Gone Fishin'

A few weekends ago Shayn went steelhead fishing in Riggins with Luke, Jake and his friend Travis. I thought it was so great that they were able to have some family/guy time, especially since Luke lives in Arizona and he usually only can get home for the Holidays. Not only did they get to have some quality time together in some beautiful weather, but it was also a VERY successful fishing trip as you can see from the pictures! They caught over 50 fish and Shayn even caught a 40 incher! They got to keep the ones that weren't natives and now we have a fridge full of fish:) Anyone for some smoked steelhead?

These are a few of my favorite things...

These are a few random pictures/good times from our Taiwan trip that I have to share. This is the strangest blog I've ever done but I'm going to try to do a quick explanation of each picture in order so here it goes: Aly and I in front of the swimming pool at the American Club, Erin and I trying abnormally large baskets on our heads, Kohen posting a "No spiders allowed!" sign on the front door, my very favorite new coffee mug that I found at a Starbucks in Taipei, Ander trying to pretend that he's not about to have his diaper changed, some girls riding rocking horses that actually move across the concrete like a real horse, Aly posing in front of some trees adorned with Chinese lanterns, Haagen Dazs in general, Kennedy playing upside down at an indoor play area, a random guy sporting an enormous China man head trying to walk through the front door during our dinner at Saffron (the hostess told him to get lost), Erin playing in the forensic equipment at Nathan's office, and Aly and I taking a nap. And that, my friends, completes the Taiwan travel logs:)

Food & Fun

I have a thing for beautiful food, and don't worry because I documented all of my favorite food in Taiwan...and I also documented some kind of gross food too...all for your viewing pleasure! In addition to Chinese food, we had some amazing Indian food and Thai food while we were there, and I still lust after the Risotto and Truffles that we had at the American Club! Shayn's favorite find was a Red-Bull type drink called "Super Ox". It comes in these little mini-cans and tastes much better than Red Bull, and it's supposedly full of anti-oxidants. We smuggled several cans home with us:) There was some pretty gross food too, like the "Egg and Mashed Potato Sandwich" sitting nonchalantly in the glass display case at Starbucks, or the chickens hanging in the food court at Taipei 101 that still had their heads attached...appetizing! Something that was constantly cracking us up was that things really seem to get lost in translation in Taiwan. For example, this beer that Shayn found, simply titled "Bar Beer." Driving down the street I was always whipping out my camera, trying to get pictures of all of the signs because most of them are hilarious and make absolutely no sense. One of my favorites was a cafe we would pass all the time called "Is Coffee" -makes no sense at all! At the night market we would find all sorts of cute shirts and then realize that the words on the shirts weren't spelled right or what they said on the front was just a bunch of nonsense. Who knew Taiwan was such great comic relief?

Night Market & Chinese Temples

The night market was a huge highlight of my trip in Taiwan. Imagine a mall mixed with the fair...it's a very long line of tents outside and there are soo many people everywhere! It is huge and there is everything for sale from umbrellas to purses to carnival food...and really nasty unidentifiable food too. And the shoes! It is a girls' shoe heaven! You never know what you might see, people dressed up and standing on stools yelling into a microphone to try and get people to come into their stores, and the strange thing is it seems to work! We went to the night market 3 or 4 times and each time we discovered some new alley full of wonderful shops where we got to bargain to our hearts' content:) All of the girls at the market wear colored contacts and fake eyelashes so long that they look like Venus flytraps, they are very blinky! In the picture of me with the two girls, you can see the one on the far right is sporting these snuffleupagus lashes! (By the way I loved those girls, they worked at my favorite boutique "Miss Baby" where I discovered several gems!) I found it very interesting that all of the mannequins in the shops are white with big heads of blond curly hair. Another thing that I loved in Taiwan is there are beautiful Chinese temples EVERYWHERE. They are very elaborate and my favorite one is tucked into the hill where my sister lives so we would pass it everyday. There is a big furnace where they burn fake money for good luck (what?) and at night it glows a strange shade of red that is borderline creepy! I had to get out one night and take pictures, I was a little scared but don't worry, the smell of burning incense calmed me down, haha!

