this is santa's gift to luke: a domino set where the ball knocks them down-

like the "jollyball" at chicago's museum of science & industry. (the boys' fav)

same pic, just to see our apartment. it's quite festive w/ red couches! (which i love)

PART 2 of the santa letter. this is mainly for the grandparents! they're only young once!

elliot wanted to prove this year that santa's not real. luke had many questions he wanted answered, so ian told him he could write santa a letter. it's so priceless, i had to take pics. and did santa write back? you betcha! (on the back side)

i LOVE this picture.

a smaller-scale christmas than usual, but you can see it's quite homey!

this is elliot's invention to stay awake all night to see santa. it keeps his head up & eyes open.

okay-what does "invernational" mean???

you kiss me, i'll kiss you...

elliot did pretty darn good for a first time photographer!

"a baby tree!"

there were a few "theme" pools: tea, coffee, milk, medicine, liquor(!), floral, etc.
you actually soke in these things! the coffee was way too hot, but the liquor pool smelled super-good: not strong, just enough sweet smell to like it. boys liked the milk (coconut, which the island is known for) & herbal (chinese were suprised they liked the traditional smell)

oh so many words are humorously mis-spelled-it's such a kick seeing these things everyday.

you can see the luxurious 5* resort beyond the lake. "quite exceptional" (i guess)

ahhhh-this is the life..."could i get another bon-bon with that pina colada"

i thought this was an unusual sight-the strange, almost out-house looking thing on the right, then the "comfort house" in the middle of seeming jungle-nowhere. beyond it is melon fields.

some of these 58 pools were too hot for us.

anyone know what "immiting" water is?

this area is chuck full of Russians escaping the cold-that's russian.

there were a handful of pools w/ "fish therapy". the fish actually exfoliate your skin by kissing or sucking off the dead skin! i tried, & was the only person who kept shrieking (annoying many of the serious patrons) b/c it felt so strange! that's what sugar scub is for!

luke liked it! ian & elliot wouldn't even try.

"man writing chinese characters"

an even better italian restaurant. this owner's from Milan- oooh lala, & girlfriend is chinese.

i had the most awesome pesto/tomato combo pasta, & really good australian cabernet "on the house". he says business has been painfully slow w/ the economy. we let him give us quite a spread-ian's lasanga was amazing, even the boys' hot dogs were huge & heavenly:)

then i went & got him 6 more customers w/ my big mouth! (we liked them)

the waves were awesome for play. each wave got a title shouted, for ex. "grapefruit!" or "mango!" or the biggest "double watermelon!!!" we were, of course, the only ones yelling the names of foods in a foreign language at the top of our lungs:)