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updated August 18, 2010
For Tehja and Taylor
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Where are Grandma and Grandpa Sailor?
July 16, 2010 – New
August 16, 2010– New
July 2007: This page is dedicated to two very special people in our lives: our grandchildren, Tehja and Taylor.
They are the children of another two very special people in our lives: our son, Dylan, and his wife Laura.
Our granddaughter, Tehja (pronounced
“tayja” with a soft “j”) was born on September 16, 2003.
Our grandson, Taylor (nicknamed “Tate” by
Tehja) was born on December 16, 2004.
“Sweet 16” has special meaning for us,
since they were both born on the 16th.
Tehja and Taylor’s other grandma and
grandpa have a farm in Alberta.
They are called Grandma and Grandpa Farmer.
We are called Grandma and Grandpa Sailor.
The ABSeas (also known as the ABCs) … Our Theme Song
Our first video from Tehja and Taylor was
the two of them singing the ABCs. We
sent them a video back with us singing the ABCs. Since then, the theme of our communications has been the
ABCs. Earlier emails from our son usually
ended with, “Tehja says ‘ABC’, Tate says ‘happy’”.
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When Tehja Turned Three
Her birthday
greeting sent from CanKata:
A B C D E F Hey
Today is Tehja's
Special Day
H I J K L M N O P
Our Darling Tehja
is turning Three
1 2 1 2 1 2 3
Our Darling Tehja
is turning Three!
When
Taylor Turned Two
His birthday
greeting sent from CanKata:
T is for TAYLOR and T is for TWO,
A is for AWESOME and
Y is for YOU.
L is for LOVE and love you we do!
And send you
big kisses as you turn to two.
O how we miss you and hope when you're three,
you'll come
to see us out here in the sea.
R is for RIGHT ON, RIGHT ON little Tay,
and we hope
you have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Blub Blub Blub
This is Grandpa
saying “hi” from under the sea.
It sounded more
like “blub blub blub”.
Rub-a-dub-dub,
Grandpa says
“blub”.
This is Grandma saying “hi”
while she’s snorkelling.
It sounded more like “blub blub blub”.
Rub-a-dub-dub,
Grandma says “blub”.
When Tehja’s in the tub,
She can say “blub blub”.
When Taylor’s in the tub,
He can say “blub blub”.
Both saying “hi” from the tub.
Someday Beach
Dear Tehja and Taylor,
Maybe someday, when you are seven or eight,
you can come visit us on a rocky beach.
We’ll call it “Someday Beach”.
Someday maybe when I’m seven or eight
I’ll fly on a plane and visit the sea.
I’ll walk on a beach that is full of rocks
And look out as far as I can see.
On Someday Beach I will see the sea
And boy how happy I will be
With rocks in my socks, singing ABC
On Someday Beach I will be.
Here are some other Someday Beaches. Two of them are exactly the same. Can you find them?
“My Grandma and Grandpa Went To Sea”
The following lyrics are
from a song by Eileen Quinn (with Cheryl Southward), used here with her
permission.
For more information on
this wonderful sailor and songwriter: visit www.eileenquinn.com
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
They left their house and car behind
They left the snow and ice
They left their jobs and all their friends
They left a place quite nice
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
And I was sad, ‘cause they left me
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
They took their boat and lots of tools
They took their clothes and dishes
Took their pillows and their dreams
Took a boatload full of wishes
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
And in their hearts, they took me
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
They saw dolphins and birds galore
They saw manatees
Saw new friends from all round the world
Saw beaches and palm trees
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
When, oh when, will they see me?
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
They missed their house and car sometimes
They missed their old friends too
Missed the snow and ice – not much!
Missed the park they took me to
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
And most of all, they missed me
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
They love their days and tropical nights
They love each other more
They love when I come visit them
They love knocking at my door
My grandma and grandpa went to sea
But mostly, you know, they love me
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This Little Piggy – August 2007
Grandma and Grandpa Sailors’ version of
This Little Piggy:
This little piggy went sailing,
This little piggy washed his feet.
This little piggy had tuna.
This little piggy had a sweet.
And this little piggy went wee wee wee all
the way to Someday Beach!
Here are some little piggies from the South
Pacific. Two of them are exactly the
same. Can you find them?
