Happy Halloween!!!

You're probably thinking that we wouldn't be celebrating Halloween in Thailand, but we are! Our neighborhood put on an excellent Trick-or-treating night and neighborhood Halloween Party! We met up with friends to trick-or-treat around the 40 houses in our neighborhood and then went to the party, which was fun and geared toward the kids (but all the adults had fun, too). It was nice to see everyone dressed up, including the parents :)

In our family, we had 2 Jedi Knights (and 1 Jedi Sock Monkey - Jack got to bring him home from Pre-K for the weekend), a ballerina, an Indian and a Gypsy. We got some great candy from the States because you can buy it here at Dan's work. Otherwise, you can't find it here in Thailand. Apparently if you go and trick-or-treat at the Thai homes near the kids' school, you get lots of Mentos and Halls cough drops - both real "treats" for the Thais!

Birthday Party

Jack had a great birthday yesterday! We decorated the house Saturday night for his birthday and Dan wrapped his presents (we hadn't found wrapping paper, so Jack got his presents wrapped in a Bangali newspaper - how many kids can say that about their 5th birthday?)! Megan woke Jack up on his birthday Sunday by sing Happy Birthday to him and ending with Cha-cha-cha, Kumbaya, Hi-Yah, which we continued all day and added Sawatdee Kah, Kap Khun Kah! Jack liked that his sister woke him up by singing Happy Birthday :) Then we all got to come downstairs and he unwrapped his presents! He got a Star Wars X-wing and characters as well as a DS Indian Jones game from us, a remote control helicopter, nerf gun and nerf basketball hoop from Grammy and Grandad, a cool outfit (which he wore for his party under his Jedi robe) and a Transformer plane guy from Mom Mom and Pappy and a cool game (Rush Hour) from the De Vidos! So fun!

Jack got to choose his meals for his birthday and this is what he chose: Cereal for breakfast (Cereal!). He chose Cookie Crisp. He wanted 2 red breads and 1 cheese for lunch (with ramen noodles). And then, we let him choose a restaurant for dinner. He chose Pinocchio's Pizza for dinner. He wanted a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a salad and an orange soda!


Jack's "Jedi Training Academy" Party went off without a hitch! We had 5 friends + our 3 here and it was a blast! When they came in, we dressed them in the Jedi Robes we made and gave them each a light saber we borrowed from our neighbors! (10 light sabers between 3 families - impressive)! Then we played Star Wars Bingo, Pin the Light saber on Yoda, Jedi Obstacle Course , Death Star Pinata and Use the Force to keep the balloon in the air! We opened presents, ate cake and chocolate ice cream and played until the parents came! They got to take home goodie bags that Megan and Jack had decorated and keep their Jedi robes! So fun and fun to meet some of the kids from Jack's class!

To finish off the day, we got to watch some more scenes (not the whole movie, don't worry) from Star Wars episode 2! We had a great day celebrating Jack, having fun, eating cake and hanging out with friends! Happy 5th Birthday Jack!!!

Hi, my name is Jack

And I'm the birthday boy! Here's a little about myself, now that I am a big 5 year old (format taken from Heather Oberle).

Job: Pre-Kindergartener. I go to school every day from 6:50am-1:05pm. I like it, but claim that I don't.

Nicknames: Meatball (at birth, enough said). Bball (shortly after birth, because Moo couldn't pronounce "meatball"). B (shortened form of "bball"). Jackie, Jackie boy and Jackson Kenneth when Mommy is trying to get my attention.

Interests: Playing the Nintendo DS (especially Lego Star Wars), playing X-box with my Daddy, wrestling Moo, teasing Kylie and snuggling my Mommy. I also like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, Transformers, Superheros, swords and light sabers.

Favorite foods: 2 "red" breads and 1 cheese (translation: 2 pieces of white bread - comes in a red bag- and a slice of Kraft white American cheese). Spaghetti, cereal, stuffing, ice cream, apples. Shrimp, pizza!

Least Favorite foods: GREEN BEANS!!! (are you with me Uncle Mark?)

Favorite sayings: Can I play the DS? I don't want to go to school. I miss Daddy (even when he is in the same room). Can I play with your hair? (to Mommy). I can't do nothing! Ha, ha, ha...poopie heiney!

