In February, my parents made one last trip over to Taiwan before we leave for good. They arrived on a Friday and so at midday came with me to pick-up the boys. It was quite the surprise!
For our first lunch we had potstickers and dumplings.
The boys went crazy when they saw the PJ Mask figurines Grandma and Grandpa got for them. Big hit!
I had a haircut planned that day so I said goodbye to the boys and left Mom and Dad to it. They were troopers to watch the boys considering how exhausted they must have been. They even put the boys to bed that night as Luke and I had a dinner with friends.
On Saturday we drove out to Juming Museum and wandered around the sculptures.
It’s such a cool museum with lots of great activities for kids.
And Saturday night we headed to Chilis for dinner and margaritas.
Sunday we took Mom and Dad to a fancy hotel in Dazhi for an Australia/New Zealand Day lunch celebration. It was a great opportunity to introduce them to a lot of our friends in Taipei. The food was great and we all got lucky and won several raffle prizes.
On Monday, with the boys back in school, we were able to do some longer walks and have nice breakfasts out. 
Getting the boys off to school each morning was a struggle as they wanted to stay home and play with Grandma and Grandpa instead. Thankfully they were always happy after school but then it would be a struggle getting Toby down for nap. So much FOMO going on.
Jude, much more so than Toby, was all about Grandma and Grandpa. He was attached to the hip with them and managed to get a lot of one-on-one time.
Lucky Jude got to go see the Lego Batman movie with Grandpa one afternoon while Toby napped. They stopped and got donuts after and bizarrely enough there happened to be a news camera crew at Krispie Kreme at the exact same time they were there and so we discovered from his teachers that Jude was on Taiwan’s nightly news picking out his donuts!
One sunny day after school we picked up a bunch of food from 7-11 and had a little picnic with the boys. 
On Valentines Day, Mom and I did yoga together and then went out shopping and for dinner.
The big highlight of the trip was travelling to Cebu in the Philippines. We were all hanging out for some sun and warmer temperatures. We had a 7am flight to Cebu so we stayed at the airport hotel the night before. Grandma and Grandpa showed off their ping pong skills to the boys.
Arriving in Cebu felt great. It was raining when we landed but warm and not long after we got there and checked-in we were drinking margaritas overlooking the beautiful beach.
Jude and Toby loved this lady, who they called ‘princess’.
We spend 4 nights in Cebu at the Shangri-la and it was fabulous. Hands-down one of the coolest things about the resort was how kid-friendly it was. The boys had a ball everyday playing on this water playground.
The water slides were for kids-only which we found out right after this photo.
The pool area was so perfect for little kids. We loved the kids pool which was quite big and even had a canopy slung above it to keep the sun out.
Most days, after several hours at the pool, we would grab NZ Natural Ice Cream and chill out in the shade. 
The beach was also one of the better ones I’ve seen for kids as there were tons of shade umbrellas for guests to use.
We had breakfast outside every morning at Aqua, in the Ocean Wing. The boys loved getting a donut there every day. 
Luke and I snuck away one night for date night but ended up at the same restaurant as my parents and the boys!
Here are some more photos from our trip- so many good ones.
Back in Taipei we had several days before my parents flew back to the States. We had dinner at Commune,the food truck area, one night.
We also took a trip in the Gondola up to Maokong. It was cold and raining so we didn’t stay long. 
Jude got to go to the movies with Grandpa and Grandma to see Moana again. Burger King, popcorn and ice cream – lucky boy!
Of course no trip would be complete with out a meal at Din Tai Fung.
And for their last night out we went out without the boys for a more relaxing meal at our favourite places for Shanghai and Szechuan cuisine. 
On their last day we picked the boys up from school and they played one last time before saying goodbye.
It was a great trip with so many great memories had (even by our little pout-pout fish, Toby!). Our goodbye this time wasn’t as sad as it usually is as we will be together again in no time. See you guys in May!
Aunty Faith travelled all the way from NZ and stayed with us for almost two weeks. The boys hadn’t seen her since last Christmas but they that din’t matter, and they were both instantly all over her. She brought so many awesome presents for the boys. They were always asking if she had any more.
Faith was a trooper. Right off her long flight and ready for action. We started with danbing at our local breakfast shop.
Then toured our local wet market (and dodged scooters).
Feeling like a treat we got $6 manicures
And finally went to check out the coolest building in Taipei.
Everyday was a new exploration. One beautiful morning we went out to CKS Memorial. 
On the weekend we hung out at Huashan Creative Park.
And Longshan Temple.
Faith and I escaped for a very relaxing 2.5 hour Thai spa treatment. Ahhh….
We also did some nightmarketeering. 
The boys were so fascinated watching Aunty Faith apply her make up. 
On Faith’s last night in town Luke had a work function so we went out for girls night. Dinner at Dozo.
And the most amazing cocktails ever at Fourplay.