Jellyfish
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor saw lots of
jellyfish when they were in Fiji. They
are big blobs that float along in the water and they look something like
jelly. We have to be careful with them
because some of them sting – something like a bee!
Here are some pictures of jellyfish. One of the pictures is NOT a jellyfish. Can you figure out which one?
Grandma’s Poem:
I wish, I wish
I had a jellyfish.
Then I’d kiss, I’d kiss
I’d kiss my jellyfish.
YUCK - JUST KIDDING!
Grandpa’s Poem:
If I were a jellyfish
I’d find a peanut
And make a sandwich.
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Tehja is Four! – September 16, 2007
Hello Tehja! What a special day for you ... you are
turning FOUR! Here's a little poem for
you:
Happy fourth birthday, Tehja-girl,
Our little darling, our lovely pearl.
We are on a Someday Beach
Wishing that we could stretch out and
reach
To give you a HUG, long and strong
And sing to you this little song:
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Darling Tehja,
Hugs and Kisses to you.
Tehja and Taylor Are Moving!
This winter (January 2008), they are moving
to Prince Edward Island with their mommy and daddy.
Daddy looked at Mommy and winked his eye
And now we’re moving to PEI.
Mommy said “Okay, I’ll bake a pie”
And now we’re moving to PEI.
Wink of an eye and apple pie
And now we’re moving to PEI.
One of the boxes below is different. Which one?
What does it say?
|
ABC |
ABC |
ABC |
PEI |
ABC |
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An Aussie Poem by Rolf Harris (shortened version)
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Watch me wallabies feed mate.
Watch me wallabies feed.
They're a dangerous breed mate.
So watch me wallabies feed.
Keep me cockatoo cool, Curl,
keep me cockatoo cool.
Don't go acting the fool, Curl,
just keep me cockatoo cool.
Take me koala back, Jack,
take me koala back.
He lives somewhere out on the track, Mac,
so take me koala back.
Play
your didgeridoo, Blue,
play your didgeridoo.
Play until you are through Blue,
play your didgeridoo.
Altogether Now!
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Taylor is Three! – December 16, 2007
To our most
favorite grandson in the whole wide world on his special day:
Taylor is
three! Taylor is three!
Hip hip hooray, hip
hip hooree!
Grandma and Grandpa
- the ones out at sea -
Hope your birthday
is special and fun as can be.
Kangaroos,
crocodiles, wallabies too
Send Aussie
birthday greetings to you
Jacarandas, koalas,
and a didgeridoo
They all say Happy
Birthday to You.
Happy Birthday to
you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to
Taylor,
Hugs and Kisses to
you!
All our love to our
wonderful little Tater,
Grandma and Grandpa
Sailor
Where are Grandma and Grandpa Sailor?
Are they in Saskatoon?
… Not any more.
Are they in Moose Jaw?
… Not any more.
Are they in PEI?
… Not any more.
Are they in Ottawa?
… Not any more.
Are they in Lake Ontario?
… Not any more.
Are they in the Caribbean Sea?
… Not any more.
Are they in the Panama Canal?
… Not any more.
Are they in Polynesia?
… Not any more.
Are they in Australia?
… Not any more.
Are they in Indonesia?
… Not any more.
Are they in Malaysia?
… Not any more.
Are they in Thailand?
… That’s for sure!
Who is who?
It has been a while since Tehja and Taylor
have seen Grandma and Grandpa Sailor.
Are they short, are they tall,
Are they round as a ball?
Are they dark, are they fair,
Do they have any hair?
Are they plump, are they thin,
What colour is their skin?
There are three pictures below. Can you guess which couple are Grandma and
Grandpa Sailor?
The other two couples are Sylvia and Gerd
of Daedalus and Lynn and Nicholas of Trius.
Hints:
Grandpa has a beard. Sylvia and Gerd are both wearing white
shirts. Nicholas is wearing green.
Did You Know
A few facts about some animals Grandma and Grandpa
Sailor have seen:
KOALAS:
-
sleep
during the day and are awake most of the night
-
like
to eat tree leaves but only from one special kind of tree – the eucalyptus
-
often
stay in the same tree for days and days
-
sometimes
eat dirt for a snack (yuck!)
