Bye, Bye BeBe and Boss

Today, BeBe and Boss headed off to Singapore to catch their flight back to the US in the morning. It was sad to see them go, especially since we have no idea when we'll see them next. We've been lucky so far in that we knew we would always see each other in what ended up being about every 6 months or less...and this time since we don't know when we might be moving back, we have no idea when we'll see them next. I never thought Evan would take their departure so badly. I had thought I would let them put him down for a nap and leave while he was napping, but then I was afraid he would wake up and wonder where they had gone to, so instead we had the driver come right before his naptime so that he could send them off as well. Well, as soon as BeBe and Boss got in the car, he began crying and telling my mom "I want to go with you!"....of course, it just made my mom cry even worse and even began to break my heart. He kept telling me he wanted to go with them and when I told him we didn't have a ticket to get on the airplane with them he said, "Mom, let's get a ticket, go to Singapore and THEN get on airplane and go with BeBe and Boss"...oh Buddy, if things were only that simple!! Even 15 minutes after they'd left and he had stopped crying, he would still pucker up his bottom lip and get these big crocodile tears and say he wanted to go with BeBe and Boss right now and not wait until we got tickets to go with them! It was just heart-breaking to see him so sad ...it made me cry as well! We then called BeBe on the phone and told her what Boss had told Evan earlier ....Evan says to her "BeBe we aren't going to be sad" and then said that we would come to visit her in Texas soon..."maybe next time" as E put it! Even after his nap, he woke up and said "Mom, BeBe and Boss are gone now....maybe next time we'll see them again....maybe Wednesday!" It must be his favorite day of the week because everything always seems to happen on Wednesday for him!

Well, BeBe and Boss, we miss you terribly already and can't wait until we can see you again. We had the most wonderful time during your visit and hopefully you won't have to visit Malaysia ever again. Our hopes are to be home by Christmas (I would really hate missing out on being home for the holidays), but you know how these job moves go. Guess we'll just keep our fingers crossed for now! Love to all of you!!

I told you, he even had me crying as they were leaving! Thanks to Marte for capturing the emotional departure :-)

Cooper was actually napping when they left, so after he woke up and didn't see BeBe and Boss, he called out for Boss a couple of times (he'd actually picked up a special "Baaaa" to refer to my dad), but when he didn't see him, he must have thought, "oh well, one less playmate I guess"...and life went on!! Ahh, to be so young and without a thought of anything but the present moment!

A tour of downtown Melaka

I think we have done more sightseeing since BeBe and Boss have been here than we've done the last 2 years. It was good to get out and see parts of the city that we haven't seen before. Today, we took a trip downtown to check out one of the oldest churches in the city, the town's main square and a few other historic, yet not that interesting, places of interest....like this fort area where Boss and Evan posed for a picture - although I still have no idea why it is there :-) You know most Singaporeans and other Malaysians make holidays out of visiting Melaka to get a bit of it's history, but we've come to find that it must only be interesting to the Asian community because we just don't find the places that interesting...that or else we just aren't very big history buffs! Anyhow, we had another good (but very hot) outing today! We finished the morning off with lunch at one of our favorite chains here in Malaysia, Nandos. It's not that great by any means, but since we've never really taken to the local food here (other than the Chinese food), it's a place to get some good chicken and rice.

I think Coop had about had it by this point - he was just hot and hungry....he had the "let's just get into some place cool now" look!