Here’s Faith’s cocktail in a conch shell complete with dry ice!
Luke joined us after his function for a nightcap.
We were all sad to say goodbye to Aunty Faith. A month later and the boys are still asking when they will see her again. Thank you Faith for everything, we had such a fun time with you. xxx
The day after we arrived, we left the boys with Grandma and flew to Wellington, where I would be receiving my New Zealand Citizenship.
It was great being back in Wellington and getting to walk the streets and reminisce. We even stopped in for a beer and fries at our favorite old Belgium Bar, Leuven.
That evening at Te Papa, I officially became a citizen.
And after we celebrated with burritos and margaritas with Pearl, Nick, Faith and Axel.
The next day we were back at the airport lounge toasting a successful trip but also excited and anxious to see the boys again. 
Grandma gave us a glowing report when we returned. Toby has no problem taking cows milk before going to sleep and Jude was apparently very helpful.
The next few days we spent relaxing and enjoying all the things we missed about New Zealand.
We popped in for a visit at Luke’s Oma’s house and Toby and Jude had an awesome time playing with their second cousin, Travis.
We also hung out at Abby and Brad’s one sunny afternoon and lucky Jude got to ride a 4-wheeler and help herd the cows for milking.
On the weekend, we visited Grandma and Dean’s house on the coast. They have several cows grazing and the boys went nutty trying to pet them.
They also loved picking the delicious strawberries from her organic veggie garden and helping to water the plants.
At the time, there was a lot of tough days for us with the boys being sick. Toby was so clingy and difficult when he had his cough. It was really exhausting for me.
And on Christmas Day we had such a tough morning at the ER with Jude that it took us awhile to get into the Christmas spirit. But once we were at Abby and Brads, with everyone, it didn’t take long.
Here are the gorgeous hosts and the incredible table Abby made all by herself!
Lovely ladies.
Happy Auntie.
Another happy Auntie.
It was so cool to have all the cousins together in one room, and then on one couch. It’s going to be awesome to see them as they grow over the years. Little Harriet and Eli, the youngest, will surely be walking and talking next time we see them. So hard to imagine.
On Boxing Day, the family got together again for a belated celebration of Faith’s 21st Birthday. Jude and I stayed behind at Grandma’s house as he needed to rest up before our trip to the South Island. I was sad to have missed it as it looked like a great day at the beach.
We rented a house with our dear friends. The last time we were all together was 3 years ago in Singapore.
Excitingly, these two lovely ladies are both pregnant so we had a lot to chat about.
Hanmer Springs is a great little holiday destination. It has a cute little town, gorgeous moutain views, and hot spring…there’s not much else. So we didn’t do much besides eat, swim and sleep.
The exception to this being a trip to a small animal park that we caught word of.
It was awesome and turned out to be a big highlight for us.
It was such a nice, relaxing time and thankfully Jude was able to recover from his croup while we were there.
It was certainly sad to say goodbye to our friends as we don’t know when the next time we will all be together will be.
After Hanmer, we flew back up to Auckland and spent a night in the airport hotel before flying back. (Well, before Jude, Toby and I flew back. Luke had to take a different flight because of a last minute issue he had to deal with.)
Our dear New Zealand family and friends, we miss you so! Thank you for all the great memories! And for those we didn’t get to see on this trip, hopefully next time!
That first night, Jude insisted Bampa put him to sleep.
In the morning Toby was pretty excited to have new friends to play with. He warmed up to them right away and was totally attached the rest of the time.
Their first day we went for a walk around town.
And to Din Tai Fung for the most delicious lunch ever.
Bampa promised Jude ice cream after.
On Saturday night we left the kids home with our babysitter and took them to A Cai, so they could sample real homestyle Taiwanese food in a very lively atmosphere.
We were all happy to arrive at our hotel room after the long journey.
Later we found some energy to check out the rooftop pools famous for the fabulous views.
And after a quick play in the basement playroom we headed to happy hour.
And then, to the indoor pool for one last swim.
Before we know it it was time to leave. Wee Toby fell asleep in Grandma’s arms in the van back to the train station. Precious!
Back in Taipei we got into our normal, everyday routine again. Going to the wet market,
Playground,
And lots of walks around.
We spent one morning at Leo’s for a change of scenery.
And lots of time at home chilling out.
We also managed one more adult night out at our favorite Japanese spot.
We spent 4 days down there and the boys were really pooped at the end of each one.
It was nice to escape the city for a bit and get to play in the sand and surf.
Their final few days we were also busy. We went to IKEA for hotdogs and a new chair for Toby.
We celebrated an Early Thanksgiving.
Baked cookies with Grandma.
And took Grandma to Toby’s modeling gig.
As always, time went by all too fast. We miss this scene so much. It was so sad waking up the days after they left and the boys realizing that they really weren’t there.
We miss you Grandma and Bampa and can’t wait to see you again.
Five years in Taiwan 