Almost all of the July Activities, Ranging from Hot to Cold, Outdoor to Indoor, Wet and Dry

Boy have I got a long list of what we've been up to this month of July, and yes, it covers every one of those ranges listed in the title above, loosely classified by some external environmental elements!  Since our southern Lantau adventure, we've experienced:

1. Playdate at Aberdeen Marina Club (indoor, dry).  

Lola and the boys had an absolute blast playing here.  The club is huge and sprawling and they have not one, not two, not three but five different indoor playrooms...there are air tunnels to feed scarves, fake helicopters and trucks, tons of slides, kitchens, car ride-on areas, a pool, an ice rink, a snow simulator... it's endless.  Lola's favorite was the hospital room on the eighth floor, where she made me lie down on the bed for my check up, and we looked at my X-rays, and I was given a shot and some medicine.  But she also really liked the fire truck, the train, the police car...the costumes, the cafe, the dollhouses, the painting areas (in both play areas)... you get the idea.  We went to check out the huge slides on the fourth floor at one point, which left an impression on her, especially the scary red drop slide that was for kids aged 7+.  Looking at it made my stomach plummet, so sharp was the vertical!!

Al and Teo for their part were just ecstatic to be running around in a huge new space with SO so so many toys, and trying everything.  But their experience was just limited to the playroom on the third floor!

2. 2. Swimming in a kiddie pool (outdoor, wet).

We have started swim playdates with a little boy who comes over to playgroup with Al and Teo.  His building has a very ideal baby pool set up where you can pretty much sling the babies from one pool to the other.  The low and shallow steps and platform also lend the kids a lot of confidence.  Lola was in the pool by herself with her own puddle jumper "swimming" (and chattering away incessantly) which was great.

3. Jumping in puddles during amber rainstorms and typhoons (outdoor, very wet!)  

Like I mentioned in a previous post, we are the maniacs on our street that dash out in the morning on rainy, stormy days, jumping at every puddle whenever we can.  I see the disapproving looks from adults standing on the street waiting for the minibuses and taxis, and admittedly it is not the safest activity because we always have to be watching out for cars, but the kids have so much fun shrieking and running around that I can't bear not to let them do it.  If we go out early enough (we are usually jumping in puddles before 8:15 am) it is better because we beat morning traffic.  

4. Ice skating at Taikoo Shing (indoor, cold)

This was such an unexpected hit.  Lola had went once to ice skating with Auntie Lyn, and had seemed to like it well enough, but then she resisted any attempts on my part to get her to go more consistently.  Then suddenly one day she decided she really wanted to go again!  Out of the blue!  So I took her on a wet and rainy Saturday in July, for a last minute impromptu lesson.  She was absolutely awesome!  For a half hour session, she progressed from being in a chair to being on ice to skating pretty much on her own!  It was amazing.  When Lola came off the ice her coach told, "She was so great".  I couldn't agree more, coach Celine!

5. Ocean Park.  

Ah, Ocean Park, our friend.  We have gone so many times recently that the kids are bored of the penguins.  The ride on the Whiskers Express Train is still interesting (octopus! squid! whale sharks) but has likely lost its appeal for a while.  It is sometimes a struggle because of how HOT it is.  Lola and I still enjoy going on the sea carousel.  We sometimes go see the panda bear and the alligators.  Usually the air conditioned places are a respite in this heat.

6. Pizza and Maggie and Rose CWB playdate.

Lola did a special playdate during her last week at KCS where she went with classmates to Pizza Express for lunch (my PA was laughing at how she was booking a reservation of 8 for Miss Lola at the tender age of 3.5), followed by an afternoon giddy with playing at Maggie and Rose.  Wahoo!  We are also always constantly at Maggie and Rose, whether in their Causeway Bay or their Repulse Bay locations.

7. Mulberry for Mandarin.

Al and Teo have been doing a Chinese only class on Monday afternoons with a teacher who is meant to be immersing them in Mandarin at Mulberry House.  Having attended a class since, I am not really in favor of such a rote and repetitive style or way of teaching, especially for kids as young as 1.5, but Mandarin is, for better or worse, a language that requires incessant repetition, so I am happy to continue given for the short term that it is instilling more Mandarin words in the boys.

