A harbor cruise, a trip to Macau, a sports day and a Discovery Bay

Okay, I think it's time for an update. I finally uploaded pictures onto the computer, so here's a bit of a disjointed post with some of the pictures I've taken in the last few weeks.  

This was taken on the night that Mom and Nett and I went on a harbor cruise. I hardly took any pictures while they were visiting because they were both making up for that by documenting everything we did, but this night I could bring the camera. The red boat below (Aqua Luna) is the one we went on, and it was wonderful. Mom is insisting that Mike and I do it again for a date night. 

It felt quite luxurious to be sitting on a corner sofa enjoying the balmy evening temperatures and sparkling skyline with a complementary glass of wine in hand. All made even more fun by the enthusiasm of Mom and Auntie Nett. 

 And a few pictures of our last-minute jaunt to Macau. We stayed at the Galaxy, which was a newer Vegas-style glittery hotel. Actually, I really liked the Galaxy compared to the one we stayed in last year. It had a big man-made beach and wave pool with a little lazy river with paddle boats. It was actually a cooler day than what we had the week before, so we just used the hot tubs, but it would be fun to go back with Mike and Annika on a weekend and just hang out at the hotel. 

 (walking through the streets of Macau)

 Leila and I declined to climb the steps of the St. Paul ruins and hung out by the rickshaws instead. For some mysterious reason I woke up with a sore knee, so I was limping my  way through Macau (embarrassing!). Thankfully it left as quickly 

and mysteriously as it came.   

 Leila (and her monkey) enjoying a free ride from Auntie Nett. 

 Our room at the Galaxy. Good thing the bathroom had a curtain that could be pulled down. haha

 I thought for sure the flowers had to be fake- but they weren't!

 AND...  last Friday, Annika had a sports day with the other grade one and twos at her school, so Leila and I made the trip out to cheer her on. She was on the red team. 

 Getting ready to race. It was the most uncompetitive sports day ever. Each activity the kids could participate in... or not... no one was paying too close attention. There was no mention of who won. At the event in the picture below, the kids could run, and then walk back and run again if they wanted to. And again... until the horn sounded to move to the next event. I was talking to another mom, and she was telling me that the sports day at her son's school (Japanese International School) was completely the opposite. The students there prepared for it for a month, and it was very much all about who came in first, second, and third. She thought it was pretty funny that this one was so uncompetitive. Although, Living Waters was pretty competitive too, so it's not like it's just Asian schools...  
We also thought it was interesting that sports day is in November when Mike and I always remembered track and field days being at the end of the year. But then it occurred to us that that's simply because June is really the only month of the year (besides September maybe) where the weather would be warm enough to have it. And even then, most of his Track and Field days at LWCA ended up being blustery and cool, even though they were in June. Here, most outdoor things have been planned for November because that's the month when the weather is ideal. The start and end of the school year are way too hot to have a sports day... you wouldn't want to have it in June! So all the school camps are this month, and Annika also had a school picnic the week before. 

 Sweaty little runner...

 And... then on Saturday, we went to Shatin and rented bikes from the Good Luck Bike Shop and rode along the river. The bike they gave me had a little seat in front that Annika could sit on. Pedaling was a little tricky with a 6-year old sitting in front of me, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with her biking on her own since the bike trail was pretty busy and we didn't have helmets or anything. Riding bikes in Shanghai reminded us of how great a mode of transportation biking is- you can go so much further and faster than walking and see parts of the city that you wouldn't otherwise. I really wish we had bike trails near us and that it would be more feasible for us to ride bikes in HK as a family. Still, it was a pretty fun afternoon and we would like to do it again and next time rent them for a whole day and go a lot further. 

 Hanging out in Shatin Park after we returned the bikes. 

 Lovely scenery on a November Saturday, no?

 And... then yesterday we took a little trip out to Discovery Bay, which is a community on Lantau Island where it doesn't really feel like HK. It has a beach and lots of restaurants, and when it was first established, I think it was only British expats who lived there. Now, there are local people as well, but it still has a big expat presence there. 

 We met up with our friends who moved from Kowloon to DB just last weekend. 

 Discovery Bay isn't very big and a big chunk of it is the beach. It seemed like it would be a pretty fun place to live! 

 Annika walking with "Other Layla". That's what Layla and Leila both call each other (cute!). A year ago when Valerie was pregnant with her second, she pulled me aside and told me that the name "Annika" was on their list of name choices. That would have been funny... what are the odds?! In the end they chose the name Aly for their baby. 

 Then we hopped on a short bus-ride to "Central Park" where there were fish and turtles that you can feed. 

It was a really great Sunday afternoon that we spent with the Crawford family. It will be great to have an excuse now to head out to Discovery Bay! 

Birthday Celebrations

I haven't posted much in September because I haven't had anything very important to post about. It was a tough month with not knowing what to do about Leila and school, but now that we've made the decision to take her out of school, we are both much happier! And October is looking like it's going to be a great month!