Things I did while I was 4: Learned to spell Jack J-A-C-K. Learned to write 3 letter words. Know all my capital letters and sounds. Got 15+ shots. Got my passport. Flew over an ocean. Moved to Thailand. Started Pre-K. Learned to swim. Learned to say "Sawatdee Kap" and "Kap Khun Kap". Realized I love seafood and fish. Asked Jesus into my heart.

Favorite school stuff: My best friend, John. Speech with Mrs. Paulson, where we don't have to do any work, we just play games. Gym. Snack and Lunch. Centers - I like to play Legos and with the motorcycle.

Question I most want answered: How exactly do we get to Heaven? Do we just fly up and say, "Whee, I'm flying to Heaven?" How do we get there?

Favorite things to do in Thailand: Go to Aquarium and see the sharks and play on the playground. Ride on the scooter.

Best Friends: God. Jesus. Moo. My best friend, John. Avery, Elona (girls from school). Daddy and Mommy. (curiously, no Kylie).

Who I will marry: Elona. Except she said she wanted to get married now, when we are kids and I told her, "Kids don't get married, we have to wait until we are Mommy and Daddy's age." She's a good girl. She listens to the teacher and never gets in trouble.

Favorite Show: Lilo and Stitch, Tom and Jerry, Spiderman at Grammy's.

Favorite Movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (even though I've never seen it), Star Wars and Kung Fu Panda.

Favorite Article of Clothing: pajamas. I put them on as soon as I walk in the door in the afternoon and only change out of them if Mommy makes me.

Favorite stuffed animals: Cheetah, Slush, Brutus, Coconut, Snakey, Catty, Chompers, South Dakota.

What I want to be when I grow up: ???

Things Mommy loves about me: That I am a sweet boy. That I snuggle her at naptime and after reading my book, ask to play with her hair for a little bit. That I still snuggle Cheetah at bed. That I role onto my stomach and wrap the sheet around me like a cocoon when I go to sleep. That I still cry about 15 times a day (mostly lasting approx. 2.5 seconds each - I'm dramatic). That I can only handle a playdate at my house for around 1 hour before I need a break. That I can say words like, "F-our, F-ive, Ssss-nake" without a problem. That I claim that I don't want to go to school, but when I get home I talk about all the fun things I did there. That I love hanging out with Daddy. That I can play nicely with Moo and Kylie. That the other day at school when Mommy was bringing the Apple Crisp, she asked me to be responsible for Kylie in a busy parking lot and I took her hand, walked her and talked to her so sweetly. That I pushed the shopping cart at the grocery store the whole time this week without getting in trouble even 1 time. That I will always be her baby, even when I am 40 years old or two thousand years old (Jack's words, not mine)!

We love you Jackie Boy!!! Happy 5th Birthday!!!

Pics of the Week

Jack's Flags for International Day
Both American and Thai

Miss Kylie Grace with her board that has a "P" on the bottom left (that she did by herself). She currently draws pictures and continually asks, "How do you spell pa, pa, pa P?" Or how do you draw an A or how do you draw an O. And she's always very excited for it. However, if you actually draw one on her paper, she will scribble it out. You can only describe it to her, NEVER draw it to show her how to do it!

My little bug with a headband on (and purple panties and purple kitty cat shirt).

Megan and Jack working on the Apple Crisps we made for International Day!

Jack has a buddy, John, in his class. He often refers to him as, "My best friend, John" - I think Jack thinks it's his full first name (Today, my best friend, John, and I did legos). Thankfully, John feels the same way about Jack. When they see each other they hug. It's so cute. (and John's 2 older brothers are Matthew and Luke. I told him, now you just need a Mark! He said, "That's my Daddy's name.") John came over to play on Monday and brought this guitar he made for Jack. So cute!



Miss Megan. I found out at the kids' Parent/Teacher conference that on Fridays, they have a free-dance time for the last 10 minutes of class. Her teacher informed me that Megan never dances. She just stands there and watches everyone else and that she wouldn't even dance with the teacher. She said that she was too shy. I couldn't believe it, because she dances all the time at home. I talked to Moo about it and she explained that she's nervous that the boys will laugh at her and that 2 of the girls in her class (who Megan looks up to, but Dan and I don't really like - isn't that almost always the case?) don't dance either. So, needless to say, she danced this week and had fun. And got the other 2 girls to dance, too.