Kai's 9th birthday weekend

 Basically, this past weekend was just Kai's birthday celebration.  I think he had a lot of fun and I am glad that we have such a good boy as the oldest kid in the family.  We all have something to work on, myself included, so we'll keep at it but, all in all, Kai is pretty awesome.

Friday was Kai's actual birthday and he was excited.  He went to school and there his friends celebrated for him which I think went well though he didn't have a separate party for them.  He came home and immediately went to playing the switch because he had received Super Mario 3D world (from Brandon).  I'll just list all the video game stuff he got here: Super Mario Party (from Ethan), Super Smash Fighters Pack (from Niko) along with Piranha Plant fighter (from us).  

Now we have almost all the fighters!
(that really matter :)

We then went to our usual neighbors art class and then had joint dinner at the Casanovas.

Kai is not actually in this picture but he got in the bounce
house a bit.. still not too old for that

Friday night, Amy went to work so I had the kids Saturday morning.  We all accompanied Kai to his jujitsu class where he is prepping for a tournament next week.  He's not as good at technique but he certainly grapples well for his smaller size.  I have to keep encouraging him.

Jujitsu training

We skipped the soccer game for the day and then later went to Big Al's where the neighborhood parents and kids came for pizzas, fries and arcade games!

Happy birthday, Kai!

Sora was very proud of her Doodle Jump win

Daddy duties: helping Jad with TMNT

All three playing Halo Fireteam Raven

Can't leave the adults out of the party!

Fit almost everyone into this pic :)

After that we went to Amy's parents house for dinner there so they could see Kai as well.  Amy's mom made us a nice dinner but we couldn't eat much because we had eaten too much junk food beforehand.  Aiya. Gotta eat healthier.. after this weekend..

Sunday, we went to Church and it was nice to see everyone there as usual.  I'm always impressed with how organized LSCC is and I am glad that we can use that as a means to help other churches.  After that, the Kongs, Rongs, Shaws and Ngs came over for lunch and to top off Kai's weekend.

Everyone in the backyard

At least, we got them out for part of the time before devolving to video games.  

The boys on the couch playing Nintendo while the
girls + Jad are upstairs (with nerf guns :)

I think Kai had a good time this weekend with all the celebrations going on for him.  This better not set a precedent for Sora and Jad!!  Entire weekend celebration.. sheesh!

We finished the evening by eating leftovers with the neighbors

I got my negative COVID test result today and paid the extra co-pay for my cataract surgery which is coming up on Thursday.  Hopefully all goes well!  I'll leave you with this image of the blood moon eclipse from yesterday.  Til next time!

Hard to see on a pic but still very cool

2 weeks back / Sora / Kai / Jad / Amy / Nik

 Hard to believe it's already been two weeks since we got back from Thailand.  The first week back was a bit of a blur with jet lag.  We all adjusted a bit better this time and it took about 3 days to get our sleeping hours right though probably about a week of generally feeling tired.  

After being back for some time, I certainly miss traveling.  Going anywhere with three kids certainly has its stresses but it was so nice to see new places and try new foods (or old foods from my childhood).  That coupled with just the freedom from work and some aspects of responsibility for two weeks was amazing.  It certainly makes you question why and if we all have to work so much (the answer is no!) That as well as my mom being ill, makes me think that we have to take advantage of the limited time we all have.  I have to get more physically fit as well to combat the ageing that will wear down over time.

The other thing to making life better, of course, is changing your mental attitude and mindset.  On the trip I read this book called A Return to Love (still working on it).. it's kind of a new age-y take on Christianity and the basic concept, as I understand it,  is that God is less of a sentient entity but more of an all encompassing love.  By embracing that love, it can heal you and improve your life.  It does sound a bit hokey when I write it out but there is a lot in it that makes more sense to me than the traditional God and some good concepts in general that could be applied to life.  Mental and physical health.

Ok, enough musing and back to the pictures!

We landed on Thursday morning and we knew we had to keep the kids up to fight jet lag so Amy actually took Sora to gymnastics as usual that evening.  This picture is actually from later actually when there was a picture event.  

The pictures were way expensive but Sora
does look great in them

Kai also went right back to his soccer game on the Saturday after we got back.  He's enjoying soccer and actually it's only a couple more weeks til it ends.  I think he like the team aspect the most (he's actually talking to both teams most of the time on the field) and I'm glad this can help him develop in that area.  He also wanted to participate in the tournament in a few weeks so that's a big plus.

We were spoiled last year for semi-professional pics 
at every game.. but this one was pretty good

Jad did well with his transition back to preschool.  But after being back for 3 days he had a fever!  We were worried about COVID, of course, and he stayed home for 2 days but the fever resolved in about 36 hours and he never had any other symptoms.  Whew! 

Thank goodness, Amy was able to 
be home to take care of Jad.  Until..

...Amy got sick this week!  Hers was more of a runny nose upper respiratory illness but she also tested COVID negative.  She has been sleeping a lot and today is recovered almost 100%.  Actually she went on a 9 mile trail run so she's probably pretty good :)

Running around Alum Rock Park

Before Amy got sick, we did manage a lunch date to get Lanzhou
hand pulled noodles.. Pretty good!

Mother's day was also last week.  I did ask Amy what she wanted but she dclined so I got the kids up early to make breakfast for her.

