Christy and Steve

My friends Christy and Steve got married this weekend. It was so much fun to be a part of their wedding, even if I had to invite myself to crash their wedding as their wedding photographer. :)

We had a lot of fun, and they were the most relaxed couple I have ever seen....even when the Shuttle Express showed up to take them to the reception, they just went right along with it.

They are heading to California soon, and I'm sad to see them go...but hopefully I can go and visit them in the near future. At least they will be in Santa Rosa....near the Napa Valley.

Here are some of my favorite shots from their wedding.


Steve's niece is very cute! She was a wonderful flower girl!


Christy's dress was beautiful, and I even learned how to steam iron at the hotel!


I love this photo, she just looks so excited, and I even caught Steve in the background.....I just LOVE photography!


This is a classic...Steve is threatening to send this one out as a Christmas card....only time will tell....


AWWWWW....aren't they cute?!?!?!?

Kanchanaburi

This weekend, I had a great time in another province in Thailand, called Kanchanaburi (pronounced kahn-chan-ah-bur-ree). It is a very beautiful place, and home of the famous "Bridge over the River Kwai" movie, as well as the Hell Pass and Death Railway from World War II. I have been researching the history of some of the wars and problems that have happened in Southeast Asia, and the wars and the killing fields have had a most powerful effect on me. I have just finished reading "First They Killed My Father", an autobiography about the Pol Pot regeme in Cambodia. I wanted to see the Bridge because POW's from WWII were forced to build a transcontinental railway connecting North Vietnam to Burma through Thailand. Over 116,000 deaths were related to the railway construction.

Besides learning more about the history in and around Southeast Asia, we also explored some of the most beautiful areas I have seen in quite some time. We rented motorbike and rode to Erwan Falls, about 65 kilometers away but well worth the trip. They were the most beautiful waterfalls I have seen since I went to Madagascar. Crystal clear turquoise water pools...and after hiking around, it was just so relaxing to jump into the cool water. We also hired a long tail boat to take us up and down the River Kwai. We stayed at a little guesthouse, and our rooms were on a raft boat, with a little deck overlooking the river. It was such a fun trip!

The only thing that left something to be desired, was the van ride going up there....the van driver was the fastest driver we have ever experienced, I think he must have been practicing for the Indy 500....but many times we braced ourselves for the worst, and at the last minute he would swerve, or brake or pass people to avoid an accident. Next time, we will definitely take the good 'ol bus.....

OHHHH and 19, that's right...19!!!! days until I'm comin' home!!!! :)

TIME FLIES!

Dear Friends and Family,

I know I haven't up-dated my blog in quite some time...here are the blogs that are coming very soon....this is just a previess....

1. Koh Chang (Elephant Island) trip with Kevin, Pascale, Etienne, Natalie and lil' Katie
2. Chang Mai for the Thai national holida, Song Kran....people get R-O-W-D-Y!!!!
3. Summakorn Party in the moobaan....gosh i these crazy people!
4. Going to Malaysia with Bari and Dennis
5. Party for Pascale's birthday...whoop whoop!
6. Party for Kelli's birthday....whoop whoop!

I LOVE you ALL and can't WAIT to see you!!!! I am coming home June 8th. A posting of Katie's tentative plan will be my next post.

Friday Night was party night at my baan (baan means "house" in thai). We hunted down Taboo, ordered pizza along with dishes to share and let the good times roll! We had such a blast, Kelli is turning 50, no one can believe it....i wonder what her secret is....hmmmmm????

Malaysia

Bari, Dennis and I went to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia over the weekend. We had a great time! We stayed in a hotel in the heart of Chinatown, and it was a little dive, but comfortable, clean and cheap....about 20 bucks a night. During the day, we went to Bucha Cave, a little ways past the city. It is a Hindu temple, and there were over 212 stairs leading up to the cave. I have to admit, I do not know much about the HIndu religion, but I DID learn that the two main gods can be both a man and a woman...go figure. We also visited the Muslim Mosk in the city, after walking around for quite some time looking for it. We even got to dress up in a hajab and gown while we visited the mosk...it was very interested to say the least. The mosk was beautiful, and we also went to an Islam Art Museum and that was pretty informative for me. I learned a lot about both of these religions this weekend. After we did that, my favorite part was having dinner at the KL Tower, on the 45th floor. It was kind of like the Space Needle, the restaurant revolved to see the whole city at night. It was beautiful! Then on Sunday, we walked around the city and got to go in the sky bridge on the two tallest towers in Malaysia, and I think in Asia in general. I am not a big fan of heights at all, so it was a tad bit scary for me! But I am glad I did it, for sure!

