Hunter, the American Cutie Pie

Of course, no blog update would be the same without a spotlight on the little guy!!! So here you go...

Hunter's 1st T-bone

He needed a little rev up before wrestling with the older cuzzies... they took it easy on him this trip... not sure what will happen next time! But his black eye is a pretty convincing prop!!!

Hunter at Huntington Beach

Of course, what American baby doesn't get to enjoy Cheerios?! Well this one stopped once we saw they were 20% sugar... he slept a little easier after that too.

To celebrate his 9 month birthday he got an American size snack from his grandma!!!

Pumpkin Patch Kids

Every year I see pictures of my nephews & niece at the pumpkin patch... this year we got to join them!

I guess we fit right in

Ahhh how cute... the original pumpkin patch kids

Ahh, a bit cuter... the next generation (it's past Hunter's bedtime here)

So Hunter's up to the 2 foot mark - how do they measure that belly, though?

My two favorite pumpkins

Saying Good-bye is Never Easy

Thursday night we had a farewell dinner at my parents house... good thing this wasn't the night we left - there was so much food we'd have been stuffed on the flight!!!

Bye-bye Aunt Tori & Travis

Our buddy Justin got in on the good food and familial company - it was great to catch up with a little bro before heading home.

Bye-bye cousins - we'll miss having older kids around.

Bye-bye Aunt Francine

(she's had 10 kids of her own... she really knows how to make kids smile & laugh)

Friday morning we had breakfast with Aunt Amber & Uncle Jason before they headed off on a camping trip... Bye-bye from the Crocodile Hunter

Bye-bye Great Grands!


Tony thought this would've been his last burrito, so he and Uncle John indulged in a classic favorite - Las Barcas!!! Thankfully for Tony, we had a Mexican dinner - pushing the "holiday factor" up even higher!

After dinner with my folks, we stopped by to see my brother at the fire station. He'd been fighting at the front-lines of the nasty California wildfires for the first part of the week , so this evening he got a bit of down-time at the station (though they got called out while we were there - in the middle of their dinner)!

Thanks, Matt & your teams, for a job well done!!!

Hunter's first visit to the fire station



It's a good thing mom & dad came into the airport with us... we got to prolong our farewell for another 2 hours as we waited to check in at the Malaysia Airlines counter! 2 hours in line!!!! Grandma & Grandpa didn't seem to mind so much as they got to stroll around with Hunter a bit longer!

Thanks, Grandpa & Grandma, for a great 2 weeks!!! We miss you already!!!

A Little Sun Down South

We just got back from a 4-day trip to Kending - the southernmost part of Taiwan! It was a beautiful weekend packed with snorkling, exploring and plenty of relaxing! The High Speed Rail to ZuoYing was super comfy... and our rental car was pretty cozy as well! It sure beat the last time Tony & I went by slow train & bus. We stayed at a place called Banana Bay - Amy & Danny were very accommodating and helpful - the whole atmosphere there was just what we were looking for! Here's a glimpse of what we saw and did...

Banana Bay from the water view. If you're here in Taiwan and want a nice little getaway - check out their website: http://uukt.idv.tw/inn/cjw.htm

Can't always predict what the other guests are like!

Hunter made himself at home on the veranda


Now this is a relaxing holiday! Except this tea caused our little darling to stay awake crying for several hours the first night we were down there... not as relaxing as anticipated!

View from the veranda

View from our window

Family fun!!!

Hunter's got beach feet already

This was our snorkle spot outside our accommodation

Our own "private beach"

Dinner by sunset

The weather took a turn for the rainy, so we took our snorkle gear off and headed to the National MUSEUM of Marine Biology and AQUARIUM... good choice!!!

There were penguins at the aquarium!!! Cool...

Hunter was fascinated by the swimming birds... aren't we all?!?

There were heaps of cool fish, sharks and other interesting creatures in this really well designed aquarium... we were both pretty impressed!

After having snorkled in the morning, we decided to stay dry and check out Eluanbi Park with it's lighthouse and coastal walkways! It was a lovely evening at the southernmost tip of Taiwan!!!

What a great coastal walk! It was the right decision not to bring the pram!

I guess a ride with limited view is a pretty good nap inducer.

We had a small problem with our return train tickets - they were set for the same day we left - Friday!!! Thankfully the customer service agent was merciful so we didn't have to buy new tickets! Because we didn't have an assigned seat, we sat at the end of the train and had pretty much the whole carriage to ourselves!! What a great way to travel with an active 8-month-old!!!

Curious Hunter wanted to look out of the window, but we were travelling so quickly I'm not sure if he'll think the rest of Taiwan is a blur!?!

A Weekend of Firsts!!!

It was Mid-Autumn Festival this weekend, which meant all the accommodation at the hot spots outside Taipei had been booked well in advance. So we did what any disorganized, fun-loving family would do... we planned a holiday for another weekend and used this one for day trips! We packed a lot of family fun into these past 4 days... a lot of public transportation too! Each day we did something somewhat new - to us and Hunter! It was great fun...

Tuesday was the actual "Moon Festival" or "Mid-Autumn Festival". We eat a citrus fruit called a yozi (pomelo) at this time of year and apparently local children put the peel on their heads for good luck. Of course we don't believe in luck, but he looked so cute with his yozi hat! And he actually quite liked the fruit... his first citrus fruit... till we put a halt on his intake after hearing that it causes diarrhea in adults if eaten too much! Yikes!!! Plus I'm not sure if he's quite ready for citrus!

We took a walk through the Taipei Zoo with Richard & Marlin... it was a gorgeous day to be out and about! Hunter's first zoo trip!!!

I think giraffes are pretty interesting creatures... mostly I was having fun playing with my new camera's zoom feature! Pretty impressive!

On Monday we took the MRT to the end of the line in Danshui (1 hour) then took a bus (35 minutes) to the BEACH!!! YAHOO... Hunter's first time to the beach!!! We went with 3 other friends and though the time at the beach was short, it was worth it!!

It ended up being a stunning day - a bit of cloud cover at the hottest part of the afternoon - but otherwise blue skies with white clouds. You'd almost think you were in NZ, but the beach set-up is totally different than anything we'd expect at home... next time we'll get photos of that.

Hunter experienced sand for the first time... it took him a while to get used to it... but once he did, of course it went into his mouth like everything else!!!

On Sunday we took our first train trip over to Keelung - the main port northeast from Taipei. We walked around a bit, ate some lunch, then headed home... not so eventful, but we discovered a train station closer to our house for future train trips!

I was so excited to see water... till I really looked and noticed how much debris and rubbish was floating in the water! Yuk!!!

Okay... so this must be the wordiest sign I've ever seen in my life! Anybody know what it means?

The Interpreter

Our two main interpreters were on holiday this past Sunday, so Tony stepped up to take the job. Wow!!! After 7 hours of translation (thankfully he received the sermon ahead of time), he was equipped to interpret for the rest of us during the service. Praise God the equipment worked and so did Tony! He did an excellent job and we were all so impressed with his skills! Of course, he added his own flavor to the message - like when he didn't know exactly what was going on and told us just to laugh so it looked like it. What a fantastic experience for him!!! Way to use what you've learnt, Tony!!!