Adventures of the Bolhuis Family

Uncle Ralfie comes to play!

2010-03-18T20:53:00.004+08:00

This January, in honor of Uncle Grant's second trip to Asia, we decided after two long weeks of working in China he could use some fun in the sun! We booked a last minute holiday to Cebu in the Philippines, a short two and half hour flight from Hong Kong.

swim time...

making new friends...
the beautiful Hotel Shangri-La...
lunch al fresco...
the boys unwinding after a long day at the pool...
crystal clear waters...
dinner with the boys...
boys night out...
dinner on the pier...
testing out the water...
back in Hong Kong...view from the Peak
Central, Hong Kong

Christmas in Hong Kong!!!

2010-02-09T12:24:00.008+08:00

As you've probably noticed by now, most of my blogs start out with a flimsy excuse as to why it has taken me so long to update this page...fear not, this post will be no exception! Between chasing after a crazy one-year old all day long and recovering from a month-and-a-half long bout of walking pneumonia, my productivity level is quite low. Tyler is 17 months old now, attends "school" twice a week at PIPS pre-school, and has a very busy social calendar.

We are always super excited when guest come to town, and hosting Christmas this year made having visitors all the more special! Much thanks to Danielle, Greg & Hadley for making the long and arduous journey from Atlanta. As much fun as traveling with a 21 month old can be, Danielle gets the super-trooper award for enduring the trip 6 months pregnant! Here are a few photos of our holiday fun...

A rare moment...Tyler sharing his car!

Crazy 1 and Crazy 2:
Swings aren't just for kids!
Hadley, Danielle and Greg on the Peak
Hadley enjoying a stroll with Dada and Uncle Steve
The Frey family in Stanley
Merry Christmas from the Bolhuis family!
Our beautiful tree (which traveled all the way from Oregon!)
A boy and his choo-choo...could life get any better?
The two crazies in their Christmas frills!
On board the Aqua Luna...Stanley to Central
Relaxing on the boat!
Quality dada and daughter bonding!
The Hong Kong skyline
Visiting the Big Buddha!
The temple at Po Lin...a Buddhist monastery

home for the holidays...

2010-01-07T20:01:00.005+08:00

Due to our second computer crash of 2009 as well as a busy couple months of traveling and hosting visitors, my blog updates have become quite infrequent! Here are some of the adventures we've experienced lately...

We flew back to the States in November to celebrate Thanksgiving with both the Horvath and Bolhuis families. First stop was Atlanta, to visit Danielle, Greg and Hadley.
Steve and I celebrated our first child-free weekend in Sonoma for a friend's wedding while Tyler enjoyed a weekend of spoiling at Grandma and Grandpa Horvath's.
The Boot-n-Rally girls...celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Billy Inglis! Congrats Em!
Back in Cincy, Tyler's cousin Aidan shared some of his toys with him, as well as taught him a few new tricks!
Grandma Horvath bonding with Tyler, Addison and Aidan.
Precious baby Addi!
All bundled up in Michigan!

A day at the beach...

Showing off our "touchdown" in Grandpa Normie's old truck...
Cheering on the Spartans at the MSU game...
Tailgate time!
Enjoying a crisp fall day!

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-04T21:50:00.004+08:00

Halloween 2008:

Halloween 2009:

As you can see...a lot has changed in a year! Most importantly, our adorable little pumpkin has turned into a super scary dragon! We have officially achieved sophomore status in Hong Kong, and are still shocked by how fast our first year abroad has flown by. Fortunately, Halloween is a big tadoo in HK, so Tyler has been able to experience all the very exciting festivities surrounding the event. He didn't quite grasp the trick-or-treating concept, and kept trying to give away all of his candy except for these big marshmallow puffs which were an instantaneous hit with the little dragon!

Tyler and his monkey friend, Harrison...
Candy time!
The dragon tames the wild dog...

The after party...karaoke style!

Junk Time!

