Highlights of 2015

I may have dropped the ball on blogging this year, but I am not going to miss highlighting our 2015 and getting one last post in before the new year. 

This year brought a lot of changes for us. We started the year in Korea finishing up our teaching contracts and soaking up our last few months before leaving for the states. 

We went around Seoul. Took in a baseball game, ate at our favorite places, and went to Pyeongchang- the host of the 2020 Winter Olympics. It was great to take a few days before our long flight back for a nice relaxing trip by ourselves. It was such a quite town and just what we needed. 

In February, we took an 8 day trip to Thailand. This would be the last international trip for awhile, and for the most part we enjoyed every minute of it. We had so many adventures and I can't wait to finish blogging about it. 

In May, we moved back to the states and with that we had a nice long summer vacation seeing our family. We had so many nice adventures-- here are some of our pictures to hold you over until I catch up. 

The first stop back in the states was to Orlando to visit Universal Studios and of course the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was just as amazing as you would think. Matt and I had a blast with my little siblings, Jud and Olivia, and my cousin, Jessie. 

May also brought a mini-family reunion in St. Augustine, and watching two of my cousins graduate high school. 

{Mmmmm Butterbeer}

After my birthday, ekk 27!, we headed out West. Our first stop was California to see my dad and his wife. We had adventures in Lake Tahoe, Matt picked up fly fishing, and we took a took to Disneyland. 

We also got to visit Devils Postpile. Matt and my dad went fishing and I had fun at the camp sight and took a mini hike. 

Matt and I then took a road trip to Idaho to see his parents. We were able to see Jackson Hole, WY, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. 

Idaho was filled with family reunions both on my side and Matt's. 

Three generations worked and finished this quilt. Matt and I love it. 

Disneyland was amazing. We were there for the 60th anniversary, and I loved every minute of it. 

We went camping a few times this summer, and I loved it. Any place with Matt is good for me. 

When the summer ended, I started graduate school at Georgia State. And a whole new adventure started. We haven't had too many traveling adventures, but the end of the year still brought a lot of change. 

We actually had all six siblings in one place and took some squinty eyed pictures. 

On Thanksgiving this year, I ran my first and maybe last half marathon! 

And Matt and I celebrated five years of marriage! 

 And those were the highlights of our 2015! 

Cheers to you and yours!

Have a happy new years. 

Matt's 28th Birthday and Pie Palooza

I know I said I wanted to get back on the blogging wagon, and I have to admit I've been a little overwhelmed. There is so much I have to share with y'all that I got stuck on where to start. 

But today, as I was going through our pictures, I decided to talk about Matt's amazing birthday party from this past July. 

This was Matt's first birthday back in the states and the first one with his family in a long time, so I knew I wanted to do something big. Since Matt loves pie, I decided have a pie themed party. 

We opted for 28 pies on the table verses 28 types of pie. We did it this way so there would be a variety in the shapes and sizes of the pies. 

Matt was very picky with the pies he wanted to include in his party. He decided on the following: Apple, Oreo, Peach Crumble, Lemon Merengue, Strawberry, Banana Cream, Grasshopper, S'more, Chocolate, Chocolate Coconut,  Key Lime, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. 

I was responsible for all the pudding based ones and his mom did the fruit pies. Some were regular pie size, mini pies, pies in a cup, or two bite pies. I love the way the table turned out and I think the variety was awesome. The different size pies allowed us to not be too overwhelmed with pie leftovers, which was great. 

{Can you see the faint 28 in the pie crust} 

For lunch, we served pizza (you know like pizza pie), and we had Mexican glass bottle coke and IBC root beer. We had a lot of Matt's Idaho family over at Matt's parent's house, and it was great to see them all. Matt had a good visit with his family, most of whom he hadn't seen in years. 

I tried all of the pies, except the coconut one-- cause gross, but I was happy with all of them. But I did realize I am more of a pudding pie person, not a fruit pie person-- and Matt's the opposite. 

The Bowen children really love their sweets, and I love spoiling them and getting them sugar high. 

My grandpa and his girlfriend, Rena, were able to come over from Boise for the party. 

Eli, our nephew, really fell in love with the root beer. 

Obachan, Matt's grandmother, was able to make a visit from Hawaii to see us while we were in town. It was great to see her, and we can't wait to go to Hawaii and visit her soon. 

The Ho and Bowen Family. We finally got an updated family picture, although I'm sure we will need a new one soon as this family seems to always be growing! 

I think Matt had a great time at his party. The food was good and the company was even better! 

Baan Chang Elephant Park: Chiang Mai Thailand

Happy Friday Y'all! 

Time is flying by for us here in the ROK. We only have a couple more weeks left in Korea, and I still have so much to share with you guys. 

Today I wanted to talk about our adventure at the Baan Chang Elephant Park while we were in Chiang Mai. 

Are you ready for a million pictures of elephants?!?

