Tag Team

No, I'm not talking about oversized men squeezed into spandex jumping 'off the top ropes' or pulling each other's hair (though there probably were a few of the former)... I'm talking about the Super Supai running event in Taipei City on May 2nd!!! Tony was able to secure a spot in the 9km while I only managed to register for the 3km fun run... so he got up and out of the house early for his 6am start and I got the kids up and out to meet him before my 7.30 start - TAG TEAM!!! It was a beautiful morning and the kids had a blast being outside surrounded by thousands of 'runners'.

Tony got his heart-rate into the 'maximum intensity' level in the 9km and finished in his best time (in a long time)... he actually came in 135th (out of thousands - I'm not exaggerating)... well done, Tony!

Hunter was inpired by his baba...

We LOVE this city!!!

A few others from our "Flash" team made it out for the fun run too... which of course made it even more, well, FUN!

WuKong & pre-high heart-rate Tony

 

So here I am... at the start of my 3km run... these people really know how to make a fun run fun... there were people out there in jeans and street shoes, carrying their kids or handbags, dogs on leashes - you name it, we probably saw it... I, on the other hand, needed to get some exercise out of the venture, so I stepped up my pace and ran the familiar Ren Ai Road (where I've walked w/the kids in the stroller many a trip to the PCC) in just 13minutes (which was fairly quick for my standards)...

and wait, who's this eager beaver on the sidelines??? Hunter was just waiting for me to come down to the end because he was raring to get out there too...

He's got a pretty good pace going (don't say anything about my shoulders up in my ears - I know I need to fix my running style soon... I'm not sure why my shoulders are so tense)... Hunter was sooooo excited that he got to run in the race - I let him collect his sports towel and tea and then we stood in line for our share of the free Super Supau sports drink on tap. He was just so proud of himself! What a little champ!

Justin and his faithful cheerleader Jessica were also there again... it's been fun having other friends to do this stuff with.

And, after all this, we managed to make it to church on time!!!

Playgroup Buddies

We've been part of a playgroup here since Hunter was about 10 months old... a lot of  moms and kids have come and gone (transient ex-pats, you know) - but we're thankful for these opportunities to make new friends, try new things and frankly, get out of the house!

Before they moved, we met at Lily's house where the boys practiced the fine art of sharing...

and resourceful ways of play...

while the moms "rummaged" through out-grown clothes and toys we'd brought to share. It was a fun afternoon and we even got to pray together. What a blessing to have friends who share their homes, hearts and stuff.

One week we even joined up with another Playgroup with some familiar faces... Hugh found this elderly man to be quite sympathetic to his love of transportation, but I think Helena may have tested his patience.

As a rainy day zoo alternative, a bunch of us met at the Taipei Puppetry Center... it was the first time for all of us (probably the last for most of us until our kids get older or better at Chinese) - but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Hunter and Hilo were putting on a shadow-puppet show... that poor little puppet made the rounds through all the kids and I think broke it's arm... yikes!

There were a few other things to play with...

well, enough to inspire the boys to their own puppet show... which turned out more like peek-a-boo!!!

Thankfully we've got another few meetings to get in some last month playtime with our buddies!