Hunter's Dream Day...

Hunter was hot at the starting gate just busting to get in there and start exploring!

What could be more exciting to an animal-loving, train-crazy, incredibly social 2 year old boy than a day at an adventure theme park?!? Apparently, not much...
The fun started on Friday night when "Uncle" Richard and "Auntie" Marlin spent the night at our place so we could all wake up bright and early on Saturday for our big day out. Leo Foo Village is an amusement/theme park about an hour's drive west from Taipei and it contained pretty much all of Hunter's favorites:

TRAINS & ANIMALS

We started in the African themed area which contains all the animals... this is where Hunter got to combine his two current loves - Trains & Animals!


We boarded the Narobi Express and meandered our way along the tracks looking at all sorts of wildlife - hippos, rhinos, ostriches, bison, deer, giraffes - it was really cool... the animals were all sort of just roaming around (at a safe distance, of course).

But with about 2 minutes left in the ride, the train broke down! It broke down to the point where all the passengers had to disembark and walk the rest of the way! What an exciting experience!!!



"Huo che, huai diu le!" - Hunter kept repeating this sentence the rest of the day (and into this week) - "The train broke!"

So we walked past the giraffes who really had no idea why these crazy 2-legged creatures were wandering so closely!

Here were the bison we rode past...

and the rhinos...

After our big adventure with the train, we were still game to take the safari bus ride to the "carnivorous animals"... this was super cool!! The bus, thankfully, was healthy and drove us past all sorts of exciting animals. Hunter was so excited just watching through the windows...

oh wait, the flamingos weren't in the carnivorous section... but they looked pretty cool!

After the big game ride, we had a lunch break and after watching a few others ride the real camel, Hunter decided this was all he could handle this time around.

FRIENDS

Throughout the day Hunter was making friends with all sorts...

Precious Helena was having a great time, too, but she did manage a bit of a nap!

Hunter made friends with the animals in the petting zoo where he got to feed goats and horses... sometimes using supplies that the other tourists had purchased - it's a good thing Taiwanese people are so loving of children!

At first he was a bit timid, but baba helped ease him into it...

and in no time at all, Hunter had the animals eating out of his hands!

FOOD

Speaking of eating...

we did our fair share... Hunter's got the crumbs to prove his approval for Ivy & Wayne's engagement cookies...

the Turkish ice cream vendor knew a good thing when he saw it and played the crowd off this little boy who stood there laughing over the sellers antics - so he gave Hunter a freebie, which brought more antics, which then attracted paying customers... we could work out some kind of deal here, eh?

Even Helena got her first taste of the 'forbidden' fruit as such... she loved it!


RIDES

Leo Foo Village is an amusement park, afterall, so we did our share of riding on the rides...

While Hunter & Marlin were slowly going round the wheel, Tony and I were spinning in the barrels (like teacups) - but good thing it was our last ride of the day - he spun it so fast we couldn't lift our heads or arms... everything was spinning after that one!

We took the 'log ride' - and they were not joking when they said you'd get wet!

Hunter hopped into the car with some other unsuspecting kids - thankfully there was space available and again, thankfully Taiwanese people are pretty generous.

Helena got a great ride too... though hers was a bit more familiar!

Tony & Richard had a go on the log ride too... they didn't get quite as wet as we did, though I must add that it did rain while Marlin & I were on it!

So that was it... our first time to Leo Foo Village - but not our last - we bought a season pass good for the next three months... so you'll see us here again!!!

Barely Made It...

Cynthia and I decided to take the kids to Playspace since it's already hit 34+ degrees here (thankfully the humidity hasn't kicked in yet)... Vicky & Austin met us there and we had a lively hour spent in the air-conditioned comfort of the cozy indoor playground... well, just us and a few other ex-pats from the "City Playgroup". It's a good thing we went when we did because my 10-trip ticket had already expired on the 4th of June but the owner had the grace to let me use up my last 2 hours with the kids... poor ol' Cynthia lost 4 hours due to expiry which makes the total experience a bit more expensive! At any rate, the kids really enjoyed it and it was Helena's first time to really appreciate the wonder that is Playspace!!!

