Our dear friends/parents from New Zealand spent a whole week with us here in Taipei! Talk about spoiled!!! Tony also took the week off so we all had a blast together! We showed them parts of our 'everyday life' plus threw in a few special trips for good measure. There was plenty of opportunities for rest since the kids still took naps (albeit 2-3 hours later than usual), however, there was also shopping to be done and sights to be seen so there wasn't much rest... but somehow it was still strangely relaxing just being together with people we're so familiar with. It was a wonderful week and we felt so blessed that Papa & Mama/Nanni would come all the way over here to see us! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!
- Monday -
Of course no trip with the Clarks in Taiwan would really be complete these days without a trip to the zoo... so why postpone the inevitable!? We started Papa & Nanni off with guns blazing and took them out on day 1! It turned out to be a perfect day for the zoo - a) the weather was perfect - not too hot, not too sunny, not raining - perfect! and b) there was nobody there!!!
Hunter was set on riding the train so the fake pandas weren't a consolation... he finally snapped out of it when we got to stand and watch the pandas for as long as we wanted to - unlike the previous trips where we've just been allowed to 'walk by'!
And in the end, he did get to ride the train! We like taking the train to the top of the zoo, then we walk down - conserving our energy to maximize animal observation!
He was given a cool tattoo from the train volunteer... you should've seen his face lighten up as he walked around with his favorite sleeveless muscle shirt and exposed tattoo... don't get any ideas, little man!
Non-Sleeping Beauty did not want to miss out on any of the zoo action... so I gave in and got her up... just look at that face! Poor little princess!
It worked out that we spent most of our time at the Bird Kingdom on this trip to the zoo... and funnily enough - we'd never even been there! It was awesome! There were so many cool birds in big cages, but then we went into the aviary where the birds were just flying all around our heads and walking past us!!! What a brilliant place! I'll definitely be coming back to this section!!!
Helena really enjoyed Papa... I think at this stage she'd enjoy anyone who offered her freedom from the stroller - but by the end of the week I can assure you she really did enjoy Papa!!
The funny ostrich just poked his head up to eat the leaves along the brick wall... we thought this was so cute!
We needed a group photo at the zoo, unfortunately all the hippos are out of view... I promise - it's the zoo!
We took the MRT home for their first MRT experience... we purposely sat in the front of the train so as to extend the adventure!! Papa is operating the 'joystick' to keep us on track and Hunter is blowing the train's whistle... a little imagination is all you need!
What a pleasant day out!!! We were all pooped so we came home and crashed with the kids! Come to think of it actually, only I crashed with the kids... Tony took Dave & Bev downstairs for a swim when we got home! That evening after a home cooked meal, we went for a walk to our local fruit/veggie market for some local culture! It was a great first day!!!- Tuesday -
Since we had bigger plans for the rest of the week, I kept the kids home most of Tuesday while Tony took D&B out to do some of their shopping. We all met up again for some round the house fun and went out for a Taiwanese dinner at one of our favorite little places around the corner from our house.
Tony taught Hunter how to make a 'water bomb' using the umbrella bags. And you better believe that every time we leave the building now, Hunter grabs a bag and asks me to 'help' him fill it with water! This day was Hunter's 28th month birthday - he's almost 2 and a half!!!
The food just kept on coming! And we were impressed that Bev did so well with her chopsticks!
- Wednesday -
We split up for the morning hours - Tony & Hunter took Dave out on our new bike for an adventure ride along the riverbed, while we girls went to Helena's first modelling job! Helena did such a great job - she did everything they wanted her to do EXCEPT lay on her back - she was not about to forego a chance to crawl around and gum new toys!
This was the Chicco Peter Rabbit line for autumn/winter - she got designated for pink! Lots and lots of pink!!!
However, being the winter line - everything was long and thick and the room was neither cold nor windy so she had her own little red cheeks by about halfway through the shoot! Having Bev there was also very helpful... but let's face it, not having Hunter there was the most helpful!
- Thursday -
We did another girls/boys split for the first part of the morning. The guys rode their bikes again down to the riverbed - this time we met up at the Dajia Riverside Park for the annual Dragonboat Festival!!! And this time they took the camera along for the ride...
Dave's been breaking in Tony's new bike for us! We also just bought another baby seat -now all we need is a new helmet for Hunter and we'll be off on Clark family biking escapades! Yahoo!!!
They rode through the fruit/veggie market...
literally.
