We had a family discussion to see how the girls felt about spending Christmas in Asia. It is a big decision to not be with the family. Emmy said she would miss the Nutcracker and Gingerbread houses. Elle wanted to know how Santa and the Easter Bunny could get in our home. Why would the guards let a bunny enter the complex…off the subject, but so Elle.

In the end, Emmy said she wanted to go to Cambodia and she could miss ONE Christmas. Elle said she wanted to do Gingerbread houses with Aunt Nancy. One vote in and one vote out. Well, since Elle’s vote doesn’t carry as much weight (especially when the Easter Bunny enters her concerns), we are not going home. We are booked to fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand for 3 days, drive to Chiang Kong (the river boarder town) to get on a 2-day boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang, Laos. We will spend Christmas in Laos. We have decided we will visit the local orphanage on this day. We plan to take a bag full of clothes and toys for the children. Ok, now Elle is into this. She wants to clean out all her unwanted toys to give to the children AND she wants to do it NOW!! From Laos, we will fly to Siem Riep for 4 nights. Our plan is to visit the Ankor Wat temples in the morning and hang at the pool in the afternoons. From other friends, this seems to be a good mix for the children. We will celebrate Christmas when we return. It should be a good adventure. However, we have not been on the road for a full two weeks as a family. Add to that, it is a bit of a “backpacking” trip.