Elephant park!

Well...my favorite part of our trip now has earned its own post. We went to this elephant camp (and not to worry, it's one of the camps that treats their animals very humanely. They are like family to the people who own it and work there). First we got to ride the elephants, then they did a show for us where they raised the flag, did tricks with their mahoots, shot basketballs into baskets, kicked drop kicks and regular kicks into a soccer net, played harmonicas, and the coolest of all- THEY PAINTED!!! I'm not kidding. I included pictures of the paintings they did, and I bought the one that the elephant closest to us painted. It was such a neat experience, I HAVE to do it again!
They have these treehouses with women in them selling bananas and sugar cane for 30 baht (which is like a dollar) that we can buy to feed our elephant. So we did, and our Mahoot fed him our treat.:)
Riding our elephant through the jungle.
Our view of our ride.

These are all the paintings that each of the painting elephants did. They train each elephant to paint one type of painting, so it's not like they can just paint whatever they feel like that day. It is amazing to watch them paint. The Mahoot (their trainer) would just dip a paintbrush into paint and hand it to the elephant, and the elephant would know exactly what to do. I bought the one in the middle with the two red flowers. Oh, and the paper they paint on is made of elephant dung. Excellent.

My dad and I riding through the jungle on the elephant I named "Princess Sparkle McUnicorn". He was a very noble elephant.
Out of order, but the beginnings of my masterpiece.
The beginning of our show.
Bath time.

Here are videos of bath time, and the elephants playing harmonicas in the show.

Sawadee! #1

I just had the awesome opportunity to go to Thailand with my dad for almost 2 weeks. We had the best time and I have to say it's my favorite trip ever. Here are some of the pics- I'm going to post some more but I'm t-i-r-e-d:) I hope you enjoy my picture jewels. Thailand is an amazing place.

This is the Chiang Mai flower festival parade.


You can buy birds in little bamboo cages and let them fly free for good luck.



This cute little girl was walking around trying to sell us the bag in her hand. She was adorable.


On our way to the floating market.

A Quick Stop...

My dad and I took a brief layover trip into San Francisco. It's always fun to go because he grew up here and knows his way around, has great little hole in the wall places to go, knows the city's history, and has amazing stories from when he lived here. We had a kablast of a good time.:)

Having a delicious hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli Square.

Ocean Beach
He went to this beach a ton as a kid and teenager, so it's always fun for us to come with him.
Right outside of Golden Gate Park.

...and on we go to the next stop:)...

30 is pretty old if you ask me...

Brandon's big day was a hoot this year. We went up to the condo at Snowbird and had a great day on the mountain. Then I tricked him and made him come down the canyon to walk our dogs, and when we got back there was a magnificent surprise party there to greet him. The best part is that like two weeks ago he told me I couldn't surprise him with anything, he's too good. But he was shocked when he walked in, so ha! Take that you old wasian!

We just keep getting better and better looking as the pictures go on...;)











Brandon and his cousin Chris (also a marvelous wasian:)). Chris's birthday is the day before Brandon's. They have a picture from 1985 where they both had a birthday cake and celebrated it together, so this is them recreating their picture.


We gave Pat a trip to Las Vegas and a Cirque de Soliel show, so he returned the favor with a rafting trip in Moab...and Brandon can bring a guest, which = me!
My crafting skills hard at work.
This is one of my gifts to Brandon. I like to paint, so I painted us. I'm just an amateur so be nice:)