2009-10-09T17:25:00.003+08:00

A few weeks ago we rented a junk (the Chinese term for a boat, not really sure where that stems from), with a couple of friends and embarked on a expedition to explore some of Hong Kong's fabulous beaches. We stocked the junk with enough food and beer to sail the Pacific, and were blessed with an absolute perfect day for fun in the sun!

Leaving Central Hong Kong at 10 am...destination unknown...but always time for a margarita!

The ridiculously tall building on the right side of the pic is the ICC building in Kowloon. Upon completion in 2010 it will be the 3rd tallest building in the world...

Breathtaking views on our journey...

The girls in front of our beautiful and completely secluded beach!

Our cabana boys...

A ridiculous yacht tied up right next to us...

Patient TKB...

2009-09-24T20:22:00.003+08:00

Tyler has been suffering from a blocked tear duct in his left eye since birth, an annoying nuisance that typically clears on its own by the time a baby reaches 8-10 months. Unfortunately for us, the eye clog never healed, so at the very young age of one, Tyler was admitted to the hospital for eye surgery. It was a very minor, 20 minute operation, in which the doctor probed his eye passage and cleared up his duct. However, due to the fact that Tyler had to be under anesthesia for the surgery, it was a fairly long and stressful day spent at the hospital. T was a total trooper, and somehow managed to survive the 6 hours he had to fast pre-surgery with only a few hunger outbursts!

Tyler pre-surgery, notice the very stylish toddler-sized hospital robe!

The view of Happy Valley racetrack from our hospital room...

Cruising the halls pre-surgery, Tyler managed to attract an adorable little girl with a broken arm that gave him a good luck smooch!

Post-op, exhausted after a very successful operation!

Thanks for opening up my eye Dr. Yu!

Look who's one!!!

2009-08-31T20:20:00.012+08:00

August 26th marked a very special milestone...Tyler's first birthday! His Glama and Grandpa Bolhuis made the long journey from Michigan to help celebrate. We spent his actual birthday relaxing, playing and swimming at the American Club, then hosted a monkey-themed birthday bash for Tyler and all of his friends over the following weekend.

While all the attention and cameras were focused on our little monkey for his birthday festivities, T decided it was about time to jump from all fours and start walking! He had been working up to multiple steps in a row for a couple of weeks leading up to his birthday, and then once he turned one just took off running and never looked back!

Tyler on his throne...he was completely obsessed with the balloons!

Celebrating the birthday boy at the American Club...
Entertaining Glama with his musical skills...
Can we say spoiled?
Tyler's favorite birthday gift...balloons!
Thanks for all my wonderful presents!

Glama and Grandpa with their favorite one year old!
Tyler's first sugar rush...
Yummmmmm.....
Gifts from the Eckerts...
Swimming with Glama...
Drinks at Sevva in Tyler's honor...
It's official...
The birthday celebration continues...

Thanks to all for making Tyler's first birthday so special!!!

Shooting hoops with dada!

2009-08-02T21:00:00.000+08:00

11 months and on the move!

2009-08-02T17:25:00.004+08:00

Mr. Messy Face

Sleeping away all of our stresses...
11 months old and still swinging!
My wheels...

Summer in the States

2009-07-27T08:54:00.004+08:00

Just returned from a fun-filled, action-packed trip home to visit our friends and family! We arrived in Michigan after an exhausting 24 hours of travel, and discovered that Tyler had been teething en route! This has opened the door to so many new food discoveries for our little pork chop, who has obviously been malnourished up until this point.

Tyler gets a smooch from his adorable cousin Caitlin...

Wagon ride in Muskegon...

Putting in some long hours at Beacon with grandpa...

Relaxing after work on grandpa's Harley...

Little skipper mans the boat...

Watching fourth of July fireworks at Muskegon Country Club...

Andy shows the beergarita who's in charge...

Cuddling with my new niece Addison Rose...

Wagon ride with Tyler's cousins, Aidan and Hadley...

Pajama time with Hadley and Aidan...

SRB and the Cincy boys...

and Cincy girls! We had such fun catching up with everyone!!!

