Fudging Bedtime

Every night, the girls get some silent reading time on their own before lights out. We set a timer to help give the girls a sense of when they should turn out the lights but really leave it up to them to actually turn off the lights.

Tonight, both girls were having trouble settling down and when the timer went off, we heard Maddie (who was still wondering the halls) whisper to Erin: "Shh Erin don't tell them it's time yet - I'm not ready."

Maddie's Gappy Goofy Grin

Maddie is a beautiful girl. (I know I'm biased - and I think I'm blessed with the two most beautiful girls the world over.) Anyway, a couple of weeks ago she was asked to be the center model for a clothing campaign - she would be on the cover of the catalogue, participate in a fashion show and be on a bus. It all started off well but then between the catalogue shooting and the bus shooting - in literally a difference of 4 days, Maddie lost BOTH her front teeth. While still the cutest girl in the world, they had to cancel the bus shoot (too big to photoshop in teeth) and then a typhoon cancelled the fashion show. Too bad for the company but I can't help but feeling none of it is as special as seeing my little girl proud as pie to be showing off her new gappy goofy grin! :-)

All Attitude

Yesterday, we all climbed up the Yangmingshan stairs. When we got to the top of the stairs, Maddie, Peter and I wanted to plunge forward along the monkey trail and make it to McDonald's at the very top of the trail. Erin said at first she wanted to as well but then soon changed her mind. With Erin still angry at the world about twenty minutes later, we came to a little piddly stream crossing our path. We stopped for a second, looked at it and then upbeat, I proposed we jump over it or walk across the little wooden plank someone had placed there as a bridge. At that, Erin crossed her arms, pinched her face and defiantly walked right through the water!!!

Another new Taiwan sight

I've seen it on Ugly Betty but never actually in person here in Taiwan but yesterday, we passed a stall that has a big fish pool. Two women were sitting on the side gabbing away pleasantly (and appearingly painlessly) to each other with their feet dangling in the water. Dozens of fish swarming their feet taking little nibbles here and there. Apparently it makes for very soft feet but (shudder) its a new cultural experience I'm not ready for! :-)

Clever little girl

Erin continues to amaze us with her clever little cuteness! Tonight we had fajitas for dinner and after about ten minutes into dinner, she quietly and nonchalantly picks up her plate to head to the kitchen signalling she was done. As I've never seen her do this without me having to ask her to, I was a little surprised. Looking down I saw an empty tortilla. I lifted up the corner and hidden underneath was three green peppers, 3 pieces of meat, and some cheese - basically her entire dinner except a piece of avocado. I snapped my eyes to meet her and she had the most sheepish grin on - knowing exactly what she had tried to do and fully aware she was busted! But you have to laugh at what she tries to get away with! :-)

Splash City

One advantage to jet lag and 4 am wake-up times, is that our day starts very early and we can accomplish a lot more than we would with our normal 8 am rising time. Today, we decided to head off to the water park to beat the sun and if we aimed at getting there as soon as the park opened, we'd also beat the crowds. Normally, this would be a challenge for us but with 3 or so hours of wake-up time before setting off in the car, we managed to cook chicken, make a picnic lunch, pack our swim bags, have breakfast and get everybody out the door before 7:30. That's quite an impressive feat for us!

The water park itself was a blast. We went with good family friends with a daughter Erin's age and we all had a blast! Having only been there with my sixth grade students, I hadn't realised how many slides, fountains and splash pools were available for the young ones. The girls loved wading, splashing, and sliding! It was awesome. So much so that both families bought passes to come often. What another great Taipei find!

Back Home Again

It is so good to be home again. There is jet lag to deal with and a daunting year of work on the nearby horizon - and yet, it still feels so good to be home!

Our flights home were thankfully uneventful. We had a 17 hour layover in Los Angeles and so took the girls to DisneyLand. We had a great time! The girls were giddy with excitement all day and I think just about every one of their dreams did come true! (Cliche I know - but it was that good!) During a Maypole dance at a little "Coronation ceremony" we went to, Cinderella chose Erin's hand to hold from the fifty or so odd girls in the room. Erin only cracked the tiniest of smiles but her eyes were the sizes of grapefruits she was so excited! And Maddie finally got to see Tinkerbell who looked right at her, waved, smiled and blew her a kiss. The girls were starry-eyed the whole rest of the day.

The airplane ride home that night went well. Luck was on our side for we had two empty seats beside us - so both girls were able to lay down! Everyone slept at least 8 (some of us 9 hours)! That's a record for us we think. And now we're home and it does feel so good to be home!