Canada Day in Thailand...

Although we didn't spend July 1st in Canada, it seemed only fitting to celebrate it here.  So, seeing as it was just after Callie's elephant-themed party, we decided to visit one of the elephant camps just outside of Chiang Mai.

It ended up being a pretty long drive (almost 2 hours away) but it was SO worth it.  We parked the car and got on one of the little shuttle "trains" which took us to where the elephant show was about to begin.  Callie was already in her glory just with the transportation!  Little did she know that it was about to get so much better...

We got there just in time to watch the elephants make their way up the hill towards the show grounds.

They held onto each other's tails as they passed by. 

All lined up and ready to perform...

They showed how the trainers get on and off the elephants...

... and how they sleep at night.

Apparently they only sleep about 4 hours per night... 

something I can totally relate to these days ;)

This elephant took the trainer's hat off and then gently placed it back on his head...

Showing how strong their trunks are...

Mom, Callie and Jon enjoying the show...

And, probably one of the most impressive things...
watching the elephants paint pictures.

They were actually REALLY good.  You could even buy the paintings in the store after the show.

Some of the artwork that was produced during the show...

Mom meeting the elephants...

Callie enjoying feeding some of the smaller elephants...

Best Canada Day ever! :)

Callie even got to ride an elephant with Nammy...

Off they go for a very bumpy ride...

Did I mention this kid loves elephants?

Marek was there too, of course.  He was such a trooper and slept most of the time.  

Here he is enjoying some cool-off time out of the Baby Bjorn carrier...

And, to complete the day, we watched the elephants take their afternoon bath...

Callie purchased this hand-woven hat from the store with some of her birthday money.

Can you believe it only cost just over a dollar?  

Heading back to the train shuttle after a long day...

So, as you can see, our Canada Day looked very different this year,

 but one thing it certainly didn't lack was "fun!" :)

Celebrations

Yesterday was a happy day. 

We completed our Module 2 Thai exam and it went amazingly well!

Trust me... when you're learning a language as tough as Thai, its important to celebrate the successes.

So, we figured it was only fair to celebrate another milestone in our language learning journey.

And nothing says "YES! We did it!" quite like a big ol' juicy burger from BK...

Oh yeah...

And then today was another day to celebrate.

We finally got our couch!

After months of sitting on nothing but wood and tile surfaces, 

today, our butts are celebrating to say the very least :)

And.......

 to finish off an already great week, our wonderful (future) teammates are here for the weekend!

Looking forward to hangin' with the Sanchez family for the next few days and watching their girls rip up the basketball court at Chiang Mai International School.

Have a great weekend everyone.  We know we will!