Song Kran

The water festival called Song Kran is a wonderful Thai New Year celebration, lasting about 4 days. Chang Mai is one place where people come to celebrate big time. I was able to visit my friend Hosannah, as she works up there, and we had a great time with the 4 day waterfight. We went all around Chang Mai, donned our cowgirl hats and waterguns and started "playing water" as Thai people say....Chang Mai is a very quiet town, and I really enjoyed hanging out there.

Elephant Nature Park

I had an amazing experience at the Elephant Nature Park near Chang Mai. I went up to Chang Mai to visit my friend from Seattle, Hosannah, and really wanted to go see some elephants, as the elephant is a very lucky symbol in Thailand. This park is special because it is dedicated to help abused and hurt working elephants. This park has 32 elephants, 45 dogs and 18 cats. It was a very special time. We were able to feed the elephants, and go to the river and bathe them. They are a very caring animal, and there is even two elephants that became best friends upon arrival. One is blind, and she calls out to the other one when she is not sure where she is or if she needs help. The other elephant is never far away from her, and they have been this way for about 5 years. The blind elephant became blind after their trainer wanted her to move, so he poked her in the eyes with a stick that had a nail on the end of it whenever she would be out of line. It was such a wonderful experience, and I really want to go back to volunteer for a week.

Abby Jane Thorleifson

Dear Friends and Family,

I am soooo excited to introduce you to the newest member of our family....Abby Jane Thorleifson. She was born on April 5, 2007. She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. She is such a cutie, and I can't wait to meet her! Mama and baby are fine, and Erik reported that Wyatt has already tried to poke her in the eye. Gosh I miss my cuties!!!!

I went to Safari World and was able to do things I would NEVER get away with in an American Zoo....sure, animal rights activists, stay away, but if you have ever wanted to pet an animal, feed a giraffe, or give a bottle to a tiger, or have an orangutan wrap it's arms around you and give a cheesy grin to the camera, then Safari World is for you!!! We also saw dolphins and beluga whales, the first ever that I have seen! They were beautiful animals and so graceful in the water. We also say a "muay thai" oragutans acting as WWF fighters for the crowd. They were pretty fun, but there would be picketers and activists outside the zoo for sure if that type of activity had gone on in the states. I will add more pictures soon, but this was my FAVORITE part of that day!!! I got to walk up a loft type cabana area and actually FEED GIRAFFES!!!!! It was AWESOME!!!!!!

My friends Kashmira and Iven....so glad they are here in Thailand! We had a great time together, hanging in my "baan" (house), then heading over to Suan Krua for some lunch. Kashmira hadn't been on a bike in 9 years...thought I'd capture the history in the making!!! I have started hanging out with their YWAM ministry on Tuesday nights. They work at Ramkhamhaeng University in Bang Na, working as YWAM interns right now. There is a wonderful night of yummy Thai food, Thai conversations (usually the YWAM workers and I are the only Farang, and GREAT worship!!! Most is in Thai, but I'm learning!!! They plan to stay here for quite some time. If you would like more information about my friends, please visit their website: http://ivenandkashmira.info/

This is a view on the BTS, the SkyTrain that runs through Bangkok. We THINK BTS stands for Bangkok Transporation System, but it could also be Being Tightly Squished......

Vocabulary: By Tee Ow.....means "going out". Friends live it up with live music in downtown Bangkok. I have so much fun with these peeps, but I sure do miss my Seattle peeps too!!!!

We went to a Spanish Restaurant called Topas. It had the BEST lemon dessert I have EVER eaten!!!! Friends, I'm tellin ya....when you visit me in Bangkok, we are gonna head over to Topas!!!

My "second family" here in Thailand..Kelli and Hans and their children came to visit them...Brett and his girlfriend Rachel, and Kristen. We had a great time together!

Super Special Day!

