Lunchtime in the city...if you dare.

Haven't quite been able to eat like a true Viet yet.

Lighting a fire to cook a hot meal on the street.

Drey eyeing the food.

Washing dishes 

A very common sight. People just grab a stool and pay a lady to make their meal. You see this on any and all street corners and down the streets. Troy says the meals usually cost around $.60 - $1.50. It's the medical attention needed afterwards that's expensive....trust us!

However, we did find a good German Bakery and that suits us just fine.

Who Needs a High Chair?

When the servers take your child and play with him while you eat. I was warned/informed that Vietnamese people love children. Needless to say, Enzo draws a lot of attention with being a blonde haired blue eyed baby. Every one wants to touch him and hold him.

Vincom

Saturday night at Vincom is the place to be! Vincom is one of the high-end malls here in Ho Chi Minh city. This mall exceeded all my expectations of Vietnam. Before coming to Vietnam I was a little worried if there would be any shops I would like, but those worries were put to rest when I walked in the doors of Vincom. They have a lot of American stores, brands, and food. The Gap, Beard Papas (hello Hawaii), New Zealand ice cream (mmmm), and best of all an entire floor dedicated just to kids. I'm talking the Lego store, Barbie store, and a huge arcade area. We took Drey there to have a little fun. Vincom is my Vietnam happy place just like City Creek is my Utah happy place.

Posing with a huge Pinnochio face behind us.

Drey on a helicopter ride that went around in circles. Each time he passed us we tried to get him to smile or look at us...  no luck there. He takes being a pilot very serious.

Mr. Serious. He did say it was fun when he got off.

House Hunting

Our first weekend in Vietnam was spent house hunting. Troy is a huge researcher and in our efforts to find a home he wanted to see EVERY option available. This made for some pretty long days and tired kids. Drey got pretty good at working the elevator and that seemed to be enough entertainment to keep him going. He loved pushing the buttons and kicking the door right before it opened; thanks Grandy for teaching him that one. :) 

Looking at an apartment at The Vista. This pool was so nice, but the place was in an inconvenient location...bummer!

Drey was so hot and begging to get in the pool. All fun and excited until moments later he slipped and went under, not so fun.

Warm (or BLAZING HOT!) Welcome

We received a warm welcome here in Vietnam from some close friends of ours. But let's be honest, the heat here is shocking!

The airport was a very interesting experience. First, handling 17 pieces of luggage with two children. Luckily we had a good friend meet us at the airport to help. Second, the public are not allowed in the airport building. Those picking up wait outside in roped off areas by the doors. So imagine this, just off our 20+ hour flight and we have tons of luggage. We walk out of the airport to seriously hundreds of Vietnamese people waiting for their pick up . There is a cleared area where the newcomers walk down to find their way out.  The best way to describe it is like being in a parade with all the spectators watching while you pass by. It was a surreal moment of knowing that I am now in a foreign land.

 Not only are you greeted with the overwhelming amounts of people, but the heat hits you like a sauna. HOT, HOT, HOT and muggy.

Thao and her son Hugo greet us with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. 

Thao, Hugo, Chi Van, me, Enzo

The whole group. Duy is on the end. He is Chi Van's son. He and Thao are engaged to be married and Hugo is their  son.  This family has taken good care of us with making sure all our needs are met. They refer to us as family and even though the ladies don't speak English, I feel such a great connection with them. They are our family here in Vietnam.

Here we go....

Just a few of our 17 pieces of luggage.  The boxes barely survived the flight over.

                                       

Best seat on the plane! He should be sleeping, he had just thrown up all over me right before our 14 hour flight from LAX to Taiwan.  As the lady in the bathroom of the LAX airport told me, you should always bring a couple blouses when traveling with kids. NOW you tell me! 

Second best seat... floor of the bulk head area

I don't think I'm really asleep, just resting my eyes for a minute.

mmmm...nothing like a homemade peanut butter and honey sandwich and some cartoons to pass the time.