KANGAROOS:
-
can
hop 16 feet in one hop! (get Mommy and
Daddy to show you how far that is)
-
a
young kangaroo is also called a “joey”
-
a
mommy kangaroo has a pouch in her tummy to carry her newborn joey
- a daddy kangaroo is sometimes called a “boomer”
Wallaby Quiz
A wallaby is just like a kangaroo, but
smaller.
Below are three wallabies – a mommy, a
boomer and a joey.
Do you know which is which? (Hint: you can
see the boomer’s bellybutton).
Missing letter
What letter is missing from the following
words?
w _ l l _ b y
k _ n g _ r o o
k o o k _ b u r r _
g r _ n d m _
g r _ n d p _
Looks like someone ate the “a”, eh?
Turkey Necks
Turkeys …
Mommy loves the leg,
Daddy loves the neck.
Taylor loves the wing,
Tehja loves the neck.
Grandma loves the breast,
Grandpa loves the neck.
How many necks does a turkey have?
Just one?
Heck!
Winter
Thank you, wee ones, for reminding us how
magical winter can be when you are little.
Tobogganing
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor went tobogganing
too!
(But it was a little warmer on the sand).
Crocs on the beach
Crocodile: a large reptile with strong
jaws and a long, thick-skinned body (also called a “croc”). Sometimes they eat people, sometimes people
eat them.
Crocs: comfy but ugly shoes made for
sailors but now also worn by many landlubbers (never called “crocodiles”).
Crocs in a slew, crocs that are new,
My favourite crocs are crocs that are blue.
Crocs big and long, crocs mean and strong,
My second-favourite crocs are in a
billabong.
Crocs on my feet, crocs in my teeth,
My least-favourite crocs are crocodiles on
the beach!
Nemo
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor once travelled
with a boat called Nemo.
And they once swam with some little fish
that looked like Nemo.
Here are pictures of the Nemos that they
have met on their travels:
Ten Indonesians
One-little-two-little-three Indonesians.
Four-little-five-little-six Indonesians.
Seven-little-eight-little-nine Indonesians.
Ten Indonesian kids.
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor have met very
many Indonesian children. They have big
smiles, greet us with “Hello Mister” in English, and like to shake our
hands. They are very polite … almost as
polite as Tehja and Taylor! We have met
so many Indonesian children that we have lost count.
The Big Dipper
Tehja and Taylor can see the Big Dipper in
Prince Edward Island. Grandma and
Grandpa Farmer can see the Big Dipper in Alberta. Grandma and Grandpa Sailor can see the Big Dipper in Indonesia.
On the next clear night, let’s all get out
and look for the Big Dipper. Hint: It’s in the north.
Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Dream of my grandchildren tonight.
Tehja is Five! – September 16, 2008
Our message to Tehja on her fifth birthday:
Hi there
Tehja! We are so excited that you are
turning five. What a big girl now,
already in kindergarten too.
We hope
you have found the Big Dipper in the northern sky. We think of you and Taylor every time we see it.
Your
mommy and daddy told us that one of your favorite songs is "You Are My
Sunshine". We have made up the
following verses for your birthday, so maybe you can get them to sing them for
you:
You are our Tehja, our darling Tehja,
You are the sweetest girl we know.
When you're not with us, we miss you
truly,
But the winds continue to blow.
Oh little Tehja, our lovely Tehja,
Oh every day you seem to grow.
We'd love to see you, we'd love to hug
you,
But the winds continue to blow.
So,
sweet one, we hope you like your song and we hope you have a great
birthday. Please get your mommy and
daddy to tell us all about it.
Flags
Below are the flags for three countries
that Grandma and Grandpa Sailor visited in 2008: Australia, Indonesia and
Malaysia. We’ve stuck in a fourth
flag. Can you guess which country that
flag belongs to?
Mangoes
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor eat a lot of
different fruit while we are in the tropics. Right now in October mangoes are
in season, and boy are they good! Have
you ever eaten a mango? Maybe your
mommy and daddy can buy you each one, and then you can pretend that you are
having a fruit break with your grandma and grandpa.
Mango on my fingers, mango in my hair,
Mango on my cheeks and mango in my ear.
