Well it has been a while since I wrote anything, but I think I have a good excuse. We made it through three weddings in three states plus two bridal showers in two states plus our daughter's college graduation in about 5 1/2 weeks. It was fun and intense since the showers and one wedding were for the same daughter who graduated from college. Hopefully her life will slow down just a little now.

So we raced back to Taipei right after the final and glorious wedding. Why? Because we had to get ready for what we have been looking forward to since moving here...both daughters plus one husband coming to Taiwan to visit us. One of the best parts of having a family is being able to share your lives and we hadn't been able to really share until they visit.

So our oldest daughter agreed to visit for three weeks this summer and we are having a BLAST! We started with a trip to Bali and Hong Kong. I loved the ruralness of Bali but she preferred the cosmopolitan Hong Kong. (She's a city girl at heart plus is allergic to most of nature) Bali was beautiful and we really got to see life there in an unspoiled and noncommercial way while being able to retreat to a luxury hotel with all amenities when unspoiled got difficult. Hong Kong looked as if it had just been waiting for Elissa. Both days were beautiful and the air quality was amazing. On one day we were on a 5K hike across some mountains on Lama Island in Hong Kong (yes in a huge city, Mark can still find the wilderness hiking trail) it was sunny and warm. When we stopped for lunch and beverage on a terrace overlooking the harbor, a cooling shower started. It felt nice but only because we were on a covered terrace. We could see from one island to another and over to Kowloon on the mainland side. The laser light show was supplemented by 10th anniversary fireworks on the evening we watched and it was spectacular.

Now we are back in Taipei and we have one week to show her the sights of our home away from home. We started with a cooking lesson from a local chef. What a treat! After this week, I have a couple of days and then our other daughter with her husband will be here. July is definitely being a good month for us.