Hong Kong

We left Vancouver on the 26th November, a very special day for me personally, ready for our new adventure. We arrived in Hong Kong 14 and a half hours later (yes, you read that correctly 14.5 hrs!!!) at 8:30pm at night. The boys did remarkably well on the flight and thank goodness for the personal movie screens and the loving cushion of mum and dads laps.

We spent the next two mornings sight seeing and the afternoons at Hong Kong Disneyland. We all had a great time especially us bigger kids on all the rides!). We are planning on stopping in Hong Kong on our return flight to so some more sightseeing. Great place to visit but sure would not like to call it home.















Buzz Lightyear, Goofy, The lighting of the castle













The Disney train, The boys and I on the tea cup ride - FUN!

Packing to leave

What a frenzy of excitment. We finally found someone to rent our house and the packing is well under way. To start with the kids were 'helping' me and even Auntie Lan and my wonderful mother-in-law Gail, came to help. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My fabulous and I do mean fabulous, father-in-law David came to help Kevin with the huge task of laying the flooring in our bedroom and ensuite. And ta-da.....the end result...........

Unfortunately the kids and Kevin got sick so the last couple of days were frantic and un-organised but we got it done!! I am so sorry to all the people that we had planned to do things with those last few days - don't worry we will be back before you know it!!

I also managed last month to finish the throw rug I was knitting. I gave it to Gail for Christmas so I hope it is a lovely, warm comfort for her this winter!

Packing....hmmmmmmm

Well here we are at the 1 week mark for when we start the drive to Vancouver. And here we are, still no bags packed, no master bedroom, no en-suite and no cleaning! We spent Sunday over at the rental house doing work and found we still have another few hours to do there. I feel like today though the motion is going to be started and that pile of washing that is stopping me from packing will be defeated!

Poor Buddy is sensing the move and is very worried. I think he is going to be heartbroken, the poor thing. He is such a needy dog but he will be well cared for. It is hard to think of leaving him though.

Wish me luck with the packing!!!

Renters - check!

I can feel the excitment starting to build. We just received confirmation that the last house is being rented - yippeeeee! Now, mental checklist:

1. Put bedroom back together (THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVE FOR ALL YOUR HELP - YOU ARE THE BEST F.I.L.)
2. Re-create the en-suite
3. PACK!!!
4. Clean the house
5. Enjoy the process

It is so true at any stage of a persons life, that is easy to get caught up. I am trying to stop every now and then, to breathe, and be aware of the process. I mean, this is an amazing opportunity to travel, visit with family and re-affirm our sense of self. To know that our life here is being put on a tempory hold and we will return to waiting, loving arms in both countries.

I am so looking forward to this journey.

Simple Pleasures

All the bustle around here has made me realise, I need to make sure I am still making time for creative play with the boys. So after a rather ordinary day yesterday, where I spent most of my time on the computer or phone, I got the kids to help me make dinner. We decided to try making "healthy" chicken fingers. I used the last of our bread to make the bread crumbs and also added some ground flax seeds. Then I set the kids up with aprons and popped them in front of their 'role'.........

Sam was on flour, Harry on eggs and I was on the crumbs. They did wonderfully and they loved it. Harry especially liked all the textures between all three bowls and I let them have some free play time with them at the end. I know what you are thinking....what a mess but really, it wasn't that bad. What a beautiful way for them to learn and interact. Such a simple, messy task brought them joy and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. And guess what? Dinner time was fight free and they ate all their dinner!!! I don't think they particularly liked them but they ate them as they had had a part in their creation. We did our usual question around the table "What was your favourite part of today"....they both said cooking and playing in the first snow fall. Now if we could only find some reliable renters.....but that is another story!