Reflecting and moving forward

The dust has settled.  We're in Atlanta with a majority of our boxes unpacked - although these boxes are from our storage unit in Baltimore and we're still waiting on our shipment from Dhaka - we have a pretty stable weekly routine established, and we're enjoying the splendors that the grand US of A has to offer.  Interestingly, Scott is back in Dhaka right now helping out at this office there so we've been able to skype with our dear friends back in Bangladesh.  Here are a number of photos from our last week or two in Dhaka saying by to friends, 'family', and our humble abode.
From our last visit to Shobita's house:

 I don't think I posted these before - but Henry cooking breakfast with Shobita:

Henry getting a "how to wear a lungi" lesson:

Some last play groups - with Jafe, Sophia, and my own with Vanessa at the spa:

Scott's Going Away party with his office at a turkish restuarant.

 Packing up...

The last night - a good time with great friends

Good bye Bangladesh

Oh how we will miss you, Thailand

We knew we needed one final vacation in South/South East Asia.  After a bit of debate about destinations, we decided to go to Thailand because not only could we spend a few days on the beach, which was bound to be blissful, but we love Bangkok and wanted a few days there.  

During our days in Bangkok we consciously slowed our Dhaka pace and embraced the vacation.  A highlight was a visit to the aquarium which was a big hit with the boys.  One of the favored areas was the long tunnel where we could watch sharks swim overhead.   

Another highlight was....going with both boys to a full length, 3D movie!  We miraculously managed to enjoy Epic, in 3D, with Henry who watched the whole thing and Elliot who slept through the whole, loud thing!  Without much effort we were able to keep Elliot awake until just before we went in to the theater at 11:30am. He opened his eyes for a sec in the beginning during the obnoxiously loud car commercials, then I opted to sit through the obligatory "stand for the nations king" to keep him asleep.  After that he stayed asleep until the last 10 minutes.  Amazing.  One thing that really aided in not only keeping the kids comfortable but keeping me motivated to stay through the movie was the plush seating! In this, and numerous other theaters across Bangkok, assigned seating comes complete with plush love seats or even full fledged beds.  You can also opt for the cheaper bean bag seats.

Sandwiched in the middle of days in Bangkok was a 4 day trip to Khao Lak, just north of Phuket, which was recommended to us by one of my friends who had lived in Thailand.  The beach proved to be just what we needed - relatively deserted of people while full of things to explore and find including tons of hermit crabs and shells.  After a session on the beach in the morning we spent some time at the pool before lunch. Then the kids napped and it was back to the beach then the pool.  What could be better? Oh, I know, getting an hour long Thai massage with the beach as a backdrop.  (Elliot became more and more confident with standing while he played on the beach.)
Deserted bliss

And this photo is hard for Scott to look at because right after I took it he got stuck by a big jelly fish!

Elliot was un-phased by the waves and would have been content if we let him sit there forever - even when the water nearly knocked him down or pulled him out.

There was pool time coupled with more relaxation 

We ate right next to the pool

Happy hour :)

One morning we pulled ourselves away from the beach to hang out with the elephants and see a waterfall
 

 At one point the thrill of the ride was taken to another level.  As Henry rode on the front and the elephant handler walked up ahead, our elephant decided to eat and turned to start munch on the bushes.  The first bite wasn't enough and she decided to head in to the dense jungle for more food.  Scott and I talked later about how we both got a little nervous that the elephant was just going to keep on going deeper in to the jungle - not worrying about whether we wanted to go too.  Luckily the handler came running and managed to get the elephant to turn back to the road before going too deep.

 

Some of my favorite photos came from my morning strolls on the beach with Elliot.  For some reason he just didn't stop smiling during that time - and let that show to the camera.

Eventually it had to end...