Bangkok Week 911

If last week was all about Christmas, then this week was all about caterpillars! 🐛 We adopted 2 (and babysat another 2) cute, giant hawk moth caterpillars that were eating up a neighbor’s garden. They were our entertainment for the weekend (can they ever poop! 💩), before they moved into their new home at Annabel’s on Monday. We also caught up with Sally and Douglass (and their parents) after half a year.

And the Year 6’s at Arlo’s school hosted a fun Christmas fair charity fundraiser (with all sorts of games made and operated by the Year 6 students). Lucy had a blast; and both of them raked in the prizes! Wednesday was a public holiday for Arlo and Mum & Dad, so we enjoyed a fun little reunion at Annabel’s after school that day.

The year is winding down!

Bangkok Week 910

Christmas 🎄 is in full swing in Bangkok - and the weather is playing along, too! We enjoyed a few lovely, cool mornings: everyone was out to school in their jumpers!

  • On Saturday, we put up our tree 🎄 (seemingly the last ones in Bangkok to do so!) and then spent the afternoon at the Bangkok Prep Christmas Fair.

  • On Sunday, we enjoyed the brand new playground that just (re)opened right next to IKEA

  • And then during the week, it was school Christmas Performances 🎅 all the way: Arlo’s on Monday and Lucy’s on Thursday.

Bangkok Week 909

Mum’s finally home on Sunday morning, with goodies from Amazon aplenty. But first, Dad entertains solo for Saturday, including a visit to the park and IKEA, and a playdate with Emily. Good job, Dad!

At Annabel’s, Lucy is gearing up for her Christmas performance; and at STA, Arlo’s class put on a first-ever assembly performance for the parents and fellow Year 1 students. Great job, 1-C! Great job, Arlo!

Bangkok Week 908

This weekend, we have an impromptu playdate with Arlo’s classmate (and longtime Annabel’s buddy) Pree. And on Sunday, we visit the organic farm and market that Arlo’s class visited for their field trip this past March. A lovely place, although a bit far to get to.

And then Mum is off to Boston for a week, leaving Dad in the captain’s seat again - thank you, Dad. He did another great job keeping everyone alive and happy!

And Christmas is in full swing in Bangkok now, too.

Bangkok Week 907

We bid a fond farewell to Steve, Teresa, Elena and Evelyn on Friday.

But then Saturday was a busy day: Arlo started piano with a new (private) teacher… and we finally celebrated Halloween in our Moo Baan. (Editorial: this is the most prolonged Halloween season ever.) Arlo invited Nimo, and Lucy invited Amalia.

On Sunday evening, Mum headed to Singapore for 3 days; and so Dad led the charge at home and kept everyone safe and sound for another busy school and work week.

Bangkok Week 906

It’s another packed week, despite the nation in mourning.

On Halloween day, the children (but not the parents) enjoyed a low-key celebration in the classrooms at Annabel’s. Lucy wore her hedgehog costume for about 6 minutes - which is one minute longer than last year. And on Halloween night, we were kindly invited to join the trick-or-treating at Lucy’s friend Emily’s Moo Baan, which continued as planned.

On Saturday night, our grad school friends Steve & Teresa arrived in Bangkok with their daughters, for a 1-week stay. On Sunday, we took them to a floating market in Taling Chan, including the same canal tour we did with Jas & Josh in 2024. Of course, we came home with another beautiful orchid from the orchid farms. All 4 kids got along really well, and enjoyed the week together!

And on Wednesday (Tuesday at Annabel’s) we celebrated a low-key Loy Krathong. Both Arlo & Lucy made Krathongs at school, and Lucy floated hers with our neighbors in a small wading pool: a perfect scale for the festivities.

Bangkok Week 905

At long last, the school break comes to an end. But not before a fun weekend of sketches at CentralWorld, and card games at home.

And the fate of Halloween - which had been ramping up in fifth gear - is unclear now. It will go ahead at Annabel’s, will be cancelled at STA, and may or may not happen in the Moo Baan. Stay tuned!

Bangkok Week 904

This week, the season of International Days 🇨🇦 continues at St Andrews. It’s our first experience with International Day at a Big School, and boy, was it of a different scale! 3 other Canadian families (with kids at the Primary School) helped with the booth as well. The fries and Smarties cookies were the most popular items at our stand — good to know for next year!

And that marked the start of the mid-term school break (for both schools). We enjoyed a low-key weekend in Bangkok, and then a rather hectic week because the kids were home but K. Noi was out sick.

Oh and we mustn’t forget: this week marks the start of winter here in Thailand! ❄️

Bangkok Week 903

We kick off International Day season 🇨🇦 this week, at Annabel’s! Lucy was ever-so-slightly less frozen in this performance than she was last Christmas, and the pinecone painting was a hit! (We had a significant surplus of pinecones, but that ensured that every child got a nice one.)

