We are in Penang, Malaysia!

We are HERE! I'm so thankful we made it safely and that the trip was rather uneventful. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers as we flew here. I know they definitely helped! Also, I want to apologize in advance if any of this post doesn't make sense. I'm pretty tired and too lazy right now to proof-read my thoughts. As for our trip, when we flew to LA it was easy. The kids were so excited and wouldn't stop talking about the plane and how cool it was... little did they know this was only just the beginning of a very long day of plane rides! When we left LA it was 2:15am Utah time. We were all exhausted and it was hard trying to sleep on the plane. I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep the entire trip (and that's not consecutive hours, just minutes here and there where I dozed for a little bit.) Our flight to Taipei, Taiwan was very long but not as bad as I had envisioned it would be. Josh slept pretty well and the kids kept themselves entertained with the free movies (the tv screens were in the seats in front of us and they gave everyone free headsets.) Ben watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks" a couple times and has it almost memorized now. :) When that 14-hour flight was over we were all definitely ready to get out of the plane. We wandered around the airport and I tried to help Emma get the wiggles out. The last leg was probably the hardest, just because the kids were tired but so excited they couldn't sleep. When we flew over Malaysia I thought how pretty it looked. There is a lot of jungle here. When we got off the plane the first thing I noticed was the humidity... I thought I was going to pass out! It's definitely a big change from where we just came from! I was nervous about going through customs but luckily, the people just waved us through and didn't even make us go through. It was wonderful... weird, but wonderful! Then grandma and grandpa were just outside the exit waiting for us. The kids ran up to them and gave them huge hugs. It was so nice to finally be here with them! One thing I have to mention is how I think I finally know what it feels like to be a celebrity. Once we got to Taipei I noticed EVERYONE stared at the kids and I. They all would point, smile, want to touch the kids, tell them how cute they are, etc. It has been like that here too. Everywhere we go people want to touch and hold the kids. Josh is fine being passed around to strangers. Emma, on the other hand, is much more apprehensive. She's warming up to them though.


We had been at my parents' condo less than 30 minutes when the kids persuaded us all to go swimming in the resort's pool. They LOVE it! They didn't want to leave to go eat dinner but telling them we could go every day made it a little easier to get out. The pool is awesome and overlooks the ocean. There is even a kids' part where Ben and Emma can go down slides and it's pretty shallow so they can walk around by themselves. Josh was also in heaven, splashing himself and drinking the water (on purpose, and on accident.) After we were done swimming we went to Queensbay Mall, a 7-minute walk from my parents' place. The mall is HUGE and looks just like the ones at home, sporting a Gap, Gymboree and other common stores. Ben was the most excited about seeing a McDonald's. He scarfed down a Happy Meal and even ate a huge ice cream cone afterward. We got back around 7:30pm and everyone was exhausted. My mom put the kids down for bed and I went in to say goodnight and they were already out, not even two minutes later! Whitney and I went to bed at 8:15pm and I was hoping to get a great night's sleep... too bad it didn't happen. Emma woke up crying around 11:30pm, just wanting to be comforted. Then Josh woke up at 1:30am. Then Emma woke up again at 3am and Josh woke again at 4am. This time he didn't want to go back to sleep, he wanted to play. I tried putting him to bed but he would have none of it, so I went in the living room and played with him for awhile. My mom came out and we talked and played with Josh, and I called Jake (since it was about 2pm his time.) Finally around 6am Josh was tired again, lucky for me he was back up again before 8am. To say the least, I'm really hoping this does not repeat itself tonight!

Saturday morning we went to the Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas. The temple itself is really neat. It seemed out of place though, when you looked at the other buildings and busy shops surrounding it. We saw some pit vipers hanging on these chandaliers when we first walked in. Supposedly they are made sleepy with incense. We were told there were some other snakes we could touch just down the hall. They said we could hold them and they would take our picture and laminate it for RM30 (about $10.) My parents were nice enough to buy them for us. It was pretty scary when they put the big python around your neck, and then after they took the first picture they put a pit viper on your head and took another picture. When the guy put the python on me, he showed me where to hold it and at that point the python turned towards me and his head was coming close to my face. It really freaked me out. The man pulled the python's head away from mine and positioned it so you could see it for the picture. Ben didn't want to wrap it around him at first, but when Aunt Whitney did it, he decided he was okay with the tail being on him. Emma wouldn't touch the thing. Overall, we thought it was definitely worth the trip and something we will talk about for a long time. Here is a website that tells a little bit about the temple: http://pulaupinang.com/snaketemple.shtml

Ben was the happiest boy today when he saw a Pizza Hut in the middle of an outdoor market near my parents' condo. He is my picky eater and so hasn't eaten much since we left home (besides goldfish crackers, granola bars, mini-cookies from Costco, and candy (very healthy, I know.) Emma, on the other hand, wants to try what everyone else is eating. She even had a bite of a rambutan this afternoon (spiky fruit you peel, the inside is a lot like a pear with a seed in the middle.) She was nervous to touch it because of how weird it looked. She thought it might hurt her. :)

Now this brings us to the present. Josh and Emma are taking much needed naps. Ben is playing his Leapster. My parents, Whitney and I just finished watching "Enchanted" (cute movie.) Tonight Whitney and my dad are going to a baptism and my mom and I are going to take the kids swimming again. Once we have all adjusted to the time change and can get on a schedule again, I'm sure it will be smooth sailing (that is until we have to turn around and go home in two weeks.) We are having a great time though and can't wait for more adventures to come. I'll try and keep you updated if we have time. My parents internet takes awhile to upload pics. Anyway, until next time...