The Melaka Botantical Gardens and the Crocodile Farm

We've lived in Melaka for over 2 years now and we had never made it out to the Botanical Gardens here in town, so while my parents were here, we finally decided we would check it out. So one morning while Cooper stayed at home with Marte, we took Evan and took a stroll through the gardens. I guess I was thinking we'd see a ton of beautiful flowers and such given the tropical climate here, but other than the entrance to the gardens and a couple of areas with some really pretty waterfalls, it wasn't much more than a huge jungle area with lots of different types of green plants. My dad really had a good time, taking in all the "natural surroundings" that he so enjoys, but I thought once you've seen one plant, you've seen them all!! Actually, it was really nice because it was so shaded and had some really cool paths throughout the garden - it made for a nice morning stroll. We saw alot of people who were actual there exercising - anything to keep out of the sun.
After the gardens, we decided to go to the crocodile park. This was also another place we'd never visited - how exciting can crocodiles actually be anyhow?!?!? Well, that was totally the case. A ton of crocodiles just lying everywhere - there had to be at least 50-60 of them. Evan didn't care for them one bit....we kept getting a "I don't like them" while we there. I was really surprised he actually posed for a picture by one of them. Apparently, it's suppose to be a sight when you are there for one of their feeding sessions, but (luckily I thought) we didn't get to see one of them. Since it was during the week, the park was pretty quiet, other than a big school group, we were the only ones there. We always see it get jam packed on the weekends, so I thought we had been missing out on something, but found that not to be the case! We did happen to run upon a really neat pool area they had at the back of the park though. It looked to be new and had alot of slides and fountains and was only about a foot and a half deep throughout. We'll definitely have to take the boys back there some day for a pool day. After the park, we topped the morning off with a lunch at "Old McDonalds" for some chicken nuggets!

Alot of walks and just some good ol' fashion playing & hangin' out!

BeBe and Boss have stayed busy with daily walks to the clubhouse with Evan to grab some lime juice and snacks ...although Boss tells Evan that he shouldn't invite me along because "your Mom has too many rules"....this is because I limit his juice intake and the amount of chips he can have when his Boss tries to fill him full of junkfood. Everytime, Evan ends up coming back and telling me exactly what he ate and how much Boss gave him...of course against his Boss' instructions to keep it from Mom. Good thing he still remembers whose in charge around this place :-) On the way back from the club, I was usually lucky enough to get a few flowers E picked up for me along the way....what a sweet, sweet boy I have!Evan has also had a fantastic time playing inside with his grandparents. They love playing trains upstairs...that is until "The Destroyer" comes and joins them and demolishes everything they've put together. Yes, that is what we have begun to dub Coop....it is adorable the voice Evan uses to say "The Destroyer is coming"....he says it in this harsh, raspy voice as if Coop is some sort of villan. Cooper has even taken to the name - so much so that when you ask him "who is the Destroyer?", he stops crawling, sits on his bum, and raises his hand...as if to say "yeah, that's me and I'm proud of the title" ....it's too cute! Here is "The Destroyer" sporting E's cowboy hat:Boss and Coop also developed this cute little game where they liked to "bump heads" and then hold their heads and say "ohhhh" like it hurt. That is what is in the clip below:

Because I wanted to give the grandparents all the time they could get with their little angels, Evan only went to school one day while they were here. He must have taken a bit of his "I don't have to do anything I don't want to do" attitude with him this day because I got his first bad report from his teachers...who said "he was a bit moody today", which I took to mean he didn't listen much. I figure it had something to do with the excessive spoiling his grandparents did with him, but how could I not let them when they only get to see the boys twice a year! Sure hope he loses the "tude" when he starts going back to school on a regular basis again!

A short trip to KL with BeBe and Boss...with a visit to the KL Zoo Negara

My mom wanted to make a trip to Chinatown for a few knock-off things she was looking for and she also wanted to get Coop his new forward facing car seat for his birthday, so we went up to KL for a night and did a few other things while we were there. When we first arrived, we took the boys to one of their favorite play spots in KL, Kidz Gym. While I left one of the boys playing with Boss and Marte, Mom and I took the other one and had their hair cut. As with the last couple of haircuts, Cooper almost made it impossible. Luckily, the guy was pretty patient with us and actually did a pretty good job given the amount of squirming Cooper did. Evan, of course, was a breeze. I think he actually enjoys getting his haircut now, so I know it's never going to be a problem with him.

That afternoon while Coop napped (and Boss insisted E didn't need one....and got his way!), Boss and Marte took Evan to the playground area out by KLCC. They have tons of slides, tunnels and swings and his Boss said that he'd really worn him out (Boss that is), so E must have had a great time!

That evening after we got the boys ready for bed, we left them with Marte and Mom, Dad and I headed down to Chinatown. After some rather good bargaining on my part, Mom came away with some sunglasses, polo shirts, handbags, and cologne. I was actually pretty impressed with how well I negotiated - after about 6 times of going, I'm finally beginning to determine how low they will actually go on things - when they first think we are just tourists, they totally try to rip us off and then when they find out we've been in the country for a couple of years, they realize we know the game and come way down!

