A Reason to Celebrate

When the whole city of New Orleans was celebrating the Saints' Superbowl win, we were in no mood to join in. We had a startling call from Magdalena's doctor, that her lead test result came back as a 47. If a child has more than 45, chelation therapy is recommended in order to minimize long-term neurological damage. We spent an agonizing week waiting for confirmatory test results. We were incredibly relieved to hear that it was some laboratory mistake, and her level was actually 12. February 10th is now Magda's "re birthday." Here we are with our precious little girl. Grandma and Grandpa McDonald were around to help us out in this stressful time, thanks! Here they are with the kids at their first ever Mardi Gras parade.

Barkus Goes Tailgating

Not long after our return to New Orleans, Mardi Gras parades started. The dog parade is one of our favorites. It fell on Superbowl Sunday, so it was quite a festive atmosphere. Why pumpkins in February? Tavo insists on bringing pumpkins with to parades. At this time, he associated parades with Halloween, since there are several Halloween parades in New Orleans.

Thailand Photos 11

Ravi and Nino dug some big, big holes. Big enough to provide shade for the kids when they were sitting inside! Lots of fun for both adults and the kids!

Thailand Photos 10

Gorgeous, isn't it? And we usually had the beach all to ourselves.

Thailand Photos 9

We spent our mornings on a beach on one side of the island. After lunch and naps, we spent the afternoons on the other side. Our beach house is in the bottom photo.

Thailand Photos 8

For our last few days in Thailand, we joined Ravi, Holly, Anjali and Tulasi for a beach vacation in Phuket Province. We stayed at the Golden Buddha Beach Resort, where the motto is "luxury is nature." It was quite a trip to get there (4-5 hours by car, then 2 hours by boat), but gorgeous beaches and well worth the journey. Here we are on the boat.

Thailand Photos 7

We enjoyed exploring and eating in the streets in Bangkok. My favorite thing to buy (and Tavo's as well) were first fruit smoothies. Tavo always wanted mango, and I liked lychee. But dragon fruit was pretty good too, and supposedly good for your health. Nena continued to make friends. The Thai women in one clothing store were concerned about the bites on her face and put some talcum powder on them.

Thailand Photos 6

Wat Arun continued...the first photo is the view of Bangkok from the top. Then there is Magdalena lifting her dress up for the Buddhist monk (photo 2). In photo 3, we managed to capture one of those cute moments when Tavo and Magda are laughing together. Photo 4 is back on the ferry, showing the leaping ferry worker (it is amazing how efficient public transport boats are in Thailand). In the last photo, we are on another boat, headed back to our hotel, and Tavo is being a sweet, protective brother.

Thailand Photos 5

Here we are on another hot day in Bangkok sightseeing at Wat Arun, a famous Buddhist temple also known as the Temple of Dawn. In the first photo, we are on a ferry headed across the river to the temple. The temple itself is gorgeous, but the steps are a bit steep! A tourist from Sri Lanka took a family photo for us at the top, and also took tons of photos of Ninito and Nena, our little celebrities.

Thailand Photos 4

One afternoon while the boys napped peacefully in the air conditioning, the girls took public transportation by boat to see the Giant Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. Magdalena got a lot of attention from Asian tourists. They always wanted to hold her and take a photo with her. Sometimes she cooperated, sometimes not.

Thailand Photos 3

We took a tuk-tuk (motorized rickshaw) to Dusit Zoo in Bangkok. The highlight of the zoo trip was feeding green bananas to the elephants. Nena was very scared of the elephants. Tavo was a little cautious at first, but warmed up to it. Later we watched elephants doing all kinds of tricks in a show and the Kenyan Boy's Acrobatic Show.