Continuing Saga of the Pumpkin Patch

I have some incredible friends- I am MAJORLY blessed. Lord knows it's hard to find close friends, and to find them on the other side of the world..well, it's pretty awesome. That being said, one of these awesome girlfriends who has lived here a while has a knack for where to go, local spots, what have you...or at least knows who to ask to find these cool places. She had received an email regarding this "pumpkin patch" in Yilan, so we decided to call it an adventure Saturday and see what, if anything this place had to offer. Now upon hearing pumpkin patch, I got pretty jacked up. I told you that was one of the things I missed. Apparently sensing my palpable excitement through my text, she basically told me to calm down, 'cause we weren't there yet.- So I settled myself down a bit, while not fully resigning myself to the fact that it was going to be a bust. The outcome? Somewhere in the middle. The place had the potential for coolness, I just think we got there a bit late....I mean in all fairness Halloween is today and we only went Saturday. Either way the kids enjoyed it, we got to go for a drive, get another pumpkin, get some photo ops with hanging guords and um...well, explore another piece of Taiwan that we had not yet disovered. Nothing shabby about that!

 

Pumpkin Picking in Taiwan

With the weather cooling, leaves changing and endless Facebook posts about pumpkin spice lattes, I know that Autumn has arrived. Naturally Halloween soon follows, which requires the annual hunt for a pumpkin. In Virginia we would go to the pumpkin patch, pick some apples, drink hot cider, eat caramel apples and drool over savory hot old fashioned cinnamon donuts. MMMMMMMM.

In Taiwan we do this.

1) Walk to the upscale supermarket that has ridiculously marked-up imported goods. 

2) Deliberate over the endless choices. (See box)

3) Smile at mom so we can check off this annual photo. Consider it checked.

4) Throw it in the cart and go. Total Time: 35 seconds

I am not even exaggerating when I write that it took 35 seconds. That is what occurs when the boys are in charge. I swear I glance at the produce for 2 seconds and there's a pumpkin in the cart. Seriously? I had to make Wyatt pose in front of the box, because I literally missed it. 

Oh well.- There are so many perks about living here I guess I shouldn't quibble. But you ALL know I will anyway.

Date Nights that Rock

Yeah. Not us. 

antique in question

Every girl likes to dress up. Particularly when it's a new dress with a little bit of tulle. It just make you feel... pretty. And I like to feel pretty. This leopard printed dress I wore was (FAABULOUS) for the annual Community Center Auction where there was plenty of Food, Drink more drinks and just Buying/bidding on cool stuff. You know what they say, when in Rome.....(What exactly does that mean?) Anyone?? I guess this is where google comes in handy. Anyway. I attend these functions, and "lightly" pressure my husband to accompany me, his beautiful wife because when we move back, this will not be our reality. THIS..these auctions, dinners and other crazy cool things we go to? THIS is not reality. I want to relish it as long as possible. Plus, refer to above, I like to dress up and I like to buy stuff. I even bought a red lipstick. Again, an instance which google was helpful.
*Rabbit Trail--- I wanted a red lipstick, because I wanted to look A) Different B)  Like Gwen Stefani. I accomplished one of the above, but I will leave 'which' to your imaginations. *Defining Moment of the evening: My ego was a bit crushed when Wyatt said I looked like a clown. Alas, at that point apparently I was disillusioned enough to think I was in the B category. I quickly recovered and happily left him with his beloved sitter.
The Auction was held at the Grand Hyatt. There was good food, entertainment, and fun items to bid on (even girl scout cookies). Naturally the night also entailed me hovering over coveted items  and getting all bent out of shape at the not-so-secret- silent auction. Will and I did score an amazing piece though..and I actually think it's a genuine antique. Really Will- it is....I swear.

The following weekend we headed out again to Oktoberfest. I know what you're thinking. Really?! Oktoberfest in Taiwan? LAME. Contrar my dear friends. Picture this. Large German man flown in from Germany, whose sole purpose is to ' act a fool' and pull as many people into his wicked web of crazy as possible. Mission Accomplished. One doesn't need to be drinking to join in...though a beer or two does help. The guy is a nut job...carrying around his horn, dancing, sweating, drinking, singing......good times. at the end of the night he pulls some hapless girl into his arms swinging her around, dancing, then proceeds to take his shirt off....and well. it's not pretty. Yes. That girl was me. That's all I'm saying about it. What happens at Oktoberfest, stays at Oktoberfest. I am nonetheless slightly scarred from the experience. Did I by chance mention the food? Troughs. Troughs of MMMMM. And pretzels. Some as big as Will's head. And my friends..we all know that's a big pretzel. Love you babe.

Words of Wisdom

Makes sense, doesn't it.

