Winter is finally here for the new year!

Last semester flew by so fast. I swear, time keeps going more and more quickly the older I get. Time is funny that way, sometimes dragging on and sometimes slipping away much too quickly. Anyway, the semester went really well for both Scott and I. We got to work with some wonderful couples and families and learned a lot. I (Ashley) had some challenging classes and I while I enjoyed them, I have been loving winter vacation. Scott and I made a trip to Oklahoma in mid December to see Jake and Nana Branson. It was very enjoyable and we found out a lot about Scott's ancestors. We also got to see Susan and Thad, which was great. We headed up to Leadville a few days before Christmas and it was beautiful. There was snow everywhere and it snowed on and off up until Christmas eve. Scott went snowboarding for two days at Copper with Will and my dad and had a ton of fun in the fresh powder. The snow was a welcome relief from Greeley where up until yesterday we have gotten NO moisture. It has been extremely warm and dry... I mean warm and dry to the point that we were watering our plants up until a week ago (December 22). We had to keep watering them because we haven't had a hard enough freeze for them to go dormant and they were starting to die from lack of water. I've heard all kinds of explanations for this weather, but if you ask me it is weird and concerning to see flowers in bloom in the middle of December in Colorado (It was 65 degrees on Dec. 14th). Also, why was there a tornado in Oregon in the middle of December? Moving on from that tangent, Christmas was a lot of fun and I was happy to spend a few days with my family in Leadville. Since we have been so busy with school I haven't gotten to see them as often and I have really missed them. We got some awesome Christmas gifts from my fam and packed up Christmas morning to head down to Greenwood Village to see Scott's family. I was glad to see Bruce, Patsy, Spencer, and Karina as well as to meet Karina's mom and dad. We shared a really delicious meal and exchanged some amazing gifts. We especially enjoyed the books! Then Karina and her dad played some instruments while we all sang Christmas carols, it was a lot of fun. Bud, Lynn, and Lorraine stopped by and we got to visit for a little. Scott was so glad to see them and I was sorry that we couldn't stay longer but we had to drive back up to Greeley before it got too late. Since Christmas we have been getting the basement cleaned out (we ripped out an old closet and some other drywall and floor tiles) so that we can convert it into a more usable space over the next couple months. We have also been enjoying the snow that finally came yesterday. It seems it snowed on and off all last night as we have about 6 inches of snow! We are excited for the moisture. Tonight I think we will stay home, make some tasty food, and watch a movie for New Years Eve. It might sound boring but I love cuddling up when it is snowy outside in our house that we have worked so hard on.

Last Day in Thailand

Today is our last day in Thailand. We leave for the airport around 5:00 tomorrow morning. We are going to try to do a little sight seeing around BKK today. We are also going to have dinner with our friend Anne (finally, we have missed eachother several times thus far). We are not excited for the long flight back, but we are excited to be home again. We will miss you Thailand!

Back in BKK

We arrived in BKK today. Will write more tomorrow as I am really tired right now and there are a ton of people in this little room using the internet.

Recap

It is pouring rain at the moment so we are blogging it up to allow for the rain to slow. It is always very nice in Thailand after a hard rain as it smells great and is much cooler. I can't believe that Scott and I only have four days left here. It is bittersweet as we are missing home, our family, friends, and especially our babies.

We have done so many amazing things here! We have:

• explored the jungle
• found the most beautiful and deserted beach I have ever seen
• played in the ocean
• drank from a coconut
• learned to cook Thai food
• did yoga in the jungle
• got soaked with rain
  
• visited a Rasta bar
  
• saw some beautiful temples
  
• got the best massages in the world (almost daily for about $5 an hour)
  
• were blessed by monks
  
• ate delicious Thai food
  
• saw beautiful hand painted umbrellas being made
• saw silk being spun
  
• made friends with Pakistanis
  
• watched amazing Muay Thai fights
• commissioned an artist
  
• rolled in the mud with elephants
  
• ate rice out of a banana leaf
  
• played in a river with elephants
  
• visited an organic farm
  
• shopped at a bustling night market
  
• slept on a train going through the beautiful mountains
  

I am sure there are many things that were wonderful that I forgot to mention because there have been so many awesome things! Best of all I got to share this amazing journey with the love of my life who has been my husband now for nearly a month.

Back in Chiang Mai

We just got done eating our mid-morning meal. Since we have been here we have taken to eating a large meal mid-morning and another mid-afternoon. It feels right. If I eat too close to bed I get hot and cannot sleep. We are trying to figure out how to keep entertained in Chiang Mai for another few days. We are thinking about visiting the zoo and a park here in town. It would be nice to find an activity outside of town as the mountains are so nice up here. They are so lush and also much cooler than it is in the city. We are still a little bummed (and worried) that the Chinnaworn stay didn't work out as he seemed like an amazing person. Maybe someday everyone can move over here with us and we can start the farm back up...

Ashley would like to hear from her family. They have been quiet for several days. Mom, dad, Bud, Lynne, and everyone else who has commented we really appreciate hearing from you all. Oh yeah, I hope that everyone who went to Pitkin had a nice trip.

An interesting thing happened the other day. We decided to try to buy Ashley's birth control pills over here because when she was sick she had trouble keeping them down and so she was a few pills short. Anyways we went into the pharmacy with out a prescription and they found some that had the same ingredients (we compared her old pack to the new one and they are identical). They cost us a whopping 50 cents/month here. In the states they are $20 with insurance. WTF!? If anyone needs meds it might be cheaper to fly over here to get them if they are particularly expensive... Does anyone need more evidence that our healthcare system in the US might be a little corrupt? This really raises questions for me as there are so many people paying thousands of dollars per year for AIDS medicine, cancer drugs, insulin, cholesterol medication, and other lifesaving drugs. Further, I am left to wonder why it is illegal for one to purchase these drugs overseas and bring them back into the United States, even if one has a valid prescription? It seems that this is "copyright infringement". Do the drug companies care so little about health and so much about making a few (billion) dollars that they are willing to sacrifice human life for profits? According to Fortune 500, Pfizer was the ninth most profitable company globally in 2007. Merck is fourteenth thus far in 2010. Merck has made almost $13 billion in profits thus far this year.

Well some guy that looks really sick just came into the computer place so we are out of here! Love to all!

Chinnaworn is in trouble!

After five hours, 2,000 baht, and help from several helpful locals we figured out that Chinnaworn got into trouble and is now in Lampang. His homestead has been abandoned for the last three or four months. After all of that we were able to track down his sister who told us that we were welcome to move into the old homestead, however, it would require quite a lot of cleaning. We decided to pass and we are now back in Chiang Mai. One of the people that knew him, Ben, told us that we were absolutely not to go to the homestead or to the mountain on which it is located.

The good news is that the mountains around Chiang Mai are beautiful! Seriously it is paridise. There are a lot of small farms and I felt very encouraged seeing the villagers working them. We got some spectacular pictures (if they turn out... the light was a bit funny) of the mountains and valleys. There are giant clumps of bamboo, some of which must be at least thirty or fourty feet high! It was nice and cool up in the high country and overall seemed a great place to have a farm...

Happy Birthday Dad!

I know it is not your birthday yet in the US but it is here in Thailand so Happy Birthday Dad! Scott and I are going to go eat and then check out from the hotel. We are planning to take a taxi to Samoeng and then hopefully another taxi into Pang Term Village. If nothing else we will spend the night in a guesthouse in Samoeng but we are hoping to make it all the way to Chinnaworn's tonight. I love you Dad and I hope your birthday is amazing!