Look at this happy girl!!! She was loving it!!

My buddy Hilo...

Here she comes...

there she goes... I don't know if I'm doing the right thing by letting my kids learn how to climb UP slides... but it seems to be a good physical challenge! I guess we can work on park etiquette later!

Hunter still gravitated toward the play cars... and seemed to be smart enough to skip the outdoor sandbox for the indoor a/c activities!

Well, the kids had to share the cars... but it seemed to work out fair enough!

Helena pulled herself up on this maze and just stood there for a good five minutes... till she found more worthy entertainment!

All that playing made us hungry so we went on a hunt for a burger joint I'd heard of in the area... I needed some fuel for the walk home! Though now that I'm sharing meals with Hunter it's a bit easier to stay on the 'super model regime' (just trying to get down to a decent size/weight for all those new clothes I need to pick up when we go back home in July) - but boy was I hungry when we finally made it home!!!

I had to call my friend Janet (aka GPS) to ask for directions to JB's Burgers, so when we finally found it I was relieved that there was a table & chairs available... it was stinking hot outside!!! It was a pretty tasty burger with a 'salad' option in the set so we munched on carrot, cucumber & celery sticks (I'll admit, we got fries to share between the four of us) and the boys handled themselves pretty well at the big table! Though I didn't envy the workers who had to clean up after us... but then again, that's what I'm dealing with every meal at home...

Thanks, Cynthia & Hilo for the fun day!

Too soon?!?

Perhaps we've jumped the gun a bit... we've got this child who really is a great sleeper... he goes to bed around 7.30/8pm every night and sleeps till 7.30/8 the next morning... he takes a nap for about 1.5-3 hours still everyday... sure he chats to himself and fools around a bit in his room, but heck, he's off to dreamland eventually... isn't this what every parent aspires to?!?
Crazy Clarks... this weekend we (I must admit, it was me who drove this point) decided we'd start preparing Hunter for his new sleeping arrangements while we're on holiday in July. We took the rails off his crib and turned it into the 'toddler bed' it doubles as. We were excited, Hunter was excited... it's all very exciting.


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.

He was so tired from his napless Saturday that he fell asleep in the stroller on the way to church today... and so we were hopeful for his second nap. But... again... it took trips to the room with firm voices, more stories and even a reprimand for disobedience... and after 2 hours of trying he finally fell asleep...

only to be woken up at 5.30 for dinner!!!

Summer Party!!!

Knowing full well we'd need something to look forward to after our visitors left and Tony went back to work, our playgroup had planned a SUMMER PARTY at a water park nearby! Definitely something to plan toward, eh!?! So Wednesday night I filled plastic bags with sand toys, water wings and beach towels. The rolls for the tuna sandwiches were sitting out where I'd remember them and the watermelons were in the fridge chilling. I went to bed tired, but expectant... so you could imagine the slight twange of disappointment when I awoke to the sound of rain! By 7.30am I was on the phone with Suzanne securing her house for the alternate venue with a text out to the other moms by 8.30... But in then end, we had a wonderful morning hanging out together and enjoying the opportunity to actually talk! I'm so thankful for other flexible friends... and now, we've still got the water park to look forward to!!!

Balloons constitute a party, right!?!

The kids enjoyed playing with all of Michael's goodies!!!

You may think Ellie's wishing for clear skies and warmer weather, but I think she's just checking out the heavy machinery in the middle of the road!

Helena is no longer satisfied just hanging out with the moms... she's a girl on the move!

And you know what's the best part - this is summer in Taipei!

This is pretty much a regular part of our summer routine, so I guess we'll just embrace it and be thankful we've got friends with fun toys for an occasional change of scenery!