The next day we made a trip to the KL National Zoo. We'd been once before, but when Evan was much smaller. He really enjoyed the trip this time. He said his favorite were the pelicans and flamingos - who would have thought of all the animals, that pelicans could catch someone's attention! He got to see some really big monkeys, a new baby giraffe that was two weeks old, some bears, a zebra, rhinos, hippos, lions, etc....and the pelicans and flamingos were his favorite!! Go figure! It also looked like Cooper even really enjoyed himself...even with the heat! They were both exhausted by the time we left (that Malaysian heat really does take it out of you) and ready for some lunch. So once we left, we headed to the mall to grab a bite and pick up a seat for Coop. After lunch, we headed back to Melaka. It was a fun couple of days

This was at breakfast before we left for the zoo. It was too cute because all of a sudden Evan grabs Boss and then BeBe, puts his arms around them and then says "my 2 favorite people". He sure was going to miss not having them around when they left and not getting his own way all the time any longer!

Taking BeBe and Boss on the Eye of Malaysia

Evan had been itching to take BeBe and Boss on the big "ferris wheel" (aka the Eye of Malaysia), so we decided to go for another ride. As we experienced the last time, we were the only people visiting in the day again....maybe it's just a hot spot at night. Last time they only let us go 3 times around, but this time we did 9 rounds (maybe they thought a visit from some Americans who had travelled such a long way deserved a little extra sightseeing time)....we'd had plenty of extra time after about 6 times...alot of water on one side and downtown Melaka on the other side (which itself isn't that exciting to see either). It was a nice outing (but extremely hot) and then we were off to have some lunch at the mall nearby....another fun day with BeBe and Boss!

Another wonderful holiday in Phuket, Thailand

A couple of days after Cooper's 1st birthday, we loaded up and went back to Phuket, Thailand for a great week long holiday. We'd looked into visiting a different place in Thailand or even in Bali, Indonesia (since my parents had already gone with us to Phuket for Evan's 1st birthday), but we weren't able to find accommodations that we liked. We really wanted something with two bedrooms and some sort of common area that we could be in while the boys napped each day and after they went to bed in the evenings. Well, Andrew as he typically does, found us the perfect place and it just happened to be in Phuket again! We loved it - it was this huge 2 bedroom suite with a huge balcony that overlooked the sea and the pool (and just happened to be above a nice, large lady who liked to sunbath nude...yuck!) I guess I should also mention we saw a few other topless ones on the beach as well, although they were thin, at least. Andrew claims he knew nothing of the allowed nude bathing when doing his research...hmmmm!! Luckily Evan never saw them or else he might have asked why Mommy's weren't so big :-)

As I mentioned the resort was great - they had a fabulous kids place for the parents to drop the kiddos off at when they needed some adult time. Unfortunately they only allowed for 3 years and above to be left there without a parent. We didn't need it anyhow since we had my parents there to look after the boys so Andrew and I could get some "us" time in while vacationing, but it was a great place to take the kids for some playtime that was out of the sun and sand occasionally. From the pictures below you'd think we spent more time there than out by the pool or on the beach. The fact is that we spent tons of time on the beach (you can tell from the boy's suntans), I just didn't ever have my camera with me because of how sandy everything would get. Actually, my mom got several beach/pool pictures of the boys, but one of our last nights there she was messing with her camera and accidentally erased everything she had taken prior to then (even Cooper's birthday pictures........she was devastated as you could imagine...sorry Mom for mentioning it again!!)

But the boys did love playing in the sand....even Evan who used to despise getting "all dirty" with it. He and his Boss spent countless hours playing in the sand and near the sea building sand castles. The waves were really big most of the time we were there so it was a bit rough to take the boys too far in, although they did get in some sea time when we helped them jump over the waves. Cooper even got some seawater in his mouth, and actually seemed to enjoy the saltiness a bit - he kept licking his lips after it would get on him...silly little boy!

The resort also had some great restaurants on site, so we had some great meals with a terrific breakfast spread each morning....that served pork bacon...yum!! I tell you, you never realize how much you miss eating bacon or ham, until it isn't readily available to you.

