We decided to go at the last minute because we heard the water would be calm which would make a HUGE difference in terms of the sea sickness. Unfortunately, my older sister and her family did not join us.

Whales…..

More whales…..

Tails….

For me, not only was seeing those incredible animals up close and doing their thing,

• like feeding,
• flipping their tails on the water to get more fish up,
• diving  
• waving at us with their fins

.. but the interactions between the cousins was just as exciting.

They are cousins…… they are friends!

Jilly and Mama 

Each of Jill's youngsters checked out my sons braces.  They had fun discovering any type of food that was available on the boat (I guess seeing the whales eat made them very hungry.)

It was an hour ride out to where the whales are, and an hour back.  

Why is it the way back is Always Longer??

That was a great time to just relax, catch up with each other and see how the kids entertained themselves. ,

"The journey is as important as the arrival"  

In this case,  the arrival of seeing so many Whales all over the place, searching for the blows so we could go and see a different group of whales, was more exciting than our journey,  but I loved the journey as well.

You are on the boat, no where to go, the sun is shining, the wind in your face, and you just have to relax and enjoy the free time and togetherness.

There are some people that miss out on amazing moments because they focus on what you might be doing,  like riding in a car, or 4 hours on a boat.  

I always say, it really doesn't matter what we are doing, as long we are doing it together!  

Together,  Together… life is sweet,  especially when there are some whales in the middle!!

Happy Whale Watching!!

This is what Lauren Steinman Watral has to say about herself

The theme, he pondered, would be to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Novogrodski family arriving in the United States. 

Thus, a birth of a reunion.  

And enjoy they did! 

The sounds of “hmmmmmm” and “yummmmmm” and “ohhhhhhhh” and “wowwwwwww” warmed my heart and soul to provide a little of the past to the Grandma’s descendents.   

Time is flying by and the summer is already here.  The kids are counting the days until the end of school, and friends from the United States have returned after spending  3 years in Atlanta.  All of their kids are now speaking English, and with a Southern accent I might add!

As we start to plan our 6 months away, my kids are beginning to realize that as exciting as time away, in so many different incredible countries can be, it can also be difficult to be away from all of their friends for so long.  One of the points for this trip is for our family to have special time, and lots of it, together.

There is no doubt that Facebook and Skype will ease the separation, but I am sure they will have their meltdowns once in a while.  Each one will have their own laptop, first to stay in touch with school and secondly to stay connected with their friends.  They have already told me they want to give their best friends a Friendship Stone, to remind that they are still with them.  As each of them are always putting away their favorite stones as we go through the sorting for the 3^rd time, they have a nice stash already to be able to give away.

I am always amazed at which stones my children choose as their favorites.  It teaches me that beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.  Each one of my kids has their own special type of stone.

So as we start to think about packing our bags, we are also thinking of what we will be leaving behind, both symbolically and physically.  I always like to look forward, but it is also important to think about, at least for a bit, about where we are today.  We want to make sure that in all of our excitement on our travels, our friends back home also know they remain in our hearts.

One of our favorite massage parlors in Bangkok, is Lek Foot Massage,.   They are located right across from the Novotel  Hotel and Siam Paragon Shopping Center.  I discovered this place a few years ago when I went to Thailand in search of the perfect pouch for my Friendship Stones, and have been running back there as soon as I arrive in Thailand ever since!

You can get a 1 hour head and shoulders massage, and at the same time a 1 hour foot reflexology massage for the grand total of 500 Baht, which is about 15.50$!  That is four hands, can you believe that!  This is one of the reasons we LOVE Thailand!  We all line up for our massages.  Nothing like a Family all getting massaged together.  What is great in Thailand is that everyone does it,  no matter where you are or who you are, there is a place to get a massage. We managed to get three in a 24 hour period! We were definitely their best customers that day.

Then we would run across the street to the Siam Paragon Center, that is also a MUST see in Bangkok.  The lower floor with the food court is not to be believed, any kind of food you could ever want.  Of course, I have a favorite there too as well,  MK’S, Thai Sukiyaki

My Favorite Restaruant

I LOVE their Green noodles and roast Duck,  and I always ask for extra duck sauce,  I don’t know how they make it but it is the best I have ever tasted.  My husband and Daughter also fell in love with it, so we also managed to eat it twice!  Because I was with my family, I got to try the hot pot, which was really fun.  You order all kinds of veggies and meat and cook it in the hot soup and then dip it in a sauce.  Really good!

So, that was Bangkok, great food and wonderful massages.  Helped us over jet lag before we headed off to Singapore.  Fill you in on that tomorrow…

First,  Singapore is beautiful and we are having an amazing time.  I am so blessed that I can travel and take my children with me.  We have decided that we will take each child on their own trip– so this was Gymnasts trip.  My other two children also had their “on their own trips”  It is a whole other world spending quality time with one child when you are used to spending it with three.  As I put my daughter to sleep last night and she told me “that there is nothing more that she could ever ask for in a Mother” I knew this trip will remain in our memories for a lifetime!

For all of you who are arriving to my new blog and site for the first time, I thought that I should introduce to you the Friendship Stone Team, you can read their full bios on the site but this is more of a personal note.

Jill – She is my best friend – and my sister – what is better than that!  She is an amazingly talented woman, a professional culinary stylist, a fabulous mom and great to work with.  She deals with the company’s entire PR, content, and lots more! She truly is the Gift Specialist.

Laure – We met in Art School in CA, many years ago and have remained soul sisters and best of friends.  Laure is an amazing photographer, and expert quilter (oy you should see her stuff) an amazing mom and of course fun to work with. Laure takes care of all of our logistics, shipping and inventory!

Shari – she came into our circle of friends through the smallest of Job Ads in the world – I was looking for a personal assistant! (Didn’t realize the scope of the business when we first started).  Shari is a multi-tasker extraordinaire, a great mom and a wonderful friend.  Shari is our web producer – she makes sure that you can read this blog and runs all three of our company sites!

A few months ago Jill, Laure and I met up in Florida for the Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference.  Our partnership with BBBS was announced there.  What an honor to be involved with such an important mentoring organization. As we live in different cities – different continents – being together at this event was very fulfilling.

I turned 50 this year – and one of the best birthday gifts was to spend time with Laure and Jill in Thailand together!  Just having fun in the sun – Three best girlfriends!

So I will be back in a few days – and  I will let you in on the tales from Singapore – the people I met, the places that we visited and the friends that we made!

Have an amazing day

Cathy