Slacker-

I have been such a slacker lately with the blog posts. I guess we just really haven't done anything fun lately. Well, nothing I deem picture worthy that is. Here is a little update about something Rhett has been working on. Rhett decided it was time to get Taylor out of his lifejacket. Carter was swimming on his own at 2 and diving off the diving board at 3 so when Taylor showed he was a little scared around water I wondered who's kid he really was. 

Fun fact- Rhett didn't learn how to swim until he was 12. He vowed that all of our kids would be swimming way before that. It's not fun to play "Marco Polo" when you're stuck to the side of the pool. 

We headed to the pool one day and grabbed Dad's suit on the way out. I gave him a quick call and he met us there right after work. It was fun for me and the little ones to play in the water while Daddy worked one on one with Taylor. He did so well and I can honestly say that he will be out of that darn lifejacket in no time at all. His favorite part was jumping into the pool to Dad. They also did the dunkies, swam back and forth from the side, and went down the slide. It was a blast!

Ryker running through the jets of water!

 Taylor taking a break to show the babies how it's done!

 Carter playing around.

Carter diving in after a penny I tossed in.

Rhett closing those beautiful blue eyes because it was so darn bright. I have very few pictures of us outside where Rhett has his eyes open.

Taylor swimming to the side.

Rhett and Taylor did the went under so the babies ran over to check out where they went.

I love this one. Rhett is one of the most patient guys ever when teaching the kids new things. It was so sweet to see his playing with just Taylor and teaching him how to swim.

Jumping in to Dad.

 Rhett giving Ryker a dunk. The twins are terrified of the water and will be absolute nightmares when we decide to teach them to swim. I can hear the tears already!

Peace out! I did it!

By the end of the lesson. Taylor could swim almost half the width of the pool. He still would get a little nervous and try to turn around a few times, but he did such a great job! I was one proud Mama!

My favorite buddies-

Seriously, don't they look like they grew a ton while I was away?

I missed these little twerps so much! 

Bad Mom Moment of the Week-

The tooth fairy dropped the ball AGAIN! Dang it! I swore the last time that I would do better. Well, I didn't!

Carter lost his tooth Sunday. I had a migraine, not an excuse, all day and slept the day away! He woke up Monday morning for school and didn't say much at breakfast. Finally, he hits me with it. "Hey Mom, the tooth fairy didn't come last night, but  I think it's because I tricked her. I put the tooth under the monkey instead of my pillow." 

I immediately went with that and blamed Carter. "Yeah Carter, you have to put it under your pillow not the monkey. I guess you'll have to try again tonight. " 

 Tuesday morning I woke up to crying! Oh Crap! I totally forgot again. I guess Carter had put it under his pillow, but when he woke up he checked and his tooth was still there. He and Taylor then went down to play games for a little while before school. He comes back upstairs and the babies are up on his bed, but nothing else is. All his pillows, blankets, monkey, and plastic bag with tooth are on the floor. He checks the bag and the tooth is gone. He is hysterical! When I had heard the crying I knew I had screwed up. I quickly searched my wallet for a dollar and was disappointed when I only saw a $5 bill and a $20 bill. I placed the $5 bill in my underwear and went to check out the damage. While Carter was searching for the tooth I grabbed his pillow and chucked the money inside the pillow case.

As he is yelling about the missing tooth I throw him his pillow and tell him that the reason the tooth is gone is that the tooth fairy had came and left him some money. He quickly looks inside to find the $5 bill and that frown immediately turned into a big toothless grin! Phew! I dodged a bullet on that one. I quickly shuffled everyone out of the room to get ready for school as I vowed to myself to clean up his room and find the blasted tooth while he was at school. It would look really bad if he found it before I did. Thankfully, I found the tooth and it now sits comfortably inside my vacuum bag. 

Seriously though, I need to be fired as the tooth fairy. I have messed it up every single time.

Day 10

Day 10- Okinawa

SO I just noticed that I never really finished the posts on our trips. We took another redeye flight from Kuala Lumpur and arrived in Shanghai just to hop on another plane back to Okinawa to pick up our kids. I have never been so excited to see them.