{Matt and I on our practice rides learning the commands} 

Way back when we were first arriving in Korea I knew I Thailand was on my bucket list and I knew I wanted to play with some elephants. And finally, this last February, that dream came true. While in Chiang Mai, we opted to explore and play with the elephants through the Baan Chang Elephant Park. I had read some great reviews from other bloggers and felt comfortable with this company. 

We were looking for a rescue sanctuary that really looked to help the elephants and treated them kindly. After some research, we landed on this place. 

We opted for the one day elephant mahout training package for 2 adults and 1 elephant. Baan Chang offers 1-3 day programs and a couple of different options for the days, so if you are interested there are many options. If we returned to Chiang Mai, we would probably do the 2 day stay, but to start I think the 1 day program was great. 

We chose the early pick up time and were picked up promptly at 6:30. Our start time said 6, but because our hotel was outside of town we were last to be picked up. Which was fine by me since it meant less time in the van. 

So we arrived to the park and got to change into our super cool mahout clothes. Boys got one room and girls got another to change into. The girls in our group really didn't care too much about privacy, so we just quickly did the 'locker room' change. You know where everyone is together, but no one looks around. :) There are lockers free of charge for you to use. 

{PS- wear sandals. When you ride the elephants- you are barefoot, so sandals make that transition easier.}  

Then it was time to feed the elephants. We were given some introduction and instruction about the elephants. Because all of these elephants are rescued they are not part of the same herd, so sometimes there is fighting among each other. And because a lot of them have been abused they are sometimes not safe for the staff or the visitors of the park. That is the reason behind the chains on their feet. I was a little unsure about this because I had read about one sanctuary that doesn't chain their animals, but the explanation made sense. 

Each elephant had his/her own mahout (worker/trainer) and they are responsible for making sure the elephant gets the proper care, including enough exercise. With the elephants and mahouts we saw- it seemed like they had a real connection and really cared for one another. 

So after we had a our instruction- we went to feed the elephants. 

{Sugar cane and banana} 

 {Our guide, Alex} 

{Getting kisses} 

While we were feeding them, our guide went around and talked about each of the elephants. He told us a little about their story and about their personality. Then we went to see a couple of the babies. We couldn't touch the babies because they weren't protected from our touch like the adults are (ie. any lotions or creams we had on our bodies). There were three babies. All of them were rescued- not born into the park. Baan Chang has only had one pregnancy, but the baby died. 

After feeding the elephants, it was time to learn how to ride them. Our guide and a couple mahouts taught us the commands and showed us how to get on and off the elephant. This is the part I was most looking forward to, but I actually didn't really love it. We rode bareback of course to protect the animal, but man it did not protect my butt! By the end of our ride I was ready to get off. 

Elephants are so big- it was a little unnerving being up so high with just the head to hold onto. 

We learned a few commands- which for the life of me- I can't remember. We did a little practice loop and then we were good to go. 

I started off in front and then we switched half way through. And being up front is way more comfortable just fyi. And of course, Matt was a freaking pro. He was taking pictures- sitting like a natural with no cares in the world. Meanwhile- I could barely smile for the pictures let alone pose or move around while on the elephant. 

I mean for real- look at Matt. 

Our guide was running around the whole time taking pictures of us while we were on our elephants. I thought that was great since elephant selfies don't quite cut it. 

{While we were on our ride- every animal had their mahout walking along with them. So we were in good hands. Here is our lovely lady we got to ride and her mahout. I can't remember her name (I should have written it down!), but she was a sweetie. She got the scar on her head from some loggers in the Thai forest. She was rescued a few years ago.} 

After the ride, we got to bathe our elephant. This was my favorite part by far. It was so fun getting in the water and scrubbing her down. 

After the bath, we took a quick shower to rinse off, changed back into our clothes, and then ate lunch that was provided for us through our tour. And then we were taken back to our hotel. 

It was an amazing day, and one of the highlights from our trip. I loved interacting with the different elephants and then spending one-on-one time with the one. The tour was informative and it looks like Baan Chang is doing some great things for these elephants. 

And that was our elephant adventure. It was an amazing experience.

Would you ever visit an elephant sanctuary?

Basic Information for the One Day Elephant Mahout Training Package: 

Time: *There are 2 starting times 6:00 am or 8:15 am. 

We started at 6:00 am so we would be one of the first groups to hang out with the elephants. 

These tours go until 2:30 or 4:30 pm depending on what you pick. 

Cost: 2 person/ 1 elephant 2,900 Baht 

*You can opt for a private tour for more money. They also have a per person rate and a group rate. Just look around the website for what you are looking for* 

Things to Bring: towel, extra clothes, camera, bug spray, sun screen

*Camera Note* We brought our nice Cannon, but opted to just take our little camera and a cell phone around for the day. We didn't want to be bothered with our large nice expensive camera, and for us this was a good decision.