Penghu Paradise

We just got back from a fantastic extended weekend on Taiwan's paradise - Penghu Island! Sun, salt water, sand, good friends and flexibility made for a very relaxing holiday!!!

The Crew: Richard & Marlin, Livi, and the Clarksters

We stayed at the 'Seaview Villa' located at Shanshui Beach... it was beautiful!! The staff was very accommodating and friendly; the rooms were comfortable; the whole place was very tasteful. There was a great deck for eating or just sitting outside. Most of the rooms had balconies too! Tony, Hunter & I stayed in room 205 - the best room in the house! It had a little nook perfect for Hunter's portacot... so it's definitely a baby-friendly room. The other rooms are also very nice, but I'd recommend asking for this one if you've got just one child who needs his own cot. They also have bigger rooms for bigger groups or other needs... I would definitely recommend this place!!! The website's in chinese, but you can get a general idea...

http://www.g-island.idv.tw/about/about.htm

First day at the beach... Hunter became a tourist attraction

His first few sandy experiences brought a bit of hesitation... by the third day he was eating it freely !!

What a way to start the day... breakfast with a view.

On Saturday we rented a van and took our own little tour of the islands with Tony as our driver and Richard as our navigator. We stopped at the famous banyan trees and got our first taste of the Penghu speciality - cactus ice cream... rather refreshing we all agreed.

Thankfully we found a little playground so Hunter could get a bit of activity after being in the car for a while... these are the things you think of when you go on holiday with your children, eh?!

Here's me & Helena at 24weeks

Happy sandy family

Saturday night the rest of the crew went fishing for squid... it was a long evening without much to show for in the way of tangible evidence... but they had a good experience doing something you wouldn't do in the city!!!


Livi & Tony at the start of the night looking expectant; but alas, they came home empty handed.


Sunday was another beautiful day at the beach... this time we went to a different beach for a change of scenery. The water was really clear and calm - it felt so good to go for a swim and a snorkle... what a way to holiday!!!


Tranquility



This is how we spent most of our time, though... playing in the sand with Hunter! He loved every minute of it!!!

A 5-day Oasis

Last week we had 5 of our dear friends from NZ come to stay with us for 5 days... it was so refreshing to be around familiar friends who are actually part of our extended family. Brian & Anita Burrows and Dave, Kim & Hannah Coss made the stop in Taipei as part of their business adventure on the mainland... and hopefully it was a refreshing addition to their trip as well.

They had fun comparing the underground transport systems of Taipei & Guang zhou... though Tony and I think there's really no comparison - we love the Taipei MRT!!!

We braved the elements to show them the wonders of the Shilin night market! It's such a crowded place but we all enjoyed the sights, sounds and flavors... especially the kids... so much to get their little hands on!!!

Of course we had to take them to our favorite natural spot nearby - Yeliu!

Brian with his buddy the Queen!

Hunter didn't mind sharing his toys with Hannah... it just took a little getting used to. By the end of their stay, the two of them were playing like champs, but it was pretty tough to get them to sit still for a photo together!

The Taipei Zoo was a good choice for getting the kids out and about...

This is week #20 already for us and baby #2... so now there's no hiding the belly.

While the monkey wasn't so sure about his lunch, we enjoyed a healthy picnic and some decent ice cream!

Happy birthday, Buddy!

The fifth birth class friend turned one on Feb 22, so we gathered at Heather & Vin's house to celebrate little Atticus! Heather did a fantastic job of making it a big celebration, complete with balloons, a car-shaped cake and party favors for all the kids. The other kids may have enjoyed Atticus' new toys more than he did on the day... thanks for a memorable afternoon! Happy birthday, buddy!

The cake tasted as good as it looked!!!

Since Margriet & Ard & Lara will be moving soon, this was the last time to take a birth class reunion photo... and it's 6 months after the previous one and the kids still have a hard time sitting still. Sorry Anne Geddes... it may not work out afterall!

But they still are pretty darn cute!!!

You Dirty Rat!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!! It is the year of the rat... so we will spend the next year looking at stylized versions of the furry rodent... good times!

We spent the day after the actual new year with our good friend's family. We had an amazing traditional lunch and lots of laughs. Thanks, Marlin, for sharing your family with us!

Family outing - the first sunny Saturday in over a month!!!

