Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

And onto the next holiday....This past weekend we set up our Christmas tree. In all honesty I wasn't really planning on doing Christmas decorations while over here in Vietnam. But one day I took Troy grocery shopping with me to Metro, and believe it or not he talked me into it! Troy (aka grinch) wanted to get a Christmas tree. The price tag of $15 did help a little bit. So we purchased a tree and a few ornaments to help get the Christmas spirit in our home this season. We have since learned that Christmas trees have only been around in Vietnam for the past three years.  It's pretty fun to see another developing holiday in Vietnam (Halloween also).

A few little Christmas shops...

I can hardly contain my excitement. This place was a jackpot for cheesy Christmas decorations! 

"Christmas Claus" as Drey likes to call him.

Hey mom, remember the holiday posters you used to hang in our large front room window? Thanks for the idea :)   

Pre-lit trees haven't quite made it over here. 

Drey was SO excited to get a Christmas tree and decorate it.  When he was finished he kept saying "mom, I really love my Christmas tree"

Ugh...that's a problem...

And not to forget this little munchkin. Enzo was napping when we started the decorating process, but once he heard Drey,  it was nap time over and all hands on deck for decorating....and undecorating. 

Our two little helpers. It's a cute little Charlie Brown tree eh?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Is it really Thanksgiving? I guess the time has come for me to buckle down and make it through the holidays in a foreign country. This means having a foreign experience for Thanksgiving, and yes it was. No Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, no cold weather....only blistering hot, and the worst part of all, no family around. But I knew this time was coming and feel very grateful that we have made friends to surround ourselves with this holiday season.

My friend Betsye Park is a lover of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have been hearing stories about how the American branch members get together to celebrate Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays of the year. Betsye is a party planner and by default of friendship I became her partner in crime this year. Our dinner included 30 guests and was held in the cafeteria at our building. Since Thanksgiving is obviously not acknowledged in Vietnam we decided to hold the dinner on Friday night so our guests wouldn't feel rushed to get home on a work / school night. And after all the work, I would say it was a successful Thanksgiving holiday (even if 2 kids threw up after eating).

grocery shopping at Veggies, which is an American import store. I rarely shop here since it is extremely overpriced!

Betsye and I doing our Thursday night prepping of toasting the bread for stuffing. 

Thanksgiving morning was spent making rolls...8 dozen.....without an electric mixer of any kind! I had to move the chairs away from the table so the boys wouldn't climb up and snitch the rolls. Drey was going nuts wanting to eat one!

Our finished product! Betsye makes a killer turkey. She brought over her oven and the turkey the night before so she could cook it at my house. It's nice to have portable ovens. And I will say that I did enjoy one perk about hosting the dinner, I still had all the wonderful smells of  a Thanksgiving turkey in my home.

Cooking the last minute dishes before dinner

Betsye's husband Johnny carving the bird.

Thanh and Lindsay Nguyen. She made all the delicious pies, pumpkin and apple.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

And in conclusion......

.....we shopped the markets! It was all I could do to keep my mom from shopping throughout the week, promising her that she will find EVERYTHING at the markets for a cheaper price. She did have a few moments of weakness and purchased some more expensive items at the airport, but overall she fought off her urge to shop until the end.....and boy did it pay off! We shopped the Ben Thanh market with no restraint and like we had a printing press shooting out money....ok not really, but after a week of sight seeing we were ready to get our shop on!

Big Dave was happiest at the bar next to the drinks :)

Nana was happiest shopping while drinking her Diet Coke :)

Dishes, dishes, and more dishes

This lady was so excited to get her picture taken with my mom, they had just bonded over a purchase of false eyelashes.....10 pair for $2.50!

Lunch was at our favorite burrito shop El Gato Negro Burrito

We had to stop back at our apt. to drop off our first load of purchases

Then it was back for more shopping at the night market.

This guy walks around selling kids toys, this is how he supports his family. We bought two bouncy balls.

And this sweet girl is my favorite. I met her on my first day at Ben Thanh market. She walks around selling fans for $1 - $2.  I keep telling Troy he needs to get her in his business, she is so hard to resist and is an awesome sales girl! I have to buy from her every time I see her :)

Outdoor grilling and eating at the market.

Negotiating on more childrens toys.

We ended our day of shopping with mia drinks....fresh pressed sugar cane. This drink stand is located  outside our building and people gather at all hours for cold drinks and smoothies. She is open 24/7.

The sugar cane sticks are pressed through this machine for the juice. A delicious, refreshing drink for about $.25

And after all of the drinks and treats there was still more.....our friend Van came over with the traditional Vietnamese dessert che. There of many types of che, but this che was green beans and lotus seeds in a sweet sauce. It sounds odd, but I actually really like it. If you have ever been to Hawaii and had a shaved ice with  azuki  beans....it's similar.

Saturday - Final Day

This is the right way to wake up and start a Saturday. A fresh hair wash, facial, and style.

Our neighbor and friend Lenga dropped by in the morning with this cake, "Happy Family"

And just for the record of my blog,  I need to share that I have received my first scooter  burn. I received this lovely burn at the Mekong Delta while we were crossing the ferry. I backed into the exhaust pipe of a scooter right behind me. ....ouch! I'm just glad it was me and not Drey....scary, scary stuff!

 

In the afternoon we walked the downtown city, saw the sights, and did just a smidge more shopping.

Buying fresh made waffle crisps.

Chocolate drinks and ice cream....so many treats to share...so little time :)

And when your stroller breaks down from walking the city, you take it into the local scooter mechanic to fix.

Our final meal was at Snap Cafe, as in the Snap Cafe previously blogged about here.

So sad to say goodbye.....see you in 8 months!

We had such a great time with Nana & Grandpa, especially Drey! Hopefully we wore them out enough to get some good sleep on their 24 hour flight home. 

Phu Quoc Island

Beach. Eat. Beach. Massage. Beach. Eat. Beach.   

Yup! That pretty much sums up our 2 days on 

Phu Quoc Island.

Phu Quoc Island is about an hour flight from Saigon and sits in the Gulf of Thailand.  It is beautiful!

We stayed at the Mai House Resort. This is our bungalow on the beach with Troy and Grandpa enjoying the veranda.

All our meals had prime seating with a killer view.... the ocean....

Enzo's first experience with the ocean. He took some warming up but once he saw big brother Drey playing in the water, he took to it like a fish. 

This beach was great for kids....little waves and Drey could walk out quite a ways while still touching. He honestly played in the water from 9:00am to 6:00pm.  For the past 3 nights Drey has fallen asleep during dinner. That's a good sign of a happy child in my opinion.

These two played hard in the water also :)

Could not be happier or more content with a shovel, bucket, and sand.

$4 massage on the beach....every day,  all day please. 

Yes, they are biological father and son....I promise!

Sleeping under the mosquito nets.

Wizards and Hearts of course...we're a bunch of card sharks!

The temperature of the water was AMAZING! 

Drey and grandpa could play in the waves forever...thank goodness the ocean never gets tired of playing. 

sand, sand, and.......

more sand.

I'm really going to miss this place.