Beach Babes

We had a lovely time in Sanya. Aside from my mosquito bites, that is. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. The spa was bliss.

They had a really cool pool with SAND in it. What a great idea! The kids loved it.The food was fantastic.All in all, we had a good time. But I'm not so sure we'll go back anytime soon. As a luxury resort, it left a little to be desired in the language department. While I understand the resort was in CHINA, and that people in China speak CHINESE....it is still a luxury resort that is trying to attract foreigners to this holiday spot. 'Hawaii' of China they say. And when you are struggling just trying to communicate the basics ("PINEapple juice, please" - and pineapples are a local export)("one extra plate, please"), then a little more work is needed. It was a bit painful at times. And, unfortunately, my Cantonese did not help, as we were in Hainan province. Ah, to know some Mandarin.

We had a lovely sushi lunch when we returned.......and then after we went downstairs for a play, we came back to the flat and Kate said,"It looks like something 'sploded in here."

My Mummy Went to Sanya and All She Brought Back Was a Lousy...

67 mosquito bites!

What She Learned In School Last Year

So today we were riding home in a taxi, and Kate started talking about when she is 12 and how we will go to Egypt. She asked if it was daytime in Egypt (it had already gotten dark here). I answered, yes, it is probably about noon-ish, in Egypt right now. "Is it daytime all over Africa right now?" she asked. Yes, I responded, about lunchtime.

"Well, there's no food in Africa, so, HELLOOO, it can't be lunchtime!"

Tea For Two

Today, Kate and I went to the Peninsula Hotel for afternoon tea. Charlie tried to pack himself into a bag, to go with us.Here we are....Afterwards, we went shopping and saw James. Outside of James' office is some kind of a Phillip Treacy exhibit, where Kate did a little posing........and the reason Charlie was not included in the afternoon tea excursion this time....

Now I've Gone And Done It

Have I mentioned that I signed up for the HK Marathon?

I have.

A Day Out

We went back to Ocean Park today, as it's half-term. It appeared that all the English kids were taken on trips this week, as it was completely not crowded.

We purchased our tickets, then asked the ticket lady when the next dolphin show was (we were unsure as to whether it was at 11 or 11:30)....she said 3:30PM!! Which was annoying, since we made sure to get there early so we could catch the early showing - we had previously failed to see the show twice in the afternoon, once due to timing and the other due to crowding.

Imagine our surprise (and irritation) when we happened to pick up a time schedule while pootling along, which said there was a show at 11:30. We rushed up the mountain on the Ocean Park Express (they don't call it 'Express' for nothing - we were there in 3 minutes) and made it just as the show started. I hate the ticket lady. And it was brilliant...
We went to the Atoll building and saw big, big sharks and huuuuge sting rays. Even Nemo's teacher. After lunch (note to self: next time pack a lunch) we saw the Jelly Fish exhibit, then went back down to the bottom, via cable car....here are Kate and Charlie pretending to be scared of heights...
We saw the pandas again...Took some photos with the park's stars...Did a scary ride that the kids were allowed on...Just outside the Asian Animal building was a great little courtyard that had big lanterns that people could write on...I think you were supposed to make a wish on it too...But Kate decided to draw a lovely picture of herself and Charlie...Then we did some more rides......And then we went home, tired and happy.

Where Does It Go?

This morning, Charlie ate six pancakes and one and a half fried eggs. And drank two glasses of orange juice.

Mummy? No, MUMMY!

Kate is obsessed with mummies. She would like to be a mummy for Halloween.

Mummy, as in wrapped in bandages mummy. Not Mummy, like me! Although she is a mini-me. But that's another story.

So I'm on a quest for white leggings, so I can sew some bandages on them so she can be a mummy (already have a long-sleeved, white t-shirt).

She has a little 'baby mummy' doll on a key-chain.

And she is dying to go to Egypt. We have agreed that when Charlie is 9, we will go to Egypt. She did say she was a little worried about the curse of the Pharaoh when we go to see the pyramids. But she said,"I'm going to take my fan so if the mummy curses me, I will just flap flap flap my fan, and blow the curse away."

It's All Very Simple To Them

This morning:

Me: Kate, we saw S__ and S__ last night!
Kate: Are S__ and S__ brothers?
Me: No.
Kate: They're just friends, then.
Me: No, they're married.
Kate: (confused look) A boy and a boy?
Me: Yes.
Kate: Why don't they just marry a girl?
Me: Because they love each other...
Kate: Oh, OK.

The Party Continues

An unsuccessful attempt at a family photo...Party GirlBirthday BoysWoohoo!Can you spot Daddy and Daughter?

My Baby Is No Longer A Baby!

Today is Charlie's 3rd birthday. How time has flown.

We went to Ocean Park for the day. The kids had a great time, even though it rained and we (still) didn't get to see the dolphin show (too crowded to see anything). We ate too much sugar and got wet in the water ride.

We saw the panda....The kids posed in the stationary balloon, since it was too windy to go up in the real balloon....We rode the Ocean Park Express to the top....We went on the water ride and wore these great plastic coat things to protect us....and then they came in really handy when it rained!We saw a great Halloween decoration that looked just like Charlie!And then we went home and sang happy birthday and had some cake!

Potty...Continued....

I mentioned last month that Charlie had been potty trained. He has done really well, it took pretty much less than a week to be sans accidents during the day. The only thing is that now he likes to be by himself in the loo. When he needs to go, I help him take his pants down and get him on the loo. And then he says,"Mummy go 'way! I do it myself!" It's great that he wants to be a big boy and takes his loo going very seriously, but when he does a poo, it's a bit messy if we don't catch him before he pulls his pants back up! He has gotten a little bit better - he now comes shuffling out with his pants around his ankles when he is done, ready to have a bum wipe!But he is soooooo proud of being a big boy now, and his great Lightning McQueen pants!

New Shoes

I got a couple of pairs of shoes the other day. When I pulled them out of the box to show the kids, they got all excited and wanted to try them on. The only thing is, I probably should have brought them out before they were getting ready for their bath. I'm not sure I was prepared for this scene (edited for decency's sake):

Mid-Autumn Festival

Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Our development hosted a really nice celebration, with all sorts of games, etc for the kids.

In the morning, I went with my lovely friend Delphine to get lanterns for the kids. We got some really nice ones; I got a butterfly for Kate, and a fish for Charlie. Plus, the requisite glow-sticks! The kids were very excited to have their lanterns and carried them down to the celebrations. And then I regretted getting such large ones. Because James and I ended up carrying them the rest of the night. Next year they will have token tiny lanterns! But a fun time was had by all, and then we went home and the kids declared it was time for bed.

Kate and her lanternCharlie and his lanternThe kids got stamps after every game, and after you collect five stamps you get a prizeThe lanternsKate with our friends and the pink bunny

....Interesting....Outfits

I don't know if I should be worried....But even better is this one....Kate 'helped' Charlie to dress this day. And of course, buttoning up the collar all the way was 'very smart'....