Taipei 101

While we were in Taiwan we went to the Taipei 101 building. Up until January it was the tallest building in the world, it is now second to Dubai. We went on a foggy day so the view wasn't as amazing as usual but it was still really cool! The building itself has lots of fun, upscale shops and lots restaurants. We had lunch and then stood in line for about an hour before getting on the fastest elevator in the world to the 89th floor. The elevator was really cool, there were fiber-optics on the ceiling and a little elevator meter that showed how fast we were flying through the floors! We were so high up that we could feel the building sway back and forth...scary yet fun all at the same time! That night we went out to dinner at Tai Town and stopped by the Grand Hotel, the only traditional Chinese hotel in Taiwan. So fun!

Ping Shi

It's Chinese tradition to write all of your goals and wishes for the New Year on a lantern and send it off into the sky like a balloon. Apparently if you do this all of your wishes come true so we thought it was worth a try:) We drove to this little town called Ping Shi, along with masses of other people, and we set out to make our lanterns! If you Google Ping Shi, a video comes up of all the people letting their lanterns off into the sky all at once, it is the most beautiful thing ever! Shayn and I were quite pleased with our lantern, and when we were finished writing on it we took it outside where they lit it on fire and we got to watch it sail away...I'll have to keep you posted on whether or not all of our goals and wishes come true this year:) On the way home we almost ran out of gas and when we stopped at a little town to ask where the gas station was, they directed us to the "gas station", which turned out to be a lady who meandered over to the car holding a funnel and a small jug of gas. She funneled that gas into the car like it was an everyday occurrence and sent us on our merry way, what an adventure!

Valentine's Day

We got to experience Valentine's Day Taiwan-style this year! Pixie sent goody-bags for the kids and we spent an afternoon making (and eating!) Valentine's cupcakes. Then Erin and I planned an amazing date if I do say so myself:) We went to dinner at the cutest little Indian place and it was DELICIOUS! Then we went and had back and foot massages at this place where they give you some really hot sea-green shorts to wear during the massage. Actually not hot at all. We followed that up with ice cream fondue at Haagen Dazs, that's right, ICE CREAM FONDUE...best V-day ever:)

Chang Kai Shek Memorial

We had so much fun at the Chang Kai Shek Memorial, it was absolutely beautiful! We were lucky to get a little sun on a Sunday afternoon and because it was Chinese New Year there were lots of people there and a little carnival set up with games and food. This was where Shayn and I got to smell stinky tofu for the first time and let me just say that it is a life-changing experience...wow, that is a smell that will stay with us forever! We had front row seats for the changing of the guard which was really cool, those poor guys really stand there all day and don't even flinch! There was so many beautiful places at the Memorial, we had to take advantage of the photo-ops!

The Year of the Tiger

We had so much fun on Chinese New Year's Eve! Erin and I found the cutest mini pineapples at a market that we used for our centerpieces and even though tradition calls for fish on the holiday, we decided to have hamburgers instead since round food is supposed to be good luck. After dinner we went out to the balcony where we had lots of fun with sparklers and fireworks. The boys pulled out the big guns for the finale on the top balcony and we all cuddled up to watched the show! Before bed we gave the kids little New Years treats that included dragon-heads and dress up masks that turned out to be a huge hit...who knew?

Uncle Shayn!

We decided to keep Uncle Shayn's impending arrival a secret from the kids so that it would be a fun surprise for them. He arrived late at night so during breakfast the next day we told the kids that we had a surprise for them, and I think that the last thing they expected was for a person to emerge from the guest bedroom, they were literally speechless. Well, for a brief second anyway. Uncle Shayn was quickly whisked away to look at every dollhouse and pirate ship on the premises. From that moment on it was lots of rough housing, tickle wars and adventures of spider hunting...and Auntie Ashley was almost completely forgotten until his departure! One day Kohen asked me in all seriousness if Uncle Shayn was Mr. Incredible-now that's a fan base! Every morning at the crack of dawn we could see three little sets of feet through the door crack, not so quietly whispering for us to get up. One morning Nathan and Shayn went golfing and when I opened my bedroom door in the morning, Aly tried to peer around me desperately asking, "is Uncle Shayn in there? Where did he go!?!" Well for me to say that the boys had a good time golfing is probably not doing it justice, Shayn has officially declared it his best golfing experience ever, and I have to admit they had a beautiful view:)