Today I had a very special surprise. I was teaching, just starting our day with the students all on the rug....and in walks our school mainainance man with a beautiful bouquet of red roses. I read the card, and couldn't hold it together. I started to cry, and the kiddos were wondering what was wrong with me. I told them it was happy tears. And then Pascale came in and I started to cry again. My brother and sister-in-law are super amazing people. It completely made my day. The pictures say it all. :D

WARNING: Graphic contents, not for the faint of stomach.....The crazy "baba babo ding dong" soi dogs

Well, this week, I got my "injury" story from my time in Thailand....I have an injury story from each major place I've lived....the nail in my foot at Uncle's house.....the deep cut on my leg from hunting down the perfect Christmas tree...the snake bite and boil in Madagascar....I have just come to realize that every adventure comes with a price....it's just part of the life... :)

My little side street has some neighbor dogs that are pretty mean. I can't ever tell if their bark is worse than their bite, but I have had three times where they have gotten out of their fenced cage and scared me so badly I have screamed bloody murder. Well, one late night, I was riding home on my bicycle and the dogs all started chasing after me. I screamed bloody murder once again, and swirved over to the side by the cement curb. Well, my foot got caught in the way between my pedal and the cement curb...and let's just say my foot lost. I was in so much pain, I was shaken up pretty badly. My middle three toes on my right foot were pretty scraped up and really nasty looking. I came inside and put rubbing alcohol and iodine on them and left them over night. It was quite painful. The next morning, they were so swollen I could hardly get out of bed. I couldn't put my toes down, my foot had swelled so much. I took off of work and went to see the doctor....the doctor was NOT very gentle and pushed and pulled my toes like they weren't in serious pain. I screamed at him and told him in Thai that it hurt really badly, but he paid no heed and just kept right on at it. He gave me some medicine to cut back the swelling and some antibiodics because the streets here are not very clean. He also gave me some pain medication, but it wasn't that effective, so I went back to good 'ol ibiprofen. I was so disappointed because I was looking forward to the trip to the mountians this weekend with all of my friends, but I made the decision not to go, because it would probably not be great for an open wound...hiking, dirt, and open water....probably not the best combination. Needless to say, my foot is getting much better each and every day. But it was very painful in the beginning. Here are some pictures.....Please, if your name happens to be Christy Schwenky.....proceed with caution....it is VERY gross!!!! :)

Life Update

Things are going well here, I'm settling in to my new townhouse and having fun in the moobaan. Tonight I have Thai with a very fun, very strict Thai teacher....heehee...she also happens to be my roommate, and I was just joking about the strictness. :) We are going on a trip to the rainforest this upcoming weekend, as we have Monday off because of Chinese New Year. I swear it is spring because the flowers are blooming and the trees are blossoming. Ja says they don't have spring, but I think so....

Yesterday was Natalie's 2nd birthday. I went over to the Thomas household and we had a very tasty dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce with cheese!!!! Yum!!!! Also, Pascale made cupcakes and they were delicious! I gave Natalie a little blue traditional thai dress. I painted her toes and then Etienne painted my fingers....lol not my nails, my whole tips of my fingers. It was great fun!

I'm still not sure where I am going for spring break. I'll keep ya posted! :)

Where to go for April Break?

Okay, readers, now is your time to speak up!!!! I'm taking a poll because I don't know where I want to go for April Break....some people are "trekking in Nepal", others are going to Bali, and I really want to also go to Laos and travel up the river on a fishing boat...OR I could visit Hosie and Marci in Chang Mai. So please, give me your thoughts. AND you are NOT allowed to say they all sound good....you HAVE to pick one!!!!

Time Flies!!!!

Wow! It's been a whirlwind of the last month, and I can't believe it's already February! Happy Groundhog's Day and I always remember it's Bret Cain's birthday today too....my head is full of random knowledge. (Bret Cain was my middle school youth pastor). I have had a hard time adjusting back to Bangkok life, but great friends have helped, as well as a trip to one of my favorite beaches....Ko Samed. I also have a big change....I'm moving to a townhouse!!!! It's pretty fun and I get a super cool roommate, too! Ja is movin in today, and I moved all my stuff yesterday. It's crazy, considering the last time I moved (in June) it took multiple car loads and two (or was it three?) truck loads to bring all of my things home. Yesterday, it took me an hour and a half to move 3 boxes and two suitcases. I love the simple life! It's pretty cool to not feel so bound by material possessions AND to know that I can flee the country if I have to, with all of my life in 3 boxes and two suitcases. Pictures will come of this new amazing townhouse....it's already a blast because we have super cool neighbors, Bobbie and Andrew, and our friends Bill and Kristin and Bari and Dennis can shout out their windows from the condos at us. I'm trying to fung suey this place, to make it feel peaceful and cozy. I think I'm going to go to the market tomorrow to see what I can find....

The Cousins

Over Christmas, we had a great time hanging out with the cousins. Lucy and Crosby had never met little Wyatt, aka Chunk-o, as well as Betsy and Bucky, Britta's husband. We were ALMOST all together again, just missing Heidi. Here are some great, yet silly pictures of the whole fam damily. SOOOO glad to be together!!!!