I felt bad because when I called the babysitter to see if we should pick them up or if she was dropping them off she said she had just gotten into an accident right outside of gate 1. I was just glad that all the kids were alright. Our van has a big bar on the front so it didn't do any damage, but I'm sure it was really hard on her. It broke my heart too because they were on their way over to the apartment to set up a little surprise for us. I'm so sorry Tia for that added stress. Thank you so much for taking care of my little munchkins while we went to play. We really appreciate it!

The trip was a total blast, but I have to say that it was brutal to come home and do my job again after a 10 day break. I totally forgot how hard it is and it took awhile to catch up on the cleaning and the laundry. We are back out to playing now though. I have missed my little adventure buddies!

Day 9

Day 9- Kuala Lumpur

We got here bright and early in the morning. We took the bus over to the international terminal to drop off our luggage for the day. This was another day trip so we didn't want to lug it around with us everywhere. 

For those of you who don't know, Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. It's claim to fame is the Petronas Towers. They used to be the tallest buildings in the world until 2004, but are still the two tallest twin towers in the world! They have been featured in a couple movies like Entrapment and Fair Game. 

So after we dropped off the luggage we hopped on another tour bus to cruise around the city and see what is has to offer. On the bus it started raining pretty heavily so we took advantage of this time by napping on the bus. Time well spent! We woke up around the same time the rain stopped and just in time to get off to see the towers. We were all really excited to go up and see the amazing view the buildings had to offer. As we entered the lobby and made our way to the visitors area we noticed giant signs saying the towers were closed every Monday for something. So guess what day it was? That's right, it was Monday. Buggy! What city seriously closes down its main attraction one day a week? Its not like the US closes the Empire State Building, or Paris closes the Eiffel Tower. They need to change that policy! 

We were all pretty bummed out so we just tried to make the best of it. We wandered around and found a place that made smoothies, American style. They were yummy. Then we checked out this giant mall and looked around. The shopping was super expensive and they had really high-end stores so needless to say we didn't buy anything.

One thing we noticed was every building had tons of flags on it. You couldn't look anywhere and not see at least 50 country flags. I don't know if they're always this patriotic or if it was some kind of holiday. Either way I think it would be nice if the United States did that once in awhile. 

After looking around we finally found the cheap places. The streets were packed with shop after shop. It was very similar to Shanghai. We found a place that had awesome kids clothes. Rhett bartered with the guy for ages and ages to get him to come down in price. They people weren't nearly as willing to negotiate as the Chinese. Which is weird cause this place was way ghetto and the knock-off stuff wasn't nearly as good a quality. Rhett finally got the guy down to a reasonable price. The guy looked like he was going to cry as he bagged the clothes for us. 

After hours of bartering it was dinner time. This was quite the experience. The city was ghetto and the food didn't look as appealing as other countries. James is very picky and not adventurous at all in what he eats. So with all these factors before us we went with something that sounded familiar, Kenny Rodger's Roasters. lol. Gross, I know, but we didn't have a choice. We sat down to order. Rhett saw on the menu, Spicy tangy chicken spaghetti. The waitress said it was a little sour and wanted to know if he could handle it. Rhett was sure he could. After we all ordered the waitress said it will be like 30 minutes before they start our order, because of Ramadan. Ramadan is like Fast Sunday, but on steroids. They fast all day for 30 days! So here we are trying to squeeze our way in between dozens of starving muslims and their chicken. We were pretty nervous about making it out alive ;) 

After what seemed at least an hour our order finally arrived. The chicken was good. No complaints. The spicy tangy chicken spaghetti on the other had. Wow! Right when they set the plate down next to Rhett all I could smell was sour milk. It smelt like 10 babies had all spit up into a bowl which they used as spaghetti sauce. Rhett just stared at it with tears in his. "Do I really have to eat this?" He picked up his fork and forced in a mouthful or soggy, sour spaghetti. He was done, I could tell. I handed him the rest of my chicken. James and Fabi gave him their leftovers too. Luckily between the 3 of us there was enough to nourish him. lol.

