elephants

 

i love elephants. 

for being such a large creature, they are quite graceful and very smart. we got to watch them paint with their trunks and i was impressed! above are some of the pieces they painted and my brother in law bought one for his daughter. we thought they would charge a lot but it was only $30. we watched them preform tricks like playing the harmonica, walk with only their front two feet, kick the soccer ball into the goal, sit and paint. we rewarded them with bananas and sugar cane. we then got to ride one, which was something i've always wanted to do. now, if i can only convince tanner to get one as a pet...

long neck village

in chiangmai, thailand, we visited a long neck village. granted, it was for tourists, but traditionally they really do wear the rings around their necks and add to them every couple of years. these were some of my favorite photos that i captured on the trip. there was so much color and beauty i couldn't stop clicking. they had some of the rings set out for the tourists to try on and you wouldn't believe how heavy they are! i don't know how they can handle keeping them on all the time. we saw a daughter giving her mother a shoulder rub and was doing her best to massage under the rings and i'm sure that it felt great. i can't wait to share more pictures!

2012

Here's to 2012! It's going to be a hard year to top since we did some amazing things. I have been so spoiled and blessed. My family didn't travel growing up, well, besides our road trips which I have fond memories of, and since I've been married I feel like I've seen it all. I'm married to a man with the travel bug embedded in his soul, and hey, I can't complain. So here's to 2012 and our travels to.... Holland, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Florida, Bahamas, California, Arizona, Mexico, Cambodia, Thailand (which were in as I'm typing this) and we will be in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China in the next week in a half. In two weeks we will be in Canada and as far as I know, that's it for a while. I can't wait to share pictures of our Southeast Asia trip! It's been awesome and I can't get enough of this delicious Thai food. Life is too good to me.

now it is christmas

 my momma made this for me. she carved the wood and painted and everything! wish i had a little of her in me...

we put up our tree last night and when tanner walked out of our bedroom this morning he said, "now it feels like christmas." tanner initially was being a little scroogie-like and didn't want a tree since we won't be home on christmas, so i was glad that his reaction was a good one today. thank goodness my mother in law had an extra one ;) we had fun buying a few decorations and now we get to add a few more every year.

well, we're counting down the days to thailand! we will be visiting cambodia and vietnam as well. this year has been a blessing of travels and it won't stop until february.. i think. everytime i think we're about to stay put, we go somewhere else. we have two days to be home from thailand and then we're off to canada and then vegas a couple weeks after that. it has been so much fun and we have had awesome experiences. i also can't wait to settle and start a little family :) that will be an experience in itself i am sure!

zeneggen, switzerland

is "the hills are alive, with the sound of music" song running through your head? if not, i don't know what's wrong with you ;) say hello to zeneggen, switzerland, my fantasy homeland. i may have said this about most of the places we visited while in europe, but can't you see how peaceful and perfect this place was? we arrived super early in the morning after spending two nights in train stations (not an ideal place for sleep fyi) and needless to say we were poooooped. we crashed in the cutest cottage nestled high up in the alps. we slept for a few hours then went in our backyard for a picnic lunch. and then we slept some more outside. we explored around the hills and just enjoyed ourselves and took it easy. this was the perfect pit stop for being on the constant go. we had a chance to unwind and be with mother nature. if you know me, you know i am crazy about switzerland. i don't know if i've ever been more content in my life. i have always imagined what it would be like there and even my best dreams didn't compare. and you bet i've pestered tanner ever since this magical place to move there. i would relocate in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself. i could just see our little kiddos running around the mountains playing with the mountain goats, like heidi. 

haha, and i'm being serious.