Washing the Car and T8 Day

When I first met Andy, he would spend an average of three hours washing his car...that may be an underestimate.  It was a running joke with most of our friends.  And while since having kids has changed his priorities, and he doesn't get to do it as often, time has not withered his enjoyment of washing his car.  So, the first possible weekend since being back in HK with a car, Andy took all the kids and Marina to give the car its first washing since owning it.  I'm not sure HK has seen an event like this...since we had several passersby with their cameras out...but they all had a good time.  I can't remember what I was doing...something productive, I'm sure...but I figured I have logged in enough car washing hours for a lifetime:)

Abby thought she would try the bucket...since Sarah's diaper didn't fit in it anymore!

Today the kids were home from school for a T8 Day...or Typhoon 8.  I recently read a cartoon that read something like, "We hope that this typhoon misses us,' said no Hong Kong resident ever!" We LOVE typhoon days.  Its the rare time when this very busy city just shuts down...and with good reason...the wind and the rain are CRAZY.  Now, I love them because I don't have to wake my four sleepers up at the crack of dawn and we can stay in our pj's if we like.  Many times, the T8 is lowered early enough in the morning that there is a mad dash commute by all the workers, which causes a lot of congestion.  But, when my children's school is closed for them, it's closed for them all day...woohoo!
I honestly didn't think we would get this day.  I kept an eye on the weather tracker and it looked like we were going to get missed significantly, and the rain had stopped before I went to bed.  So I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful T8 on my phone when I woke up at 5:45am this morning  I shared the news with Marina, and we both went back to bed!

We did have a very fun day today...Grace, who went to the store in the rain, and Marina surprised us with a special treat, cinnamon rolls in a cup.  We played a big game of Rummikub, watched a movie in the afternoon, Emma, Abby and Josh performed a show for us, and everyone was in bed by 8pm...yeah!!  Thus, I get to catch up on my blogging:)

Our Month of Birthdays

  We are jammed packed with birthdays in the summer...five of us in three months. And the last two years we have three of them in six weeks, immediately when we return to HK from our summer in the U.S.  I am not always up to the challenge, and have failed miserably in the past.  Luckily, my children have pretty low expectations, and we have enough people in our family that it always feels like a party:)

But this year, I feel I did a commendable job.  Sarah got the short end of the stick...because her birthday comes first in the barrage, and she doesn't know any better.  The running joke in our family is that her real birthday is August 15th...well, that is what Andy is trying to brainwash everyone to believe.  We have three other children born on the 15th of a month, and I was due to be induced that day.  But the Lord had different plans, and she came 6 hours earlier that our plans.  The funny thing is that she is our only pm baby...and since it was already 9/15 in Hong Kong, Andy thinks he has a legitimate case.  Too bad I was there, too, and felt EVERY feeling of that birth...on the 14th!

So Sarah's family birthday was low-key...just our little family of 8 (we include Marina, or as Sarah likes to say, "Meena!") It's funny, I actually love that she yells someone else's name almost as much as mine!

Marina and Sarah play peek-a-boo

Sarah gets lots of help opening presents

Sarah loves her cake

After she eats her cake...yes, I took her dress off:)

Twelve days later is Miss Abigail Kate.  I knew that I needed to step up my game a bit since she was turning six AND would be in school for her birthday.  So, I invited another sweet family who has three girls, one of which is named Kate and she and Abby are very similar and enjoy each other's company.  They came over for lunch and a swim, and we all had a ball.  We are very appreciative of this family, and grateful they could come over and help us celebrate our sweet girl.  Then, I made sure I knew when we were celebrating August birthdays in her classroom, and coordinated with the other moms for a cake and juice.  Whew...made it through another one:)

Lots of cupcakes for Abby

Abby with her teacher, Mrs. Miller

Abby doesn't need help opening presents:)

Silly girls...Abby and Kate!

Finally, Miss Emma Rose.  Her birthday is actually on September 15th, but because of Andy's hectic travel schedule, she had her first solo friend birthday sleepover party two weeks early.  She invited three of her closest friends from school to come over after school, swim, eat spaghetti (Emma's favorite), paint nails, decorate cupcakes and watch a movie.  It was a full afternoon/evening before two of the girls had to be picked up...but her longest friend was able to stay the night and most of the next day.
Then this past weekend, our family did birthday gifts, swim and dinner at the club while Andy was home for 48 hours.  We had some really good family down time, watched Cosby, and just hung out...things that our introvert loves.  After Andy left, Monday night I made Emma's favorite chocolate cheesecake for her birthday cake (Andy doesn't like cheesecake anyway)...and she approved:) Finally, I sent in brownies for Emma's classroom.

Emma reads her card from Abby

Lots of cupcake decorating

Emma and her friends enjoyed the pool

Chocolate cheesecake...yumm!!

