This year has been so amazing... we have had so many visitors it's been so special. Thinking our guest bed was going to take a rest, we got an email from Taipei... and about six days later - Anna Liu arrived very late on 6 May to stay with us for almost one month!!! YAHOO!!! She lived our every day lives... there wasn't too much in the way of tourist plans and big schedule arrangements but we had a great time together just living life as sisters!
The last time we saw Anna was when we left Taipei for the final time in July 2010... Helena was almost 2 and now she's almost 6!!! Before Anna arrived, I did prime the kids a bit by showing photos from our blog book... so at least they were ready for her. They wanted to see her before school - but I thought letting her sleep was the best way to go... she and I went out to the Watson's farm for a leadership meeting then we picked the kids up from school for the first meeting! They warmed up to her immediately... the gifts from Taiwan helped!
It was like Christmas number 3 here!!! Thanks to Younger & Ense Jie for the game we played a lot... and thanks to Sharon & Anna for the fun stuff!!!
On Thursday, Helena and I were filmed for a Mother's Day snippet so Anna took Hunter out for a little walk past her favourite place - Subway and his favourite place - the library. I was so grateful that Anna was willing and able to hang out.
We kept our regular Friday night Date Night - so Tony and I took Anna out to Cuba Street for dinner. We ended up at a pub for typical Kiwi (non-vegetarian) food - she got a steak and cheese pie with hot chips! Perfect! We took a peek at the local "night market" for a nostalgic evening... not quite the bustle of Shi Da but it was fun.
After soccer practice on a stunning Saturday, we took Anna for a walk up Mt Vic. It started out just as a drive but I decided to park and walk... it was so fun... and it was such a gorgeous day!
We walked all the way up to the lookout... welcome to your new city Anna... it's home for now!
Of course, there were bribes involved to keep walking without complaint... gelato!!! YUM!!!
Hunter lost a tooth while Anna was here... yes... everyday life!
We woke Anna up early a couple of times to help us at the Arise Breakfast Club... funnily, this was her first experience with Marmite and didn't fully understand it's potency as she spread it as thick as peanut butter! HA!!!
I loved being able to talk deeply, share openly and show her the beauty of my city. But let's face it - I also loved having Anna's help! Laundry, dishes, meals, kids... really so nice - Thanks Anna!!!
Being Taiwanese, Anna loves to eat... so being a good host meant I had to introduce her to all sorts of foods to try! Tough job I know! I went for a bike ride with Kathy out at the Pauatahanui Inlet and let Anna wander around the beautiful inlet before re-grouping at the cafe for a tasty lunch/snack. She enjoyed pies, sausage rolls, muffins, Puhoi yogurt... coffee, tea, fish n chips, cake and biscuits... yep - on top of our healthy meals at home, we did enjoy a taste of NZ!
We made it in time to catch Hunter's cross country attempt but had missed Helena's first place run!!! Anna got a glimpse of daily life with school-age children!
It was actually a pretty good run of decent weather for the month... she rode the bike a few times which turned out to be one of her favourite experiences!
As much fun as we were having, a whole month in Wellington would've seemed selfish, so I helped her arrange a trip to Christchurch to visit the McFedries and Livi for two nights... then up to Hamilton to visit a Taiwanese pastor for about four nights with a bus ride through State Highway 1... It was so good for her to make those visits - all of it contributed to her rest and plans for her future! What an honour to host this spiritual leader and dear friend!
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