After dinner it was time to head back to the airport. James was adamant about have a shower before the flight! Seriously, the guy was not going to get onto that airplane without a shower first. We got to the airport and talk to some guy who said they had these secret showers in the airport. James got super excited! We followed the directions and it seemed for sure like we were in some restricted part of the airport. We kept going down these back hallways and the only people we saw were employees. We thought for sure we were going to get in trouble. 

We finally found the showers. Now I'm thinking James was assuming these showers were going to be of hotel quality. Instead of a hotel room with its own shower, it was more like a bathroom and the last stall had a shower head instead of a toilet. James wasn't having it.

After more debate Rhett and James decided to go check out the hotel inside the airport and see how much that was gonna cost. They took off ahead of us as we stopped for some shopping. By the time we finally made it to the hotel Rhett and James were coming out to get us with wet hair and giant smiles. I knew right away they were up to no good. They grabbed us and we headed down to the spa from which they just came. As we walked they told us the game plan. "You girls just keep walking and follow the signs. Walk with purpose like you know where you're going. When you reach the end turn right, thats the girls side. We'll see you again in a hour." We had no choice but to trust them. Besides, sneaking into places is Rhett's specialty, or is it getting in trouble. Maybe its both. 

We made it in. It was beautiful! Fabi and I were too scared to do anything more than just shower and blow dry our hair. Rhett and James on the other had put the spa to good use. They hit the cold jacuzzi, then the hot one, then the steam room, then back to the cold jacuzzi. They just sat there watching tv like they owned the place (or at least paid to be there). Boys. After Fabit and I were ready we headed out and the boys were ready for us. We all felt soooooo much better. Its seriously amazing what a shower can do to your attitude! 

We headed to the terminal and checked in. We were all ready for another night's sleep on the plane. This time we were a little better prepared. We all popped some Benadryl to help us sleep. 

The Petronas Towers

The tallest twin towers in the world!

These buildings are gorgeous

Expecto Petronum!

It looks like the American Flag behind me, but its not.

Rhett wishes! The watch he wanted was over $23,000!

They had a guard on the inside who would let you in. You couldn't just go open the door and walk in. They must've thought Rhett looked like he could actually afford the cheapest thing in there. They were wrong. 

Day 8

Day 8- Bali

We had one last day in Bali and honestly we just wanted to have a beach day and relax. We had done so much sight seeing over the last week that doing absolutely NOTHING was just what we needed! 

We started the morning off by heading down to get breakfast at the buffet in the resort. It was really good. They had all sorts of food and the fruit bar was incredible. I had never seen so many choices in one place in my life. 

We ran up and changed into our swimsuits and decided to head to Kuta to the beach. Fabi and James had scoped out a beautiful beach while we went on our elephant ride the day prior. We got there about 1/2 hour later and were on a mission for some great waves. We had decided that we wanted to learn to surf. None of us had ever tried it so we talked a guy into giving us a pretty good deal. The boys would get an hour lesson with an instructor and we would get three boards for two hours. I'm pretty sure we paid about $15 for me and Rhett. 

The boys went out and learned and then they taught me and Fabi on the second hour. I felt like we all did really well. Rhett and James got up a ton and I got up about 5 times. I have to say that it was a little harder then I had anticipated. We started getting it after a few runs, but it just wiped us out. You really have to paddle hard for those waves. It was bitter sweet to catch a wave all the way in because then you had to paddle all the way back out. :) My poor arms aren't strong enough for a sport like that. It was a blast though and something we have always wanted to try. I was pleased with our progress.

After just lounging around the beach for most of the day we headed over to a little restaurant and had dinner. Rhett and Fabi got Thai food again. :) I think we may have to save up and hit up Thailand while we are here. Rhett loves their food so much! I had an enchilada and they did Mexican pretty good! 

We hit up the streets and did a little shopping for kids jerseys and I bought a coach purse for the girl watching my kids at home. We also bought a small duffle bag to throw all the junk that we had bought in. There was no way that we could throw it in our luggage. 