We didn't get out and see much of Patong Beach (that is the area we visited this time), other than going out to this huge mall, that had a giant pirate ship and some really neat water fountains, for some dinner. We also did some quick shopping nearby the mall at their "flea market"....or the place that sells all the knockoff stuff. Since we were planning a trip to KL to Chinatown once we got back and we could get all the same stuff there, we knew we didn't need to spend much time doing that sort of shopping.

So after alot of eating and just hanging out everyday (along with a few, wonderful beach side massages!), it was time to head back to Malaysia. We had a great trip and a very memorable time while we were there. Cooper even topped off the trip, by leaving us with a very memorable "poop" on our drive home to Melaka from KL....so much so that we had to stop and "decontaminate" the car (as my dad put it) - I'm sure you mothers out there can appreciate this one :-)

Anyhow, here are alot of pictures from our trip:

Cooper, sporting his spiked hairdo his BeBe gave him, excited about going on our holiday...of course, he is always excited about everything!

Having some lunch at the airport before we board the airplane, sporting their matching shirts. My mom brought them tons of matching clothes, so of course our whole trip they matched - I have to get that sort of stuff in before they won't allow me to ever do it again!

E and his two new, favorite buddies....hmmm, did it have something to do with them letting him do ANYTHING he wanted to do!!

E and BeBe after arriving at the resort and getting their lei

Cooper having a good time at the kids place in their outside play area. It was great to be able to let them hang outside for awhile, in some grass, and without having to worry about infectious mosquitoes!! I was hoping the grass would help him get some practice walking - knowing if he fell it wouldn't hurt - but that didn't seem to be the case...he still wanted to crawl everywhere!

Another one of Coop's favorite afternoon things to do while we were just hanging out... he loved to climb on and off the lounge chairs - it was amazing how long that actually kept him entertained!

E and Daddy being silly and imitating the "Chaba Wing" guy - that is the wing of the resort that we stayed in.

E made several little friends while we were there - this was a little girl whose mother was Brazilian and whose father was German...I've forgotten her name now, but she was quite the little talker for a 4 year old!

This is the view from our balcony out onto the pool....that's E and Boss in the pool in the left hand corner of the picture

That's Boss and E out by the water building their sandcastles - it almost makes it looks like we were the only ones there :-) Actually, it was the beginning of their off-season so the resort was a bit empty, but there were still plenty of people around for a little people-watching!

And this is a view of the Andaman Sea from our balcony. We didn't get to do any snorkeling off the beach since the waves were too big and it just turned up to much of the sand to be able to see anything, but Andrew and I did spend some time just playing in the waves, which turned out to be alot of fun as well. Or maybe it was just that we got to spend some quality alone time together and doing anything would have been fun! Thanks BeBe and Boss for being some great babysitters! Some pictures from our Japanese steakhouse dinner night. The show wasn't as good as we'd expected it to be, but the food was great! As I mentioned above, it looks like we spent more time at the kids place than out on the beach, but the boys had a fantastic time taking advantage of all the fun, new toys they had to play with and the large playground they had outside.

These pics are from the mall we went to in Patong Beach to have dinner.

I think this is the only picture I have of them out at the pool and it was just because I knew I hadn't taken any pool pictures, so I made them pose for one before they got out and got ready for lunch one afternoon.

This was our last dinner there, it was at place that had a nightly show with a different themed buffet each night. We went on Italian night and had a great time watching the entertainment. Can you tell from the pictures of the boys below that they were just mesmerized the entire time?!?! It was so cute because after the show, Evan said he wanted to go say goodbye to "my girls" (that's what he would call them - even the next morning he was still talking about them!). I thought he would be shy and not want to take a picture with them, but he jumped right in with a big ol' grin on his face!

Andrew was even sung to by a he/she that was performing "We are Family"...lip-syncing actually, and not that well I might add :-)

Evan giving Coop his typical choke-hold for a picture with his little brother before we head out!! I've been trying to teach Evan that he can grab Cooper around his waist sometimes, it doesn't always have to be around his neck!! I bet Coop sure is ready to get big enough to hold Evan off when he tries this move....he is getting very close!!

So long Phuket, it was a great trip!