10 months!!!

2009-07-10T02:50:00.004+08:00

Our little monkey is 10 months old!!!

HK welcomes Uncle Fun and Aunt Beth!!!

2009-06-20T10:42:00.005+08:00

We were so excited to host Brendan and Beth in June! Beth truly deserves an award, 6 months pregnant, and was totally unfazed by jet lag and the ridiculous Hong Kong humidity!

Dinner up on the Peak...

Riding the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour...
Brendan shopping for a custom tailored suit...
The boys on our patio...
Beth hikes HK...overlooking Repulse Bay
The end of our hike is near! Our apartment complex, Parkview is on the right, view of Central to the left...
Beth and Brendan in Stanley...
Aboard the Aqua Luna! We boarded in Stanley on the south side of the island, and cruised to Central.
Beth and Brendan in Kowloon, overlooking Central. The Aqua Luna boat we took around the island is sailing away!
Luau dinner at Parkview...
Wet markets in Wanchai...
The grill masters manning the barbie!

Just another day in Paradise...

2009-06-02T09:31:00.002+08:00

We celebrated our two year anniversary with a glorious vacation in Bali! We stayed on the southern coast of Bali, in a town called Nusa Dua, and were absolutely blown away by the beauty and tranquility of the island. The Balinese absolutely adore children, and Tyler was treated like royalty by the locals.

The Grand Hyatt resort was incredibly family (and stroller) friendly, with a fantastic pool winding throughout much of the property.

My dinner dates!
SRB riding the waves...
The boys catching some rays at the pool...
Winding down after an exhausting pool day...
Master T cruising the boardwalk for ladies...
More pool day fun!
Dinner on the beach...

Tyler in his speed boat...
Our new favorite vacation destination!

9 Months!

2009-05-26T20:32:00.005+08:00

Tyler is 9 months old today! This is a first that I'm actually posting the day of, but Steve is travelling in Dubai and it's amazing what I can accomplish while he is away! So I had to cheat to capture this picture, as you can see from exhibit B, Tyler would rather eat the sign than pose for me.

We took Tyler to his first amusement park last week, Ocean Park, located on the south side of the island. The theme park is home to a variety of animals, there is a Giant Panda exhibit, dolphins, and this is going to sound really lame, but an amazing goldfish display. These suckers were huge, it was an entire room dedicated to numerous funky breeds of goldfish. Tyler was enthralled!

The ladies man with his good friends Lauren and Emily...

Phuket

2009-05-13T20:57:00.004+08:00

Okay, so I'm a couple of weeks behind on this post (actually months, but who's really keeping track here!), so you'll have to read my previous post for my extremely valid excuse. Honestly it has taken me several weeks of blood, sweat, and tears to recover all of our pictures after our computer crashed! Long story short, I was able to hack in to our Apple Tv and get all the photos that had been synced prior to that ill-fated day. Lesson learned, back up your hard drive.

Anyhoo, by the time March rolled around, we started to get a little cabin fever and to borrow a phrase from our favorite tv series, it was time to get off the island! We travelled to Phuket, Thailand, a short 3 hour journey from Hong Kong, for some much needed fun in the sun. We stayed at the Sheraton Grande Laguna and had an absolutely amazing vacation! The beach was lovely, and there were a dozen of fantastic Thai restaurants all along the stretch adjacent to our hotel. The food was great, and unbelievably cheap, and the scenery was breathtaking.

T getting the party started early...

Did someone say hot body contest?
Our little pork chop...sunning his buns!
The open air lobby of our hotel...
Tyler's first speed boat!
Lucy and Lily, two darling elephants from our hotel...
Dining alfresco!
Watching the sun go down with my boys!
Tyler's feeding the fish!
Our boating adventure to some of the islands off the coast of Phuket...
The boys new playmate!
Another beautiful sun set!
Another dinner alfresco!
The ultimate vacationer!

