The New Buzz Around Town

We really had no choice. When your child's hair either looks like a rat burrowed a nest in it or it looks like he just jumped out of the shower all day long....you know it's time for the hair to go.

Innocent face with not so innocent hair!

You never know what might be hiding in there.

The Before....we had to buy new hair clippers since we burned out the first pair. Huh? It was all part of the transitioning to a new country thing :)

Cutting the locks off first...Jane should be proud of her son the barber.

Should we stop here?....

Final Result. Drey kept rubbing his head saying "all gone, hair all gone"

Feelin' free 

Our New Ride

It's official, we are locals now traveling Viet style. Troy went out this morning and purchased us a sweet little 2009 Suzuki Hayate. We are now that funny looking family:

Drey feelin' pretty cool

Perfect fit right?

Helmets & face masks (don't be fooled, my Nike hat is really a stylish helmet in disguise). Yes, I too thought this looked weird until I was surrounded by scooters and inhaling exhaust. I prefer to spare my lungs the damage. We're still working on a helmet for Enzo. Hopefully being sandwiched between Troy and me will do the trick for now.

and here is a link of our first family ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYFip4oBBs&feature=youtu.be

I'll video us traveling the streets of Vietnam once I know my mom's heart is stable again :)

Our First American Visitor

Our friend Dan came to town and man was it nice to spend some time with a familiar face from back home! Dan has been traveling the Southeast Asia countries since April and finally made his way to Saigon this week. We were lucky enough to spend a few nights with him and catch-up / reminisce about the good ol' days. Dan is a great friend with a kind soul and we loved seeing him.

Our first dinner outing was to a place called Cuc  Gach Quan. This place was awesome! It is down a little alley in Ho Chi Minh City. The inside of the restaurant is unique, there are streams you have to cross, ladders to climb to get upstairs, and little doors everywhere that lead you to other rooms. I'm usually not a name dropper but this deserves mentioning,  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt came here and ate with their family back in November....just sayin'

Melissa and Dan.  Melissa lives here in Vietnam and is working with Troy.

Thick leather bound menus, the English version.

good food, good friends, tired kids, hot corner table.

I think Dan and Mel were going to go out and party in the city Wednesday night but decided our living room was much more exciting (can't you tell?)

Saturday night we went to a restaurant called Quan Nuong. You order your meal and they bring all the veggies and meat out raw. Then you BBQ your food on gas grills in the middle of the table. Troy was the designated chef for the night. He did a great job cooking the meat....no sickness yet :)

This place is actually outside on the rooftop of a building in the city. It was a fun atmosphere and good food.

Dan and Drey

Today at church, Dan's last day in Vietnam. I asked him which of all the places he has traveled in Asia has been his favorite....he said Vietnam. He traveled from North Vietnam to South Vietnam and really enjoyed it.  So who's coming next?

Here's the proof.....

 M&M's are a big deal here! (and all other "real" chocolate items)

Someone must have heard I was coming, they locked all their M&M's up!

You really can't be too careful with these chocolate/peanut treats....they're invaluable.

The American candy aisle...Kisses, Snickers, Hershey Bars...all in lock down.

Here's our Plan B. Troy is hoping if he drinks enough of this juice he can come home a UFC fighter :)

Satisfying my cravings

It's no secret that I love me some sweets.....donuts and cookies top the list of my preferred treats. Or now that I think about it I can eat brownies and Nielsen's custard anytime, any day, in any amount. I have a serious sweet tooth problem. I was hoping that I would loose that sweet tooth here in Vietnam, but instead I've decided to satisfy it :) So how better than to bake the basic chocolate chip cookie, my personal favorite. There is just one problem, Vietnam does not have chocolate chips...not even in the import markets. Instead I found a big block of chocolate at Metro (Costco) that has proved to be a good substitution.

Chocolate Compound from Indonesia

Chopped into square chips

a little French butter

Baking soda and vanilla from Singapore

Of course the sweet stuff from USA

There are no cookie sheets here in Vietnam so I had to use a 9x13ish cake pan. I was basically baking cookies all day since only 6 would fit at a time.

Voila! the final product. The chocolate actually tastes better cooked.

He's pretty happy with them.....

oops....bad mom....some slipped into Enzo's hand.  Don't tell Troy!


   **  A special thanks to all the international ingredients that made this cookie possible. **

Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market will always be my first impression of Vietnam. We arrived in Vietnam on a Thursday morning around 10:00am. After our afternoon / evening naps, Troy took us to the Ben Thanh Market area to walk around. It felt surreal (thanks to jet lag) to be walking around this huge indoor market. I have been back a few times since our first day and each time I am more amazed by what is offered. It's a little city within the city....really. We visited Ben Thanh this past Saturday night with Chi Van, Duy, and Thao. Here are some snippets from our evening together.

We were looking for bed sheets. We brought two queen sets but our bed is actually a king size. And can someone please explain to these Viets that a mattress cover is important? No one here seems to think they are necessary and that only a fitted sheet is needed. Sorry if you come to visit us and the bed is a little uncomfortable.....I tried!

yummy nuts and treats....they have sugared cashews rolled in sesame seeds, our favorite.  Troy and I are surprised by how much money we have spent in nuts alone. What Vietnam lacks in chocolate they make up for in nuts :)

perfume madam? perfume madam?  Just keep walking.....

If you need a hair clip of any kind let me know......I can find it here.

Shoes. The lady in the picture is actually clapping at Enzo trying to get his attention. 

Huge amounts of flowers. I'm pretty sure these are silk but the real ones are just as plenty.

A package of these plump strawberries will cost you $15.00 here! We about died when hearing the price.

The shoppers

It is really hot inside the market and this little boy sweats! Don't be surprised if you see these lovely locks shaved off soon.

Drey feeling pretty cool to be riding in the front seat of Duy's car. There are no traffic rules in this country so kids can sit anywhere unrestrained. Yeah, it will be a fun transition back to cars when we get home :)

After our market shopping we went to a really good Japanese restaurant called Tokyo Deli. We had about 5 decent sized sushi rolls, two japanese pancake like items, and a chicken dish all for $25 and it was really good. That is a nice perk to eating out....it can be cheap. 

He's a natural.

Happy Father's Day!

To this amazing Father:

                             And to each of you.....

                                                 We love & miss you!