Our elephant trip was our last big adventure with the Bensfields.  That night we got everyone cleaned up and ready for bed.  Then we left our kids with them and John and I hit the market and downtown.  We both wanted another message.  John got a head, neck, shoulder and back massage for an hour while I had a foot scrub.  While they did the foot scrub I got a head and shoulder massage and then a foot massage.  All of this for both of us cost about $24 dollars!  It is so crazy cheap!  I had really wanted a fish pedicure but we couldn't find one that could fit me in.  Then we saw some great American food and had pizza for dinner! It was delicious...fresh pineapple on pizza..yum!  We realized that it was Lantz's birthday and we didn't tell him happy birthday before we left or tuck him in. I had mentioned ice cream and we never got or did that.  We were feeling like bad parents..but our yummy food made up for it.  We decided we would bring the family back to the yummy restaurant the following day and celebrate Lantz's American birthday.  We went home and switched off with the Bensfields.  Luckily all of the markets and spas stay open unil 12 or 1 in the morning...crazy.  We went to bed only to be woken up in the night with Lantz throwing up.  Sadly our big plans to make up for his actual birthday would have to be put on hold.

We said goodbye to the all of the Bensfields who were off to enjoy Cambodia and Vietnam.  It was sad that our week was over so fast.  The kids got along so well and it is so relaxing to be with them.  It was so fun to vacation together and I am already planning and wishing for the next time.  Any vacationing we do won't quite compare without them!  It was also great to vacation with them because both Bensfield families are used to foreign travel.  They did most of the planning.  Sherri and Dave were in Thailand ahead of us to scope things out, arrange transportation and buy diapers and such.  It was so nice!  The great thing about Kara is that she is super frugal like me.  We like nice fun things for our families but for cheap!  That made for a fantastic trip!

After we said our goodbyes we hung out for a bit before we had to pack up to leave.  We needed to check out by 12 and our overnight bus back to Bangkok didn't leave until 6.  After talking to our drivers and not finding anything great to take a sick little boy to we decided to go ahead and do the tiger kingdom and Lantz could sit with me while the others did it.  So the birthday boy sat feeling sick while Zak, Karlee, and Makelle went with John to touch and see the baby tigers.  They had fun but hated having their pictures taken so much and wished they could play with the tigers.  They didn't really get to play...because they are tigers and you have to be careful!  Then we went to the restaurant we had found and ate some yummy pizza, good drinks, and super yummy desserts.   Luckily Lantz was feeling some better so he got some bites.  Meanwhile John was feeling sick!

Our train ride was good and uneventful other than I started to be sick and wished I could throw up all night.  By morning John and I were both feeling better.  We had the whole day in Bangkok.  I had arranged to have one of our previous drivers pick us up from the train station.  We started out with breakfast at McDonalds and then we spend the day at the safari park.  It was hot and we weren't feeling top notch so the idea of riding around looking at animals sounded nice.  It ended up being a zoo, safari, boat ride, and shows.  It was lots of fun.  Our favorite was feeding the giraffes over and over up close!  Since Lantz missed out the day before at Tiger kingdom we let him feed the baby tiger here.  It was really quick just for a picture but he liked it!  We left the safari park and headed back to the airport.  Our van driver stayed with the van all day so we had a place for our luggage and it was nice to have a ride everywhere we wanted.

Things went well on our flights.  Luckily, we get moved through customs fast since we have lots of kids they bump us up!  We were  bummed to find out that we had a different plane for both flights home.  The kids didn't get their own tv's.  Luckily, they played kids shows and the kids were exhausted so the flights went good.  During our first flight Zak got sick and threw up several times, luckily he is big enough to get it into a bag.  Although he was miserable.  We had an overnight layover in Taiwan and they have an airport curfew so we had to retrieve our bags and get a hotel. I had been warned and had made hotel arrangements ahead of time.  We were actually glad to have a room even for just a few hours.  Between an overnight train and sick kids and flights we were feeling gross.  Our taxi driver was finally able to understand our hotel location and we were able to get there quick and easy.  We got a few hours of sleep, some showers, and a change of clothes.  The next morning we were off bright and early.  Sadly Zak still was throwing up while we were waiting in lines at the airport.  Karlee threw up once on the plane and once on John's shoulders as we were exiting the airport..it was fun!  We still had the 8 hour drive home but it went good.  The kids were so tired they slept lots.  On the way home we were planning our next vacation.  That says a lot considering 7 of us and ending with the pukes...it was totally worth it!