Chinese New Year at School

My first week in Taiwan Erin and I were on our own since Nathan was out of town. It was also the week of Chinese New Year and the kids each had a function at school to celebrate the holiday. First up was Kohen, we got to go on a field trip with his class to a local market to buy ingredients to make dumplings. Going to the market is quite the experience in Taiwan, there is lots to see...and lots that you wish you didn't see! It was really cool to experience the market with Kohen as he discovered fish that were still flopping and even caught a butcher in the act! He looked up at me very concerned, and while the butcher chopped away he said in all sincerity, "Is that an arm?" I guess we should have skipped that one! We went back to Kohen's school to make the dumplings, and it turns out that Kohen is a professional dumpling maker:) We also got to go to Aly's school and watch her performance...both of her performances actually. An unsuspecting adult had left the microphone right in Aly's reach and before we knew it the whole school and all of the parents were watching Aly intently as she gave an impromptu performance. When she was done with her little solo the whole place even clapped! Needless to say she was quite pleased with herself...she is definitely her mother's daughter!

Welcome To Taiwan!

I finally arrived in Taiwan at 11:00 pm, (8:00 am Boise time) a full 24 hours after I left! I think it's safe to say that I was beyond delirious when I finally pulled up to my sister's beautiful house. After a good night's sleep I woke up to an amazing view out of my bedroom window. It looks out over a big farm complete with fruit trees and adorned with tons of little white butterflies. I had no idea what a jungle it is there! It is very green and lush and you can hear exotic birds singing all day. I came out of my room and was greeted by some very excited nieces and nephews and we got the party started! Of course I had to bust out my suitcase full of treats and presents for the kids immediately! Lollipops for breakfast?

Touchdown Tokyo

Shayn and I were so lucky to have the opportunity to go spend time with my sister and her family in Taiwan during the Chinese New Year. Getting there however is easier said than done, turns out Taiwan is VERY far away! Well into my 20th hour of traveling and chasing the sun the whole way, I finally caught up with it in Tokyo and witnessed the most amazing sunset ever at the airport. It was a sign of good times to come!

Shayn's Birthday Fiesta

This year the Fiesta Bowl fell on Shayn's Birthday so naturally we had to have a little football fiesta of our own to celebrate! We did presents and cake the night before and Shayn made out with all sorts of good loot:) The next night we covered all aspects of a proper fiesta: sombreros, margaritas, chili and jello shots! I even got Kiefer a mini sombrero but I don't think that he loved as much as I did:( All the kids formed a cheerleading squad complete with stunts and the Broncos won the game! It was a great time and a perfect excuse for a party on a school night:) Happy Birthday Honey!

A New Year In Sun Valley

Shayn and I were so excited to spend our New Years Eve in one of our favorite places, Sun Valley! We went with Misti and Jason and had such a great time. The drive there was beautiful and we spent our first night at a cute little pizza place in Hailey watching the Humanitarian Bowl. The next morning everyone geared up for Snowboarding and we got to ride the new gondola and have lunch in the lodge. We had an amazing dinner with two other couples and hit up Whiskey Jaques on New Years Eve for the countdown! The next day we went to the Golf Club and watched some football before Sushi dinner for Jason's Birthday. 2009 was such a crazy year! Along with most people we have felt the effects of this unpredictable market and although the year was full of lots of good memories, it was also full of lots of challenges. Shayn and I are so excited for a new year and the possibilities it will bring and I'm so glad that we were able to get away with friends to Sun Valley and start 2010 out right!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is MY FAVORITE time of year, I love everything about it...the music, food, family, parties, everything! We kicked off Christmas Eve with a service at Calvary Chapel and then headed over to Chuck & Maria's house for dinner and games. It was great to see everybody, especially the family that lives out of town. Natalie and Robert arrived in Boise late in the evening so after Maria's we met them for drinks and then we all came back to our house for pizza. Christmas morning Shayn and I got up early and opened presents. As usual, I got s-p-o-i-l-e-d from my Husband:) Then we went over to Jake and Carmen's for a yummy breakfast and more presents. After that it was back to our house where my family came over for dinner, games...and more presents! It was great to be surrounded by so much family this year but we really missed the Jensens:( Although something tells me those kids didn't miss us quite as much when they were playing on the sandy beaches of Thailand!