We Made It... And We've Come Back...

Well, we've been in California for 9 days already. It's a beautiful whirlwind here: blue skies (after 12pm) and sea breezes... 5 kids in one house... good times!!! Our flight was 12 hours of... well, I can't say it was bad, really... just 12 hours of restricted movement. Hunter ended up sleeping for almost 1/2 of it... which was surprising! It was Helena who had the hardest time settling into her little bassinet... but we arrived at LAX on Wednesday, July 22 - my mom's 60th birthday!!! The kids immediately took to their grandparents and haven't looked back!

We'd planned to take the airport bus to the airport in Taoyuan, but the taxi that picked us up to drive us to the bus ended up being big enough to support us and our luggage so we just paid the extra and took him all the way! It's a good thing we'd decided to take Hunter's car seat on the plane - we were off to a great start! The kids had fun looking at the planes and "trains" while we waited to go on our big 'airplane ride'!

Hunter didn't mind the car seat at all... until it was time to sleep.

Thankfully there was an open seat next to Tony so he ended up sleeping there.

We had a pretty good configuration... two seats at the bulkhead (for Helena's bassinet) and one seat on the aisle just across from our other aisle seat! It worked out pretty well... I think I'd request that again sometime.

Of course we had an activity planned upon arrival... we had my mom's birthday dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house... you've got to eat, right?!?

Grandma's great birthday present... her grandson home for the celebration!!! (He was positioning himself for some cake, but hey... he spreads joy in the meantime!)

The following posts are an account of what we managed to do while we were home for those three weeks!!! It was a great visit!! Thanks, especially, to our family members who are always so generous - lending us vehicles, having us over for meals, taking us places, letting us stay in their homes, planning parties & opportunities to hang out, etc, etc, etc... we wish we could return the hospitality sometime -but I guess Taiwan is a bit far for most of them to travel! Maybe someday... Anyway - enjoy these photos... it's taken me two weeks to sort through them and get them ready for sharing... and now that I'm done, I can finally get to those household chores I'd been putting off!!!

Happy Birthday, Travis!!!

My brother & sister-in-law are professional party planners - or just plain crazy! On Thursday they arrived home from a five-day vacation to find us occupying their house... on Friday they threw a big bash for their 4-year old (and Saturday was the big 60th birthday party)!! I was impressed at how quickly and smoothly the birthday party came together while still staying in the theme, etc... I know Travis had a blast! And Hunter... well, let's just say he was in little boy heaven: big kids, lots of cars, a bouncy-house AND cake... okay, I think we managed to keep him away from the cake on this day... but still - what fun!!!

The bouncy-house arrived in the morning... what a temptaion all day! Hunter's never really seen anything like this... and oh what fun!!!

The birthday boy, reflecting on life at 4!

Aunt Amber made the cake and Uncle Jason decorated it... gosh, wish they lived in Taiwan - that would make Hunter's next birthday party a whole lot cooler!!!

Swarms of party-goers watching Travis open the presents... but where's Hunter?!?

He's outside taking advantage of the moment... besides, he's living here for now and will get to play with all those new toys!!!

Helena with the 'forbidden nectar'... it's really hard keeping our kids somewhat sugar-free with all the tasty things available!!! And let's get real- it's pretty hard keeping ourselves healthy... but 'we're on vacation'!!!

At the end of the party the 'big kids' got to jump a bit... Tony's the green blur!

Here's my brother Matt with our new nephew, Evan!!! What a cutie!!

If you've ever wondered where Helena gets her curls from... here you go... it's Grandpa!!

Happy Birthday, Dear Mom...

So one of the big events/draws for bringing us home to California at this time of year was my mom's 60th birthday! We actually arrived on her birthday and had a dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's that first night (yep, it was a blur). The following day we presented her with the book we had compiled and took her to Souplantation as a family (Clarks, Sides, Ambroses) then the 'real' or 'official' celebration occurred on Saturday the 25th of July!!! We had an 'open house' from 1-4pm so we got to see so many of our relatives and old friends all in one place! Between trying to keep Hunter away from the cake (and m&m's in the trail mix) and Helena out of the pool we managed to have a few meaningful conversations. Mostly it was great just to see so many people who really love our mom!

Happy Birthday dear Gaylynn... happy birthday to you!!!

At the only stage of the party where we gathered around as a group, Hunter managed to sneak in there to be near Grandma (and the cake) and share the spotlight...

Two parties in a row (see the next entry) - this is exactly where we wanted to be... finally just kicking back together!

Just Horsin' Around

After our big 60th birthday party, we decided to get away for a day at the Del Mar Racetrack... It was 'family day' so there was plenty for the kids to do, see and eat! Tony & I took the kids to church in the morning then headed down south. It's weird to be driving everywhere again - we're so used to not having a car in Taipei that it feels a bit strange to think the kids can actually nap while in transit! Anyway, it was a fun day out with the rest of the family and the kids really enjoyed themselves!!!