Then we spent a long-weekend in Trat, where we celebrated Aa Top and Aa Nan, and managed to coerce Arlo into a hair trim.

And then it was back to Bangkok for one last week of school before the mid-term break.

Bangkok Week 902

It’s another busy week! Lucy begins her new swimming lesson, on Friday afternoons. (It’s a private class!) We have a weekend playdate at Lucy’s friend’s house; then Uncle Simon comes to visit. On Sunday, Arlo has a piano concert; and the weather is cooperative for an early-afternoon trip to Happy & Healthy Bike Lane, where we stay for over 2 hours.

Mum’s away for most of the week in India, but back just in time for Arlo’s Senses Spa at school, where the Y1s showcase what they’ve been working on so far this year; and also in time for a lovely birthday celebration.

Bangkok Week 901

We’re so proud of Big Boy Arlo for competing in his first swimming competition this week: the Puppy Cup, hosted by Bangkok Prep. He swam in 4 races (Backstroke, Breast Stroke, Freestyle, and Freestyle Relay) and won a 3rd place medal for the latter! We all learned a lot about how competitive swimming works!

After that, we all enjoyed a Saturday afternoon play date at Lucy’s best friend Emily’s house. And on Sunday, we finally opened our new favorite board game: Rhino Hero Super Battle! We also spent Sunday afternoon at a fun Taiwanese festival at Thai-Wan cafe (a.k.a. Peacock Cafe).

At Annabel’s, they’re gearing up for International Day, so parents have been coming in to play traditional games and toys from their families’ home countries. Since Canada really isn’t known for its traditional games, we played Uno and another card game with Lucy’s class. It was fun and they were all great sports about it.

Bangkok Week 900!

It’s Week 900! Who’d have thought.

This week marks the end of Arlo’s swimming career at Baby Pool, and with Teacher Big. Lucy turns 3 1/2 years old. And unfortunately, it’s Dad’s turn to catch Influenza A, so he’s down for the count for much of the weekend; nothing like a trip to IKEA to entertain the rest of the gang.

This week, we also invest in the entire Dog Man set (second-hand, of course), which is still thrilling and entertaining Arlo to this day. And it’s also Mum’s annual visit to Immigration to extend her visa; and we finally spot the famous indoor running track that we never knew about!

Bangkok Week 899

Arlo was home on Thursday and Friday (staff development days) so he’s able to return to visit Annabel’s for the first time since graduating. It’s also the time of year when we need to take annual family photos around the house for Mum’s visa renewal. And Arlo enjoyed Water Safety Week at swimming.

And then, unfortunately, Lucy fell ill with influenza A: high fever for 5 days straight, including over Arlo’s 6th birthday! As a result, Arlo had a low-key birthday celebration, but very much enjoyed his new legos and angler fish. He’s also really into the Dog Man books these days, which are influencing his drawings.

Bangkok Week 898

Mum is back from the US, and we rolled straight into a busy weekend. After shopping and swimming filled Saturday, we spent Sunday morning biking around Rot Fai Park with Aya and her family (keep an eye out for the giant monitor lizards!). And then we rolled right back into another busy school week.

Note: this album also contains no individual photo captions.

Bangkok Week 897

Everyone is settling into the new school rhythm! ECAs start for Lucy at Annabel’s; Lucy has a playdate with her new bestie from school, Emily; and they even get in some swimming despite the rains. Mum is away in San Diego for most of the work week though; good job, Dad!

Note: there are no individual photo captions in this album!

Bangkok Week 896

Arlo’s got a full week of school under his belt now, and Lucy is settling into the “Big School”. And we head back to everyone’s favorite Swedish store & restaurant to look for our latest furniture addition.

Bangkok Week 895

Arlo continues to settle into his new school and new classroom, and tries out a whole host of ECAs after school. And finally, Lucy gets to start her school year, too! She’s so happy to be back with her friends.

Bangkok Week 894

This week, there are two important events: (1) we visit Trat for the annual family merit-making, and (2) Arlo starts Year 1 at St Andrews! What a brave boy, and a successful first few days (we think…)!

Bangkok Week 893

We’re back in Bangkok, and the name of the game this week is: conquer the jet lag! We discovered that the magic key is swimming! Up early? Swim before it gets too hot! Need to stay awake in the late afternoon? Go swimming! How fortunate we are to have the pool right here!

Canada Week 3

Boo hoo! It’s our third and final week in Canada!

Despite the tornado adventures and loss of power, we have a wonderful last 3 days at the Cottage. And then we have a whirlwind 4 days in Toronto visiting everyone we know! And then, it’s back to the airport to do the long trek in reverse. Thanks for the wonderful visit!