8 months

2009-05-01T18:00:00.000+08:00

So apparently this has become somewhat of a monthly blog! Tyler is 8 months old, crawling like a madman, terrorizing Bailey on a daily basis, and typically getting into pretty much everything. He has started to pull himself up, which makes getting him out of his crib much easier, but nonetheless scary at times since his balance is so poor!

7 months!

2009-04-08T09:29:00.003+08:00

Okay I've been totally slacking on the blog posts lately, for two very legitimate reasons. A) my macbook totally fried and I lost ALL of our photos, music, documents, etc. (aka if you do not receive a Christmas card from us this year it is due to the fact that I do not have anyone's address); and B) there just aren't enough hours in the day. I realize this is a pretty flimsy excuse considering the fact that I'm not working, but honestly my productivity output has severely decreased this past year. I had this vision when I was pregnant that I would get so much accomplished during Tyler's naptime, train for a marathon, organize my recipe box, master Cantonese, GOOD ONE! This child sleeps maybe 45 minutes at a time, I consider myself lucky if I get to squeeze in a shower.

Our little pork chop is seven months old now, and just started crawling! Life just got a little more difficult. Bailey was his total inspiration for this forward movement, he thinks she is just the greatest thing ever created, and chases her all around the apartment on all fours. Bailey, apart from the occasional lick, wants absolutely nothing to do with him, due mostly to the fact that he yanks fistfuls of hair out whenever he catches her! Notice how crumpled the 7 month sign is on the picture above, this would be due to the fact that nothing is safe from Tyler's mouth these days, he'll eat just about anything!

Horvath Family Visit

2009-03-17T20:42:00.009+08:00

My parents arrived in February for a week long visit. Fortunately they had spent the week prior in Vietnam, so they were already fairly adjusted to the time change.

Our pirate ship awaits...we took a tour of Victoria Harbour on this Aqua Luna Junk boat!

Cruising the harbour with cocktails...

View of Victoria Harbour from the Peak on a clear day (somewhat of a rarity spring time in HK!)

Grandma & Grandpa Horvath at the Peak

The youngest US weekly subscriber...

Standing in front of the harbour in Kowloon...

Kowloon side...looking out on Hong Kong Island. Fun fact: the tallest building in the distance is the IFC building, which was used in the Batman movie, The Dark Knight. It's the 7th tallest building in the world.

Hiking in Tai Tam Country Park, overlooking the reservoir.

Visiting the Big Buddha on Lantau Island.

A view of the Big Buddha in the distance from the Po Lin monastery...

Inside one of the temples in the Po Lin monastery...

Our last night with our visitors...hopefully they'll be back soon!

Half a year old!

2009-03-07T13:39:00.007+08:00

It's hard to believe that Tyler is 6 months old already! So much has changed in our lives in such a short time span, and the days have just flown by. Our little pork chop weighs in at nearly 20 pounds, is eating solids, sitting up on his own, and scooting all around the apartment (albeit backwards!)

As you can see below, Tyler hasn't missed a meal!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

2009-02-18T07:40:00.004+08:00

We kicked off the Chinese New Year celebration with a funky lion dance parade at our apartment complex. 2009 marks the year of the Ox, the second sign in the Chinese zodiac.

Dinner in Kowloon on the first night of the Chinese New Year celebration, overlooking Victoria Harbour and directly across from Hong Kong Island. Fantastic spot to view the fireworks!
Fireworks display over Victoria Harbour...

One of the barges caught fire at the end of the fireworks show...fortunately no one was hurt but it made for an exciting grand finale!

Hotel Bolhuis is open for business!

2009-02-16T11:56:00.006+08:00

We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of guests to share our experiences with, so we were so thrilled when Steve's parents and little bro, Ralfie, came for a visit at the end of January.

Bar hopping in Lan Kwai Fong

View of Wanchai from a hiking trail near our apartment

View of Central from the Peak

Jardine's Lookout: view of Victoria Harbour

Shek O: southside of the island

Shek O

View of Repulse Bay from a hiking trail

Repulse Bay

One of the reservoirs in Tai Tam Country Park (the park adjacent to our apartment complex)

If you've ever had a cocktail with my mother in-law you will appreciate this pic!

