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Conner’s super cute helmet hair
Thai rice holder served with every meal
sticky rice-you eat it with your hands
daily afternoon rain storm heading our way
every morning I head into town and buy a bag of fried bananas-they run out around noon so I have to get there fast
battered and fried fresh all morning long
they are the brown ones on the left-they also have donuts, but they are not very good (clearly since they still have a huge stack left). The bananas though…..OH MY!
my moped buddy-sweet Peyton
special night out for Trek’s 16 month birthday
Conner and his 10 baht chicken leg-he gets one whenever he sees one, even if its for breakfast
Pai streets at night
our bathtub
this picture reminded me of how Conner is still just a little guy
gas station-Peyton thinks it is so cool how the guy manually pumps the gas up into the glass container
every store, restaurant, and house has a picture of the King and Queen of Thailand
most of the photos are of them when they are older, this one of the Queen when she is younger is my favorite-I think she is so beautiful
fresh flowers everyday picked from the many flowers growing around our house
my new key holder I bought at the market. I had to get it b/c it reminded me of Peyton and his toothless grin
I LOVE these loungers that Thais use, we bought one for the house, it is Conner’s favorite spot
the boys spotted these Ben 10 toys that they wanted. They picked out one of the little packages, but the man told us we had to buy the entire thing! He told us it was 50 baht. I was a tad shocked since that is $1.75-ummm-ok!
kitchen at a local restaurant we ate at
waiting in line by himself with 10 baht to buy yet another chicken leg
ahh man-there is even dirty dishes in paradise (another photo by Conner)
no hot water in kitchens here, just some soap and a prayer they get clean-hehe (even at restaurants there is not hot water to clean-i just don’t think about it and enjoy my Pad Thai)
(photo by Conner) rose outside our house-I think he is getting pretty good at this!
my two sweet guys sharing a Thai omelette
random pay and pump gas station on the side of the road and my dorky helmet
I have been so surprised and happy with Pai, Thailand. It feels so comfortable and homey even though as I look at these pictures I realize it is far from comforts or home! I think there is so many fun and unique and beautiful things it cancels out any inconveniences like squat toilets and questionably clean dishes!
I think your last sentence says it best, because that’s how I think of things when I read your blog. It seems so incredibly unique yet comforting. Homey, indeed.! Love that we get to “explore” this country with you all. Thank you!
thank you so much Angela I agree and thank you for keeping up with our family-xoxo
Haha, you have to hurry to get breakfast because they run out at noon?! I love it. The best picture is the one of you doing dishes in front of an open window w/ that spectacular view. Swiss fams all the way. Love you.
ok brother, its a hard life having to peel myself out of bed and drive myself 6km and beat all the Thais to the banana store! geez! haha, so I actually get up at the nice time of 8 am everyday, but to get ready and get out it does take me awhile:) the bananas are my second breakfast, we have bacon and eggs for our first one. I agree though, having Jarrett work from home is quite nice and makes things like noon banana runs super fun and possible. love you! (and yes i agree about my window, i love that view)
No hot water for dishes? Does that mean no hot water for showers? Yikes!! Although that wouldn’t be to bad, then my daughters and husband wouldn’t spend 20 min. a piece in the shower!! Haha Boy the things we take for granted in the US and don’t stop to realize what other countries don’t have. Thank you for allowing us to explore and learn through your posts! Bless you all.
we have a little hot water in our shower, sometimes its good since its hot here, sometimes I curse it! hehe. I know its funny how soon I already forgot how comfortable America can be-it will be such a treat when we go back to visit.
Loved every picture!! love cute Conner in the tub:) Love how cute and pretty you are in every picture…not a dorky helmet when you are wearing it! I absolutely love the key holder that looks like Peyton, hahahaha!!! The food looks yummy and so unique there and I am so happy Conner gets his chicken leg every day:) I wish I could pop in and say hello in your cute cozy home today! love you!
when I bought that key holder I brought Peyton to smile at the lady so she could see why we bought it (she had painted the picture) we all laughed:) and thanks about your compliments for my helmet.i wish you could come over too, I would even put moth traps out the day before you came so you could truly relax! love you
Haha what a kind sister to put out moth traps! what about all the other rodents, bugs, crabs etc?? I also have 2 mini-me boys that come with the package so you would have to work extra hard as the exterminator!
thankfully there are no mice or rats yet, I will be moving out when I see one. and the other bugs, well i have ant spray, but I am not sure what to do about the crabs-hehe
Love Peyton’s toothless grin & Conner’s helmet hairdo. That’s what mine looks like every am. Such a beautiful view from kitchen window. Such beauty there. I could handle the shower/bath w/out hot water. John fried some bananas for us when he lived in Key Largo – yummy. Love, hugs, & kisses from our home to yours.
haha, i will tell Conner about your bed head:) well you would like it here if you could handle a cold shower, we have a little hot water but its not long enough to even think about enjoying it! I am glad you have had fried bananas, they are so amazing. love you granny
I think we’ll definitely be checking out Pai while we’re in Thailand. Looks like my kind of place.
i agree Talon, it is a great place to settle down for a while and the cheapest place we have been so far-we are really enjoying it here
LOVE your dorky helmet…too precious! Their way of living seems to be simplistic and they appear to just…go with the flow. I imagine at times it can be difficult, but then again I applaud them because they seem to manage and do it well. Ahhh…to take a bath in a plastic tub with a frog showerhead.