Family dinner 

And now I am tired and glad that I have 5 months to gear up for Josh's birthday in February:)

More Driving Adventures

We have had such an interesting education about driving in Hong Kong.  There have been many victories...and many defeats.  But we are not disgruntled or holding back.  Each day it gets a little bit easier and we learn something new everyday.  Overall, it has made our life much easier...even if there is the occasional fail:)

A little over a week ago we learned our first lesson in car maintenance.  I had been out most of the day with the car in Shueng Shui visiting a friend.  My last errand was taking Grace to some soccer training about 20 minutes away.  As I was sitting at the light, about to turn into Hong Lok Yuen, I noticed that there were a couple lights on the dash that had turned on.  I decided that I would mention it to Andy when he got home, but when thinking of the day, realized that my cd player had been going in and out, which seemed odd.  I wondered if it was connected to the new lights I saw.  I arrived home and put the car in reverse to back in to our car park, and the car just stopped, died, turned off, kapoot! Luckily, momentum had carried the car halfway into the car park, but I was still sticking out into the road halfway.  I called Marina and asked her to come and help me.  Together, with the help of the domestic helper from next door, we managed to push the car the rest of the way into the car park.  It was a little cockeyed, but at least it was out of the street:)

When Andy got home, the first thing he asked is if I had parked the car.  I told him "No, I pushed the car!" and I explained what had happened.  After walking to the gas station nearby to see if they could help (no, they cannot) we asked around for a reputable mechanic.  After a few suggestions, I called one the next morning and got an appointment.  Then, I called the towing company connected with our insurance and asked them to tow our car to the garage in Tai Po.  They were very kind and able to get me there for my 10:30am appointment.  The driver picked up my car, and I got in the front seat with him, ready to show him a picture of the garage in hopes that he knew where to find it.  My lucky day...he did!  All the way there, I just prayed that the mechanic would be honest and that this would be a smooth process.  The driver dropped my car off in front of the garage and the mechanic met me outside.  He took one look under the hood and said I needed a new battery.  I didn't disagree, and thanks to my friend, had already gotten a baseline price of batteries.  He was going to charge me $150HK more than my friend had just paid for her battery. I suddenly got a streak of boldness and told him I wouldn't pay more than $100 off his asking price.  He asked for $50 more, and I compromised with $25 more...sold!  He told me that it would be done in 15-20 min.  I decided to go do some exploring and told him I would be right back.  I walked away wondering if I had made a good decision to negotiate with someone who is going to fix my car?

When I got back, the mechanic was sitting on the curb waiting for me.  He said that the car needed a new alternator.  This didn't surprise me, since Andy had made that suggestion, too...so I asked the price and proceeded to continue practicing my negotiating skills.  All in all, I got about $350 HK dollars off of what he was going to charge me for everything.  They were very kind, and I took a taxi home...Andy and I picked the car up that evening after Grace's soccer game...and the car is running great:)

Yep, really nice tow truck driver...in flip flops!

Our car being worked on in front of the garage...that's all there was to the garage, space for one car:)

There are a few other lessons I have been learning as I have leaned heavily on prayer and my GPS during these driving adventures:
1) Hong Kong is not that big.  Even when I am lost, as long as I keep looking for the right signs (which, for me, is usually Shatin) I will get where I am going.

2) Don't lean so much on the GPS.  Today I got lost for almost an hour.  Granted, I am not patient enough nor do I have a good sense of distance, so when it tells me to turn in 200meters, I usually turn too early.  But today, when I knew I was lost, the GPS told me that I had arrived at my location. Well, I had not!  I was lost in Kowloon City trying to get to Sai Kung...two very different places.  On the way home, I chose to follow a hand written map, follow the signs to Shatin, and use my own instincts...and surprise, I made it home, no problem!

3) There are some roads that should not be defined as roads.  Our friends live in a beautiful area of HK known as Sai Kung.  They have a gorgeous home with a beautiful view.  But getting there is a "white knuckler!" Driving it for the first time today, I don't think I was even breathing.  It is pretty much a one way road for about 10 minutes before getting to their home...and there are not a lot of places to get out of the way. Today, I had to back out twice...only hitting the wheel once (with no damage:) Like my husband said..."I guess you just get used to it?"

These photos were taken when I was sitting in the front seat of a taxi last May...knowing that I would probably be driving these roads.  I'm not sure what is harder...driving or being the passenger?

4) Every day the driving comfort circumference grows.  After all, it's just driving.  If I don't have to be somewhere, I will take a risk and give it a shot.  Yes, I have been honked at more times than I can count.  But the more times I go out, the more comfortable I get.  It has been fun, in most respects, with a dose of humility and stress added in.  But my children love that I can come pick them up after school...and for them to get an extra hour of being home versus on the train, it's worth it:)