8. Minisport.

Lola has also been doing Minisport classes on the beach at Repulse Bay while Al and Teo do their music classes at Maggie and Rose at practically the same place (scheduling win!).  It is in the afternoons on Wednesdays and hot, hot HOT.  But she seems to enjoy it.

9. American Club.

 

Of course nothing is complete without the kids at least playing at Eagles Nest or the American Club.  Just look at these guys, and marvel at how much they have grown!!

 

Phew, are you tired yet?  They weren't kidding when they said having kids takes endless energy!

I am sure I am missing some activities, and I already know I am missing pictures from Lola's playdate with her friend at the Chinese Recreational Club last week, and our beach adventure at Chung Hom Kok, but that nicely sums up a rundown of our July activities!

Mui Wo, Pui O, Oh Oh Oh! A Southern Lantau Beach Adventure

As promised, here is a recap of another adventurous half day trip that we took out to Lantau shortly after our boat trip.  In retrospect, I'm so glad we took advantage of those hot, sunny days at the beginning of July, because we are on endless days of muggy, gray, gloomy rain.  Lola's summer camp was canceled Tuesday due to a typhoon and we have had lots of amber rain alerts as well...it's not all bad because we are the maniacs that scream and run through the puddles on our street in our swimwear and rain boots (well, the kids, not the adults) as the rain pounds down, and the kids have an absolute blast.  But, I'm glad we put those sunshine days to good use. Carpe diem!

Lantau is a really idyllic place where the pace of life could not be more different from the hustle and bustle of Central.  Wild cattle roam the streets, there are barely any taxis, no cars show up on the Uber app (I tried) and people take bicycles and ferries as their primary means of transportation.  Lantau is a huge place home to Tung Chung, the airport, sleepy beach towns, and remote and traditional fishing villages like Tai O.  There is a lot of beautiful beach.  Auntie Lyn and auntie Julie told me that it reminded them of their hometowns in the Philippines.

It was a really nice chance for the kids, especially Lola, to let loose and try something new.  I like that the kids are getting used to having sand under their feet (Al was so resistant for so long) and while Lola was horrified at the crashing noises of the waves when we first got there, she eventually warmed up to the whole thing completely and it was quite hard to convince her to leave.  It is not easy to get there though, especially when you are traveling with three such little ones.

We departed our apartment shortly after 7 am to get on the 7:40 am fast ferry departing Central.  At that hour the ferry was empty and we had our choice of seats.

We got on a big bus once we got to Mui Wo ferry pier, 30 minutes later.

After 9 stops or so, or a "mere" 20 minutes later, we got dropped off on the side of a ramshackle street and vaguely pointed in the direction of the water.  After a 10 minute walk, where we passed by this large field of cattle and cranes grazing under a beautiful bright blue sky, we finally reached Pui O beach.

We were met with this:

The sand was silky smooth to our touch and still cool.  Most of the beach, southern facing, was still shaded.  The place was nearly empty, but for a few families with young kids.  As the morning went on, a few kids' adventure summer camps started.  Initial trepidation of the waves crashing quickly set aside, the boys walked the beach and lost no time in getting absolutely soaked.

Lola needed a little more time and coaxing, and started off slow by playing in the sand with her newly acquired sparkly shovel.  Eventually, everyone was running around playing with bubbles and enjoying the water and the sand.

Oh yeah, we got a big bubble maker, a really good one...

Just goofing around.

Eventually the kids settled down and played.  Here, a super busy Lola and Al:

One of my favorite pictures from that day:

I wish I had gotten a few more pictures of Teo up close - next time!

It quickly got way too hectic with washing every one down, changing, packing, finding a taxi, getting to Mui Wo for a quick lunch and racing to catch the fast ferry back to Central in time for Al and Teo to get a good nap, so I have no more pictures.  But I can assure you it was lovely, albeit exhausting, and I am so glad we got to see a different side of Hong Kong.  I can only hope we do it again soon!

Lola really wanted to ride one of these... I promised her we would next time!