I would love, love, LOVE to wash dishes with that view…absolutely breathtaking! I’m with Conner on the chicken leg…they look yummy delicious.
BTW…thanks for the suggestion about the Locals. I ordered a pair for me and one for my soon to be daughter-in-law who loves her flip flops. We cannot wait for them to get here.
I can’t wait to see what you think about the Locals:) and yes I was very happy that our bathroom came with a Kiddie shower, it also has a rain shower head for us so its perfect. We can even use them both at the same time so we can shower together since we only have like 3 min. of hot water! and yes the boys amaze us at how they adapt so well wherever we go.
I love all these pics, makes me want to head back up there!! I loved the gas pumps, the last ones were the best how they cheer and clap when you are done! Ahh, I miss Pai!
hahaha, I forgot about that Mary! that is so funny, they did cheer and clap for me!
Is the little bathtub/shower center in your house? I was just making sure because it was right under the photo ,”Pai at night”. I was just wondering!
Also, does that mean since there is no warm water, that you shower cold? And incredible view at your kitchen!!
haha, no that shower is in our house and in its own room even though there are no bathroom doors so I can watch Conner play in the tub from the living room couch-hehe. and thankfully we do have hot water in the bathroom, it lasts about 3 minutes so we have to shower fast! many places do NOT have hot water for their showers, and I see my Thai neighbors bathing in the canal so I guess they don’t even have a shower!
I love your candid display of pictures and narration. It gives me a true sense of what everyday living is like for you all. I especially like the picture of the restaurant kitchen (home style eh?) and the roses that Conner took. Peyton the climber, Conner the photographer – a fantastic combination! Oh and the one of you doing dishes with a breathtaking view!
thanks maria. I agree, I have not been grumpy about dishes yet since I can look at that view-I hope it continues to overcome that stinky chore! and yes the restaurant kitchens around here make me smile everytime and glance away before I think too hard about me eating food from there:)
When we come visit I would be happy to eat just rice & those fried bananas:) I absolutely love the picture of Conner in the tub – he’s having a blast! The flowers & scenery out your kitchen window are amazing & beautiful. The boys looked pretty proud of their toy bargain – how exciting to think you’re getting only one & then end up with the whole thing! And I love that you found the keyholder – so cute & funny. Thanks for sharing all the awesome pictures. Oh yeah, you look pretty cute in your pink helmet:) Love & miss you.
i think of you everytime I order bananas-you would LOVE them! xoxo
Beautiful! Absolutey beautiful photos and life.
thank you so much Shannon, I just ordered Wylder’s book -can’t wait to get it!!!
Oh my goodness! What a fun and interesting time with all these little fun things you all see and do every day.
The picture of you and Peyton should be in a travel magazine or something! Only you could look so picture perfect after riding around on a moped all day. 
Well….back to the grind of cooking and dishes. It is life, I am so over it. I have been trying to make everything bbq lately so I don’t have to heat up the kitchen, and way less dishes 
tonight though, canned chili and rice. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, what can I say 
Tell the kids I say aloha xoxo
oh Becky thank you so much. I was actually thinking about you and that straightening thing you did-I need that sooo bad! my hair is so frizo in this humidity, I don;t even bother straightening it b/c it is frizzy again before I am even done. Oh well. I like your idea to bbq everything and make canned chili-you go girl. a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do:) love you friend
I miss Asia and everything deep fried. Haha! Fried bananas – aahh..i lOve them. When you go to the Philippines, you should try turon. It’s banana wrapped in spring roll wrapper, deep fried and coated with caramelized brown sugar. Yum! I giggled at the dishwashing pics. I’d never seen a dishwasher until I started dating my hubby in Dubai. I thought it was heaven sent. I actually heard angels sing when I first saw how dishwashing machines worked. Hahaha! We’ve been bestfriends ever since.
LOve how you’re such a down to earth Mom. Your children are soooo happy.
it is all deep fried and they are all so skinny! what gives? yes dishwashers are heavenly, I am enjoying handwashing for now but that is only b/c of the view, I will be thankful for a machine to do it for me again soon:) I have seen those bananas you are talking about here in Thailand, i will order some they sound delish!
Yummy ~ fried bananas! Love ‘em. Love your days & the cool things you have bought for your home. I can’t believe you spent $1.75 a toy! What’s wrong with you? haha
oh you would LOVE the bananas! and yes I am a huge softy about toys:) it does not help when they are soo cheap-i can never say no!