Being a Tourist

Since we had traveled all the way to Thailand, we decided to experience a little bit of the country before returning to the desert.

Keira and I tried out the fish tank.

Unfortunately for Keira, my feet had a lot more dead skin than hers, so they basically ignored Keira's feet.
.

We saw some beautiful things

and some interesting things

We took an ATV tour into the mountains.

We got a chance to look for shells.  

It was Keira's very first time, and she loved it! 

The other three have only had two other opportunities 

(South Padre in 2009 and the Indian Ocean in 2010)

It was like treasure hunting for all of them.

No segregated pools here.  All of our kids got to swim together for the first time in a while.

Sunsets are something to treasure, no matter where we are.

This was what a taxi looked like in Thailand.

Caleb, Keira, and I got up at 4:30 one morning to ride in one of these to an elephant sanctuary an hour and a half away.

We had a good time, but on the way home, I could tell some people had had a long day and were exhausted.

Keira was born in Africa, but she doesn't remember any safaris we went on, so she was very excited to go on this night safari.  She loved seeing the giraffes and zebras the most.

Maybe one day she'll get to return to Africa and see some of those animals on the savannah during the daylight hours.

While I was Away and Then Onward to New Things

While I was in Texas, Keira and four of her ballet classmates filmed another segment of "teaching beginning ballet" for a TV station

She also had her end-of-year evaluation and scored well.



She also made a new friend and had a play date.

When the older girls returned from Texas, we had a week with them before we headed off to Thailand.  We had some meetings, and additional classes were arranged for all ages, so we all went along on our first trip to the East.

The first thing we noticed was how green everything was.

Quite a contrast from when we landed back in our home country after our trip.

In Thailand, we stayed at a large hotel

With green views

And interesting script everywhere.

(I'm kind of glad this is not the script I'm learning)

 One of my favorite things about overseas meetings is the coming together of different languages.

These booths have interpreters for different languages represented in the room.

We also tried some new fruits we had never tasted before.

Mangosteen

Dragon Fruit

And some fruits we didn't try...

?????  I have no idea.  You are welcome to chime in.

 The people here worship so differently from the people where we live.

It was definitely an educational experience for all of us.

 

One of my favorite parts was meeting new people from different places (I found a kindred spirit from Scotland) and seeing my kids connect with new people so quickly, simply because they all live overseas, which puts them in a unique category of similarity.

Things I See (Vol 13) -US Version

Welcome to "Things I See."  If you want to see the previous installments, you can click on:

 Volume 1 , Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, 

Volume 9, Volume 10, Volume 11, Volume 12

While making short trips to the US the past couple of summers, I've seen some interesting and amazing things.

Unbelievable! 

 The old movie theater in my hometown was refurbished by the Steinmann's, and they did an amazing job!  This where I saw "Empire Strikes Back" in 1980!

When I ordered a large sandwich at Schlotzsky's, I had NO IDEA!

 

Two summers ago, in San Antonio, we were at the River Walk.  On the boat cruise, we told Keira to take a tip to the man driving the boat.  She said, "Oh! Is this special San Antonio money?"

I had forgotten that she didn't remember what American money looked like.

Wouldn't it be crazy if every town had their own money?

At the Alamo, Keira (4.5 years old) tried a water fountain for the first time.

I think it entertained me as much as it entertained her!

Who knew it took so much talent to drink out of a water fountain?

Texas and More

I had the opportunity to take the girls back this summer so they could attend ballet camp in Mississippi again.  This camp is so instrumental to their spiritual life and dancing skills, so we try to make it a priority for them to be able to attend. 

This year, we went a month ahead of time so Kylie and I could visit colleges.  

But first, "Hamilton."

Kylie had a doctor's appointment for her knee in Austin, so we took advantage of the fact, and ordered tickets for the musical we had all been dying to see for quite some time.

June 9, 2019

We educated my mother on the musical on the ride there.  It was nice to share this experience with her.

Second need, a driving permit.

Kylie had completed the necessary hours online to apply for a permit, so off we headed to the county seat.

And wouldn't you know it, Texas had a gift waiting for us beside the road in true Texas fashion.

The rest of the ride was beautiful, though.

Mission Accomplished!

 June 11, 2019

Next, Karis reunited with her oldest friend and stayed with her for a few weeks while Kylie and I visited campuses.

June 13, 2019 

 June 14, 2019

Kylie and I headed off through northeast Texas, across Arkansas, and on to Nashville, with Kylie driving!

In Nashville, we stayed with a friend we met at our training 10 years ago preparing to go to Africa.

Since Kylie has decided to go to school in Nashville, it makes me happy to know our friend is there if Kylie needs anything.

After touring the school in Tennessee, we traveled ALL the next day back to Flower Mound to stay with my brother and sister-in-law for one night before touring North Texas (my sister-in-law's alma mater) the next day.

After one more night, we traveled to West Texas, where we were met with this stunning sunset driving into Canyon, Texas.

The next morning, they were expecting us for our tour.

After the tour, we headed down to Waco where Karis met us, and we spent a couple of nights with Doug's parents.


Then, we drove back to my hometown for two nights.

The girls finishing an afternoon run/stroll.

Seeing friends one last time.

Seeing some cousins one last time.

Then back to the airport so the girls could fly to Mississippi for ballet camp.



I stayed with my parents four more days before heading back over to the Middle East.

It was the fastest month of my life!