Kindergarten Pumpkin Carving!

Thanks to an adventurous and creative teacher, even in Taiwan Caden got to carve a pumpkin! With a class of 11 boys and 4 girls, that's quite the adventure!With the help of their 4th Grade Reading Buddies and a few moms, they had a great time.

Teamwork! - Caden drew the face and his reading buddy cut the shapes.

Scooping out the guts!! Oh, yeah... 

A little help from Mrs. Ulstrom (his teacher)

 There goes the top!

Our school

Okay, so the last two months have been an absolute whirlwind of getting used to school, driving, shopping, unpacking, typhoons, critters and more. So I've been really bad about updating you all and I am sorry. I feel so disconnected when we are starting to really feel the distance. Plus... my mom just can't stand seeing that awful chicken head first thing on our page any longer :) So with that... here's a link to our school's website!

Morrison Academy Kaohsiung

And  a look at more of our everyday.

We love you and miss you!!

Pineapples at the field across the street.

"It tastes like candy!" - Caden

Our favorite popsicles.... "Mango, Cranberry, Mellon and Yogurt". Except we can't get them now. It's still 88 degrees out... but it's not summer, don't you know? So we've resorted to making our own sorbet to beat the heat. Just the fall treat you were thinking of, isn't it? :)

Hugs... Coopers

Costco... US vs Taiwan

So the first weeks of school have been absolutely crazy. Class time. Planning. Adjusting to new schedules. Getting time with our own kiddos. Needless to say, we haven't been on email or blogs or facebook at all. But I did want to take this quick moment (I'll try to post more soon... we have a retreat next weekend and maybe some downtime.)

But we went to Costco today. And I brought home a lovely rotisserie chicken. Yes!!! We can get them. But here's a little surprise I found as I was cutting it up for dinner....

Yes... it is what you think it might be... the head. I thought I was pulling apart the wing when something went "squish"... the eye. and I noticed the beak.

So let's review.... Costco US vs Taiwan:

Same: Skippy Peanut butter, Testers (samples), even salmon burgers!! (the same brand!)
Rotisserie chicken

Different: 64 people lined up for 1 sample, all the rice you could eat in your lifetime, chicken head... free! with the rotisserie bird :)

A little look at a day in our life. :) Even with something as familiar as Costco.

Dinner anyone?

When things go bump

Small blessings are around us everyday. Today one of those blessings has come as a new neighbor, Mrs. Kathy, who is also a Nurse Practitioner. Somehow God knew when he was placing 21 kids in a staff housing building (and most of them under age 10) we would need someone to offer a little TLC. And this week the kids have been putting her to work.

This afternoon Caden had his turn after a little run in on the playground where the end of a stick met his head. I had just gotten home with another mom. And our helper was upstairs, unruffled by the tears and cut, calmly and gently cleaned it up and put on the steri strips. Without her, I would have been scrambling, probably freaking out. Blood is not my thing... and knowing how to find help in a foreign land is a lot more work. So thanks God for giving us Mrs. Kathy to help us get all bandaged up. And for hugs, juice and a Veggietale movie to make the afternoon bumps all better.

Hide n' Seek

Sharing about our adventures in a tropical country wouldn't be complete without a few critter stories. In our first few hours in our new home we found a snail (outside), 2 small roaches, and 2 friendly geckos! The roaches we would happily do without, and thankfully they haven't been around much. But we do like spotting our friendly, bug eating lizards. They are a welcome part of the Cooper household.

The kids have named our geckos "Hide" and "Seek". We think this is Seek. :)

Scooting Around Town

Here we are! And we have wheels :) We purchased a scooter from a family who left Taiwan last spring. For now... this is how we get around! Caden and Ellie had a blast picking out their new helmets. Caden's is red, with a rocket on the side, air vents on top, and a face mask like dad's. Ellie's is pink with flowers and fairy's on the side. "Go faster daddy!"

And yes... we have put all 4 of us on it. :)

We've landed!

We officially landed, safe and sound, at 11:30 pm on Sunday (Taiwan time). All 8 suitcases, 4 carry ons, 2 car seats, stroller, kids, mom & dad made it. Whoo hooo! Here are a few photos from our trip.

Checking our our jumbo jet! It even has an upstairs...

and a tv for every seat!

In flight entertainment. Movies, coloring, and a little dancing :)

The friendly service rep at check in hooked us up with a front row... extra leg room!

Yes, we even slept a bit!

We're really here! Just 30 hours after checking in at the Redmond airport.

Every thing made it. (There's a 2nd cart of luggage behind us... thankfully we passed right through customs.)

First morning in our kitchen... our welcome family (another staff family here) has us all set with the good stuff from Costco. Who knew?

And... the best of the local fruit!!! Fresh, sweet, melt in your mouth Mango for breakfast...

this is the taste of Taiwan.