We headed back to the resort and Fabi and I hopped out to get massages at the spa across the street from Melia Benoa. I got an hour long, hot stone massage. It was a little different than the spa we had been to everyday. They were a little younger and little less professional. Oh and she was not too great with the draping of the sheet. I felt like I was naked and the sheet was on the floor most of the time. It was just a little hard to relax like that. :) Fabi got the balinese. The boys were planning on showering and heading back over to Kuta to check out the nightlife. I was SO exhausted and opted to stay and pack everything up with Fabi. During our massages Rhett came in and stole most of my cash. Little twerp. He really made an impact on the girl doing my massage though. After he left she couldn't stop talking about him. 

It went a little like this, "That is your boyfriend?" "Nope, my husband." "Oh, wow, he is so good looking. He has tall beautiful legs, and a nice butt." I almost died laughing. I quickly agreed that yes he was tall and his butt was pretty nice. I thought that would drop the subject, but she just kept going. She said, "I think he is the most handsome man that I have ever seen. I would love to bring him to my bed." By now it is getting a little awkward. I just smiled. Fabi is laughing in the background. She then goes on and says, "He has the nice face and the beautiful eyes. His nose is perfect too." I'm trying not to laugh as I'm wondering what Rhett did to this poor pretty girl. She then says that she too is married. Wow! I DID NOT see this coming! The whole conversation was a little weird, but made me proud that Rhett is my husband. He is a handsome guy! :) Anyway, the highlight of the night is when she asked me if we could switch husbands for a night. 

All this was going on while we had paid to have them wash and straighten our hair. I wanted to hop out of my chair and help them straighten Fabi's just so the conversation would be over. :) It really was hilarious. We paid $11 for everything. It was so cheap. A little unprofessional, but definitely unforgettable. She really was sweet. As we were leaving she said to make sure that next time I bring my husband for a massage. :)

I went back to the resort and packed everything up. We had to be at the airport at 4:00 a.m. to catch our flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

I did ask Rhett what he did to the poor girls at the spa when he got home that night. He said, "Nothing, but I sure felt like they were checking us out." :) Yes, Rhett. They totally were! lol.

Paddle paddle paddle!

Good Job Rhett! He did so good. It was fun to watch them make it look easy.

James coming in for a break.

Rhett with his instructor getting some pointers.

Me and Fabi heading out into the water. They boys got the instructors and we got Rhett saying this, "Yeah, just go out there and paddle. Then you just stand up." Nice instructions guys! Rhett did come out after a few minutes to help us a little more.

Look I was on my way to getting up. It's hard to tell that it's me because of the ugly rash gurds they make you wear. I'm pretty sure mine was a large in guys. It would fill up with water and drag me under all the time. 

Rhett giving Fabi some pointers.

Our last meal in Bali :(

Day 7

Day 7- Bali

Get ready for a load of pictures because this was my ALL-time favorite day of the entire trip!

We woke up really early and headed to the Batur Volcano to bike downhill for 2 1/2 hours. The tour we went on provided transportation, breakfast at the top of the volcano (which I might add is still active),  and lunch when we finished the bike ride. It was so cool! I have to say that there is nothing better than having someone take you to the top of a mountain and let you bike all the way downhill. The scenery on the bike ride was absolutely gorgeous and it was by far our favorite activity of the whole trip. They started by taking us on a tour of a little plantation where this little company grows its own coffee, cocoa, and tea. I guess the soil up near the volcano is the very best soil for growing plants. They also had tons of spices that they grow up there. Fabi and James really enjoyed the coffee while Rhett and I bought a big bar of chocolate. It is made without milk so it that means it melts in your mouth, not in your hands (take that M&M's!). :)

They had this coffee called "Shit Coffee". It is suppose to be some of the best coffee in the world. It is made by the help of a mongoose. The mongoose eats only the very ripest coffee beans. They wait for the mongoose to poop out the coffee beans. They then take those beans and brew up a special pot of coffee from the ripest of beans. Gross, huh? James went ahead and tried it. He said it was actually really good. Personally, I have a very strong policy in my life to NEVER eat anything that comes out of someone's  guaco-shoot. This policy has worked well for me in the past and I'm sticking with it. :)

