Hangin' Around

Our sweetie... We spend a lot of time in this seat with this little ladybug! She's a great little eater now... she eats a bowl of "super porridge" every morning that rivals the amount I eat. And most days she's eating two other solid meals and increasing in her ability to get food into her mouth on her own. No wonder why she's beefed up a bit lately!!!

There's a new "Sports Center" about 10 minutes from our place... they've got a small indoor playground that's free & air-conditioned!!! We cruised over today for just 45 minutes because Hunter needed to run around (I needed Hunter to run around). The center has other classes and even an indoor kiddie pool that's reasonably priced - so it looks like we've got a new option for tiring out the kids - I mean giving them opportunities to exercise!

Tony brought home this super special pen a while back... Not only does it light up - it's got glitter stuff on the inside!!! Hunter was totally fascinated by it... I've now stuck it in the 'airplane bag' to pull out on our flight to CA in July to entertain him since it really seems to occupy his attention. How would you like to sit next to this kid?!?

The little stander...

Did I tell you about this one? Hunter had pink eye a couple of weeks ago... and then poor Tony got it last week! What a bummer! Thankfully I think I've managed to avoid it!

Get Your Motor Runnin'...

Don't think there was much in the way of "heavy metal thunder" but we had a great time Sunday evening riding our bikes along the riverbed. It was Helena's first real ride and she loved it! Well, she didn't cry - so we figure she loved it! We called up 'Janet Jie' who was ready in a flash to join us... this just may be our new weekend evening activity. We even got to eat mango ice down by the river - wow - what a great evening!!!!

The other night we put her helmet on her in the house so she could get used to it... I think this helped... she was a bit more stable on this trip - the first time she wore the helmet she was bobbing all over the place!

Happy Helena holding on to mama's belt!!! I promise I wasn't riding all that fast...

Mr Over-zealous wanted to play with the pedals - none of us realized the repercussions until it was too late!!

Wet & Wild

After getting rained out on our previous attempt, our playgroup finally made it to the Taipei Water Park in Gong Guan. Anna, Suzanne and I ventured over by bus - which cut the travel time in half and kept the boys amused the whole way! Being the first time for most of us, it took a while to get situated but once we got into the pool it was worth it... the kids all had such a good time - even the little ones. The slide in the pool provided much entertainment which pretty much occupied their attention for the full time we were there. There was also a sandpit - which only Ellie took advantage of. Of course, it wouldn't be a water park without some crazy big water slides - so yes, there were about 3 'big slides' and a lazy river. Ellie led the way to the kid-friendly 'big slide' but my Hunter was a bit nervous (it's true!). The facility also has indoor spa and lap pools - you could easily spend all day there, but with the rainclouds darkening overhead and the naptime hour creeping close, we decided it was a great morning and then headed out after lunch.

Thankfully my friend Rachel was able to take a work break to come hang out with us... she made it a much more relaxing trip out for me by being there to play with Helena while I played with Hunter (and vice versa) - thanks, Rach!!!


Here's the slide that kept our kids occupied...

doesn't take much, remember - they're only 2 and a bit!

Ellie was so confident and cute all morning in her bee suit.



Ivan is one of the youngest in the batch - he was having a great time!!!

Ellie leads the way at the water slide...

Michael thought it was great fun... and jumped right into it...

with Ellie hot on his tail.

Hilo loved it!!!

For some reason, Hunter was a bit cagey on the whole thing (I think he swallowed a bit of water the first time down) - so he'd sit at the top inside the tunnel and moan for a bit... then finally we'd coax him down and he'd have a great time! This process repeated itself for much of the morning, but you'd never guess it based on this photo!!!

Besides the slide, Hunter pulled out his sand toys so everyone could play in the water... he also liked to splash everyone - pretty gutsy little guy.

After lunch and clean-up, the kids raided the arcade area... who needs coins when you can ride like the wind for free!?!

A bunch of tired, but fully satisfied young 'uns.

Hunter's Dream Day...

Hunter was hot at the starting gate just busting to get in there and start exploring!

What could be more exciting to an animal-loving, train-crazy, incredibly social 2 year old boy than a day at an adventure theme park?!? Apparently, not much...
The fun started on Friday night when "Uncle" Richard and "Auntie" Marlin spent the night at our place so we could all wake up bright and early on Saturday for our big day out. Leo Foo Village is an amusement/theme park about an hour's drive west from Taipei and it contained pretty much all of Hunter's favorites:

TRAINS & ANIMALS

We started in the African themed area which contains all the animals... this is where Hunter got to combine his two current loves - Trains & Animals!


We boarded the Narobi Express and meandered our way along the tracks looking at all sorts of wildlife - hippos, rhinos, ostriches, bison, deer, giraffes - it was really cool... the animals were all sort of just roaming around (at a safe distance, of course).

But with about 2 minutes left in the ride, the train broke down! It broke down to the point where all the passengers had to disembark and walk the rest of the way! What an exciting experience!!!



"Huo che, huai diu le!" - Hunter kept repeating this sentence the rest of the day (and into this week) - "The train broke!"

So we walked past the giraffes who really had no idea why these crazy 2-legged creatures were wandering so closely!

Here were the bison we rode past...

and the rhinos...

After our big adventure with the train, we were still game to take the safari bus ride to the "carnivorous animals"... this was super cool!! The bus, thankfully, was healthy and drove us past all sorts of exciting animals. Hunter was so excited just watching through the windows...

oh wait, the flamingos weren't in the carnivorous section... but they looked pretty cool!

After the big game ride, we had a lunch break and after watching a few others ride the real camel, Hunter decided this was all he could handle this time around.

FRIENDS

Throughout the day Hunter was making friends with all sorts...

Precious Helena was having a great time, too, but she did manage a bit of a nap!

Hunter made friends with the animals in the petting zoo where he got to feed goats and horses... sometimes using supplies that the other tourists had purchased - it's a good thing Taiwanese people are so loving of children!

At first he was a bit timid, but baba helped ease him into it...

and in no time at all, Hunter had the animals eating out of his hands!

FOOD

Speaking of eating...

we did our fair share... Hunter's got the crumbs to prove his approval for Ivy & Wayne's engagement cookies...

the Turkish ice cream vendor knew a good thing when he saw it and played the crowd off this little boy who stood there laughing over the sellers antics - so he gave Hunter a freebie, which brought more antics, which then attracted paying customers... we could work out some kind of deal here, eh?

Even Helena got her first taste of the 'forbidden' fruit as such... she loved it!


RIDES

Leo Foo Village is an amusement park, afterall, so we did our share of riding on the rides...

While Hunter & Marlin were slowly going round the wheel, Tony and I were spinning in the barrels (like teacups) - but good thing it was our last ride of the day - he spun it so fast we couldn't lift our heads or arms... everything was spinning after that one!

We took the 'log ride' - and they were not joking when they said you'd get wet!

Hunter hopped into the car with some other unsuspecting kids - thankfully there was space available and again, thankfully Taiwanese people are pretty generous.

Helena got a great ride too... though hers was a bit more familiar!

Tony & Richard had a go on the log ride too... they didn't get quite as wet as we did, though I must add that it did rain while Marlin & I were on it!

So that was it... our first time to Leo Foo Village - but not our last - we bought a season pass good for the next three months... so you'll see us here again!!!