Pancakes and fresh squeezed lemonade.. Kai cut the
pieces to say "I love U"

I think she was pretty happy with it

We also went out to dinner with Pam and Amy's
mom to celebrate with them!

As for me, I've been quite busy since getting back.  On landing in Japan between flights, a friend texted me about a terrible incident in our ER and I learned more when I landed back in California.  I've been helping to coordinate our response with the other doctors in our group and that's taken up a lot of time. Hopefully, this event, while tragic, will bring our work family closer together and lead to some changes for the better.  

This weekend, we're planning to celebrate Kai's 9th birthday.  Hard to believe he's already getting so big.  He's a great kid, even if he's got some faults.. but heck, we all do :)

Going through the monsoon rain in a motorcycle jeep

Til next time!

Beautiful Chiang Mai and time with Grandma

Our last full day in Bangkok and we decided to try to go out to the Wat Saket and the Golden Mount. At first, we wanted to take a water taxi to try something novel with the kids, but after waiting for over half an hour, we discovered that it wasn't operational due to the Songkran festival. The temple was crowded with Songkran festivities and the prospect of climbing 300 steps in 100 degree heat while we were all still cranky and jet lagged to get to the Golden Mount was daunting, so we decided to just wander the temple grounds. Lots of whining ensued, but at least we got out of our hotel room and tried to do something.

Waiting for the water taxi

Trying to get a little culture in

After a quick nap, we returned to the cool A/C of the malls, though we couldn't even rally the kids to walk to the half mile to the mall area and had to take a taxi.

Deserts aplenty required to keep the kids' energy up

Modern Bangkok. Our hotel was next to a massive cluster of shopping malls

The next morning, we headed off to the airport again for our flight to Chiang Mai. The flight was short and uneventful, and Nik's Dad met us at the airport to pick us up. After the sweltering, sprawling, concrete metropolis of Bangkok, I was amazed at how small and quaint Chiang Mai seemed in comparison. Conveniently, the hotel we chose to stay at in Chiang Mai was immediately adjacent to my in-laws' building and after checking in, we stopped by for a quick visit.

The purpose of this trip was to primarily visit Nik's Mom whose dementia has been progressing rapidly within the past two years. It's difficult to see her in the state that she's in--she sometimes has brief and fleeting moments in which she seems to recognize me or the kids, but it's very hard to break through the flat affect of dementia. Though we've explained the gravity of Grandma's situation to the kids, there's no real understanding there and I've been trying to take as many pictures and videos for the kids as I can. We visited at least twice daily, with Nik going over on his own more frequently. It was difficult to balance time spent with Grandma with the fact that the kids are still just young and their chaotic energy isn't compatible with her care.

Difficult to capture Grandma's smile. I think the kids' visit made her happy and she would watch them the whole time during our visits

While in Chiang Mai, we did some light sightseeing. We walked the grounds at Wat Chedi Luang, though it was so hot that the kids could barely manage outside of the shade.

Colorful banners and flags everywhere for the Songkran festival

The ruined chedi was quite impressive

Refreshment required after a "long" 45 minute walk around the temple

We also visited the Chiang Mai Zoo. By far, the highlight was renting a golf cart to tour the zoo. The zoo is set on the hillside and in the heat, it proved to be a great decision. And at about $10/hour, it wasn't a bad deal either.

Ballin' in Thailand

We went to the night bazaar, though there were so few tourists and so many shuttered storefronts that it was a little disheartening to see how adversely the pandemic has affected Thailand's tourism industry.

We also took a mini bus up to Wat Pha Lat and hiked down the Monk's Trail to Chiang Mai University. The grounds at Wat Pha Lat were spectacular with Instagram-able shots around every corner. The hike down to CMU was pleasant and all downhill since we had taken the bus up the hill, though nearing the end of the hike the kids' patience was wearing thin and my assurances that "it's not too far," didn't have much effect.

Huay Kaew Waterfall before setting off. The young monks behind us were splashing around in the pool

Among all the touristy things we did in Chiang Mai, the best thing by far was visiting the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary. We had visited an elephant camp previously when we had visited Chiang Mai, though riding elephants has more recently fallen out of favor due to concerns about animal welfare. An elephant sanctuary seems like a fair compromise, giving people an opportunity to get up and close with the animals while ensuring that elephants that may have been previously living as beasts of burden can live out the remainder of their lives in relative comfort.

Muddy bathtime for the elephants. We were proud of Kai and Sora who tentatively went into the water, but Jad refused to go in

With the heat and humidity of Thailand, we visited the pool daily.

Swimming with Grandma and Grandpa

Another hotel, another rooftop pool

The kids preferred the regular pool to the muddy pool the elephants swam in

The area where Nik's parents live has been built up in recent years and there is now a trendy mall across the street. We spent a lot of time in the mall's food court, finding yummy, cheap eats.

Elephant parade at Maya

Khao soi is a regional specialty

Pie shop recommended by Joe. The kids inhaled the chocolate slice

Fun family photo op at One Nimman, a cool looking outdoor mall

$1.50 boba means daily boba! (with Thai iced tea for me)

It wasn't easy to leave Nik's Mom. I'm grateful that we had a chance to see her and my hope is that this visit will leave a good memory of her in the kids' minds. Though it is possible that Nik may return to Thailand on his own, it is unlikely that we will travel here again with the kids. It was a bittersweet visit with stressful moments, so we followed up this leg of the trip with a visit to Phuket. More about that in my next post.