Our sixth month

We have had a lot of fun to end our summer. I have a few new pictures of Jack and some things we have been up to. We just had an earthquake that shook us up pretty good. There was not any damage in Taipei, but I have heard of a bit down south. It was pretty exciting. I guess is was a 6.8. The epicenter was a bit south of us though. So the intensity here was not as strong. We have stayed very busy with Young Women's and Young Men's. Taylor and I are both serving with the youth. We really enjoy it. Our Youth total in our ward is about 13 all together with boys and girls. That is really big for this ward. They all seem really close to each other. This week our activity is ice skating. I will post those pics later. I am sure it will be fun. Well, this month is our 6th month here. We can't believe time has gone so fast. We may only stay until April, so this could be our half way point. I hope not I don't want to leave, but life is not always about what we want. I am really looking forward to the fall weather. The Heat is really getting old. Plus fall and winter clothing is my favorite. It hides all the wrong curves... with love, bean

Our sixth month

Tay's B-Day

Tay's B-Day

So our friends were kind enough to let me throw a surprise party for Taylor at their house. I am so grateful for their generosity. It was simple but fun. Taylor is not the easiest to surprise. He made it a little difficult to keep under wraps. He is usually so predictable. This day however, he changed his plans. I had to be really sneaky just to get him to the Palmers house. In the end it all went well. We swam and played a game called 'Settlers of Catan'. If you have never played it, give it a whirl. It is pretty cool. The kids just did as kids do. destroyed the house and cried a lot. Well, Taylor is one year older and as always, much wiser than myself. I love him and hope he had a great day. Thanks to the Bunkers and the Palmers for making it a good time. Being surrounded by good peeps makes all the difference.

how to bath a kid after cake

We spent our Saturday with the Palmers. I thought I would share our pics with you. We had a small B Day party for Jack's friend Addie (hope I spelled it correct). I think Jack enjoyed her cake more than she did. The boy loves chocolate... I think he is hormonal. Anyhew, afterwards we bathed them by throwing them in the pool. It was tonz of fun. My only regret is that I dont have pics of everyone!!

Taiwan's Basic Law of Construction... Cut it large and kick it into place

So we made it through our first typhoon. It was very exciting and yet very boring. We covet our weekends and this storm happened to show up on a Saturday. We were a bit bummed out. The storm was fun for a couple of hours. After a while though, we realized there would be no real damage, again bummed.(I know that is morbid but we really wanted to see something happen). After being in all day We finally got in a cab and went to the Taipei 101 to at least get out of the house. We were about blown away just getting from the cab to the doors, and I was slapped in the face by a very dangerous wet flying plastic bag. Don't ever underestimate the power of a wet grocery bag... I looked like Taylor just slapped me in the face. but once inside all was good.
The title of my blog for this experience may seem confusing, but I will explain. We have a big window in our front room. It wasn't until this very windy storm that we discovered it is not installed all that well. we had a bit of water leaking all around it... lots of fun. We also have wall paper around this same window. The water drains behind the wallpaper and onto the floor. YIKES!! We are just glad this is not our permanent problem. So, I thought the title was fitting.
We are still enjoying our summer here in hot and humid Taipei. We are finding more and more indoor activities to escape the heat. Jack is beginning to think that he lives at the mall. He is a bit too comfortable there. Worse yet is the fact that the employees know who we are, and they know Jack by name. This would be ok if it got us a discount once in a while. But seeing how all of Jack's friends are mall clerks. We need to move on to a new location. All of our friends are coming home now from summer vacations so we have more people to play with. The weather should start to cool off here in the next couple of weeks or month. So it will be back to the park and playing outside!!! I will update photos with my next post. seeeee ya

July update

We went to see the Terracotta Warriors which have been on display here for the month of July. It is truely amazing. If you ever get the chance to see it, it is considered the eighth wonder of the world, totally worth it. Our photos are outside in the courtyard of the Natural History Museum in Taipei. I have added a few extra photos of jack for your viewing pleasure. This last month was SOOO hot. The heat reminds me of Las Vegas in July. 105 degrees with 100% humidity. Not so bad except that we walk everywhere we go. It gets unbearable really fast. We are fortunate however, we do have AC in our apartment. We are doing well though and we do get out, despite the heat. I have learned a load of new bus routs so I have cut down my walking by a lot. Jack is learning to love public transit. My favorite find has been the bus to Costco. Many of you will not understand how AWESOME that is for us. Costco for me is like a little piece of home. It looks just the same as the states and the food court is almost the same. I love it!!! I did however, loose my cell phone on bus #204 on the way to Costco. If anyone finds it please let me know. That experience was not the greatest. Taylor was out of town for the weekend and I had to borrow some ladies phone at the mall to call Tay and let him know. We do not have a land line, so I was without communication until Tay got home two days later.... I know the grandmas are going to flip over this.... please no phone calls. I have a new phone now with a new #. We are well and hope you enjoy our little blog.... see ya

Taipei Temple

front entrance to church
this is the temple
this is our church


So we thought we would take some pics of our church and the temple. The church and the temple are on the same grounds. Temple on left and church on right. there is a large building in the back ground which is a university... not part of church.

Boys night out

So last weekend Taylor and a friend of ours, Colin, went on a trip to the southern part of the island. They rented scooters and cruised the coast. I thought I would make a post for him and show you his pics. They had a blast!!!! the scenery is really beautiful!!

I am so blessed

I am sitting here waiting for my baby to wake up. He is sleeping much later than usual (we were out late). Looking at his cute little mohawk with really no hair to support it. He is so beautiful to me. Yesterday we were learning where our belly buttons are located. I love watching him search for his. He giggles when I find it first and tickle him. I have found such a new joy in being a mother. My heart bursts wide open when I really sit and think about precious gift that my Heavenly Father has entrusted me with. I wonder who is teaching who. I have learned so much more from him than I could ever teach him. I count my blessings every day and thank God for him. He makes me laugh out loud daily. He loves to walk everywhere we go. and ride his little "Mr Peanut" scooter down the sidewalks of Taiwan. What a stud! We wont stay in Taiwan forever. We will bring him home to the rest of his family where you can enjoy him and love him as much as we do. My heart aches when I think about the fact that Tay and I are the only members of our families who get to enjoy this beautiful boy. Because we do live literally a whole world away. I just wanted to share a piece of my soul to say I am so blessed.