SE Asian Delites

Our favorite place to eat on this island is a strand of seafood restaurants right on the beach where you can see the sunset. I know, we live a hard life here. You can order fresh fish, shrimp, squid, or lobster caught that day! They add vegetables and greens along with fresh fruit juice like coconut or mango. Your table is literally in the sand right near the shoreline. You can imagine how beautiful it is. Unfortunately, we only have a few photos of the seafood before it's cooked. The last time we ate here, we had our friend Elizabeth with us! We're so glad we got to see you Elizabeth!

Russian Delites

Ever since Todd traveled with our friend Igor to Russia, the desire to eat authentic Russian food again has never left him. There is only one Russian restaurant on our island. Usually we avoid restaurants that don't do international food well, which most of them don't. There's always a few spices or a few exchanges they make in the ingredients that Southeast-Asianizes the food! But here's our tribute to Igor and delicious Russian food:

No smiling in Russian photographs.
When Todd went to anything touristy in Russia,
he just let Igor talk and most people thought he was Russian!

Russian dumplings. Mmmm!

Borsche, a Russian soup. It was close but not the same as in Russia.You have to say it in a low voice with a Russian accent, "I eat Borsche."

It's the hospitable thing to do in Russia to drink a shot of Vodka before a meal. Well, this was a local drink that wasn't quite as tasty as Vodka. Still, we enjoyed our Russian-Southeast Asian experience.

Us at our Retreat

We are back from our trip and had a great retreat with our friends this past week. Katie is around 6 1/2 months (26 weeks) pregnant and feeling great. Only 1 month left until we get the blessing of going home to the States for 6 months! We can't wait! We love you family and friends! (and Emma loves you too ;) )

Hindu Monument & Museum in Town

We call it "Moridor".

From motorbike to car

Since we're adding to our family, the time has come to take a few more measures of safety. We got a car that's really comfortable, spacious, yet not too big. Driving in this country is quite the adventure. Here we drive on the left side of the road and rather than a lot of rules, there's more like a philosophy of driving. It's "give and take". You sort of go with the flow and yield a lot but rarely to you have to come to a dead stop. Additionally, cars share the road space with motorbikes, animals, people, and religious ceremonies that are often going on where groups of people will walk a few blocks down a road playing traditional music. There is no speed limit anywhere. How many of these things are normal in the States? Yep, ZERO! :) We also have to install seat belts in the back because it's not that normal to have them in cars here. We still have our motorbike for quick trips and fun outings. Check out the ride:

Baby Emma is Growing

Last weekend Todd and I had a great time getting to see our little baby at our second ultrasound. It's most likely a girl and we are naming her Emma, a name from Katie's mom's side of the family. We we were able to really see her sweet little face, hands, legs, and heart in 4D so it was an incredible image of her moving and turning and looking straight at us! We finally started thinking through what it's going to be like to be parents and have a daughter. We're feeling joy as well as the surreal feeling of the fact that we are adding a member to our family. It won't just be the two of us anymore! Below is me at 4 months and then me at 5 months. I'm not too big, YET!

Our Visitor

We recently had a new visitor drop in.
Can you find him?
(sorry about the bathroom pic
but that's where he decided to reside)

See him now?!!
Ok, he may not look that big, but in real life,
this guy is HUGE and intimidating.

Since we didn't want to get near the guy,
Todd used our porcelain cleaner and sprayed the acidic fluid
until he looked like this. Eww!!
(I stood on a chair outside the bathroom the whole time.)

Play Time at the Park

After two months in our new location, we traveled north of our city to catch some cool/Fallish air! It was the coldest we've felt in almost 2 years! We even had a fireplace in our hotel room! I know it doesn't look cold in these pictures, but at one point I had 5 layers on!! Hmmm...but that's probably because I don't know what "cold" is anymore. Anything that causes me to have goose bumps is a sign to pack on the layers. Have we acclimated some to the tropical weather, I think so. Enjoy these photos from our time at a park in the area. We flew a kite with Anna and spend time with our friends.

We're Expecting!

Ok, we promise this won't become the "baby blog". (We'll make a separate one later.) We're almost 3 months pregnant. It's been quite an interesting experience going through the first few months while living in the heart of the tropics! I've been told to eat alot of protein if I want a boy and alot of fruit and vegetables if I want a girl. Hmmm...interesting concept. One of the questions Todd and I are asking ourselves has been, what is this dude or dudette going to look like?? Below is a baby photo of me and Todd. Can you imagine a little person that looks like us put together? Crazy!

VISA Run to Singapore

We spent most of our time in China Town.

MMmm! Dumplings!

Ok, you may not understand,
but it gets exciting when you have
your first Subway sandwhich
in a year and a half!

AND New York cheescake!

Flowers, Flames, and Friends

We were recently fortunate enough to be able to visit Katie’s best friends while we went to a conference out of country. It was a sweet time frolicking in a king’s garden and taking an Asian cooking class! We love you Sarah and Vicki!

HUGE roses!

HUGE bamboo!

We are the masters of fire! Except Todd. :)

Creative Christmas Fun!

Oh the joys of paper snowflakes, old ornaments, and a potted Christmas tree-plant! We have been thoroughly enjoying decorating for Christmas this year. We hope you are making the most of time with family and being creative this Christmas season. We never realized how blessed we are to have the traditions we did growing up. Watch "Christmas Vacation" and listen to goofy Christmas songs! Don't be boring this year. Do what you did growing up. :)

Todd putting up Christmas lights outside of our house.

Living room decore

Sitting in front of our "photo Christmas tree"

putting up Christmas lights around our "conversation piece" in our living room :)

K's first attempt at painting to add Christmas color to the house.

We hope you have a great Christmas season!