After the plantation they drove us up the mountain. Once we got there they served us fried bananas, snake skin fruit, and papaya for breakfast. James and Fabi had a small argument over this breakfast. Fabi had wanted to go to the free breakfast buffet at our resort, but James had told her that the breakfast was included with the biking so we would all enjoy the breakfast they provided. Fabi absolutely refused to eat the fried bananas and wouldn't even sit up by us. She made James walk around trying to find something more edible, but to no avail. I offered up the crackers and milano cookies from my bag and it at least filled them up a little. Rhett and I ate the breakfast. It wasn't too bad. It sort of tasted like a plantain wrapped in a scone. :) I really liked the snake skin fruit. It looked like a brown or rotten strawberry, but was crunchy like an apple and a little tart. :) It was just fine for us. I was just thankful they had something before we took off riding a bike for hours.

We got our helmets on and they had a bunch of mountain bikes lined up for us to chose. Rhett was pretty nervous though after looking at what they had to offer. All the bike frames were too small for him so he knew he had a rough ride in store. On top of that he noticed all the tires were bald! Heavens knows how much longer that breaks were gonna last. You gotta remember, this ride is all downhill so these brakes have been used tons and who know when the last time they were change. After looking at the tires, Rhett figured they hadn't been changed. He made sure to tell everyone if their brakes give out they'll have to put their foot in the back tire to stop. We turned and headed downhill and it was FANTASTIC! We rode through tons of little villages and rice fields. The scenery was so pretty. We were cruising along just enjoying the breeze and we came across a group of people buying tickets for something. We asked our guide what they were doing and he said a cock fight was about to start. Rhett and James about freaked out with excitement!  We payed and went in to check it out. It was something we had never seen before and honestly it was really interesting. They take they two roosters (or cocks as Rhett and James loved to say) and strap big knives to their feet. After all the cocks are paired up and the betting ends the fight begins. These two cocks battled it out for a minute before one was injured. Then they put both of them into a tiny cage and the fight was over in an instant. Two cocks enter, one cock leaves. lol. It wasn't bloody so Rhett and James were a little disappointed. We didn't have time to stay and watch more, we had to hurry and get to our next destination. After we finished this amazing downhill bike ride they fed us a nice lunch of chicken and rice. It was yummy. Next stop... elephant riding!

This was what I had been waiting for the whole trip! We pulled up and walked in and right away there were elephants all over the place. And not behind giant fences or across huge barriers either. You could walk right up to them and touch them (which of course I was way too scared to try). We met our guide and elephant. Our guide was hilarious. He made sure to drop hints that we were expected to tip. He'd say stuff to the elephant like "don't drop the customers, or they'll drop my tip." He probably said something to that affect about 20 times. It was pretty funny. Our elephant was a teenage female and it showed. She was a little on the lazy side and kept stopping along the ride. Now, I'll just let you know right now that riding an elephant is not what it seems. Elephants have a hard time walking downhill and the little bench you sit on feels like its trying to kick you out. Its super bumpy. The guide sits right on its neck and rests his feet right behind its ears. At one point he started shaking his legs really fast and it got the elephant to run and blow his trunk. It was pretty cool, but scary because you it makes realize you are totally at the mercy of this giant animal. If the elephant went rogue and started running around you'd be totally screwed because you're strapped to the top of it and there's no way you'd be able to get off. Overall all though, it was fun.

After the ride was over, we saw the cutest thing ever! They had twin orangutang brothers in diapers. They were two years old. They totally reminded us of Hunter and Ryker. They just sat on this table and played with each other. It was beyond cute!

After taking pics with the oragutangs we ate, again! By this time we were stuff. We headed back to our hotel which took way longer than it needed to. Our driver got lost twice. He apologized many, many times. 

