Sunburns

We spent our first day at the Marriott enjoying the swimming pools and the health club. The property has an incredible beach but you can hardly ever swim in it because the currents and tides are so strong that it is unsafe to swim. Although some of the older crew enjoyed riding the large waves and then being pulled back into the ocean.

Grandpa and a few of the Aunts spent so much time outside that their are very red! The older crew spent about half the day at the health club exercising and enjoying this amazing shake that they were given. Collin and Everett spent about half the day sleeping...

Then we went to an owners party and had some finger food and some drinks. We were the only ones that were going with the non-alcohol version but we did not mind. Grandpa then made some brownies (in the microwave) and we had some dessert.

At the Marriott

Well yesterdays moving took all day. Here are some pictures of the Marriot that some of us are yet to explore!

Moving Day!

Today is July 4th! Happy Birthday America! Happy Birthday Aunt Pyper.
Well today we have to leave our private beach and our villas to move to the very top part of the island to the JW Marriot resort. Yesterday we spent the day relaxing and swimming in the ocean. We also took a ton of pictures of our families and a few of the restaurant and the staff that we will post.

The Secret Cove is a new place and they are just getting started and we have been telling everyone about them. The owners are Rick and Ta and when my dad was first telling people about them we all thought he was saying Rick and his Hot wife!

Elephant Rides

We went to Safari Island and had an ox cart ride, sat on a water buffalo, saw a short demo on the rice farming. Then we got to ride elephants- the kids have been waiting for a chance to do this. It was really a tipsy and jerky ride so Adelynn fell asleep, Everett was tired and Ford had fun. We all enjoyed it and the guys sitting on the elephants guiding them, were singing songs and laughing, even during the down pour. We also sat on a water buffalo, a real live one!


We also watched a monkey show and an elephant show. The kids loved the shows, the boys got stuffed elephants and were pretending to have the elephants do the show. They played basketball and soccer and the monkey rode a tricycle. While we were at the monkey show Adelynn started crawling on the ground and there was a girl guide in there and she got so scared of Adelynn that she started crying (It was really funny to see because everyone loves the baby and here she is scared to death.) Turns out the guide was terrified of monkeys and since we were in the monkey show room she thought that the baby was a monkey.


Later in the night we tried to go to an outdoor market but when we got there it wasn't there. We ended up going to Old Phuket town and found some Thai cookies.

Everett has a new girlfriend!

Just a few minutes ago, Everett and I were down at the restaurant having the gals there pop some popcorn for us. Just as we were leaving, the owner's daughter, Nicole, came to give him a good night hug.

He obliged and returned the favor. But shortly thereafter, they both turned and kissed each other... right on the smackers. Immediately following, she chased him around and he tried to hide from her behind my legs. He got really shy after that, until we were walking away. She began to cry and her turned around (now about 15 yards down the road) and shouted: "Good night! I'll see you all later!"

I asked him if we were going to tell his mom or if he wanted to keep it a secret. He said that he would tell her. So as soon as we walked into the house, he approached her and said: "Hey Mom... I just kissed a girl!"

She is half Thai, half Dutch, and about a year and a half younger than Everett. I told him that he now needs to learn to read and write so they can be pen pals for the next 25 years before they can get married.

At long last...

Earlier today, Nate and ShaNae went for a little walk along the beach with the stated goal of finding the most attractive sea shell out there. They were going to have a contest to see who could find the best. Little did ShaNae know, but Nate had sent his brothers out earlier with a decorative sea shell, inside which was an engagement ring. Thinking she had just found a really nice looking shell, she joked that there may be a pearl inside. She opened it up and she was right. Inside was a large pearl set in a white gold ring with a variety of diamonds around the base of it.

She turned to find Nate on a knee, he asked her if she'd be cool with marrying him and she agreed to do it. Congratulations to the soon-to-be newest family unit within the Littlewood clan.

If Thailand were in the USA...

An addendum to yesterday's post:

Several of us in the front part of the boat (where our spines and tailbones were most at risk), remarked that if we tried going out on the water in similar conditions to the ones we were in, but it were in America or Australia... it wouldn't happen.

There is no chance that a tour company from the U.S. or from any of the "civilized" nations of the world would take people out there. I have chatted about how things are in Britain and Australia with folks who have come from those countries, and it is the same everywhere. Sophisticated societies tend to gather their wealth of experiences and knowledge to minimize the number of risks one can take. Whether it is from law suits or top-down regulation, freedom suffers a bit each time litigation or legislation attempt to protect the citizens of the country in which the measure is being enacted.

Sure, yesterday's boat tour lead to some discomfort in our backs and posteriors, but it was well worth it. We saw beautiful places we would otherwise never see, did exciting things we could only do in a very few other places on Earth and we got to know people from other countries who were loving and experiencing the same things along with us. There was even a gal from Australia who must have vomited 7 or 8 times, but she was still smiling whenever we'd stop and see a new island (eventually her husband joined in on the vomiting).

It is just amazing to see what freedoms people have here that for safety reasons or fear of a lawsuit, we do not. This is a monarchy and they have freedoms that we never would have guessed one could have--and the best part? It hasn't lead to anarchy. There is order here and it works.

I strongly recommend Thailand as a vacation destination or a place to live to anyone. If you are coming just for a visit, I recommend The Secret Cove in Phuket for your food and lodging. It is a private beach and the staff are all very helpful and friendly. If you need contact info, I can provide it.