My Sister. My City.

The glittering lights and hustle and bustle of this wild and crazy metropolitan city that never sleeps.
And the company of my dearest friend, confidant, partner in crime; the sister who has shared every season, move, grief and joy of my life.
My two worlds for a brief time collide and my heart sings to have gotten to share a slice of my life with this girl.  This girl!!

Two years apart has been TOO long!

We crammed just about as much fun as we possibly could into 2 weeks together.  The perfect balance of racing around experiencing the sights, smells and tastes of the culture, while still finding time for some lazy afternoons by the pool and even sneaking away for high-tea in celebration of her birthday.

Having Uncle Derek and Aunt Katherine visit has been anticipated for MONTHS.  It was an absolute BATTLE to get the kids to go to school every day and Gigi totally took advantage of having Uncle Derek wrapped around her little finger during school hours when there was no competition!

Derek and Katherine, fresh off the boat, (or plane in their case) bravely accepted their first challenge.  Pretty sure there is no one else in the world we could do this too…..we left them with 6 kids, jet lag, and a city they were unfamiliar with and walked out the door less than 48 hours after they arrived.  C and I got 2 nights away together.  Gotta take the chance when it comes (which is not very often with no family around).  Kids were so glad we got out of the way so they could have their aunt and uncle all to themselves.

Having visitors in town totally gave us the liberty to be “tourists” in our town and do the things we never take the time to do.  Checked some things off our Bangkok “Bucket List”.

Ancient City

A day trip to the Crocodile Farm and Ancient Siam park was a favorite outing.  Biking the grounds of the park was one of the coolest things we’ve done here.  We’ll definitely be sending visitors there with our highest recommendation!

And tho Im not sure Ill be offering the same unreserved recommendation of the crocodile farm, (lions and tigers and crocs, oh my!!!!), it was nonetheless a “culture experience” that left quite an impression.
Traumatic perhaps.

But an impression nonetheless.

Night Bike Tour

A fun unconventional “double date”  I remember Katherine and I talking long before either of us met our husbands….worried that our relationship would change if either of us married someone the other didnt like.  And once I married C, worried that HE wouldn’t like the guy Katherine would marry.  We couldn’t enjoy each others company better.  The four of us had a blast together on our night bike tour.  Great laughs.  Deep conversation.  Good exercise.  Unforgettable memories.

Wat Po, The Grande Palace and the ginormous night flower market were among the highlights!

Birthday Celebration

How fun to have my sister here for her birthday and get to do the sister things we never get to do!   Birthday girl got celebrated in style, starting a day early with pedicures (thanks Aunt Diana!!)

These kids love their auntie!!  Its never too early for cake, because you can call your favorite pound cake a “coffee cake” and it totally flies for breakfast!

Tristan, Derek and C got outvoted…..Cinderella movie was girls choice on her birthday, then it was off to high tea for some quality sister time!  Aaahhhh….the “clink” of crystal and uninterrupted conversation….therapy to my heart!
Guys picked us up a few hours later for a fun night out at Asiatique and dinner on the river.

Girls Night

Fun to host a little ladies get-together so all my Bangkok friends can meet my favorite girl.  Our last “shin-dig” in our old house before we moved this week!

Photoshoot

Katherine shares my love of photography and inspires my artistic inclination.  We scouted out a new location for some photoshoots I have coming up and I got to do a little practice session on her and Derek (another post, another time).  Tagalong Gigi got to share a strawberry smoothie with Auntie Katherine and I snapped away some candids in a cute little cafe.  Oh how I long to see more of this….my kids with their aunt.  Breaks my heart they are growing up so far from each other!

 Treasuring the memories we’ve made and the bond that we share in spite of space and time and distance.

Miss her already so dearly!!