This was the view from our hotel during our little weekend get away. A nice change of scenery.
We went walking around and there were little stands set up to buy just about everything (and for good prices, too) The little girls really wanted to get some hats which came in handy in the heat. Katherine also got this little rainbow dress.
Rice fields and the mountains
We rode bamboo rafts down the river. This was very relaxing and fun for all.
The rafts even went down these little waterfalls.
This was the river we went down.
The kids got to try real rock climbing. They learned that it is much more difficult than the fake rock climbing walls. I am so proud of them. Regan, Benjamin, and Katherine all did it (none made it to the top).
Regan made it the highest. It helps that she is as competitive as she is. I could tell that she was really afraid, but she was not going to give up. Once the instructor climbed the wall next to her, she did really well. He was able to give her instructions on where to try to get to next and which foot to move, etc.
Although, this was our weekend to getaway, we were not able to get away from everything....we will remember to check the calendar next time to make sure there are no local holidays. This night was so crowded with people out walking around, buying, selling, eating. It was craziness. We still had a good time though :)
The kids all got to ride these horses outside of our hotel.
They walked the kids around a loop a few times. They all really enjoyed it.
There was a cave nearby. The kids thought it was really cool.
Regan posing inside
One of the coolest sections....and yes, they added colored lights for effect.
Going down a different river on a PVC pipe boat with a lawn mower engine for the motor. We were supposed to see a really famous spot this day, but they had to cancel because of storms the night before. The river was beginning to flood and they had shut down all boat rides, but they were still allowing them for a few hours further down the river because the flooding had not reached down that far yet.
These boats were bigger and we could all ride together.
AND THIS....this I believe was their favorite part of the entire trip and it was absolutely free! There was a dog that lived on the hotel grounds and it had puppies a few weeks before we arrived. The mother would feed the puppies and then let the kids play with them. They gave them all names and were already scheming to figure out how to get them home.
On our last day, Lauren was the last to put the puppy back with it's home. I had to go look for her and she said it was taking her longer because the puppy was so sad and she had to sing it a song so that it would stop crying. pitiful.
Regan next to a slightly larger waterfall.
Love this one...
and love this one :)
A special ice cream treat!!
We swapped seats around after about halfway through the boat ride so that everyone got a turn up front.
When I asked each kid what their favorite part of the trip was, swinging in the swings made it at or near the top of their lists. We don't see swings very often, so the kids spent many hours playing on them.
Saying goodbye to the puppies...I'm sure they could tell you all their names if you asked, but I can only remember Harold :)
