Since the 4th of July landed on Saturday we decided to have a Playgroup Party on Friday complete with American classics like hotdogs, pickles, corn on the cob, marshmallows and even apple pie!!! I had some big ideas, but the weather changed them a bit but we all had a good time nonetheless.
My attempt to keep food in one general place worked generally well... though I did find a few scattered items throughout the living room later, but I think that was probably Hunter's stash!
We had an international crowd (German, Dutch, Singaporean, Malaysian, British, Taiwanese) with a standard American menu... although I did find a Taiwanese treat in the buns I planned to use for the kids hotdogs - red bean paste!!!
Looks alright!
Helena enjoyed her independence day - she sat in her seat eating corn on the cob, fruit, cheese and some bread all by herself! She's really getting into this self-feeding thing!
After everyone was filled to the brim with carrot cake, apple pie, caramel corn and fruit (this is only a few minutes after the main meal which also included healthy treats like pasta salad and pesto rice) we did make it outside for a bit of running around. It's great that we've got a playground in our complex!!!
Everyone enjoys a bit of time on the slide! Especially Helena!
Suzanne brought over their new golf set and the kids really enjoyed having a go on the putting green! I'm not sure why I haven't thought of this before, but the kids really had a blast!
Sarah was adapting her sports - she must get it from her multi-sport parents (we had met them while doing the swim a couple of weeks ago).
It was fun having Margriet & Lara back in town. They were part of the playgroup when it first started but they've been living in Singapore for a year already - time really flies! Especially when you've got children.
Siena took over my job as 'cooler' and Ashee just loved it! We have this great spritzer bottle that really provides a nice mist - just what you need when it's 35 degrees outside!!! I need to keep this baby in my stroller for everyday use... it's just trying to remember!
Toward the end of the party, Hunter was on clean-up patrol... he's the right guy for the job... he's been known to carry over 5 items at one time!! He loved having his friends over to his house again - it's been a while since the group has actually been at our place and you should've seen him jumping around as his guests entered! He's an extrovert alright!
Thanks everyone for making it such a fun day!! And thanks for all the food - I didn't have to cook for my family that night!
This time the train made it around the track without breaking down - though Hunter did remember our last adventure and commented "hou che huai diao le"... and yes, our daughter is chewing on the seat in front of her... she actually was chewing on everything that day and lo and behold this week she's got 2 new teeth!!!
After checking out the animals, we headed to the "Wild West" in honor of the holiday! I actually felt like I was at Knott's Berry Farm!
Hunter's not looking very patriotic...
The whole group
Yep, that's the last bite of our token hamburger... it really wasn't that great, but the steak & cheese sandwiches we got later made up for it!
Helena and I waited around while the others rode a couple rides... she was supposed to be napping, but she wanted nothing to do with it! And yes, she's still chewing on things!
The Turkish ice-cream guy gave her a freebie this time while we waited for Hunter to finish the carousel ride! Lucky 2nd child... I think Hunter was well over one before he even tasted ice cream!
A group from New Zealand are here for a month performing in the South Pacific section of the park. Tony had done a little work relating to their contracts/visas so it was fun to stop by and see them perform. I think they were happy to meet other Kiwis.
The Fire Dancer was a lot of fun... and thankfully he was wearing something under that short loin cloth!
Hunter quite liked the performance and so did Helena... she was sleeping until the music started then all she wanted to do was get out of the stroller to see what was going on!
This time around at Leo Foo Cun Hunter got to experience a few more rides! He was right into it all... Tony had the right idea with the umbrella, though - it was a slow journey on the ole katamaran...
Ashley's a bit of a thrill-seeker so we were surprised she wanted to ride such a tame one - but it was fun flying in front of friends. Hunter was busy looking back at them through much of it!
This was Helena's first ride!!! I think she enjoyed it... she didn't cry or try to climb away, so I guess that is a positive reaction, right?
At the end of a long, hot day all we really wanted to do was sit down and rest... but alas, we had to say good-bye and drive home! Thanks Walkers & Erick for a really fun time out of the city!
This was Helena's first real experience at the sand pit... she enjoyed the crunchiness of the coarse sand - we'll see how she goes with the California beaches.
The sandpit really did the trick - Hilo fell asleep in the stroller (so did Michael) so I brought him home and put him in Helena's crib while Hunter, Helena & I ate lunch. Helena went down in the pack n play not long after, but my turkey boy didn't sleep at all. So of course when Hilo woke up, there was no convincing Hunter to take a nap then... so he played with Hilo at the table and snacked on Hilo's lunch too!
Then we went outside again...
where they splashed around, ran up and over the bridge and made a general mess of themselves... but they had a blast!
I'm so thankful we've got our own little playground where the kids can just run around! What a total blessing!
Before Hilo left Hunter gave him a big hug...
.JPG)