Noonday Gun: Causeway Bay

Firing the Noonday Gun: lunchtime!

View of Central from the Peak

The Peak

View of Central from our patio

Junk tour in the Aberdeen Channel (the Jumbo Floating Restaurant is behind us)

Junk tour: Aberdeen Channel

Treating ourselves to an after dinner foot massage...Normie was asleep within seconds!

View of Central from our patio

Stanley

2009-02-10T20:53:00.005+08:00

A few weeks ago we decided to take a family stroll...starting at our apartment in the middle of the island, and ending our journey on the south side in the village of Stanley. Stanley is by far one of my favorite destinations in Hong Kong. There is a boardwalk with great pubs and restaurants, all overlooking the water, and a market in a maze of alleys selling everything from artwork, to clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. We had absolutely no idea how long it would take to arrive at our destination, but figured the trail was mostly downhill and totally within our capabilities. The first half of the walk was through the Tai Tam Country Park that is adjacent to our apartment complex. The path is paved and free of motor traffic, and is comprised of several bridges that span across the various reservoirs below.

After hiking all the way to the end of the park, we arrived at an area overlooking Turtle Cove, which has a gorgeous, albeit small, beach.

After two hours, we finally arrived at our destination...Stanley boardwalk! We treated ourselves to lunch al fresco and a big bowl of water for Bailey.

View of Stanley Bay

the sweet tunes of a five monther...

2009-02-03T15:49:00.003+08:00

Tyler is five months old! He's over 17 pounds already and has started rolling around and sitting up by himself. He loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and much to our neighbors dismay, squeals like a hyena throughout much of the day!

Short video of our future choirboy...apparently he inherited his singing talents from his mother!

beach bumming on the southside...

2009-01-19T20:45:00.003+08:00

Last weekend we set off on a new adventure...to explore the south-eastern side of the island. We visited two surfing villages, Shek O and Big Wave Bay, that are a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong's northern metropolis.

We ended our adventure with dinner on the Peak, overlooking Central on the northside, with an incredible view of the nightly Symphony of Lights on Victoria Harbour. This spectacular display was named the "World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show" by the Guinness Book of World Records.

reunited...at last!

2009-01-14T19:25:00.004+08:00

As most of you know, Bailey has been living the dream, lakeside at her grandparents house in Muskegon, Michigan, since October. Many a days were spent swimming, playing with her cousins Cutty and Izzy, and outsmarting their electric fence. Last week she added world traveler to her extensive repertoire, and made the long, arduous journey to join us in Hong Kong!

Party up in NYC...

2009-01-13T20:48:00.003+08:00

We finished our holiday trip in the States with one evening in New York City before catching the early flight back to Hong Kong.

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center...a truly breathtaking experience! As you can see, Tyler wasn't too impressed...he slept thru the entire walking tour of Manhattan.

We capped off the evening with a cocktail up in the Rainbow Room, located on the sixty-fifth floor in Rockefeller Plaza. The views of the city and beyond were amazing, and the drinks...ridiculously expensive!

4 months old!

2009-01-08T08:31:00.005+08:00

Tyler is now four months old...and tipping the scales at 16 lb 6 oz!

Christmas with the Bolhuis fam...

2009-01-07T16:03:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year! We ended 2008 with a whirlwind trip back to the States to visit both family and friends. We spent the first couple of days recovering from jet lag in Cincinnati, where Tyler enjoyed playing with his cousins Aidan and Hadley. As you can see below...Grandma Horvath was thrilled to spread the holiday cheer with her two favorite grandsons!

Tyler surrounded by Christmas gifts galore...

We flew to Michigan on Christmas Eve, to celebrate with Steve's family in Muskegon.

Tyler in his new sleigh!

Hope your holidays were merry and wishing you a joyous New Year!

