To grandmother's house we go

Jess was deathly afraid of the dolls.  But Jess, they're "your people!"

Over the river and through the woods

Extreme croquet - Pops won

Elephants Rule!

Not falling off was quite the challenge.

Flight of the Gibbon

Getting all geared up! I felt just a tad bit violated by this guy.

Christmas Day 2008

We spent Christmas day this year in an orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Earlier that day we went to the local market and bought some toys and candy to give to the kids. Our guesthouse had a guitar that they let us borrow and Travis learned some Christmas songs so we could sing with the kids. When we got there the minute we stepped out of the car we were swarmed with kids holding our hands and wanting to play with us. We spent the day playing games, singing songs and learning about their lives. The children there range in ages from ten months to fifteen years. They all sleep and eat in a tiny little room in the back and this shack you see here is where they play and have school. The poverty in Cambodia is heartbreaking and I wish I could do more to help these children who have next to nothing. But the one day we spent here was so eye-opening and rewarding and each child was so unique and special. It will be a Christmas I will remember for the rest of my life.

Well, we made it to Cambodia. We have spent the last three days on airplanes and buses and we finally arrived in Phnom Penh this afternoon. It has been a long three days, but I have loved every minute of it. Cambodia is absolutely incredible! We were able to see a lot of the countryside on our long bus rides and it is so beautiful.
On our way down here to Phnom Penh we stopped at a rest stop and there were people selling fruit and meat and things to eat...among those things were fried grasshoppers, crickets and turantulas. They had tons of live turantulas crawling around in a huge wicker basket and they just fry them up and eat them. Competely disgusting. But we figured hey, it's not too often you're in a place that eats things like this so why not eat monsterous spiders while we have the chance? So we did...we ate one. It actually didn't taste too bad, but the thought that I had spider legs in my mouth was a little much for me to handle.