really nice red wine from Umbria, so it reminded us of Italy, except for the heat and humidity and absence of anyone speaking Italian.  

For New Year's vacation we checked out (but did not stay) at some beer gardens at Central World plaza downtown.  You see, Central World gets crazy for New Year's - it's where the 'ball' drops here, and that's a bit too much of a crush of people for us.  Imagine Times Square at New Year's and you get the idea.  But the beer gardens were nicely done - each one was sponsored by a different beer company, and each one had a Thai pop or rock band playing for their garden.  Not knowing much about Thai pop or rock, it wasn't so much our scene as it was for all the younger folks there gathered to hear their favorite band.  But it was still very cool, and we're glad we went.

So - we had a more low key New Year's, and enjoyed it.  It's been a great 2008 for us - lots of change, but a good step forward.  Hope 2008 treated you as well, and here's to an even better 2009!  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from Chris and Sam!

A little holiday spirit from us to you, Bangkok style.  Sam wore a special bow in her hair for the occasion.

We are truly fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.  Thank you especially for all your love and support over the last six months, we could not have accomplished so much change in so short a time without you!

Love,

Chris and Sam

Downtown Seattle - celebrating 11 years of marital bliss

It was a beautiful day in downtown Seattle, and we had a great time!  Sam found her store, Chris rode a rodeo pig, and there were jellyfish, night lights, and everything in between.  See for yourself:

Celebrating 11 years of marriage in Seattle

Saturday is our wedding anniversary - 11 years of bliss!  We usually go to a bed and breakfast, but this year we're still in Seattle, so we'll take the day to explore downtown.  And our hotel has a bed, and it also serves breakfast, so we are at a B+B, in a way.  Perfect!

And I'm also looking forward to saying hi to those guys in the "Fish!" movie.

Thanksgiving

We were able to get in one last holiday with the family - here we are with my parents.  We ate lots of good food, and had a great time!

Hot pot

A couple nights ago we had hot pot with my brother and his wife.  Hot pot (the Chinese for it translates "fire pot" literally) is just about the greatest meal ever invented - you boil water in a wok, and then add different vegetables, meats, and tofus and let them all cook together.  You grab what's done out of the pot with chopsticks and dip in sauce.  As the night goes on the water in the pot becomes a succulent broth that you can drink along with the food.

A great meal to have with family and friends!

Our niece Emma

We've been staying with my brother since we sold our house.  This has been very enjoyable, particularly since we get to spend so much time with our niece Emma.  She's almost one year old (she was a Christmas baby last year) and she's really starting to interact a lot with the world around her.  She particularly likes to chew on things since she's teething - as you can see from this picture, where she's very much having fun munching on a carrot.  She also had a great time chewing a pickle for the first time a couple days ago.  We'll miss seeing her so much!

Barnum Family Picture

We took a Barnum family picture shortly before we left.  It has us, my parents, my brother and his wife, and their 1 year old daughter, Emma.  Isn't she adorable?