Zoo hoo!!!

Our Playgroup decided to take a trip to the zoo this week before it gets too hot to do anything this outdoorsy. We managed to meet up for an early start at 10am so we could maximize the day - which was perfect considering the fact that by noon most of the kids were ready to sit in their strollers and just roll past the animals on the descent to the exit... I think we moms would've taken a ride too. But that is the beauty of where we live and the Taipei Zoo (and this group of friends) - we can go for as long/short as we like because it is only a 40minute MRT ride away and costs less than US$5 to enter - ZOOHOO!!! Thanks, ladies, for a fun day out!!! The kids slept like logs when we got home!

Here the clan steadies themselves for the day/hours ahead. Notice Hunter has already tucked into his lunch and Helena has already ditched her hat!!

Being the zoo veterans we are, we had a strategy for this mid-week trip. First, we took the train to the top of the zoo to work our way downhill, thereby cutting out the treacherous walk up past the African animals that we normally get stuck at because we're too tired and hot to keep going...

and though not really any of our personal favorites, we decided to hang out in the "Frog House" because a) the boys don't mind looking at lizards, tortoises and frogs; and b) it has air-conditioning. You can easily guess where our other major stop landed us... yep, the Penguins!!!

He's not aware of the air-con... thus the grizzly face!

TRAIN Crazy Boy Rides TRAINS...

On Saturday we took a trip down to Taichung to visit our friends Chris, Beth & Jonathon Steiner. We had intended to go in March but I had a bit of trouble organizing tickets and in the end decided we'd postpone... I still had trouble organizing tickets this time (how was I supposed to know they'd sell out on morning seats even a week in advance?) but we managed to make our way down there. We took the High Speed Rail down - brilliant - which took only 45minutes!!! Wow... that was great! Beth picked us up at the rail station and took us to a Folk Park in town so we could get a bit of culture and playtime. Poor little Helena was soooooooo tired but of course didn't want to miss out on anything, so Auntie Beth fed her while the other three of us went to check out some of the museum in the folk park. We went back to their place for a wonderful lunch and relaxing visit and Helena finally went to sleep... but Jonathon and our kids had opposite nap schedules which kept us close to home.

While the kids were supposedly sleeping, Chris took us over to look at the Bible/English school they've established! It is fantastic!! These guys have been working really hard to get the SYME (School of Youth Ministry in English) up and running here in Taiwan and it's all actually on... we are so excited for them and this ministry! And looking forward to hearing and seeing more of what God is doing in and through them!

It was a quick trip - by 4.30 we had to head back to the train station... this time we took the 'regular' express train which took 2 hours and 10 minutes to get us back home. Thankfully I reserved 3 seats (and even better, the man in the seat next to mine got off after the first hour)! So... our train crazy boy got his chance to ride on two trains in one day!! He was pretty stoked! And he learned a new word - TUNNEL!!!

Bright and early start to our High Speed Rail journey - 8.42am is early in the Clark household - it means we had to leave home by 8...

Helena enjoyed the blurred view... really, it was just the opportunity to stand that she appreciated!

Tony used the time to read a couple new Chinese books with Hunter (when he wasn't pushing Helena out of the way to look out the window).

Tony was giving Hunter a demo on how to make the water jump using vibrations on the bronze pot...

And of course Hunter had to give it a whirl!

We got to feed the fish while the bugs fed on our legs!!!

Hunter went easy on Tony in the traditional games.

Here's the newly fitted out chapel area of the SYME. Right now they've only got 8 students but have plans for 30 in the summer!!! This place will be filled with young people hungry to grow, learn and give!!!

And what kind of school would it be without a foosball table?

Here's the 'regular' train... with the standard outdoor platforms. Taking the HSR is really spoiling in it's ultramodern/brand new station!!!

Helena's still happy to be climbing up the chair... she hasn't really had much chance to do this at home yet... but heck, it was her 9 month birthday this day so we let her live it up!!!

And a train ride wouldn't be complete without a bien dang lunch box for dinner! We had three to share between the three of us and I'm pretty sure Hunter ate more than his third... into mine already!!!

Elements of a Typical Week

Each week is a bit different, but there are definitely some common elements that most families would recognize...

Here's our daily trip to the park (or playground) so the kids can run off some steam. It often includes Hunter finding some older kids who he desparately wants to play with but they're not quite sure they feel the same about the little kid (who's really about the same size). If they're not interested in playing with him, he'll usually decide he's interested in their toys (notice the bikes... he had a go while the kids were busy elsewhere).

Slides here are great fun and both kids really enjoy them - though we have to be careful they're not too hot...
which reminds me why we come out before 9.30am in the hotter months (should start now).

Just this week Helena took the opportunity to pull herself up the slide and up through a tunnel... she looks so proud of herself (and rightfully so)! No more sitting in the pram for this girl!!!

Hunter loves to look out our bedroom window... this particular day he decided to show Hilo his favorite vantage point.

Of course there are still trains in our everyday life!!!

Here's our local 'shui jiao' (dumpling) place... too bad it wasn't a burrito joint, but it definitely provides lunch at least once a week!

These two still like to 'wrestle' on the bed and bounce around... they get along fabulously!

