Grawburg Family Adventures: March - Birthday Parties & Aunt Gail's ...

March was another busy month, mainly because we had three birthday parties and Aunt Gail from Alaska came to visit for the second half of March!? Plus, I was stilling finishing up my book - March 31 was my deadline for completing it and getting it to the book designer.? Yes, I finished it up (I think on April 2...a couple of days late, but that wasn't too bad considering all that was going on!).

First, we had Rianne's party.? I must say, their place (The Residence on Soi 24) has the nicest housing and the greatest play area and pool I've seen in Bangkok.? Apartment envy...as Chris calls it! :)?? The party was a lot of fun. As you'll see the parents had fun too!? Leah really enjoyed the see-saw!

Next was Andres party.? It was at Playtime and had a pirate theme.? Siena really got into it! My kids like Playtime because you can decorate cupcakes...and then eat them! :)? You'll see Max decorating his with Matthew while Lisa helps them!? Afterwards, Chris and I enjoyed date night in that part of Bangkok at The Roast - a really yummy restaurant!
The third birthday was Lara's at Little Gym.?? The parties in Bangkok are a lot of fun....good thing considering how many we are invited to! :)? Unfortunately, my camera died before cake time...
One day, Max, Siena and I went back to Benjakiti Park in Bangkok to take some pictures. I wish there was some more shade because it's closer to our house than Rot Fai Park and has a nice bike path and is never crowded like Lumpini Park.? As you know, Max loves to ride his bike!

The kids and I also went to Funarium again.? This time we did more "stuff" - Max took a mini-cooking class (well, more like decorating a pastry class) and we did some coloring and arts & crafts.? I just love Funarium!
With Khun Vipa gone and no one to be at the house during Siena's nap while I had to pick up Max at school, I took Siena to the Mommy and me time at Max's school.? It's at such an odd time for little ones - 1:00-2:30pm -- and right during her nap time.? But, it gave me something to do with her and to keep her awake until Max finished school.? I tried to pick up Max early, but he'd get upset because his class has "show & tell" at the end of school.? Here is Siena with Ms. Mandy, and the little girl is Gabby, Matthew's sister.? She's so cute and getting so big!
Max also had International Day at Mulberry House....easy peasy as Max would say!!? No having to buy a costume - jeans and a t-shirt and voila!? Instant American! :)?? The little girl with Max is Sakurako (who he says he wants to marry!).

Once Aunt Gail arrived, we did some more "research" for the book and went to the Ancient City...a wonderful surprise!? It's a huge complex with structures from all over Thailand - some replicas and some originals moved to this site, including an entire floating village.? The best part was that we rented a golf cart to ride around the complex.? That was a huge hit!
We also did the usual Bangkok sights, like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Jim Thompson's House, and Museum of Siam.?? I think Aunt Gail had a great time!
?One thing we did with Aunt Gail that I had been dying to do was go to one of the Floating Markets outside of Bangkok.? So, the kids and I took her!? (I would have left the kids at home...especially since Max refused to get on the second boat to go through the market...It's hard to see a "floating market" from the docks!? But, our maid, Khun Vipa, quit - a horrible story which I'd rather not go into details about but it broke my heart!)? Regardless, we joined a tour that was an entire day event.? We went to the Damnoen Saduak floating market, as well as a couple other tourist things -- a snake show (not a fan at all!!? Snakes not secured in boxes...oh my!? We got out of there fast) and a trip to a cultural center.? It was a LONG day but worth it, despite the fact I didn't get to go through the market on a boat!
?Here are the kids enjoying Aunt Gail's visit with her.

Source: http://grawburg2009.blogspot.com/2012/10/march-birthday-parties-aunt-gails-visit.html

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