Mango is so messy it aggravates my mummy,
But mango is so good I love it in my tummy!
Orangutans
Orangutan means “man of the
jungle”, probably because they look a lot like a very hairy human and of course
because they live in the jungle. Some
have been captured and put in zoos, but your grandma and grandpa think that is
very sad and we hope that, from now on, orangutans are left to live and play in
the jungle.
There are two things we want you to know
about the orangutans: they don’t have a tail and they love fruit – maybe even mangoes.
And here is something really funny. There are some cats living near the
orangutans, and they don’t have tails either!
Malaysian Words
Here are a few Malaysian words for you to
practice. The first one is easy but weird:
AIR … an easy word, but in Malaysia, it
actually means WATER. How confusing is that?
BAGUS (sounds like: bah GOOSE’) … means
GOOD. We think Tehja and Taylor are BAGUS.
GULA … means sugar.
GULA-GULA … means candy.
GULA-GULA GETAH … means chewing gum.
Is gula-gula getah bagus?
Taylor is Four! – December 16, 2008
Here is our email message to Taylor on his
fourth birthday.
Hi there
Taylor. Happy 4th Birthday! Your dad told us about the parties you had and it
sounds like you have had lots of fun. When you come to CanKata some day, maybe
you can make us a pizza! And did you know that your dad and grandpa once had
remote-controlled cars and would race them down the driveway at our house in
PEI? And now you have one!
We know
you like Spiderman, so here is a little birthday poem that sound's something
like his song:
Taylor
Smith, Taylor Smith,
Such a
cool and happy kid.
He's so
smart, he's so swift,
Nobody's
quite like Taylor Smith.
Look
out, here comes that 4-year old lad,
He's got his gifts and he's glad,
His
family loves him real bad,
We all
love him - Taylor Smith!
So have
a wonderful birthday, grandson Tate, and we also hope you're having fun getting
ready for Christmas.
Blue Moon
Every
month there is a full moon.
That’s
when the moon is completely round.
A full
moon rises as the sun sets.
A full
moon sets as the sun rises.
This
year, 2009, there will be a full moon on January 11, February 9, March 11,
April 9, May 9, June 7, July 7, August 5, September 4, October 3, November 2,
December 2 and December 31.
Maybe
Mommy and Daddy will show you a full moon.
We’ll
look too, and we’ll blow kisses to it that maybe will bounce off and reach you.
Sometimes
a month gets TWO full moons.
The
second full moon is called a Blue Moon.
This
year on December 31, the last day of the year, New Year’s Eve, there will be a
Blue Moon.
We think
that’s pretty special.
When
people say “once in a Blue Moon” they mean “not very often”.
So we
would NEVER say that we think of you once in a Blue Moon.
Prince and Princess of CanKata
If we
made CanKata a kingdom,
Then Grandpa would be King and Grandma would be Queen.
If we
made CanKata a kingdom,
Then
Tehja would be a Princess and Taylor would be a Prince.
We think
that on December 31, the day of the Blue Moon, we’ll declare CanKata a kingdom
for the day.
And on
every Blue Moon after that, we’ll again declare CanKata a kingdom.
So when
anyone asks, “Are you a Prince?” or “Are you a Princess?” you can answer: ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.
Lily the Elephant – by Barbara of “Rubicon Star”
Our
boating friend Barbara met an elephant on the beach in Thailand, and has
written the following poem, story and facts for Tehja and Taylor. She and her husband Tim also provided the
great photographs. Thanks, Rubicon
Star!
THE POEM:
Lily the elephant goes for a walk
Along the beach to stop and talk
To everyone she meets along the way
She has lots of friends to see every day
They give her a drink and a little treat
As she ambles along on her big squishy feet
With visitors for a photo she will pose
And give them a kiss with her big long nose
She will do a dance and give you a hug
And she will let you give her trunk a tug
Then she will take your hand and off you'll go
To find more people to get to know
She can massage your back and give you “high five”
Play with her hoop and roll her eyes
And she is so clever that did you know
That on a mouth organ she can blow
And when she becomes a little more old
On her back you can ride … if you are bold!
