A Birthday Far From Home: Alexis Turns 14 in Chiang Mai

Happy Birthday, or as they say in Thailand – sùk-sǎn wan-gèrt, to our sweet girl! Alexis turned 14 today and we had a great time celebrating. It’s hard to turn 14 without your friends around, but in her true spirit she embraced the positive and had a wonderful day!

Turning Fourteen Halfway Around the World

We started the day with our morning walk and then Alexis opened gifts. I made her a slideshow of pictures of her life throughout the years. It was fun for all of us to reminisce. It’s crazy how fast the time goes!

I’ve been carrying around cards from her Grandma’s since the beginning of the year, and Braxton got her this fabulous elephant purse!

We gave Alexis our gift way back in Guam. Her combined Christmas and birthday gift is center stage orchestra tickets to The Outsiders Musical in Denver upon our return (we had to get them early because they were selling out). To say that Alexis loves The Outsiders is an understatement. She did a novel study on this classic book in 7th grade and quickly fell in love. Since that time, she has read the book six times, listened to the audiobook eight times, watched the movie more times than she can count, and is beyond excited for the musical. She recently read the book aloud to Dave and I while we were in Vietnam, and it is a memory I will cherish forever.

Alexis first heard of the musical when we were in La Fortuna, at the beginning of our gap year. She spent hours trying to convince us to re-route our trip so she could see the international tour. She calculated how much money she would need to earn to buy tickets, made a goal sheet, and sang the music on repeat for all of us to hear. In Guam, she made an elaborate slideshow presentation about why she wanted to go and the joy it would bring to all of us. She’s already planning her outfit!

Birthday in Thailand

After school, Alexis video called with her best friend and then we went out to lunch at a restaurant of her choice.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out and relaxing. We took another walk and had pizza for dinner followed by an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. It tasted just like the ones back home in Colorado!

Dave and I were looking back at old pictures and talking about how fast the years go. We are so thankful to have this amazing amount of time with our kids this year. I hope Alexis always remembers the birthday she celebrated halfway around the world.