Carbs, Hikes and a Whole lotta' Love.

This pic cracks me up. 

So generally I withdraw and retreat to blogger abyss after a family visit. I'm making a conscious decision to rise above situational depression and power through this time. No. I am not self-medicating.
What I discovered from being with the parental units this trip?
*Apparently I rarely use my gluteal muscles. Yowza.
* There is a lot of bread to be eaten in Taiwan, and family visits are my favorite times to consume. When I say consume, I mean inhale.
*I really love carbs.
*The parental units are in really good shape.
*Taiwan is indescribably beautiful, which I rediscover each and every time family and friends come to visit.
So......what did we do? We...*ate carbs, *went to great breakfast/coffee places EVERY morning, *walked everywhere, *went to Sanxia, *Pingxi (where we set off lanterns and hiked), *Chiang Kai Shek Gardens, *Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, *Digital Market, *Yamingshan (to the Stone House restaurant for dinner), *The National Palace,*Taipei 101, *saw Despicable Me 2, *Ilan County (where we hiked on the rocks and saw Turtle Island) and also saw *Fulon beach (going for an abbreviated dip), *Hiked the Tianmou Trail, *Church, *hair washes, *shoulder massages/foot soaks, *local market browsing, *bike rides to Beitou (poor Will suffering a busted out chain in the process) ***Gasping for air.........Yeah. Been there done that Baby. One day we walked 10 miles and it was like 300 degrees out. 300 degrees. That's just how we roll. We barely made a dent during their time here, but a great time was had by all.
We love you MiMi and Dzia-Dzi!!! xoxoxoxo

Fulon Beach

Yilan County rock hopping

Pingxi Lantern Painting

Release of the lantern!

Changing of the Guard at Chiang Kai Shek Memorial 

Yilan County 

Turtle Island

Yilan County

Yilan County 

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial

More "extreme" hiking in Pingxi

Yilan County

Yilan County

So proud of Wyatt and his first major hike while parents were here. He appreciates "extreme" hiking. Ropes are more fun than stairs!

Roughin' it over Chinese New Year

We vacationed in Bali over Chinese New Year. I know. I know. We had heard mixed reviews so I was a bit wary of how it was all going to pan out...but I mean, c'mon it's Bali...reportedly one of the most amazing vacation spots in world. How bad could it be?
And, uh, yeah...it wasn't to shabby at all.
We ate, we played, we toured, we drank, we bought, we swam....we conquered! And yes. I'd do it all again. ; )

Christmas in the States

With Wyatt's superfulous amount of vacation/break time we found ourselves making the long trek back to the states.  First up? New Jersey to see 1/2 of my parents first, followed up by a trip to Pennsylvania to see Will's parental units. Seeing as we had seen the other 1/2 of my parents in August we didn't head out to Florida. *This is where the art of time travel would have been spectacular.*  In addition to seeing parents on this trip we saw neices, nephews, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and friends. Outstanding-  as the pictures clearly indicate. I only wish there had been more time and that I had not gotten the flu so that we could have seen more of our friends.

Below are random pics of our adventure.