June 7th

Dear Jones-

The past few days have been fun and challenging all at the same time. You have been babysat several times while mom and dad went out on a date or ran errands. Our Friday night date very relaxing and made me enjoy Thailand more. Your dad took me to the night market where we ate and shopped a bit for small things like night-lights and cheap movies. Afterward we got massages at a local place recommended to us by Meh Ow. Dad ordered the cheap massage ($7) and I got the more expensive one ($15). Mine was awesome and dad’s was…not so pleasant. I was laughing at him the whole time. Apparently the one he chose was traditional Thai massage in which they use their body weight to stretch your muscles. Dad is NOT flexible and was wincing almost the whole time. Maybe he won’t be cheap next time.

The heat was bad over the weekend and it made me grumpy. Sunday was also a very bad day. We woke up and took you back to the doctor to get new antibiotics. This means a very hot and boring wait in the office. By hot, I mean sweat dripping down my face like a nam tok (waterfall in Thai). Dad and I were really worried about your health even though you were still as active and friendly as ever. The doctor said things should get better in a week at the most (diarrhea). Later in the very hot day dad was driving some members of the church home who came to help him give you a priesthood blessing, and the car broke down. Poor dad. What a miracle it was that a friend of Bria’s offered to fix our car for free. Now the AC works even better then it did before. Hallelujah. By the end of the day I was definitely thinking about leaving Thailand and enjoying the easy life in America. But dad and I had a long talk today and after an exciting boat ride around Ayuthaya in what has been the best weather yet, things are looking brighter and I think I can make it through the summer.

P.S. You just had a great non-diarrhea poop and dad and I are very happy. At this moment you are standing up in your crib (new skill) refusing to lie down and take a nap despite being beyond tired. Sometimes after 10 minutes or so of these shenanigans, I place you on your back and tell you to go to sleep. And most of the time you listen to me. Let’s go give it a try.

Boat trip around Ayuthaya. Jones obviously loved it.

And then it started to rain.

It started to rain the kind of big, fat rain I've only seen in Thailand. Our boat guy docked the boat at this empty market while we waited out the rain.

Jones instantly made some friends. They are teaching him to say the traditional Thai greeting: "Sawadee kap".

This is the best picture of the three of us. Sad. We finished out the ride in cool weather sans rain. We went right by our home, but I forgot to take a picture.