A day at the beach

Ahhh. This is relaxation. We are at a beautiful resort on the South China Sea. It is an amazing place with tons of flowers, views and kite boarders. Started with a morning buffet with about 5 million options and as many cups of coffee! Perfect way to kick off the day. A little beach time. A little pool time. A little park. A little ping pong. More beach. I have one happy/tired kid.
We had dinner at this little place down the street from the resort. We are now a group of 20 so you can imagine how that would overwhelm any place here. It took a loooong time for food, but totally worth it. We ordered a second beer since the food was taking so long, they had to call out to have more delivered.

Loving HCMC

What a fun day! Walked into town this morning to grab some snacks before we head to the beach tomorrow. It was good to get out and explore a tad. A little swimming before heading into the city. We did a little shopping at Ben Thanh market and stopped for ice cream. Roamed our way up to the Reunification Palace. A great idea except it closed at 4, we got there at 5. Oops. Oh we'll, it was pretty from the outside. Stumbled on a really great restaurant for dinner. The city is decked out for Christmas. It was amazing to see all the lights, people and posing! Such an incredible city. Trey and Jonah decided they are "brothers in spiky hair". I think they do pretty good star jumps too! I have a great photo of them that won't load. Will try again later!

Day one and a dang tall building.

We had a great day one. The area we are staying is in district 2, so not in the city. It is a much different pace out here. We chose it to have a way to rid ourselves of jet lag, and it seems to be working. We had a nice breakfast outside along the Saigon river followed by about 3 hours of pool time. It is somewhere in the 90s so it was perfect. Went into the city later afternoon without any real plan of what to do. Looked up and saw the Bitexco tower which Barbie had read something about. On the spot decision to take a look from the top. Viewing deck is on floor 49 and some pretty amazing views. Since I can't post any photos the link will have to suffice.
http://veryvietnam.com/2011-10-03/hcmcs-bitexco-tower-5-in-cnns-20-iconic-skyscrapers/
It's almost 8 and everyone is crashing. I am not far behind.
More tomorrow!

Made it!

I realize I am stating the obvious, but Holy Cow that was a long flight. Door to door it was 31 hours. Just waking up Tuesday morning and I am so excited to get going. Driving through the streets oh HCMC last night brought back so many memories.
Let's get this party started!

12.12.12

12.12.12....our 5 year Family Day.  And as my sister reminded me - a new moon.  I am excited for the possibilities!  We are leaving for Vietnam on Sunday morning.  After over a year of planning I can't believe it is finally here.  12 of us board a plane at 6 am.  We meet up with 4 more in Chicago.  And then 4 more on day 3 in Vietnam.  While I am not looking forward to the flight, I cannot wait to get there.  The smells.  The food.  The people.  Can't wait to see what has changed and what feels exactly the same. 

As I look back on the past 5 years I cannot believe this life we have together.  I had no idea what I was getting into!  Here is one of my favorite photos from 12.12.2007.  He was a little gumby boy!  Check out the socks that go up half his leg.  And those cheeks - don't you just want to squeeze them? 

Next post from Vietnam!

The countdown

Trey and I are so excited to head back to Vietnam!  We leave on December 16 for about 3 weeks.  The itinerary is almost final.  Saigon - Mui Ne - Ben Tre - Hanoi - Ha Long Bay - Sapa - Hanoi - Home. 
Tickets are booked.  Hotels are locked down.  I can't wait.  I am going to try to reinstate the blog to document our trip.  So check back mid December if you want to follow along. 

Trey 3.5

It has been so long since I posted I may have forgotten how! But today felt like a long lost post was in order.

On my way to work this morning it struck me that today is Trey's half birthday. How did he already hit this milestone when just last week I was watching him blow out 3 candles? This summer has flown by and Trey has changed in a million ways. Most good, some not so much! He is a 3 year old after all. So here are my thoughts on my son in no particular order....

1. Trey is an outdoor kid. Not big into movies or tv for more than 15 minutes or so at a time. Loves to ride his bike, swim, scooter, play soccer and run around like a crazy man.

2. Loves his friends and talks about them all the time. He seems to get along well with most all kids (well, most of the time) and seems to be a pretty fun kid to play with. Is especially obsessed with a cute little blonde at daycare.

3. Loves his daycare. I have been so lucky to land in the perfect spot for us. We have a wonderful friend in Shelly. She loves my boy and takes such great care of him - he is happy to go there each morning and happy when I pick him up. Plus is with a great group of kids who he adores.

4. Is still the best eater evah! Prefer noodles to most anything - especially if they are spicy. If you ask him what his favorite food is he usually says sushi. Needs dessert every night or the day is just not complete.

5. Still goes to bed like a champ each night, and not too tough at nap time.

6. Amazes me with his compassion for others

7. Has rocked my world. 3.5 years ago I could never imagine being lucky enough to parent a little boy, let alone this one. He has put my life in perspective and made me a better person

8. So you don't think he is perfect....favorite word = poop. Favorite phrase = poke your eye out. Still has fits of epic proportions that leave me on the outside of his bedroom door wondering what the heck just happened.

It may be another 3.5 before I post again, but that is a little insight into the life of Trey.