Easter Weekend

Our original plan was to head to Bangkok for Easter weekend, but our little lady has been having some ear problems.....so after two visits to the pediatrician and one visit to the ENT doc, we cancelled the trip and rescheduled it for early November.  Luckily, it turned out to be a great weekend in Hong Kong and we had a lot of fun together.

We decorated Easter eggs....

We got some good loot from the bunny.  Our bunny brings each kid a toy instead of a basket of candy.  Fin got a sit-n-bounce along with some art supplies and Nolan got an activity ball.  And to prove we're not totally anti-candy, we gave Fin a chocolate bunny.

I walked into our room after opening Easter gifts and was blown away by what a beautiful day it was. 

Then we headed over to the American Club for brunch, where they also had lots of activities set up for the kids. 

She's never met a bouncy house she doesn't love.  (She's in the back left behind the Asian kids. =))

Then we headed back home before heading to the Yeung's house for a bbq. 

And on Easter Monday (a public holiday here which meant the day off of work for Dave!) we went to Shek O beach.   

After the beach we tried the eloquently named "Shek O Chinese and Thai Restaurant" for lunch.  We'd heard great things about it, but weren't that impressed.  However, Nolan loved playing with chopsticks. 

Tennis Fever

My tennis coach teaches a tennis prep class for wee ones on Thursday afternoons....so in the true Hong Kong spirit of keeping kids busy with school and activities ALL THE TIME I thought we'd try it out.  We recruited Fin's pal Adam to try it with us and the kids did well.  Fin was initially a bit shy since it's all boys, it's a new coach AND a new sport....but Coach Eric is tres magnifique (he's French) and was super sweet with Fin.  I had to take pictures because a) Dave really wanted to see what it was all about it and b) just in case she makes it to Wimbledon, we've got some shots of her playing tennis at age 3.

Zach, Grayson, Cameron, Adam and Finley

Getting a little one-on-one with Coach Eric.



Final Tuesday

Messy mouth Nolan after lunch yesterday.  It was also a weird hair day for him.

Today marked Zoe's last time at our Tuesday playdate.  For quite a while now, Finley, Zoe, Lucie and Eloise have been meeting up every Tuesday with the helpers.  They switch houses each week and get together for lots of playtime, dinner and even baths.  Out of all of the girls, Finley and Zoe are the closest....I have no idea what we're going to do without our favorite little redhead. =(

Zoe, Finley and Lucie 

A little TV time before bed....  here are Eloise, Finley, Zoe, Lucie and Lucie's big sister Mimi. 

And the lovely ladies who supervise the madness.... Stella, Ruby, Josie and Carmelita. 



Macau

Somehow when Dave suggested 18 holes to our friend Rob, it turned into 6 parents, 2 helpers and 5 kids going to Macau for the weekend.  Macau is another SAR (special administrative region) of China similar to Hong Kong, but the similarities end there.  Not many people in Macau speak English, it's tiny compared to HK and up until it blew up as "Asian Vegas" there wasn't much there besides Portugese-influenced architecture and ruins (at least that's my limited understanding of it).

Here's Fin and Zoe on the ferry ride over.

The four exhausted kids after their dinner - Ryan, Adam, Finley and Zoe.  I'm an awful mom and neglected to take a single pic of Nolan all weekend.  Shoot me. 

Fin and Zoe had sleepovers all weekend long and loved it.   

The first night we went to a Portugese restaurant that was insanely hard to find.  30 minutes late for our reservation and we finally made it there! 

Here's me, Alex and Vanya.  I always joke that we sound like the lamest "posse" ever - the token American, the stay-at-home-dad and the Canadian.  I swear, we're more fun than we sound.

And here's the ones who keep us clothed and fed....Rob, Sarah and Dave. 

Fin and Zoe are as much sisters as they are BFF's.  I tend to say things like that often to guilt trip Sarah for moving them away (they leave for NYC on Friday and we're so sad).  We didn't even plan it, but they both wound up wearing black and white Gap swimsuits.  Too cute. 

Striking an uber-cheesy model pose. 

Not sure if they're dancing or driving.... 

Ten Months (and change)

And here he is.... the handsome little terror.  I think he looks just like my Grandpa Bud in this picture.  Only younger.  And with more hair.

Nolan climbs on everything, unplugs plugs from outlets, goes up stairs, tries climbing into the bathtub, bullies his big sister (in an adorable, loving kind of way) and is an expert thrower.  Simply put, he is the opposite of how Finley was at this age.

And here's Miss Fin at 10 months. 

And this is what she looked like yesterday.

Okay, off to pack for our weekend getaway to Macau....wish me luck not leaving behind the children, Carmelita, the luggage, stroller, baby carrier or golf clubs. 

The Weekend

Sunday was a gorgeous day with a slow start.  The funny thing about this picture is that we have one of my sister in the exact same position when she was this same age.  Oh, how I wish Fin's naps were still a daily occurrence and not just a fluke.

Sunday's views from our balcony, which make us seriously question how we'll ever readjust to the midwest.

In the afternoon, we went for a walk/scooter ride/stroller ride along the seafront promenade between Deep Water Bay Beach and Repulse Bay Beach.  We love love love having these sights in our neighborhood.

We have lots of fun adventures planned the next couple weekends, so there should be some more exciting pictures soon. =)

Cousin Dinner

My cousin Sam and his wife Karleen came to visit us!!!!  They're here until Saturday, and we're enjoying their company so much.  They've been sight-seeing on their own during the days, and then we've met up at night for lots of fun "adventures".  Here's our Monday night in pictures. 

We started out by taking the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui, where we got to show off our beautiful city.

Then we went out for dim sum at Din Tai Fung (menu below).  YUM. 

We had a ton of delicious dumplings.... 

And some not-so-tasty dishes.  (Turns out we shouldn't have skipped over the word PRESERVED before the sliced beef we ordered.)  Sam was the only one brave enough to try this one, and even though the rest of us didn't touch it, it resulted in a ton of hysterical laughter at our table. 

He's hot.  (And apparently, so are the dumplings.) 

Sam's wife and I went to grade school together (and she's awesome).  I'd be lying if I said I didn't always know they'd someday meet, marry and visit me in Hong Kong.

We walked off our dim sum at the Temple Street Night Market, where we learned that the Temple Street Night Market is overhyped.

So then we went to Lan Kwai Fong for some cocktails before calling it a night.  (Poor Dave is always stuck being the photog.) 

Catching Up

Time is flying.  We're staying busy with the kids and enjoying every bit of life here in Hong Kong.  I started taking tennis lessons in January and am OBSESSED with the game.  In addition to  my weekly lesson, I play several times a week with Dave or friends.  A couple mornings a week Dave and I sneak out before the kids wake up and play next door.  I blame each missed shot/bad shot on the distracting views from the court rather than my lack of skills.

Nolan stays busy growing his mohawk, which is every bit as cute as it is impressive.

The weather has been gorgeous, so we celebrated BFF Zoe's 3rd birthday on Stanley Beach last weekend.

We've also spent a lot of time on L8 (the playground level of our building). 

We like to make Nolan laugh by blowing bubbles. 

He likes to make us laugh by skillfully overturning his stroller and crawling inside it. 

And some days are so exhausting that sleep overcomes Fin 3 minutes into a taxi ride.