Visit from Grandma and Paka

I took a longer than expected vacation from blogging (about 3 weeks) but I'm back!  And I'm ready to start updating our Macau blog weekly again.  So enjoy and come back soon to read about our adventures!

One of the main reasons for my blogging vacation was a wonderful visit from my parents.  All of us were so excited to have Grandma and Paka come to Macau.  It was so much fun to share with them what our life is like here in a very, up-close, personal way.  Plus, we really enjoyed having family around again.  One of the biggest adjustments we've made since moving is being too far away to see relatives regularly.  Moving our family half way around the world was an adjustment for my parents as well.  Since we lived 2 doors away from them in Utah, they were used to daily visits from me and the kids.  Talking through Skype and Tango just is not the same.  So, it was a special treat to be with them for a week long visit!

With only a week, we tried to squeeze in lots of fun activities, a few tourists' stops, as well as show them what life is like for us day to day.

We picked them up at the airport and spent the first 2 days in Hong Kong.

Our first stop was Disneyland.

It was a perfect day - not too hot and no rain.

Our first ride was Space Mountain.

Abby hated it!  This picture captures a little of her terror but I have to admit nobody else was anxious to get back on it either.  So we went to a more relaxing ride - It's a Small World.

After a few other rides and a cute 3D show about Mickey's Philharmagic, 

we spent the rest of the day in Toy Story Land.  

We love the bright colors and oversized toys.

Our favorite ride was the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop.

Day 2 - The Big Buddha

We took the tram ride across Tung Chung Bay 

and over the beautiful, green mountains of Lantau Island to

Ngong Ping Village.

Then, we climbed the 240 stairs to the

giant, bronze Buddha statue.

This statue is 112 feet tall and sits on a lotus flower throne.  

Before heading over to Macau on a ferry, we tried to make a quick stop at the Hong Kong Temple but nothing is quick and easy with 4 kids, lots of luggage, and a packed subway system.  

The temple was closing shortly after we got there 

so we just walk around briefly and took a few pictures.

The time change of 15 hours was starting to take it's toll on Grandma and Paka - they needed sleep.  And, really after 2 days of non-stop activities and walking, we were tired too.  We made it to Macau, showed them around our apartment, ate some dinner, and then crashed.  Paka had the hardest time adjusting to the time change so he was up in the middle of the night quite often and both Grandma and Paka were up super early in the mornings.  Just as they were starting to adjust and sleep more regular hours, it was time for them to go back.  And, as I understand, adjusting back is even harder.

On Sunday, Kyle showed Grandma and Paka his daily walk to work through the Old Taipa village and garden.  He shared some of the historic spots along the way, including the lime green homes and bright yellow Catholic church built in the early 1900's.  These buildings used to line the waterfront but due to reclaimed land they now only overlook a beautiful lake filled with lotus flowers.        

  

Grandma and Paka attended church meetings with us and experienced a warm welcome from our dear Filipino brothers and sisters.  After church, Kyle left on a business trip to Africa so the kids and I were the tour guides and entertainment for the rest of Grandma and Paka's visit.

We tried to follow our normal schedule during the week as the kids went to school each day.  Grandma and Paka joined us on our walks to and from school most days and learned quickly how tricky getting through the city streets can be.  One morning, as we crossed the busiest street of our walk, Grandma screamed "watch out" when a car almost hit Cade.  Her scream scared us more than the car did.

While the kids were in school, Leah and I took Grandma and Paka shopping and sightseeing.  We visited the Ruins of St. Paul's,

 

the oldest A-ma Temple built in 1488,

the Maritime Museum,

Taipa Pequena (check out the Macau city skyline in the background),

and a few parks including one where Grandma tried the ancient Chinese practice of stone walking.

One day we took the kids out of school early and spent the afternoon in Coloane.  We spent a few hours at Hac Sa Beach where the kids played in the water and sand.

We also walked around the town square of Coloane and visited the popular Lord Stow's Bakery where the famous egg tart was first created.

Our visit with Grandma and Paka was awesome - we loved it!  Although it was hard to say good-bye, we know we'll see them again soon when we go back to the US for the summer.  Only 60 more days, but who's counting!

A Day at the Beach in February

Since we've been in Macau, the weather has been anything but typical.  Locals have repeatedly told us that "this is not normal".  We saw little rain during the "rainy season", no typhoons during "typhoon season", and the "coldest month" of the year was not cold at all.  In fact, the weather in February was our ideal temperature - warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts and occasionally a light jacket.

With the kids out of school for a week during Chinese New Year, we took advantage of the nice "winter" weather and went to the beach.  It was a bit cool and overcast when we arrived but soon turned into a gorgeously warm and sunny day - perfect for a day at the beach.

We went to Cheoc Van beach with our good friends, the Knowlers.  Cheoc Van is the smaller and less populated beach of the 2 sandy beaches in Coloane (and possibly all of Macau).  

When we arrived, we were the only people on the beach.  The kids were pretty excited.

We walked along the beach,

 

climbed the giant rocks, 

looked for treasures,

and played in the sand before having lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the beach.  After lunch, the sun came out from behind the clouds and our nice day at the beach turned into an even more beautiful day! 

 The kids threw off their jackets, took off their socks and shoes, rolled up their pants, and waded out into the sea.  

 Cade and Abby were a little more daring then the others and ended up with water up to their waists.

 Ian, who prefers playing in the sand over the water, made a number of sand animals including this cute monkey.  

We had a wonderful time playing at the beach and enjoyed the warm sunshine.  Unfortunately the early season beach time found us a little unprepared.  We didn't put any sunscreen on and felt the consequences later.  A few of us, especially our hyper-sun-sensitive boy Ian, got our first sunburns of the year.  But no complaints - we still had a perfect beach day in February!