Then down along the river...
Hunter enjoyed getting off of the bike and onto a real vehicle!!!
Cecilia joined the Australian/NZ Chamber of Commerce team for this year's dragonboat races! So it was really fun that we came to cheer her on, but Tony knows half the team through work connections! Thankfully they won this race - thus the big smile!!!
Hunter LOVED watching the boats... he could hardly stand to be pulled away - which we actually had to do in the end - pull him away - to get home for a nap!
Helena thought the boats were pretty cool too!
We girls took the public transportation option... but the guys beat us home by bike!! Sweatier - but faster!
Helena was attached to the basketball... on this particular day it was all she wanted and she held on as if her life depended on it!!! Future Olympian?!?
After our lasagne dinner - we ventured back out for a quick trip to the Wufenpu clothing market not far from our place where we found great deals on children's clothing! Nanni Bev has got 8 other grandchildren so she was loving the selection and prices - most of the items we found were about $NZ5-6!!! Unheard of there!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to all of the kids!!!
Don't let the bag size fool you... there are heaps of little kids clothes in there! Hunter scored a new pair of shorts and a new singlet, while Helena got her first pair of shorts... all for under $NZ13! Not bad at all!!!- Friday -
We took a car ride south of Taipei to the hot spring village of Wulai. Thankfully we got ourselves organized quickly and made it out of the house before the traffic got bad. We took a dip in the hot spring river then ate a delicious meal of local grown greens and 'wild' pork! And still managed to make it home for naptime (well, naptime at 3)!
Sweethearts
We all enjoyed the varying temperatures of the river - though I was grateful for my crocs which meant my feet didn't get burned like they usually do.
While the kids were in bed, Tony took Dave & Bev up the Taipei 101 for a bird's eye view of what they've been seeing all week... it was the best day for being up there!!!
They even got to go outside for a windy view of the city! What a stunner of a day!!!
- Saturday -
To put your mind at ease - we did have some down time during their stay... and after our pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, none of us were in a hurry to go anywhere, so while Helena had a morning sleep, we all just sorta lounged around together doing 'family stuff'. But alas, once the little girl woke up, we were off... Tony & I spent almost 3 hours choosing our family photos from our May 2nd photo shoot while the kids were well looked after!
The BIG EVENT... Tony & I have been training for this 3km swim and it finally arrived! We all woke up early and were on the rode by 6.10am! That took some logistically manuevering the night before, but we pulled it off!!! It was another stunning day! We arrived at Guishan beach on the east coast of Taiwan about an hour outside of Taipei... well, we and over 2,000 others!!! Papa & Nanni took great care of the kids while Tony and I participated in this 'fun swim'. When it was all over and we'd all gotten as sandy as we could, we took the scenic drive home and by-passed the traffic jams! It was a beautiful last day together!!!
We were part of a team... though we just met them on the day and really didn't even swim with them. All we really did was stand in line with them while we did our aerobic warm up led by a famous instructor in the area... I'm not joking... 2,300 adults doing aerobics on the beach at 8.30am in their full swim garb to the music of "Fame" (with a bit of a dance beat added)... it was the most memorable part of the day!!! I've got to find photos of that!!! I'll add them when I do!!!
We helped get the family set up before our little adventure began... it really helped me to relax knowing our kids were safe with Papa & Nanni!!
We did the 3km swim in about an hour & 15 minutes!! That was on par with my fastest time in the pool! We're a bit skeptical if it was truly a full 3km, but hey... it was fun and we did it!!!
Hunter doing what he sees everybody else doing in photos...
Well, so that's it... a whole week with Dave & Bev!!! We don't have pictures of everything - the helpfulness, the encouragement, the gifts they brought, the advice they gave (Tony's not getting the bike), the babysitting they did, the loving words and kind gestures - but we really appreciated having them here! We miss you already!!!
The first night he just curled up and went to sleep... the next morning our bedroom door flung open at 7am (it was Saturday) and there was the happy little man - all grown up! Not bad for the first run really! So then came naptime... this is where it got a little crazy... and in the end, there was no napping done by Hunter (though I did convince him to stay in his room and read or play quietly for about an hour). The second night - really, no problem (we even had guests over and he didn't escape to join the party) - but at 6.30am I found him wandering in the living room... Uhhhhh... Okay.
only to be woken up at 5.30 for dinner!!! 
only to be woken up at 5.30 for dinner!!! 
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