I just pulled out Hunter's little activity table that has become Helena's little activity table, though you'll see Hunter is still really quite keen to play with it. I wonder if he wondered where it's been these past 6 months!?! Notice, Helena's practicing her stand!

Every week I make 2 loaves of 'South African Health Bread' courtesy of Marise... this week I got Hunter involved. He loved measuring out the flour and mixing things together. This is a good one to get his help on because it doesn't really taste that good in dough form!

We threw in a picnic at the park with friends this week, but it seems we often get a bit of lunch outside.

Of course it is fun to venture over to other parks with other people... thankfully we have a few around (parks and people). This day we had a spontaneous picnic with Suzanne & Michael and Marta & Mattheas.

Suzanne & Michael (and sometimes Siena) are staple elements in our week - we are thankful for their willingness to go and do whatever...

Now it's all about Helena starting to explore a bit more...

And we even get to meet up with daddy midday sometimes... this is the beauty of living close to Tony's work!!!

Hard-Working Kid

I can't believe it's taken me so long to post these, but here are a few scans from the catalogue jobs Hunter did back in November! These are pretty funny!

This is Tony's favorite... he loves the rolled foot!

I'm glad they paid us in cash, not clothes.

This is my favorite.

Who's this chubby toddler?!?

Hunter's Weekly Highlight

For the past 12 weeks we've attended a music class on Wednesday afternoons. This was Hunter's first 'class' with a real teacher (not me), a scheduled time and a set agenda. He LOVED it!!! I LOVED it!!! Even Helena LOVED it! In the beginning, I would have to wake him up from his nap and he'd cry most of the 7 minutes it took to walk to the class (not counting the moments when he was stuffing raisins, guava or muffins in his mouth) but as soon as we'd get to the building he'd perk up and that was the end of that! In the past month he'd wake up automatically 15 minutes before I'd have to wake him and he's yell out something about 'musi hass' upon my entering the room. During the week he'd talk about 'laoshi' when he was listening to cd's - I'm telling you, he LOVED it! Unfortunately, like they say, "all good things must come to an end" and the end of this particular class has come! Because the threat of 'swine flu' is very real here in Taiwan, the teacher and other moms decided it would be best to not even start another course until things settle down (the flu hasn't even arrived here yet and may not for another 3-6 months). This is tremendously disappointing for Hunter (for me) because as I've already mentioned - we LOVE music class!!! Thankfully I brought my camera on the last class and captured a bit of the enthusiasm!!! Thank you, Liu Laoshi for making music so much fun!!!

There were several elements to the class each week. Here's Hunter and Pae Juen waving 'ribbons' as they became leaves flying off trees (at least I think that's what they were doing).

Hunter and River were a bit rowdier than Pae Juen, but the three kids got along well and had a lot of fun jumping around together.

Each week the kids would use different instruments to repeat sounds, rhythms and beats.

The course followed a picture book about a bear's adventures with his friends, so the theme for the day would be introduced and the instruments, movements and activities followed suit.

Here they are - Hunter's first classmates! We will definitely look forward to the next class opening!

Our Usual Outing

At least once a week for the past six weeks we've taken an "outing" to the NTU Hospital for blood tests and talks with the blood doctor to try to get the dosage right for this medication I'm now taking (I'm not sure if I've given the story or not - it's not that serious - maybe that will be another entry). I am getting a bit tired of going this direction every week, but indeed I am thankful that these trips aren't for something serious. Maybe God's trying to give me empathy towards those who spend a lot of time there - I'll be on the look out for others who we can help. And since it's not for anything really serious, I do try to make the "outing" as fun as I can for the kids. So this past Friday, I packed up a picnic and we headed over to the 2/28 Peace Park for lunch and a bit of a play after the blood draw. It was a gorgeous day...

I put the blanket over the top of the stroller between the two seats to help block out a bit more sun and it always reminds me of a royal carriage on one of those old Disney cartoons. So this day Princess Helena sat in back because I wanted her to sleep on the ride but she was not about to miss out on any of this beautiful day!


We haven't even left our complex yet and I was snapping photos of the kids. I've been meaning to get a few shots of our place - it really is so lovely!


So the kids just stay seated and they both like to watch mama get the needle... it's a good thing they're there - it gives me a good excuse not to look at the needle!

Here's the little center... looks like I must've gone for a swim in the morning - I still have deep lines around my eyes from the goggles (or do I always look like this?).

Here's the little man enjoying the big swings!!! He LOVED it!

And my little sweetie just a few feet away drawing a crowd so Hunter could monopolize the swings... that's pretty good teamwork!

Ah... Kids Are Good For the Ego

The other day when we were on the MRT Hunter saw this picture and said "Baba" (which is 'daddy' in Chinese)... I got a big smile when I looked at the poster and thought - "You know, you're not too far off, kid... your baba does look similar - minus the metal claws and scruffy hair!"
The next day we went for a walk down by the movie theatre where these posters are super-sized and again he kept calling out "Baba, baba"!!! Pretty classic!!!

I'm not even making this up... everytime we pass by any poster or see any bus with this image, he starts going on and on about his "baba"... you can be sure Tony's standing a little straighter and flexing a bit more around the house these days!