Happy, happy Helena was loving so much daddy time!

Hunter and Helena both got their first pony rides!!!

What do you think, she looks like a natural, eh?!?

Travis took time out for some artistic expression!

While we waited in line for the turbo trampolines, Grandma took Hunter for his first tattoo... Not sure what happened to little Elmo's nose, but it was pretty cute!

Even fully geared up, Hunter's looking more tired than excited for his turn on the trampolines.

But once he got to jumping - he was having a blast!!!

Madie took advantage of all that was on offer!

All that trampoling works up a thirst... Grandma treated the kids to shaved ice... I even broke down and let Hunter have some - though his was definitely more ice than anybody's I'd seen!

Oh, we did manage to see a few horses running too...

All the kids got free horses... maybe we can rig it to be the new 'monkey'?!?

On the way back to Fountain Valley, we dropped by to see my cousin Janel & Kevin's new house and meet their new baby who was born just a few days before! Talk about stressors - new house and new baby all in one week! They're handling it brilliantly!!!

Here's the new bundle - Elizabeth Helen!!! What a sweetie!

A New Family Tradition?!?

Since we only get to go back to CA every so often and there are so many people to catch up with, we've begun a new tradition to build in some "just us" time as the Ambrose family so that we are guaranteed some quality time with my parents and siblings. This year we decided to save some money and be a bit more flexible by 'camping out' in my sister's backyard! Amber & Jason have all the gear for cozy camping - including a tent trailer and a trailer - oh and a big backyard! So from Monday 27 to Wednesday 29 we were 'on vacation' together!!! There were most of the regular elements of a camp out: campfire, card games, time on the beach, early morning walks... but we definitely weren't 'roughing it' by any stretch... we watched movies and played Wii and took hot showers - things we never did when we were kids! But it was a great time together and I think this could become our new family tradition!!!

In the beginning our time together was shared with a whole bunch of other friends at Wild Rivers waterpark on "Carload Monday"... what a deal... up to 8 people can enter for just $60 + $8 for parking - that's a pretty big savings on the regular $25 per person... So you can be certain we packed those cars full!!!

Helena absolutely loves the water!!!

Hunter was a bit timid at first with some of the slides, but you can tell by his pruney feet that he didn't let fear keep him out of the water!



Amber, Jason, Evan, Dad & Helena took a little time out of the water for other interests - cribbage and rest!

Matt set up a tent for himself and Trevor...

because Grandma & Madie & Travis were supposed to be tent trailer roommates... but Madie ended up in the tent at some stage during the early morning and took over.

Our kids were still adjusting to the time zone so we went on an early walk with Grandpa over to the riverbed where we actually saw a coyote!!! Seeing wildlife in the morning... that's pretty close to real camping, wouldn't you agree!?!

Mom slept pretty well in the cozy tent trailer, especially since the other tent-mate left.

Coffee and farkle to start off the day.

My mom got a Wii for her birthday from dad... a great way to exercise and a good way to get the grandkids over to her house... she's pretty smart! Jason set it up at their place while we were together, so the kids loved playing (not so much the sharing part). I love this shot of Hunter trying to copy Trevor's actions... Trevor's almost 8 now... Hunter really had fun with these guys! I don't think he ever really had his own turn at Wii, but I don't think he'd recognize the difference just yet.

The good thing about camping at home was we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere. We did finally make it down to the beach for our first beach day since our arrival. The water was as cold as Travis' face would suggest... needless to say, I didn't spend much time there at all!

Thankfully our family does this sort of thing all the time so the prep doesn't take them too long... if left to me, I'd have spent half the morning just trying to figure out what to take and how to get it all there... I think we'll have some adjustments to make when we get back to NZ, eh? It's so different having a vehicle to throw everything into! In the meantime, we really enjoyed the creature comforts of home.

Cool little Evan kickin' it on the beach!

Grandpa was teaching Hunter the family tradition of cribbage.

Okay, taking an almost one year old to the beach is not the ideal relaxing activity... but after I just gave up trying to keep the sand out of her mouth we both seemed to enjoy the day much more. Of course there are consequences for sand consumption, but she didn't seem to mind that either...

Although, that said, the Pack 'N Play was my best friend on the day and I think every beach-going family should consider taking along such a day-saver as this.

After the beach and our hot showers, we enjoyed a tasty BBQ outside near the campfire in the backyard... looks like a real site, eh!?

Trevor cleared his plate so he got s'mores like the rest of us...

Everyone wanted a turn holding 'baby Evan'.

We made ziploc omelettes for breakfast on the second morning - they're typically more fun to make than to eat... though the kids didn't complain.

After the Ambrose kids left for swim practice and the campout was 'officially' over, we stuck around playing Wii while our kids napped... Amber was a great runner, and in the end Jason beat my record at the dance/step competition - though he probably wouldn't want me to announce that one!