Thursday - Playgroup aka "Zoo Crew"

Last Thursday we hit the zoo with our playgroup for possibly our last zoo trip in Taipei!!! And oh what a crew!!! Though we all had a different pace, somehow we managed to stick together for the majority of our stay... which made it more fun.

I finally managed to get my camera out once we made it to the penguin enclosure... we actually took a pit stop here to refuel on lunch or snacks while the kids ran amuck on the hillside with the penguin manequins... they had so much fun playing up there I wondered why we hadn't let them before... until I saw the sign that said fairly clearly "No Climbing" - oops! That's why...

Every other Thursday has been our Playgroup schedule for a while and it has definitely been one of the highlights of my experience in Taipei since having the kids... it's been a blessing to do motherhood with these other ladies!!!

The Clark Crew at the Zoo!!!

Day Three - Monday, March 22

After a busy weekend of hanging around the homefront and prep for church, we were ready for our first real outing... what better place to start than our favorite - the Taipei Zoo...

We usually take the train up to the top of the zoo then walk down to see the animals... I usually say it's because Hunter loves the train, but really, when pushing the double stroller - it's just the most energy-efficient way to go!!!

Hunter is not much of a trend-setter, but he does seem to be aware of what's 'cool' around him... though he must know some unwritten rule that a girl's hat leans to the right and a boy's leans to the left.

Helena wasn't intimated by the enormous python glaring at her... she just glared right back!

Here's a new sport in Taiwan - turtle hopping... Tony's trying to get Mei Mei started early.

The lemurs were wild and oh so loud... Lynne couldn't resist getting Helena out of the stroller to see these guys... and Helena was milking it for all she could.

The big gorillas were out this time... I don't think I've ever really noticed them much... but it was a warm day and this was a great place to stop and watch for a while.

Feeding time for this family... looks like us when we've got one ice cream to share.

You wouldn't see too many Taiwanese families doing this...

And of course, Dad and Lynne had to see the Pandas... they were bigger than one imagined and smaller than the other thought... so I guess it was good they got to see them in real life.

It was a good, long day out at the zoo. We came home and had leftovers for dinner and the kids were in bed before 7pm. Tony and I took the opportunity with free babysitters to get out for a movie - so we headed out to see The Hurt Locker - which wasn't the lightest of films, but thought-provoking and a good time to get out together nonetheless.

And morning and evening were the third day.

Hunter's Zoo Party

Hunter celebrated his birthday in style a few days after the fact on Saturday, January 30th with a group of friends at the Taipei Zoo!!! We love it! A few of us met to look at animals at 10.30am while the rest of the group met us for a picnic at noon... all in all it was a pretty smooth transition and Hunter had a great day!!!

Yep, he can finally get those 3 fingers up... we'd been practicing for a while before his birthday but he just couldn't get that third finger to stay up... looks like he's got it now!

Helena is riding in style with Isabelle... a totally different outlook from her regular stroller ride.

Here's something you don't see everyday - the Taiwanese Black Bear!

When we got to Bird World (our designated picnic spot) a friendly lion came over to wish Hunter a happy birthday! The other local children thought this was a great time for a photo op, little did they know it was our friend Edu dressed up just for Hunter!!!

A lot of the kids were frightened by the lion - I didn't think of that - it looked so harmless in the shop... but Ellie & Abram were fearless...

And it was funny how some of the little siblings were a lot less fearful than the 2-3 year olds... as demonstrated by little David here.

We had to carry the cake in a huge box to get it safely to the zoo... thankfully it all came out okay for the big song, etc. I love that this little boy just stood there watching longingly from within the aviary... and I love that we're blowing out candles right next to a sign that says "no smoking". The cake was a standard chocolate cake with Tony's special icing job... he is pretty good at all this cake stuff.

The birthday crew!

Tony's checking up on Edu - but hey kids, don't try this at home!!!

Hunter... what did I just tell you!?! (a common saying, eh?)

Poor Edu was sweating up a storm... but Hunter was really happy... and I thought it was a really fun way to celebrate.

Most of the other families took their kids home for naps while we walked around the zoo with some of our dear Taiwanese friends. I realized on the day that all of these guys met Hunter just 2-3 days after he was born and have been at all of his birthdays since... pretty special friends!

Ellie & Hunter waited patiently to see if the giraffes would come any closer, but they were too busy eating to notice their spectators.

Tony thought I over catered for the party, but look... all those oranges and pears and bananas got eaten up at some stage.

Little Miss Helena missed her nap so it was all she could do to stay awake by running around like a wild woman trying to push buttons on displays...

Edu & Annie had to head out to another appointment but they left Hunter a key to a locker containing his birthday present... what a fun thrill... though Hunter was more interested in trying to re-open/close the locker... until he saw the opened gift was a car with a tool set... very cool!!!

Check out the cheeky monkey peeking through her tray...

Potty-training kids find anything to do with poop so funny....

Yes... we stayed at the zoo till 4pm!!! I think that's a family record! Thanks everybody for making it such a memorable birthday for Hunter... he talked about it for the following week!