Maddie and  Amelia have to be two of the luckiest kids on earth!  Over the long weekend, we decided to head on out to Hong Kong for a second visit to Disneyland!  As Andy said, his first visit to Disney was at age 12-ish and his second visit was with the girls a few years ago!  Of course, there were tons of pictures and tons of videos from the trip so we decided to put it into a short movie below.

The Easter Bunny even managed to show up!

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZHz4oKxaxQ

Phu Quoc island is probably what Koh Samui was 20 years ago.  There is nothing here – I’m not complaining – seriously.  But there is nothing here for the typical tourist’s eye.  Koh Samui has been consumed by western commercialism… I hope that Phu Quoc doesn’t go that way.  It’s hard to image that it ever would after everything that we have seen.

We walked around downtown Phu Quoc and we were the only westerners as far as the eye could see.  As Maddie gets older, I’m convinced that these trips that we are privileged enough to take are exactly what Maddie (and Amelia) needs.  Our girls live a pretty good life.  They are safe, have a good home, a good school, good friends… life is comfortable.  I want her to see that not everybody lives the way we do.  Yes, the people of Phu Quoc seem very happy with all of the smiles and laughter we saw, but they live differently than we do.  Yet, a home is still somebody’s home and should always be treated with the respect it deserves…

We’re loving this trip..

Homes Along the River in Phu Quoc

Boats Along the River in Phu Quoc

Taking a Break from the Heat

Amelia waits for Ice Cream at Buddy

Waiting for Dinner on the Beach

Boats on the Water at Sunset

Dad and Amelia Discover Phu Quoc

Amelia explains Life to Phuong

For email subscribers, make sure you go to Maddie’s blog to see the video below..

We have no idea what time it is…

We eat when we are hungry…

We sleep when we are sleepy…

We swim when we are HOT (all of the time)

We are on island time….

Amelia, Daneah, Maddie and Jeff

For October Holiday this year the family headed to Bangkok.  This was Amelia’s first visit and Maddie’s fourth.  Bangkok and Thailand are so comfortable for us and it just felt great being there.  One of the best things about the trip was seeing Jeff and Daneah.  They had just received their shipment the week before we arrived so we headed to their place one night for another installment of Gourmet Geeks.  The next day we headed to the Weekend Market and then to one of our favorite restaurants!

Gourmet Geeks Unite!

I have to admit something here to everyone that reads this blog. When I leave, I cry. It doesn’t matter where I leave, how long I’ve been there, or where I’m going… I always cry. It’s one of those things that you try to call endearing to make yourself feel better, but secretly it’s a negative attribute that clouds ones personality. When Maddie was born, I promised myself that I would try really, really hard not to pass that personality trait on to her. Life is about enjoying the moment and looking forward to the wonderful possibilities that come your way.

Obviously, she is older now and more aware of the whole leaving aspect. She’s aware of what “missing you” feels like… it hurts sometimes and I don’t blame her one little bit for trying to avoid it at all costs. The way Maddie is growing up though, she is always going to be missing somebody, but I want her to learn that she gets to go on life adventures and then come back to share all that she has learned, hopefully enriching her life and the lives of everyone she touches.

The adventures this summer have been most excellent. Thanks to Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Earl for getting us set up in our new home. Thanks to Connor and Sam for spending such quality time with us and building memories. Thanks to Susan and Doug for striving to bring the family together for special occasions (you prove that it CAN be done)! Thanks to Larry and Kim for helping with move and sharing your wonderful AND GROWING family with us. Thanks to Grandma Dotty for showing us the Wild West and all the wonderful things it has to offer. There are so many thanks for so many things… this was just the tip of the iceberg.

So… we’ll be missing you (the ones we saw and the ones we didn’t… and we’ll be looking forward to the next time we meet face to face where we’ll enrich each others lives and enjoy the moment.

And…. WE’RE OFF!

Warning: This one is REALLY long but I had to catch you up to where I started writing Maddie’s Minute!