Santa's Little Helper

2008-12-18T22:07:00.004+08:00

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

2008-12-10T21:22:00.002+08:00

Due to the fact that it's still 70 degrees in Hong Kong and all the Santa's are Chinese men, it's been somewhat difficult to get in the holiday spirit. It seemed crazy to get a Christmas tree since we're going back to the States for the holidays, and unfortunately I packed zero Christmas decorations or ornaments in our move. In a desperate attempt to reach my inner Cindy Lou Who, I decided Tyler deserved a gingerbread house for his first Christmas at the very least. I know what your thinking...and unfortunately at this time my artistic creations are not for sale!

Seriously, we are so ridiculously excited to come home for Christmas! We would love to see as many friends and family as we can over the course of our stay. We'll be in Cincy December 19-24th, Muskegon December 24-31st, and back in Cincy the 31st thru January 2nd. Happy Holidays!

A minute with TKB

2008-12-08T20:59:00.003+08:00

When Tyler's not cruising the streets of Hong Kong, you can usually find him relaxing in this recliner. Note to soon-to-be parents...this bouncy seat is a must...we wouldn't get through dinner with both hands free without it. And you get the added benefit of incredibly romantic dinner music!

Lantau Island...home of the Big Buddha

2008-12-01T21:30:00.004+08:00

Recently we took a trip to Lantau island, the largest island in Hong Kong. It's almost twice the size of Hong Kong Island, and home to some of the region's best beaches, wilderness trails, and monasteries, in addition to the Hong Kong International airport. The island is easily accesible by the MTR, Hong Kong's mass transit railway. The highlight of our trip was a cable car ride that links the town of Tung Chung to a village called Ngong Ping.

The cable car ride provided breathtaking views of the island...

In addition to a spectacular view of Hong Kong's airport.

The village of Ngong Ping is home to a huge Buddhist monastery called Po Lin, although today it's more of a tourist attraction than religious retreat. On a hill above the monastery sits the Tian Tan Buddha, apparently the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha.

The big Buddha is surrounded by several of his much smaller, Buddhist friends...

Guess who's 3 months old!!!

2008-12-01T21:06:00.004+08:00

It's hard to believe it's been only 3 months since Tyler arrived, considering how much our lives have changed in such a short amount of time. The little man is already a whopping 15 lbs...and according to the Chinese, looks like he's twice his age!

Thanksgiving Blessings...

2008-11-27T16:38:00.004+08:00

Wishing you all a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Our little swimmer!

2008-11-25T18:50:00.004+08:00

Check out the lean physique...

Map of Hong Kong

2008-11-19T22:37:00.007+08:00

The area we live in is centrally located on the island, midway between Causeway Bay and Tai Tam on the map below...

Hong Kong is comprised of over 260 islands, and Hong Kong Island is the second largest in the territory. The island is approximately 3o square miles, and the urban area known as Central on the northside is one of the most densely populated locations in the world.

Steve's office is located in Wanchai, and overlooks the harbour. Across the water is the city of Kowloon.

We have arrived...

2008-11-19T21:39:00.006+08:00

We are officially three weeks in as Hong Kong's newest residents! I'm totally new to blogging, so first off let me apologize for any rookie mistakes. The purpose of this blog is to keep all of our friends and family updated on our adventures and travels, as well as give you a chance to watch Tyler grow. We've accomplished a multitude of tasks over these past few weeks, hence why it has taken me so long to get this up and running, yet somehow the things-to-do list never seems to shrink...

High on our list of priorities was finding a place to live (right up there with buying a new hairdryer, why again can't the world operate on one universal electrical outlet?). We're moving in to our new home next Wednesday, located in an apartment complex called Hong Kong Parkview. It's a huge complex, almost resort-like, with 18 towers, two outdoor pools, one indoor pool, tennis courts, gym, grocery store and spa. The perfect location for my two year sabbatical!

The apartment is located in the middle of the island, adjacent to a country park. There are fantastic hiking trails surrounding the grounds, going in every possible direction, with breathtaking views of the city, as well as the south side of the island looking out at the Pacific Ocean.