We're back, sorry for the delay.

Hey there everyone

So it's been almost a month, but we have good excuses, really. We just got back from a trip to Thailand that ended up being a little longer than expected. They had a coup, closed the airport, and rather stranded us there - though that sounds a lot more dramatic than it really was for us- we basically just spent an extra week on the beach.

Grandpa and Farmor were there of course, and Aunt Sara, Uncle Michael, Jacob and Leo came too. So it was a fantastic chance to spend 2+ weeks with the family. Thais really love children, and particularly little blond kids. Travelling with Daniel and Rachel was like being part of some rock star entourage - heads turned everywhere and going through the airports, random people came up to say hi, rub their heads, etc.

We'll let the pictures tell the story, but have a few anecdotes of note. By swimming every single day, Daniel regained his confidence and skill in the water, and by the end of it said "I learned my swim lessons!". We also had the following exchange for the ages:

How old is Jacob?

Jacob is 9

How old is Leo?

Leo is 4-and-a-half

(pause) ...When am I going to turn Brown?

Rachel has really matured quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, her vocabulary is huge (though sometimes only understood by us), but her most memorable development is that if she wants something, she sings it to the tune of Queen's "We will rock you".

We will, we will

Eat din-ner!

We will, we will

Take a Nap!

We will, we will

Go Simming! (swimming)

Flights were long, but the kids were superstars, and once you're in Phuket, life is pretty mellow, so we're nice and relaxed. Flashback 2 years in the blog if you want to see what it was like with just Daniel. Breakfast (Watermelon Juice! Chocolate Milk!) fed into swimming (beach!), lunch, nap, cocktail hour and dinner on the beach. Repeat as needed.

Sorry for the lack of updates here - it just didn't seem all that wise to post something that effectively said: "we're not home". If we don't get around to posting before the holidays, have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Love, A.D.R.E