 This year I didn't want to have to plan a party for Annika because I knew that we would be leaving for Shanghai the next day (we leave tonight! This is a quick break from packing). So I suggested that maybe I could bring cupcakes to school so her WHOLE class could celebrate with her, and she thought that was a GREAT idea. 
I had planned to buy cupcakes, but when I saw how expensive it would be for something that doesn't even taste good (baking is not the same as in 'the West'), I decided to first see if mini cupcakes would actually bake in our toaster oven. And it worked! I found the animal toppers at our grocery store. Annika was pleased, but I have promised that I will attempt the mermaid cake she had really wanted once we are back in Canada and I have a proper kitchen and oven and Superstore-to-buy-the-ingredients again. 

 Mr. N thought we should have the cupcakes in the chapel/lunch area during the pm recess, so Leila and I were hanging out while he brought them up. 

 Her classmates were very excited, and one of the boys had also brought lanterns for everyone since this weekend is the mid-Autumn lantern festival. 

 Such an excited birthday girl!

 I have heard a lot about this little character to Annie's right. She's always talking about "Matthew Tam" (there's another Matthew in her class) and poor Matthew Tam seems to always be getting into mischief. When I saw him, he said to me in an excited voice "I sit beside Annika!", and I was thinking "ahhh... I've heard about you". To me he seemed super cute and funny, but then again, I don't sit by him all day. HA! It was easy to spot the other notorious classmate because he was doing laps around the chapel. And then the next I saw of him he'd torn his lantern into something to wear on his head. Oh boy...

 Annika and Gigi

 After school Leila and I took the shuttle bus back with Annika (and I had the pleasure of sitting next to another hilarious kid), and we went up to Mike's classroom. Apparently his some of the girls in his class had heard that it was Annika's birthday (the EA in Annika's class has a daughter in Mike's class), so they made her some cards. So sweet! Mike was pretty attached to his class from last year and thought they were great kids, but he thinks that this year's class might be even better. I'm so glad he's found his niche- it sounds to me like his class has a pretty great teacher! 

 You will never regret doing the right thing. 

 Back at home, Annika opened her presents. 

 So happy to get the Lego set she was wanting. 

 And some more Lego to go with. 

 (This is what you gave her, Dad/Grandpa Erwin. We can show you next time we Skype.) 

 And then we went to Outback Steakhouse (Annika's favorite) to celebrate with the lovely Nadar family. Annika's friend Olivia had her sixth birthday two days earlier, so we thought it would be fun to celebrate together. The girls were so excited. 

 The boys. Olivia's father is the chaplain in the high school at CAIS. 

 The girls had fun switching shoes. 

The beautiful birthday girls. We had a great evening celebrating together. 

Time to get back to packing... and then off to Shanghai!

Six Years Old

 Happy Birthday, Annika! I can't believe I have a six-year old! Just like we did for Leila's birthday, we played the "favorite things" game, and here are some of her answers:

 Favorite food: pizza. But also ice cream and slurpees
Favorite treat: lollipops

 Favorite color: turquoise, magenta, green, pink and yellow
Favorite book: still remains "Julius, Baby of the World", a book by Kevin Henkes that Kerry P. gave to Annika on her first birthday (she grew into it!).

 Favorite thing to do in Hong Kong: Disneyland and Ocean Park
Favorite holiday (her idea): Christmas, Easter and Halloween

 Favorite subject in school: Art, and "when we get 'Golden Time'". 
Least favorite subject: math (they are doing subtracting up to 20 right now and she is finding it difficult)
Number of teeth lost: 5

 Favorite friends: Brigitta, Rachel, and Miyu
Favorite Bible story: Noah's ark

 Favorite restaurant: Ruby Tuesdays and Outback Steakhouse
Favorite movie: "Tangled' because it isn't scary

 Favorite TV show: Berenstain Bears
Least favorite sport: soccer. She does NOT enjoy playing soccer in PE. (too sweaty, too hard to score a goal) 
Sport she does like: swimming

 Favorite music: Animals- it's what puts her to sleep every night. She never even reaches the end of the album before she's in dreamland. 
Time that Annika leaves for school in the morning: 6:45 a.m. Totally crazy, but somehow she (and we) are managing. 

 What she misses most about Canada: the people- her grandparents, cousins and friends

 Countries this 6 year old has been to: Canada, USA, Mexico, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Indonesia. 

 Height: 48 inches. Looks like from her growth chart we have in her bedroom that she grew about four inches this last year. She's a tall girl, but surprisingly isn't the tallest in her class.
Weight: not sure, but somewhere in the 40-50 pound range, I think

Milestones from this year:

- learning to ride her bike this summer

- learning to read. She is starting to realize that she can read in her head (rather than read out loud to us) and will sit and read a book to herself.

- she can swim. I mentioned recently that she was starting to swim short distances, but she really can actually swim a decent distance in parts of the pool where she can't touch the bottom. It's her own type of doggy paddle, but for right now it works for her.

- starting to read/write/speak Mandarin. At a very very basic level, but still...

Happy 6th Birthday, Annika! You are a happy, adventurous, bright, and fun little girl. We love you so much! xoxo