THE STORY BY BARBARA:
Walking along a beach in Thailand the other day we saw an elephant. She was not very big and was with her
handler, who is called a mahout, who was talking to a Thai lady.
We stopped as we got near and watched the lady give the elephant
a drink and some food. The lady asked me if I would like to feed the elephant
but I explained I had no food with me or money to buy any. She very kindly gave me two bananas.
Suddenly the elephant snaked out her trunk and very gently took one of my bananas and popped it into her mouth. I laughed in delight.
After talking to the mahout for a while, and finding out the
elephant was named Lily and her handler was named Neung, we continued walking
along the beach.
A little while later when we were paddling in the water, I
suddenly felt a tug on my arm. It was
Lily and she was asking me to walk with her.
So hand in trunk we strolled along the sand stopping to talk to all the
people we met along the way. Everyone
was excited to see an elephant on the beach.
It was very special.
After lots of stopping for people to pet the elephant and pose
for photos we left Lily and Neung showing off their tricks and continued with
our walk. A short while later I felt
something wet touch my face. It was
Lily again! She had seen me up ahead
and run to catch up and give me a kiss.
Neung said "Madam, Lily likes you and wants you to stay
with her". So I took her trunk and
walked up the beach some more with her.
Lily showed us all her tricks.
She can dance and makes a huffing noise when told to say please or thank
you. She will massage your back and
hold up her trunk to slap your hand with a “high five”. She has lots of different poses for photos
and has different toys she plays with.
She knows lots of commands and Neung just talks softly to her and she
does whatever he asks.
Lily is two and a half years old and practices every day. When she has mastered a new trick she gets
an ice-cream. She loves mixing with
people, having her photo taken and showing off her tricks. Oh, and she especially likes food!!
We have visited Lily a second time and she remembered me. She wrapped her trunk around me and gave me a big hug and made a squealing sound. Then she grabbed my hand and did a little dance.
It was such fun to meet an elephant on the beach!
A FEW ELEPHANT FACTS:
- Elephants live as long as humans
- Elephants are the largest living mammal
- Elephants can rip out trees with their trunks
Another Elephant Poem for T&T to enjoy
ELETELEPHONY
By Laura E. Richards (1850-1943)
Once there was an elephant
Who tried to use the telephant.
No no! I mean an
elephone
Who tried to use the telephone.
(Dear me I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)
How ever it was, he got his trunk
Entangled with the telephunk.
The more he tried to set it free
The louder buzzed the telephee.
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong.)
A Dragon, a Pirate, and a Princess
(A slight variation of “Puff the Magic Dragon” for T&T to
sing)
Puff the magic dragon
Lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist
In a land called T&T
Little Princess Tehja
Loved that rascal Puff
They also played with Pirate Tate
And all his fancy stuff
Together they would travel
On a boat with billowed sail
Tehja kept a lookout perched
On Puff’s gigantic tail
Noble kings and princes
Would bow whene’er they came
Pirate Tate would raise the flag
When Puff roared out his name
Puff the magic dragon
Lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist
In a land called T&T
(Repeat the last verse until someone says “enough already” or
you run out of breath.)
Not ABCs
Here is a picture
of 4 cans of pop.
On 3 of them, the name is written with letters from the ABCs.
(We love that song!)
On 1 of them, the name is written in Thai script – the special
way that people from Thailand write their words.
Can you figure out what the Thai script says?
Animals of Cambodia and Vietnam – June 2009
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor just came back from a five-week trip
to Cambodia and Vietnam, which are countries pretty close to where we are now
(Malaysia), but we still had to take an airplane to get there. You both have
flown in airplanes, right? Pretty fun and exciting!
We had a lot of fun on our trip, seeing new places, meeting new
people and eating new things.
One thing we liked a lot was seeing a bunch of animals. Here is
a list of the critters we saw:
Crickets
Cows
Elephants
Geese
Kittens
Monkeys
Water-buffalos
Pig
Ponies
Puppies
Snakes
Spiders
Tigers
Ducks
Worms (yuck!)
Tehja turned six on September 16, 2009
Here is the email we sent to her:
To our dearest
little Tehja
Who is six years
old today
We send our love
and kisses
And also want to
say...
Every day we think
of you
And love it when we
hear
About your latest
adventures
And how much you've
grown in a year.