We’ve already established that Maddie has STATUS. But I got to thinking about how she has this super-duper special Miss I Fly A lot status. I remember when I used to get a plane with her and say, “This is fifth time she has taken off on a plane.” I know that I lost count when we got into the mid-twenties. It was a nice way to waste some time on the plane though between her dad and I. “How many flights has she taken now?” we would say back and forth to each other.

I think we’ve got it about right for Maddie though. Youngins do crave consistency, but I think it’s healthy to push the envelope a bit. We really pushed the envelope when we took her back to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia at 4 weeks old. Here she spent the first 21 months of her life. She probably thought it was normal to sit on the Red Sea during a lazy Thursday afternoon…. mostly because Thursday and Friday were our weekends!

It really all started when Maddie was 6 weeks old and we went to India. Perhaps this was pushing the envelope a bit too much (smile) but it was a wonderful experience. We ventured out to look at carpets and took her in taxis where there would be traffic jams because of all of the cows in the road.

Her next major trip was back home for Christmas vacation. We went to Helvetia Winery where Santa took pictures with all the kids. Ethan, Elena, Connor, and Sam all jointed Maddie in the picture. It seems she was just beginning to get the best of both worlds…. the stability of family yet she was a traveler. This was the year that we had a huge ice storm in Portland and we were three days late getting back to Saudi. But the trip was wonderful as there is nothing quite like Christmas at home with family.

Her third major trip was to the Costa Del Sol in Malaga, Spain to meet her Grandpa Bill over the February Eid Al Adha school break. This was actually her second time there, but she probably didn’t remember the first time since wasn’t born yet. We made it Ronda to see old bull fighting rings while her mom and dad downed Caffe con Leches. It was just plain fun to be there with her – the only downside was that there wasn’t an agent at the window to stamp her passport with a Spain stamp… it is really all about the stamps ya know! Again, we were snowed in but this time in Saudi for two extra days. How often does that happen?!

Her fourth major trip was to Bangkok and Koh Samui, Thailand for Spring Break. She just sat in the Baby Bjorn while her dad and strolled up and down the beach. It also was Maddie’s first of three visits to Zazen, the most wonderful place on Bophut Beach. Dad and Maddie slept on hammocks in the shad in between eating pineapple on the beach and wading in the sea.

Her fifth major trip was back home for the long summer. It was a great first summer of family, fun and sun. Not only were we in Portland, but we made it down to Tucson and, of course, into Mexico to eat at our favorite restaurant in Nogales. El Cid closed after that summer, but we keep going back to try to find the next good place. Maddie spent some quality time with the best chocolate lab every to walk the planet. Jake (aka: Moosehound) was the best traveled dog at this point and was as patient as could be with Maddie. We also made it to Maddie’s first baseball game in Bloomington when we went to see the Peoria Chiefs. We couldn’t beat the seats behind the dug out!

Maddie’s sixth major trip was to Prague in November over the Eid Al Fidr school break. She sat in her SUV of strollers as we walked the cobble stone streets sipping warm mulled wine. It was Maddie’s first real experience with cold so we bundled her up in a coat given to us by a friend in Saudi and bought her a hat the had airplane ears. We took pictures in front of Prague Castle and looked at a lot of crystal… another reason to keep Maddie in the SUV of strollers!

Maddie’s seventh major trip was to Paris also in November. We stayed one block away from Notre Dame and window shopped in front of all the stores that had moving nutcrackers, snowmen, ice skaters, and Santas. One day we just walked and walked and walked while it was drizzling. We walked to the Louve and the Eiffel Tower, crossing bridges back and forth.

Maddie’s eighth major trip was back to Thailand for Christmas with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Earl. It was proven time and time again how Maddie is a real trooper. Bangkok was wonderful as we put Maddie in her backpack and then hopped in and out of Tuk Tuks. This picture is of Maddie at the Jade Buddha Temple. We left Bangkok right before Christmas Day and made it down to Koh Samui for Maddie’s second trip to Zazen. Opening Christmas presents on our balcony with the sound of the ocean on the beach was anything but the cold we experienced a month earlier!