The Lantern Festival always takes the form of the zodiac animal on the year... this is a nest of transparent blow-up "rats" which is lit up at night... it is as odd as it sounds! But strangely cute, too.

Super Rat!!

Grandparents Visit Taipei

My parents came out for two weeks at the end of January!!! We had so many ideas and plans which included seeing a bit more of Taipei than their previous visit a year ago, but it rained EVERY SINGLE DAY they were here!!! Thankfully that didn't stop them from getting out and exploring our neighborhood... and it definitely didn't stop them from getting plenty of Hunter time! As always, they came laden with goods from California - and as usual, they returned home almost as laden with gifts for the rest of the family and their friends! Despite the weather - we really enjoyed their visit; too bad it only happens once a year!

Back to the Chinese New Year market... mom & dad loved the outdoor traditional markets!

This is what they really came for... Hunter time!

You know grandparents are pretty sly... Grandpa bought Hunter his first drum on the last day he was here! Grandparents definitely know what they're doing!

Of course they wanted to see this little guy... who could resist those cheeks!

We had planned to take a 3-day trip to the east coast, but due to weather we decided to stick around Taipei. Since we already had a rental car lined up, we took a few day trips outside the city. Yeliu is one of our favorite natural places near Taipei so it was a good choice when we woke up and it wasn't pouring down rain!

Dad & Mom with the "Queen's Head".

Thanks to my bro & sis-in-law, Hunter got to ride in style in a new backpack carrier... you can just barely see his excitement!

Can you see the crocodile? What about the lion? Remember - the Taiwanese have great imaginations when it comes to rock formations!!!

We also went down to the Yingge Ceramics Museum where we had shelter from the rain while being reminded that ceramics really are part of our everyday life!

I did it again! I neglected to call the Taipei Eye (when Amber & Grandma were here we did the same thing), so we got all dressed up thinking we were headed to the Chinese Opera, but alas - they were on a one month break. Longshan Temple was the best alternative plan so we took mom & dad on their first temple visit. It's a fascinating place, especially at night.

Tea Time at the National Palace Museum

After putting Hunter down for a nap, catching the MRT & bus, and enjoying a light local lunch, mom, dad & I miraculously made it in time for the 3pm English Tour at the National Palace Museum. We were all impressed by the intricacy of handiwork in some of the special treasures there!

Cuddle time w/Grandpa & Grandma - the best part of their visit!

Birthday Boy

Hard to believe but the "little cutie pie" is 1 year old as of January 26th! I catch myself saying things to him like "Hi, my baby boy... oh wait, you're not a baby anymore! Hi, my big boy!" Can't believe how quickly a year goes by! So we did have a birthday party for him on his big day - funny how his first birthday actually landed on a Saturday! We invited some our local friends (aka "Hunter's fan club") to come join in the celebration... a good time was had by all!

Hunter's first birthday surprise was waking up to find that his grandparents had come from California!!! Wow... what a birthday treat (not to mention all the goodies they brought with them)!!!!

First birthday - and there's only one child here!!! He revelled in the full attention of his aunties & uncles!!!

His first piece of cake went down a treat... well, actually he almost choked since he tried stuffing the whole piece into his mouth at once!!! Once I broke it up a bit, he thoroughly enjoyed it!

Party Decorations

Leading Up To Christmas...

The Tuesday before Christmas I'd offered to host our church's mother's group Christmas party. Typically there are up to 11 ladies who attend on any given Tuesday morning, so you can imagine my surprise when I answered my doorbell to see 18+ Taiwanese women (half of whom I've never even seen before) filing out of the elevators carrying bags of food into my house! But hey, this is exactly how we want to use our house - to be a blessing to others! I've got to tell you this... Taiwanese women know how to throw a potluck and they know how to make themselves at home... my house looked almost as clean when they left as it did when they arrived!

We played a little Jenga to get the ladies interacting

Then Ense Jie & her helpers gave out gifts to all the women... this of course was after we'd feasted!

On Sunday, December 23, we took Richard & Marlin to Torch Church's "Wonderful" Christmas celebration!!! It was great... church members of all ages sang, danced and presented an original drama to share the Christmas message to an auditorium packed with over 400 people! It was a really joyous occasion!

So what if we don't usually sing 'Oh Happy Day' at Christmas time... it definitely fit into the festive atmosphere!

Pastor Yang interviewed the woman who's life the drama was based on. What a testimony to how God can take our sad circumstances and turn them around for His glory!