Goodbye from the other side.

The time has come and another life change. 2.5 years went by fast. 

I believe the 6 of us have grown so much as individuals. We have learned to adapt, adjust and except differences plus have a whole lot of fun. 

Who knew when this journey began we would fall in love with our life in Asia. Home is what it has become. 

Been down this road before and a new adventure is beginning. 

First time moving back to where we left. Feeling lucky about this. We are really not starting over just hoping to continue on....

Bags are packed. Lewy is a bit worried I'm leaving her. 

Pets are shipped. 

Boxes are loaded. 

No more of this

Goodbye KB. We will miss you. 

Last selfie in our empty home. 

Last goodbye to where we live

Where it began and where it ended. 

The Amari

The boys don't mind. A little Xbox in our room. 

Getting a little culture before we go

The King says goodbye

We catch the Star Wars premiere before we go

And another massage

We truly cannot do another goodbye

Even from Ronald McDonald

18 suitcases and we are ready to board. 

FYI don't try to travel with airsoft guns. 

Business class and the plane has its own bar and lounge.  To bad it's 1:30am and all I want to do is sleep and not have a drink. Wasted opportunities. 😜

24 hours and we can't wait to see 

Ryan and Erin!

Goodbye from the land of smiles

and my last sign off from the other side. 

9 Moves and Counting!

Cheers

😊 M

The Christmas tree

Tis the season to decorate but not happening in this house. Hard getting into the Christmas spirit when your packing up your house. 

Things are coming off the walls, suitcases are being pulled out and all out organization is happening in this house. Getting ready for the big move west. Official packing begins in 12 days. 

Tonight Walter surprised us and got out our little Christmas tree and put some lights on it and plugged it in. Was a nice surprise and reminded me that going home will be a good thing because the party of 6 will be back together again. 

Cheers from the other side. 

😘 m

Ridiculous things we do to move.

Here are some very weird things we have had to do in order to leave this country. 

Weigh Sparky in a bag with the luggage scale so the pet movers can know exactly how much she weighs. 

Go to the pet store and take 14 different pictures of various cat cages to only now have to go back because now they want brand and a picture of just the lock too. 

I spared you and only posted 2 😊

Now going around the house taking pictures of our art that we have bought and sending them to the Thai bad Buddha man to be told they will only ship some of it. I haven't even packed clothes and my luggage is filled with Buddha heads.

They will let me take Buddha heads out of the country in my luggage but not my sea shipment. Yep that Makes sense to me. 😜

But there is absolutely no problem shipping a very heavy rock. Hey don't judge, that rock has seen more of the world than most people. This will be its 9th move. 

Cheers from the other side. 

😘 M

Talkin Turkey

The rumor mill is swirling. No turkeys being imported this year into Thailand. What?? Supposedly the Avian bird flu that hit the US turkeys in 2014 have made Thailand ban imported turkeys this year. Now Thais have no problems shipping their rabid infested street dogs to Cambodia for consumption but that's another topic. So Thailand has banned good ol Tom the Turkey. Do they not realize that us expats are desperate for our turkey on Thanksgiving. Do they not realize we are more than happy to pay high baht for our turkey. Don't ask what I paid once for a turkey breast. 

Taking matters into our own hands we have imported a bird. Flight to US with suitcase in hand Walter brought us back a turkey.  We are not strangers to smuggling in some strange things into Thailand. Ask our family. Lol

 

Have no fear our bird is here!

Cheers from the other side. 

😘 M

Halloween Thai Style

October 31 is just another day in Thailand. We farangs (foreigners) always find a way to have some fun.  Halloween was celebrated at a neighborhood close to school where many of our friends live. 

Pumpkins are a luxury and one we do without. That's about $100 US. Yikes. 

Last night was all about the trunk or treat. We were a very popular car giving out American candy that I brought back from the states. 

It's 90* so our army boys really can't be to bothered to fully costume themselves. Oh and that cool age of 12 and 14 might have something to do with that too. 

Andrew, Jack and some of their friends 

Send the kiddies home and the adults will play. After party with a very cool ice bar. 

Walter loves a good ice bar. 

Cheers from the other side. 

M 😘

Thailand adventure ending soon

6 more weeks and we will no longer call Thailand home. We are moving back to Michigan. 

This is one place I will miss, the Amari for lunch with Thai noodle soup, a cold San Miguel lite and a beautiful view. 

Oh the places you'll go

She's off, she's flyin, she will move mountains!  Oh the Places she'll go!

