Zoo videos

Just in case you want proof of the roaring lion or pacing tiger, right here.  We only caught the ends of both of them, but still. :) :)  So cool!





And, just for fun.  The kids on the carousel. :)

Weekends

You know, Blake and I have both been working so much the past few years, it was really hard to get a weekend away.  So, with the recent change of jobs for me, our weekends are suddenly more free than they have been for a long time.  We decided to take advantage of it by taking a little trip.  It was a welcome weekend with our boys and some very good friends.  I could not have asked for anything better.  Here are some highlights. :)

Note to self

Always, always, always stay in hotels where a complimentary warm cookies and cold milk bar is offered from 8 - 10 p.m. as a bedtime snack. Holy moly. It was delicious! I would say that was one of the highlights of our little weekend away.

Zoo

We took Isaac to the zoo today. He was obsessed with the train, the elephants, and a peacock. It's so fun seeing all of this through a child's eyes! Love it!

See how much he enjoyed himself:

Vacation

Have I mentioned that I could really use one?

So, I'm dreaming of my siblings on their way to Australia right now. *sigh* I sure hope they have fun, and get some extra R&R for me. {Really, our family vacations are never about R&R, but more like, see as much as you can see in the small amount of time you're there!}

image via

Jumping the pond

We are back from our little trip to Europe. Here's just a snippet of what I think:

1. Everyone needs to visit London. I seriously love that city.
2. Traveling with a baby is pretty easy. Everyone is so helpful, and babies can make people around the world smile.
3. Jennifer: you are a lifesaver. Thank you for everything, including letting the stroller beat you up.
4. Look right and mind the gap.
5. I would do the entire trip again in a heartbeat {minus the screaming, melt-down, Isaac}.
6. If you have a baby and you go overseas, please invest in a Maclaren Quest stroller. It made our trip so much easier in so many ways!
7. Paris, for me, was a sufficient day trip. I'm not sure I'd enjoy spending more time there than that.
8. London has the best parks!
9. For more information, let's chat! :)
10. Please see the rest of my photos here and Jennifer's photos here.

world traveler

As of last Friday, Isaac and I are going to....LONDON!!! I'm still in shock over the quick decision making, but the plane tickets were cheap and we need a vacation. We are super excited, but just wish daddy could come too!

Indy recap

Some photos to sum up our little weekend getaway. We didn't get to do a few of the things on our agenda due to weather (baseball game) and other incidents (NCAA Museum was closed due to recent fire), but it was still a nice trip. The Indianapolis zoo has to be one of the best I've visited. Nearly all of the animals were in plain sight, and there were a lot of hands on activities. Plus, we got a pretty nice show from the walrus. I seriously think he posed for the picture!

As much as I'm not a fan of NASCAR or IndyCar, the Indianapolis speedway was still pretty neat. We took the track tour for $3.00 which took us speeding around the track at around 20 mph in a bus. We even got to see the brick starting line, and I've officially completed one lap around the Indianapolis speedway. Indy 500, here I come!

We also managed to get a sneak peek of the location/intersection (49th and Pennsylvania) of Peyton Manning's house , though we weren't sure which was his....bummer. :) In the first picture, you can see the white roof of the soon-to-be demolished RCA dome in the distance, and the new Lucas Oil Stadium to the right. Enjoy!

Some street art Blake felt like imitating. It was called Wonderment.

Taking off from the starting line. Oh yeah!

Weekend Getaway

Blake and I are headed to Indianapolis this weekend with a couple friends. We are considering this our "babymoon" of sorts as this will be our last trip before Bubs arrives. You may be wondering why we chose Indianapolis? It's simple,. It's a Midwestern city that we haven't yet explored {and close enough to be a weekend jaunt!}.

On the agenda:
A trip to the zoo
Baseball game
NCAA Museum
Paddle boating on the downtown river/canal
Checking out the vintage shops/stores
Sneak peaks at the RCA Dome and Indy 500
Whatever our little hearts please. :)

Have a good weekend!

Iowa pride

Obviously, a visit for us to Taiwan is almost always about family. We do however see some pretty amazing sights {by foot, car, and moped} all the while letting our Iowa pride show through {In case you haven't noticed, I think most of Brian's t-shirts the whole trip say something "IOWA" on them}. Can you tell what we're spelling in the last picture?


FYI: This is my last Taiwan post. If you would like to see all 200+ pictures that I've taken, please send me an e-mail and I will e-mail you the link to my album. :)

Modern Toilet

You may wonder, as I did, what is "Modern Toilet?" As we drove by this sign time and time again in Taiwan, I eventually found out that it is, in fact, a restaurant! Leave it to us to scope out a place like this. A place where your seating arrangements are bathroom themed, food is served in bathtubs, sinks, and toilets, and some of the food is designed to look like something someone would leave in the toilet (chocolate ice cream in poo form, bloody ice, you get the picture), but yet the food is very delicious. If you venture to Taiwan, I would recommend a stop here. :)

Of course, we had to have a little of our own fun with the place. :)

I'm back

...Jet lag and all....updates will come very soon {after I kick this jet lag, and stop feeling like a zombie!}.

Until then, here's a small preview:

Grandma in Brian's aviators. So cute!

From the other side of the world

We are halfway through our vacation here in Taiwan. Everytime I visit, I realize how much I love my family here. They are fun, spunky, and just wonderful to be around. I especially adore my grandparents! They're so cute. I promise more pictures and details when I return stateside.

But, I did want to share one of the things I really look forward to when I come here: getting my hair cut the cute Asian way. Here's a preview of my hair the day it was cut and styled. It's straight now, but still unbelieveably adorable.



P.S. Blake, I miss you {and Sophie too!}!

Preparing for Taiwan

In order to help my sibs and I prepare for Taiwan 08, Jennifer sent along these Hello Kitty quizzes. The best part is the English translations!

One measures your level of caring {take the test here!}. This is mine:


The second tells you which historical figure you are most like {take the test here!}. My results:


The final test measures your stress level {test here}. Mine:


Now that I know what Hello Kitty thinks of me, I think I'm prepared for our Taiwan trip, and it sounds like I should take up gardening to reduce my stress. I'll just have to discover my green thumb first! :)

Bahia

A short photo recap of Blake's trip to Brazil! What an honor and a gift for him to be able to help those less fortunate than us in some way. My favorite story from his trip: While on their way into the clinic one day, there were hundreds of people lined up. They were so thankful for the care they were about to receive that they greeted their "doctors" with applause.

First: Some of the kids he befriended at the orphanage; the first one is the two-year-old, who cried when he left. This was one of Blake's favorite parts of his trip, even though he said it was really hard to see kids with disabilities living in such conditions, knowing you couldn't really do much to help them. But, the group brought gifts for all of the kids, which they loved!
Next: Some shots at the clinic
Finally: A couple shots in and around Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The last one is my favorite!