Looking ahead...
It is Wednesday and I am currently sitting in the very lap of luxury as we travel back from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh courtesy of the “Mekong Express Limousine Bus.” As the name would suggest, this is no sub-par bus line that offers one 15 minute potty stop where the girls exit toward the field on the right and the boys on the left.
Instead, this bus comes complete with an onboard bathroom, official Cambodian karaoke on the loudspeaker, (with the occasional Backstreet Boys song thrown in to appease the tourists, or so I like to think) a free bottle of water, and a “Snack Hamper” containing Chicken Curry Pie, Yam Bean in a Puff Pastry, and of course a Red Bean Paste Bun. I think Greyhound offers a similar fare.
6 hours and $11 is all it requires to be so luxuriously transferred from the R&R portion of our time out with teams in Siem Reap back to Phnom Penh.
Bus rides like this afford Josh and I the chance to reflect on the surreal reality telling us that in exactly 9 weeks from now we will find ourselves packing up the last of our belongings and boarding a flight that will take us first to Seoul, Korea for 11 hours (with the hopes of doing a city tour) before boarding a second flight that will eventually land us at the SeaTac airport.
I am now finishing up this entry on Friday afternoon back in the office as we have now officially finished up the first two of our five summer teams, sent off our most wonderful new friend Allie who was here for a month, and will welcome our third team tomorrow! It is this type of busy-ness that will result in us waking up one day soon and realizing it is suddenly July. We call it the “Team Vortex” where you largely lose comprehension of time and dates. The quickness of this process reminds us to be aware of how fast our time here is going, how precious it is, and how many things we are looking forward to at home!
Throughout the day one of us will utter a phrase like “Wendy’s $.99 Menu” as we both let out an audible sigh at the thought and talk about what we plan to order at the drive through. We aim big with our future plans you know. Some other things we look forward to in our transition home include:
Taco Bell. (The Fresco Menu means it's healthy!)
English Muffins! (I may eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We'll see).
Rain jackets.
Red Robin. (We have plans to make a stop there with our Seatac welcoming committee :)
Target (Goes without saying). Starbucks (Same same).
Footy Race car pajamas (Winters are harsh in Washington. Precautions must be taken).
My keyboard! I remember the days when I used to write songs...
Visiting the place Josh and I first met ($6 Safeco Stadium tour. Flirting is free.)
Friday nights at the Scandrett's!
Mt. Pilchuck (I've never been and my husband tells me I'm long overdue).
Faces like these.
And these.
These. (They grow up so fast and some of them go off and get married while you're away in Cambodia.)
Of course these. Always engaged and ready.
The four legged ones. (exercise is good for them)
And lastly, these. (Attractiveness courtesy of the Halloween section of Target.)
Getting to date each other in Seattle!! (a totally new concept for us :)
Going back to the place we had our wedding rehearsal dinner (Alfy's pizza! Because we are classy like that. They do have a salad bar after all.)
Pondering the possibilities of a California road trip to mark our move home as well as my (gag reflex) 30th birthday (how can this be possible??? I don't understand) in September.
This potential road trip would involve not only some beautiful scenery and fun driving time, but also the chance to see some of our very favorite people, including (but not limited to):
Instead, this bus comes complete with an onboard bathroom, official Cambodian karaoke on the loudspeaker, (with the occasional Backstreet Boys song thrown in to appease the tourists, or so I like to think) a free bottle of water, and a “Snack Hamper” containing Chicken Curry Pie, Yam Bean in a Puff Pastry, and of course a Red Bean Paste Bun. I think Greyhound offers a similar fare.
6 hours and $11 is all it requires to be so luxuriously transferred from the R&R portion of our time out with teams in Siem Reap back to Phnom Penh.
Bus rides like this afford Josh and I the chance to reflect on the surreal reality telling us that in exactly 9 weeks from now we will find ourselves packing up the last of our belongings and boarding a flight that will take us first to Seoul, Korea for 11 hours (with the hopes of doing a city tour) before boarding a second flight that will eventually land us at the SeaTac airport.
I am now finishing up this entry on Friday afternoon back in the office as we have now officially finished up the first two of our five summer teams, sent off our most wonderful new friend Allie who was here for a month, and will welcome our third team tomorrow! It is this type of busy-ness that will result in us waking up one day soon and realizing it is suddenly July. We call it the “Team Vortex” where you largely lose comprehension of time and dates. The quickness of this process reminds us to be aware of how fast our time here is going, how precious it is, and how many things we are looking forward to at home!
Throughout the day one of us will utter a phrase like “Wendy’s $.99 Menu” as we both let out an audible sigh at the thought and talk about what we plan to order at the drive through. We aim big with our future plans you know. Some other things we look forward to in our transition home include:
Taco Bell. (The Fresco Menu means it's healthy!)
English Muffins! (I may eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We'll see).
Rain jackets.
Red Robin. (We have plans to make a stop there with our Seatac welcoming committee :)
Target (Goes without saying). Starbucks (Same same).
Footy Race car pajamas (Winters are harsh in Washington. Precautions must be taken).
My keyboard! I remember the days when I used to write songs...
Visiting the place Josh and I first met ($6 Safeco Stadium tour. Flirting is free.)
Friday nights at the Scandrett's!
Mt. Pilchuck (I've never been and my husband tells me I'm long overdue).
Faces like these.
And these.
These. (They grow up so fast and some of them go off and get married while you're away in Cambodia.)
Of course these. Always engaged and ready.
The four legged ones. (exercise is good for them)
And lastly, these. (Attractiveness courtesy of the Halloween section of Target.)
Getting to date each other in Seattle!! (a totally new concept for us :)
Going back to the place we had our wedding rehearsal dinner (Alfy's pizza! Because we are classy like that. They do have a salad bar after all.)
Pondering the possibilities of a California road trip to mark our move home as well as my (gag reflex) 30th birthday (how can this be possible??? I don't understand) in September.
This potential road trip would involve not only some beautiful scenery and fun driving time, but also the chance to see some of our very favorite people, including (but not limited to):
That last one is of course my good friend Mickey.
Or, I should clarify rather that I believe we would be good friends had we ever had the chance to meet.
That's right friends, this is where I take full advantage of both my birth month and our move back to the states to say sadly that I have never been to Disney Land.
Shock and awe.
The possible plan is to somehow remedy this tragic situation with a road trip to what I hear is the happiest place on earth. As we all know, I enjoy any chance to revert back to an 8 year old and I can't imagine a more perfect scenario for this regression to take place!
Bring on the mouse ears! I will wear them proudly. And Snow White and I will harmonize. It will be magical.
Comments
Enjoy these last weeks, we can't wait to have you back.