Back to School

Wyatt had an amazing KA teacher last year.- A guy who set the bar so high, I thought for sure no other teacher could surpass it. Can you imagine the colossal bummer that would be? I mean Wyatt's got a lot of teachers left in his educational career. Luckily, though not surprisingly, his teacher is great- and for the most part I think Wyatt really enjoys school....Other than his occasional remarks that it's just too long (Yikes!...He's in for a treat later in life- hmm?)
It's fun to see your kid get excited about learning. Not to mention this will be a huge year of progress for him - recognition of sounds, letters, math concepts and reading. I've even caught him calling school his "work" ...and rightly so, because he IS working. He has started his Mandarin curriculum and in one week has already retained more and speaks in better tone than I have achieved in the past 2 years.  His after - school activities are gymnastics, swimming and Lego's/robotics. Soccer starts in November. The kid has a more advanced social life than I do and I'm pretty sure I've put that pathetic statement out there before. He is now strutting around with the confidence of a young man 3x his age and unfortunately he is speaking like one as well. ( I will fill in under Wyattisms).

In short, he's growing up and he is a piece of work. A piece of work that we created by the way... Sometimes scary; most times simultaneously unnerving while kinda cool..but the jury's still out. Despite his sarcastic nature,( whaaaat?) and despite the fact that he's in Kindergarten now, he's still my sweet love, who is terrified of natural disasters....including wind and the smell of rain. He is the boy who says he's too old to hold my hand because he's 5, but reaches for me when he forgets and he is still the boy who wants to cuddle and lay his  head on my chest in the morning when we're not screaming at each other to hurry up because the bus is on its way. Ahhhhhh yes. Welcome back! Look for more awesome Wyatt adventures on my blog to the right. His teacher is amazing and has set up a blog that she updates regularly with pictures and curriculum.

Wyatt at orientation

Wyatt's seat!

Wyatt at the lunch board

Calendar time!!

Reading Circle

You know just being cool

First real day of school. Happy. Pre-bus when he freaked.

Wyatt's bus. I don't have the heart to show the post pics of Wyatt. OR me. All is well now though. 

Prague or Praha for those of you more cultured.....

I'm a junkie. It's official. I AM A TRAVEL JUNKIE. How am I going to come down from this high?   

Is it possible??? I mean at some point this will end... I guess I just have to just enjoy the ride while I'm on it. I wanted to preface that before I dove into Prague. Prague my friends? Is beautiful. The hotel we were at, the food we ate, the sights we took in, the history- all just breathtaking. For those who may (but more for those who probably do not know), my sister and her husband moved there in August to take an intensive class to become certified teachers of English. They will then most likely settle themselves over there for a while. My parents, to kill the proverbial 2 birds with one stone (?), flew over, stayed in the same hotel as us .. (actually in the same hallway) and we proceeded to do the unthinkable...vacation together.  I know what you're thinking, but this is the older, wiser, more mature Aly, and it was actually fabulous. Pre-trip, I was having paranoid flashbacks of family vacations from adolescence, but it was all good. We took in the sites, ate a lot of gelato, drank a lot of Pilsner, walked ALOT, and really just enjoyed one another's company. I know right???? 

How mature are we???

What did we see?*** PRAGUE RECAP*** My feet told me we had seen pretty much everything. My eyes unfortunately told me otherwise. Prague has a fascinating history. While we were only there one week, the sheer amount cathedrals alone to take in would have kept us there 2 weeks. We went to the Jewish quarter, which had a fascinating, though sorrowful history; the palace and the zoo each took up a day alone and then there were the towers, cobblestone streets, the outdoor flea markets and ALL the shops. My mom and I went on a ghost tour one night which went through town and underground.- slightly creepy, VERY cool. Will and I got to have a date night at a jazz restaurant where we had amazing food and basked in child- free lovers gazes. OHHHH and the architecture was breathtaking. Everywhere you turned there was a picture to be taken. Crazy. 
To keep Wyatt on board with the fast paced travel of the week he thankfully became OCD about collecting badges from each of the sites we went to(Charles bridge)( astronomical tower) etc. By the end of the trip he was officially obsessed AND pulling us all on board his crazy train as well. When one of the sites had two different badges to be bought, I don't want to even tell you how excited I got. Ah well. Wyatt got free rides on sore shoulders for nearly the entire week and bonded with his grandparents, which was pretty special to watch. 
Say it with me.....AWESOMENESS.

Oh and I hear that Prague is pretty amazing at Christmas. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

                              

                                               Spidey

chillaxin' looking at the ceiling to your left

                              

                                                           Awesome Cathedral

Date at the Ice Bar

Jewish cemetary

The Dynamic Duo

  

                          Ghost Tour

                                          

                                                               Weird, but oddly cool. This is actually a tombstone...