October 2018 Birthdays and Ly Son Island

Ronin's 5th Birthday

He woke up with a smile like he always does.  He is my happiest baby and has always been looking forward to being bigger and stronger.  He said I want a Super Mario birthday mom.  He asked to pick out the look of his cake and we went online and got his cake picked out.  Meanwhile his mom took him and his siblings to Vinpearl Land amusement park in Hoi An for his birthday present.  We like buying toys for our kids but we like experiences better.  It's less messy and doesn't require cleaning up.

I think his face said it all.  He was pretty happy with his birthday gift so far.  Hopefully the experience here was better than any plastic toys.

The day after his birthday he got to celebrate it with his friends at the preschool.  The teachers were so sweet.  They spent an afternoon decorating and getting his party ready so I didn't have to do much except bring a cake.  Cakes are so incredibly cheap in Vietnam that I haven't made a birthday cake in 2 years. 

I made homemade chicken nuggets that my kids love to share with the preschool kids.  That went extremely fast.  You can find my recipe here.  I came up with the recipe and I will always stick with it.  I love it.  I think it's got the right consistency.  http://thuanscreatingcorner.blogspot.com/2019/03/stevens-famous-chicken-nuggets.html

Roro was so loved by the kids at the preschool.  They all run to him when he shows up.  The teachers especially just adore him.

Another birthday round he had was with my family, a day after the one at the preschool.  He also got another cake, also a Super Mario cake.  He's been big into Super Mario characters lately and you can often find him sneaking on my phone or his dad's phone playing Mario Run.  He wanted me to make him a Spiny costume, one of the enemy characters from Mario Run.  We got a few friends together and then families and we booked a hotel nearby ($30/night for a 4 star hotel with pool, buffet breakfast, soccer field, tennis court, a rooftop bar and conference room).  Yeah don't even get me started on the luxury you could get when you tour Vietnam.  It was an awesome night with amazing pizzas and drinks.  Vietnam has got real good with making pizzas.

So my cousin just put the date of the party on the cake when she had his cake made but his birthday is the 4th of October.  This cake cost her $10 USD.  See why mommy's not slaving away to make a cake? 

 

And the best part about having the party at the hotel's lounge is no cleaning up for anyone in the family!  Thank you Muong Thanh Tam Ky hotel's staff.  You are awesome.  For more information on Muong Thanh's hotel, go here@http://grandquangnam.muongthanh.com/

Ly Son Island Adventure

We finally decided to go to another one of the islands off of the coast of Quang Ngai.  My uncle has been inviting me to go since he works in Quang Ngai and I finally accepted the offer.  It was so beautiful and the whole island smelled like garlic because they farm garlic there.  The water was a beautiful blue.  We took a fast ferry out to the island, spent a night there swimming in the ocean, then the pool, and ate local food the next day.  

Love the terrace farming

Fields of garlic

Maybe a few American soldiers also walked through this tunnel?

Listening to the ocean waves through big gigantic shells

Looking for sealife

And look at what we found!

Wish I could take all these home

Let's climb to the top

Can you spot Dand and my Uncle on the top?

He can be romantic sometime.  Brie was our photographer.  She does a good job when the camera is in her hand.

We rode on an electric car that took us around the island.  That's how tourists get around.  The locals just use motorcyles.

When it's sunny you use an umbrella of course

We found another large hole that used to be a tunnel that soldiers hid in during the war.

Do you see how small the girls are?  Do you see that ginormous rock?  This day was a very full day of playing on beaches

We took a swim in that clear water.  Reena said it felt like a hot tub.  It was awesome.

I love that we give my family members experiences they themselves can't afford to do.  It makes my heart so happy.  My uncle literally works an hour from this island and has never been.  Now he could check that off the list.

Fields of garlic.  Oh I love it.  I cook with so much garlic this is right down my alley.

We've seen so many caves by now.  Vietnam is full of them.

That rock in the back.  Amazing

Give that boy a lollipop and get him to do anything for you.

Doesn't this picture look like it's from a movie??  I mean seriously gorgeous sunset.

How about recycling the cans just right here on the path that tourists walk on...:)

My little dare devil will climb any rocks he sees.  This kid has gotten a lot more careful as he grew up though thankfully.

Ly Son island not only smells great of garlic and onions, but it has such beautiful hills

This spot was probably my favorite spot.  I sat in the shade while the kids tanned in the water but wow what a sight!

Right??!!  Pictures tell better than words.  See you on the next post!!