Visitors Leave

As the saying goes, All good things come to an end. Aunty Bess and Ishan had a very small sending-off. Aunty Bess and Mum enjoyed Corona and Science Noodles while three little boys tried to get a share.

Fortunately, the boys only wanted the noodles.

Visitors

On one of the few days with decent weather, the boys were taken for a tour of the parks in Neihu again. This is probably Graham's favourite jungle gym and Craig liked it a lot when he was small too.

Ishan and Aunty Bess came along as well. Ishan seemed to be going through a flower child phase.

Craig didn't like all the attention being given to someone else and needed to have the camera aimed at him before he would calm down.

There was also some after-lunch wrestling on the floor of the fast-food eatery.

Craig has continued going to football lessons. He likes the lessons but is still getting used to the idea of teams playing against each other.

The turnout at the last few lessons has been much better. Eight or nine kids makes it more fun for everyone.

Even when Craig is wearing the same colour bib as other kids he doesn't really know why....

Aunty Bess and Ishan have spent plenty of time catching up with the extended family.

There was a special lunch to mark the 75th birthday of Craig and Graham's Taiwanese Grandma.

Craig really enjoyed the birthday cake.

After lunch, the Four Siblings, also known as Aunty Suprana, Uncle Guapo, Mum and Aunty Bess, took the children to a nearby park. While most of the adults chatted happily the kids played just as happily.

Trip to Yilan

It was a sunny Thursday at the beginning of March. It felt like a long, wet, miserable winter had finally ended. The sun was shining brightly and things were drying out, even if it was still damp underfoot everywhere you went.

Craig and Graham travelled by car to Yilan. The first stop was the headquarters of the King Car group. It has a whisky distillery, huge cafe, and a visitor center.

Craig and Graham were pretty happy about the big wide space to run around.

Other people in the group included Great Aunt From the Fifth Floor, Great Aunt With Glasses and two of their friends.

The cafe can be seen in the background behind the massive lawn.

Craig and Graham's Aunty Bess and Cousin Ishan also came along. Aunty Bess was cool enough to wear sunglasses.

Graham didn't appreciate having to get up earlier than usual. He only walked around for about five minutes. After that he only wanted to be carried and only Mum could carry him.

Even when he was inside the massive Mr. Brown cafe, Graham only wanted to run into the elevator and get in the way of staff trying to use it to deliver supplies. Mum had to keep the boy under control.

The only chance to put the boy down was when he saw something that he wanted to play with--flowers.

Very quickly Graham was by himself.

Lunch was had at a slightly expensive but lovely restaurant that went to a lot of trouble to take care of children. Graham was supplied with a long-sleeved bib and some very colourful tableware.

They also supplied extra bread rolls for the little ones.

For the adults that ordered beef there was an interesting mini barbecue. A hot black piece of stone was placed in a bowl on top of some coloured decorative glass beads. Some greaseproof paper helped stop the meat sticking to the stone.

After lunch everyone trooped of to the Luodong Forestry Culture Garden. (More info in Chinese here.)

There's an old steam engine and a couple of antique passenger carriages set up as historical exhibits. Our little group found a table to sit at next to the old train and drank coffee.

The three boys, Ishan, Craig and Graham, had heaps of fun playing there.

So, the adults didn't look around at all despite it being quite a big place.

Graham did a little bit of exploring but his little legs couldn't carry him too far.

Plus, he hadn't had an afternoon nap yet. So, he wasn't full of energy.

Graham had a short nap in the car on the way home so he was pretty happy about getting the chance for some exercise when they returned home.

Ishan and Craig had plenty of fun too.

After visiting a few parks Craig wanted to go for a run. So, he did laps of a school running track followed by Mum, Aunty Bess, Ishan, Graham and Dad. After doing a few laps everyone started heading for home except Ishan. He was still having fun running around.

But eventually he had to start running after his mum. He didn't want to be left behind.