Penang, Malaysia

In December 2014, Aaron's office had an off-site family gathering.  When I heard it described that way, I assumed we'd be going to a restaurant or something together.  Nope.  They really meant off-site.  As in off the island of Singapore.  We flew to the island of Penang (another Malaysian island).  The first night we were there, we had a fantastic Chinese dinner over the water.  Tons of kids hanging over the bridge that connected the restaurant to land, watching eels slide through the water.  It was fun, but I think we surprised everyone with how early we left and headed for the hotel.  (Early night vs. full on melt-downs from tired kids?  We opted for the boring couple that leaves early and saves their sanity.)

The next day was full of fun!  We had a scavenger hunt around Fort Cornwallis, visited an interactive art museum where you literally stepped into the artwork to became part of the pieces, and took a rickshaw ride around town.  That night there was a costume dinner with activities and crafts for the kids.  Santa even came for a visit and passed out candy to the kids.  There was a huge balloon release, and though it didn't feel like Christmas, it certainly was festive as we watched the balloons float up through massive palm trees and over the water.

Our scavenger hunt team

Rickshaw selfies!

Rickshaw views

The real entertainment of the evening was the lip-sync-off (inspired by Jimmy Fallon) performed by Aaron (in drag, no less) and all of the other new employees.  It was hilarious.  As I looked around the room at the the dropped jaws, I couldn't help but think Asia isn't ready for the Rausch's!