Erin's graduated. My baby girl how is that possible. When she was little I always sang to her You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. The words ring so true for her. She really can make make me happy when my skies are gray. Everyone loves Erin. Her name in Gaelic means peace maker - so fitting for her. Jack and Andrew will miss Erin and Ryan, well, he is luckiest of us all, he gets her close by. The boys talk to her about everything. She is strong, sensitive and so smart. How did I get so lucky. 

When we moved to Thailand she was so full of doubt but she was all for our move. She was able to see the future and know what the endless benefits it would bring her. How right she was. She was scared of IB. Many times I had to talk her off the ledge of uncertainty. I knew she had it in her to take on the challenge. She persevered and was more successful than I could have ever imagined. Awards, honors and a true respect from the entire faculty, she has earned her diploma. 

Isn't this why we have children, we want them to be better then ourselves and have a bright future. We want them to grow, be happy, independent and successful in whatever they chose. I am so excited for her but I also feel the loss. I will miss her. The house won't be the same without her.  Walter and I couldn't be prouder of her but for us it is bittersweet. For the last month she is with us I will just enjoy her company and relish in the fact that she will no longer bury herself in her room for hours on end studying. I will spend time with her and just try to whoop her a$$ a few times in cards as we just talk, hang out and enjoy the last few moments we have together. 

Her future is bright!

From preschool to high school graduation

Loving having her brother here. 

Cheers and a little tears from the other side

😘 M

Maggie's Milk Money

Wear white that's all I wanted. Come, lets get together have a glass of bubbles or two (coffee or tea for those who prefer) and maybe shop. If you want you can donate a box of milk. Simple invite yet so effective. Who knew that at a coffee morning held at my house would raise an earth shattering 40,000 baht ($1200 US) and enough boxes of milk to give over 2000 children a cup of milk. WOW!!  

I belong to a Women's Group called RLC (Rayong Ladies Club). Monthly we host a coffee morning (usually more bubbles are drunk then coffee), hosting is on a rotation basis and a local charity is our focus. We invite vendors to come and sell their wares and the ladies who attend chat, shop and maybe drink a few. Who hosts gets to pick the lucky charity. All expat women in our local area are invited and usually between 40 to 60 women attend. Everyone chips in by bringing a dish. Raffle prizes are a huge hit because the vendors donate to the drawings. A significant amount of money is raised each month for worthy charities. 

May is at my house for Maggie's Milk Money - wear white in honor of milk, bring a box of powered milk, drink some bubbles, chat with your friends, eat some lunch, shop and have some fun. Sounds like a good day for most women. For me it was the most amazing day. I'm deeply humbled by the amount of support I have received for something I feel so passionate about. 

Milk. Such a simple idea but one that many like myself take for granted. How many times have I thrown out almost a cup full of milk from my children's cereal bowl or the cup from dinner that they just didn't want to finish because they were FULL. 

Maggie's Milk Money started because of my trip to northern Thailand in Mae Sot. My sister and brother in law helped give me a foundation, now I'm just carrying it through.  I have grown Maggie's Milk Money because of so much support I have received. The CDTC school in Mae Sot will now have milk 3 times a week for a year. Seriously though could I just sit on my extra funds and not do more. Mae Sot is 9 hours away, I felt a strong urge to do something closer to home so I could really get more involved. Picking 2 organizations here in Pattaya I decided to step into uncharted waters and figure out a way to help more. I now support 2 additional places with my milk. 

Sanuk Day Care Center is a day care for non Thai children.  Google Sanuk Day scare Center in Pattaya and you will see an incredibly heartwarming but very sad story about a mom and her daughter filling a need here in Pattaya. These kids have nothing, no education and no possible future. The day care center provides these kids transportation, education, food, and some fun Monday through Friday from 8 to 3pm.  Some 30 - 50 kids call this place their second home. The center is solely dependent on donations. With this coffee morning I am able to donate to them 10000baht ($300 U.S.) and weekly milk for the next 6 months.

Haven Children's Home is my second cause. It is a home for disadvantaged children who need a safe haven. This is an orphanage who tries to find these children's families and bring them back together or find them a suitable family who will adopt them. This home houses between 30 to 40 children at a time. They are solely dependent on donations and I am able to help them the same as Sanuk. 

You can't imagine the feeing I have about the amount of money raised and the powered milk donated. 

What an amazing feeling to be able to provide something so simple as milk. These women who came to my house were extremely generous, forever I will be grateful. 

I'm humbled and thankful for this opportunity to do something worthy. 

A few fun pictures of this superb morning.  The milk mustaches were a huge hit!

A girlfriend made this change bucket for her house that she has been filling for me. Can you guess her nationality?  Lol

My famous group selfie

Maggie's Milk Money

Strong, Smart & Healthy

Milk, it goes a long way!

Cheers from the other side

😘 M