We heard you're in
Grade One now
And riding on the
bus.
And we heard you
lost some baby teeth
But didn't make a
fuss!
We hope that school
is cool
And there's always
something fun -
A friend, a song, a
book, a game
Or even a marathon
run (just like Mom!)
Some day you'll
come and visit us
And sail upon our
yacht
Until then
remember...
We love you love
you lots!
Happy Birthday
Sweet Tehja
From Grandma and
Grandpa Sailor xxooxx
Thailand Words – October 2009
These days, Grandma and Grandpa Sailor
spend a few months in Malaysia, then a few months in Thailand, then a few more
months in Malaysia, then a few more months in Thailand – back and forth and
back and forth – but we don’t go in circles so we haven’t got dizzy yet. Maybe
Mom and Dad could show you on a map where these places are.
The people in Malaysia and Thailand have their own languages, but many of the people speak a little bit of English. We have tried to learn some of their words, and you might remember that a while ago, we taught you some Malaysian words.
Now here are a few Thai words for you to practice. They write their words with pretty squiggles and loops, but we have used our ABC to write them:
DEE … means good.
NOM … means milk.
HAA … means five.
HOK … means six.
Tehja is now HOK, Taylor will soon be HAA.
Now is it time to have a glass of NOM?
Sixteen
Grandma and Grandpa love the number 16
because that is the day that both Tehja and Taylor were born. So we have
decided that on the sixteenth of every month, we will note what is special
about it.
SEPTEMBER 16: Tehja’s day. Grandma and
Grandpa were in Kuah, Langkawi, Malaysia and went with friends for a special
lunch at a Chinese restaurant and we all wished Tehja a Happy Birthday.
OCTOBER 16: This is the day we came up with
the plan to write something on the sixteenth of every month. We were in Ao Chalong, Phuket, Thailand and
took the bus to shop for boat parts, and talked about our amazing
grandchildren.
NOVEMBER 16: This was a very special day!
Great-grandma Merc and Uncle Kevin came to visit us on CanKata. We were back in
Langkawi, Malaysia. It was so great to see someone from Canada!
.
DECEMBER 16: Taylor’s day. We were back in
Ao Chalong, Thailand. On this day, we bought our new washer-spin-dryer, so Tate
wasn’t the only one to get a gift. We visited friends on their boat and we all
wished Taylor a Happy Birthday.
JANUARY 16: This is Aunty Marleen’s birthday. On this day, we were in the
Surin Islands, Thailand, in a quiet anchorage with a restaurant on shore and a
bunch of tenters. We went for a hike on a nature trail and then went
snorkelling and saw some Nemos! Grandma also made cinnamon buns, so this was a
very Sweet Sixteen day for us.
Taylor turned Five on December 16, 2009
Here is the email we sent to him:
Happy Birthday
Taylor!! We don't know what you are doing for your birthday, but we're pretty
sure that you'll be having lots of fun!! We'll be thinking of you and blowing
you kisses. Here is a poem that Grandpa Sailor wrote for you on this special
day:
Taylor is 4
Not any more,
Today he is turning
5.
No longer trouble
To open a door,
Keeping busy as a
bee in a hive.
His Grandma and
Grandpa
Miss him a bunch,
Our Taylor so cool
and so neat.
We think of him
always
And love him so
much,
And hope that soon
we will meet.
So have a great
birthday, Tate, and we hope to hear all about your big day!!
All our love,
Grandma and Grandpa
Sailor xx
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Shells
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor love collecting
shells. We have big ones, little ones, flat ones, sharp ones, shiny ones,
crusty ones and ones that can make a lot of noise when you blow in them. And
when we put some of them to our ears, we can hear the sounds of the ocean!
Have you ever heard the saying that “no two
snowflakes are the same”? Well, we think that’s true for shells too.
Groceries
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor have a lot of fun shopping for
groceries in Malaysia and Thailand. But sometimes we can’t even understand the
writing on the package! Shopping at a
fruit and vegetable market is a little easier, because we can buy oranges and
bananas and onions and potatoes and other fruits and vegetables that we know
very well. But even at the market, we find things that make us wonder, “What
the heck is that?”