Her ninth major trip was to Florence, Italy over Spring Break. This is where we stayed in an old farmhouse with her Grandpa Bill, Grandma Mary, Great-Aunt Rhonda, Great-Uncle Jack, Second Cousin Cathy, and Bert. While we visited the doumo in Firenza, we also made it the countryside. It was the week that the Pope had passed away so it was an interesting time to be there. Absolute silence in all the cathedrals was a must and Maddie was actually quite good at that!

Maddie’s tenth major plane ride was back home for the summer of 2005. This was the summer we left Saudi Arabia for good and prepared for the next chapter in life onward to Shanghai, China. Before doing that though, Maddie had the distinct honor of being the flower girl in my niece’s wedding. We managed to get Maddie all measured in Saudi and Jessica had a very special flower girl dress made for her. My favorite part of the wedding was when Maddie was following the other flower girl, but kept saying “messy” as the other flower girl threw rose petals onto the aisle!

Maddie’s eleventh major trip was to Shanghai where she now lives out her life and you read about it on her blog. Since we’ve been in Shanghai we’ve traveled home for Christmas (12th trip) and then met up with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Earl in Hong Kong (13th trip). We all walked around Kowloon and then took the ferry to Hong Kong where we took the tram to the top of Victoria Peak on a rare sunny Hong Kong day. After Hong Kong, we traveled to the Philippines (14th trip). We ventured out into the very busy city several times and once again, Maddie was a trooper.

Maddie’s fifteenth major trip was back home for the summer which was the first summer she was truly mobile. The summer was filled with preparing for the move to China. We stayed in Portland most of the time, but we also made it to Tucson and Illinois. In Portland, we visited with family and flew kites. In Tucson, Maddie helped us paint the house yellow and, of course, we search for the best Mexican food in Nogales. In Bloomington, we chased bubbles in Grandpa’s back yard and tried to catch fireflies with our bare hands.

Maddie’s sixteenth major trip was back to Thailand for Christmas in 2006. Christmas and New Year’s at Zazen where they remembered her as a little tiny baby. I think we’ll stop with her major trips right there. What is interesting is that when we lived in Saudi, we were also leaving – that was the thing to do…. to meet people around the world. Now that we are in Shanghai though, people want to come see us! Grandma Dotty has come, Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Earl have come, Aunt Susan has come to Shanghai…. Grandpa Bill and Mary have come, along with Great Aunt Rhona and Great Uncle Jack. Recently, Aunt Sissy and Uncle Bubba came to China. See? Everyone visits us now! Who knows how much traveling is ahead, but life is good and Maddie is growing up as a citizen of the world.

If you read this entire post, then kudos to you! Andy calls me a blog addict but I write with a sincere purpose. That purpose is to document our daughter’s life in the hopes that someday she’ll be able to look back at how much we loved her and respected her spirit day in and day out.

The girl’s GOT STATUS!

Maddie’s got STATUS ya know.

Maddie’s got STATUS because she lives in Shanghai……

Maddie’s got STATUS because she thinks bunny ears are cute……

Maddie’s got STATUS because she eats at restaurants where they give you a flashlight if you can’t see……

Maddie’s got STATUS because she stays at hotels on famous rivers around the world……

Maddie’s got STATUS because she spends much of her life riding around on luggage carts in airports…..

We bought plane tickets for summer travel today and used our complimentary vouchers to upgrade to first class. This is how the conversation went today:

Nice United Lady: Your three year old won’t have any vouchers.
Me: But she has had her own number for a year and a half.
Nice United Lady: But she doesn’t have STATUS.
Me: Have you checked? Look it up!
Nice United Lady: I’ve been here for ten years and this is the first time I’ve met a three year old with Premier status.
Me: Welcome to our world!!!

Happy Travels are Coming Our Way!