When we got home we got all dressed up to go out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant that James got the hook-ups for. For those of you who have never had the opportunity to eat at a Brazilian place before let me give you a little hint of what to expect. Meat! Lots and lots of Meat! It was freaking crazy how much meat there was. Think of being a vegetarian, now replace every vegetable with a different kind of meat. That's Brazilian. It was delicious, yet made me feel disgusting at the same time. Rhett is 90% sure he'll need coronary bypass surgery because of that night. They should give out Lipitor instead of mints when you go to pay the check. 

After dinner Fabi and I got 40 minute foot massages, while Rhett and James got 30 minute head and neck massages. Price? About $5 each. Money well spent :)

After we got back to the hotel Rhett and I feel into a deep protein induced coma.

This is the little plantation. The view was awesome. The best thing about this jungle? No bugs! Not one mosquito, gnat, or fly was seen. That in itself is priceless.

This guy has quite the job. He just sits there and stirs the coffee beans all day because they have to be constantly moving. Our guide told us we can all take turns stirring them if we wanted to. No one did.

Here I am among some of the different plants they grow. I think these were the coca trees.

This is the active volcano. Its way cool. We were way up in the mountains and at the base of this peak there was the lake. The ground all along one side of this peak was all charred from the last eruption. It was pretty neat to see.


The Cock Fight (not to be confused with Rhett and James playing swords. lol). Each one of those baskets has a cock in it ready to fight. I felt like I was at a UFC pay per view event. They even had ring girls. They weren't nearly as cute as the ones on tv though. The fight took ages to start because they wait for all the betting to be done. Rhett wanted to throw down some money on Anderson Silva, but he wasn't fighting in this event.

This is just one of many temples we past on our biking journey. Each little village has its own temple where the villagers come to give blood sacrifice. j/k. Its more like a fruit basket.

Look mom, no hands! This right before Rhett remembered that his tires were about one revolution away from blowing out. He quickly reapplied his hands to the appropriate 10-2 position.

The four of us at another temple. They wanted to sacrifice a virgin, but unfortunately we couldn't help them out.

Alongside my favorite person in the world! Rhett made sure to stay close to me even though he knew he was putting his life in danger by riding his brakes so much.
James was the one really putting his life in danger. Fabi didn't have the right footwear so she needed to go a little slower.

The ride was seriously beautiful. Pictures just don't do it justice. But maybe the help of Rhett's sculpted body can help you get the idea.

Rice patties everywhere!

This cute little kid was out fishing for minnows. All the kids in Bali were so cute and friendly. They loved to yell "hello" to us as we past on our bikes. Some of them would line up so we could give high-fives to like four kids in a row. It was really neat to see all the kids outside instead of inside playing xbox or watching tv.

Bali or Machu Picchu? Either way, freakin' gorgeous! The rice patties look good too ;)

This is where the bike tour ended and we had lunch. It was delicious and scenic!

Starting our elephant riding tour!

This is Elsa, our elephant. Her whole body would start to buzz and shake when she was going to drop some extra weight. It was crazy the first time it happened. We were like "wth is going on? Is she going to explode?" To which the guide just said she was going to poop. I'll just tell you right now the elephant poop is exciting. These huge pellets of hay/crap come out and they have to fall like 5-6 feet so when they hit the ground there's a loud splatting sound. When she pee's it's like a gallon of lemonade comes out all at once. No stream. Rhett loved it.

Me and Elsa. What a truly unique opportunity to do something crazy.

Rhett wants to save up his money and buy one. Too bad this elephant eats as much as Carter. He'll never be able to afford it.

After our ride together we got to ride it by ourselves. The elephant would stand up on that little cement column with all four legs. It was pretty scary. Then it would climb down and sit on it. Pretty amazing an animal that big has that kind of dexterity.

Hunter or Ryker, I can't tell. j/k. These baby orangutangs were soooo cute!

They craziest thing about holding them is the hands. They're so close to human hands. It was super cool to hold an animal, but when you touched the hands it felt like you were holding a baby.

This is a fun picture. It's feet are just like it's hands. It's sooooo weird!

All dressed up and ready for some Brazilian food!

*Disclaimer- Rhett helped me do this post!* :)