February 16, 2010
On this Sweet Sixteen day, Dawn and Rob were visiting us. We
were at Freedom Bay in Phuket, Thailand, and we went for a snorkel. Guess what
we saw? Nemo fish!! There were about 16 of them! Later, the four of us had
lunch at a restaurant on the beach, and made a toast to Tehja and Taylor and
Nemos and Number 16.
March 16, 2010
On this Sweet Sixteen day, we were in Ao Chalong on the island
of Phuket in Thailand. We spent the day doing fun things: we bought mangos,
Grandma got a haircut, we both got massages, we ate at a Thai restaurant, we
went back to the boat and worked on some fun puzzles and then we had popcorn
and watched a movie! We hope Tehja and Taylor had as sweet a day.
April 16, 2010
On this day, Grandma and Grandpa were in a marina getting some
boat repairs done, which CanKata always loves. The best part of the day was a
spectacular Lightening Show that lasted for a long, long time. It was better
than fireworks! We wish you could have been here with us to enjoy the show.
May 16
On this day, Grandma and Grandpa were in Canada having a
barbeque in Saskatchewan with the Moose Jaw Sagal Clan. Almost everyone was
there, including Great-grandpa Gus and Great-grandma Rose. We missed you, but
knew that we would soon be seeing you!!!
May 19 – 25 2010
What special days these were in Prince Edward Island! You met us
at the airport, making your mom and dad hide from us. Then we had five days of
fun and adventure and great times that we will always remember and treasure.
Thank you so much, wee ones, for making our trip to your home so very special.
It was great getting real, live hugs and kisses and hearing your sweet voices.
Let’s do it again sometime!
June 16 2010
Once again, Grandma and Grandpa are in a marina getting some
boat repairs done. This time it’s big
stuff: we’re getting CanKata pulled out of the water and painted (just the
outside hulls, the mast, and the boom … maybe you could get Dad and Mom to show
you on a picture what these are). We’re living at the marina in a hotel room
that has a bed, a bathroom, three chairs and a desk, and air conditioning. It
is very hot these days (like it always is!) so the a/c is pretty nice. We’ll be here about three months, but we’ll
visit CanKata every day so she won’t get lonely.
July 16, 2010
Grandma and Grandpa are still at Boat Lagoon
Marina, and CanKata is still getting painted. On this sweet-sixteen day, we had
a couple of unusual tours:
Tour One was on a
boat something like ours but bigger (47 feet long) and newer, built in 2002. It
had been stolen from Italy, brought to Thailand and then left here to rot for
over five years. How sad for that boat! It's a real mess but now all the legal
problems have been cleared up so we hope a good owner buys her soon and gets
her all fixed up. She's still strong and sturdy and will make a wonderful
cruising boat for someone.
Tour Two was of a
very posh spa here in the marina where you can get massages, hairstyling,
manicures and other stuff like that. Every room has glass walls that look out
on jungle-like gardens. But a massage at this spa costs over three times the
cost of a massage at the little place we usually go to. And we usually close
our eyes while we’re getting a massage, so the jungle scene wouldn't be that
much of an advantage anyway. A couple
of women who work at the spa eat lunch at the same place we do, and yesterday
decided they should give us a tour. It was fun!
In the evening we watched a movie called
"The Ladykillers", starring Tom Hanks. It was boring and stupid but
the good thing is that no ladies were killed.
Some Quiz
Questions:
Are there more than
twenty boats in the marina? (Look in the picture above). What color are most of
them?
Why are the
painters wearing masks?
a) To keep their noses warm.
b) To keep the paint dust out of their noses.
c) Because CanKata smells bad.
August 16,
2010
Tehja and Taylor have moved back to Alberta! That’s very
exciting because:
-
They get to meet new friends.
-
They live closer to Grandma and Grandpa Farm.
-
They live closer to all their aunties and uncles and cousins.
-
They live on a street that is the numbers of their ages. That’s right! Tehja is 6 and Taylor is 5 and
they live on 65 Street. That’s pretty cool.
We hope you like your new home lots and lots, Tehja and Taylor.
That’s it for this update, wee ones.
Bye-bye
for now.
All our
love and hugs and kisses!
Grandma and Grandpa Sailor xx