goodbyes and hellos

The last week of school was hard on all of us. We were sad to say goodbye to the great friends we have met here. It has been an amazing adventure for all of us. It was a week of hugs and tears. We know we will keep in touch with a lot of them but not seeing them on a daily basis will be strange. If we could transplant them all to Seattle that would be wonderful. The greatest thing is we see many vacations in our future, traveling to see our China friends and family. We feel so blessed to have had this experience.



On that note we are also so excited to get home to friends and family. But first we headed out for a two week vacation in Vietnam. It has been beautiful and fun. We started off in Hanoi and then went to Halong Bay for the night on a boat. We were able to swim, kayak, go into some caves and just relax. I jammed my knee in the kayak so that was no fun. It slowly is getting better. After a few nights in Han oi we headed to Hoi an for some pool and beach time. It was a great city to wander around. Doug had a suit made and we spent most of the time at the pool. The boys loved it. We went to a cooking class one day. That was a highlight for all. It was only the 4 of us so we were spoiled. The boys got to drive the boat to the island we were cooking on. Then we all got to make our own food. It was yummy. We can't wait to make it for our family and friends. We had a great day.

We headed to the beach one day and we call got fried. OOPS we were glad that the next day was a travel day so we could stay out of the sun. We headed to Hoi Chi Min City. We did what we do best and wandered around the city. We found a zoo and had a nice time feeding the animals. It has been fun to watch all the motor scooters zooming by. We went to a water puppet show and had a great time there. It has been fun to see more of Vietnam..
Now we are starting our long journey home. We have a night in Hanoi, a night in Dalian and then off to the states we go. ( I will post pictures tomorrow)

Happenings

China Unit presentation


Crazy hair day.. or just crazy

Author's celebration

Spring Concert



Crazy Hair Day!!!!






Watch out for these turkeys

May Happenings

our newest chef... just like his dad


So proud!!


My dear friend and running partner Sarah.

Our school had a party to celebrate our hard work with finishing accreditation. We had a nice evening out downtown and the school got us rooms at a fancy hotel. Our family suite was so beautiful.
The boys got to play with some of the other teacher kids while we went to the party. It was a nice event. More pictures coming.. Maybe one of Doug and I.



Michelle and I



Veronica


REAL ice cream.. yummy

Happy boys




aww the love

Spring Break!!!

Our spring break was late this year. It was a well needed break. We had been going strong at school for 11 weeks. So a vacation was needed. We headed off for Shanghai and Yangshou (a city outside of Guilin.) The boys knew that Grandma Sharon and Uncle Chris were going to meet us and travel together. What they did not know was that Uncle Jeff, Uncle Kerry and Aunt Kathy were joining us on the adventure too. It was wonderful. We met up with my Mom and brother at the Shanghai airport. Then as we were getting ready to go through security we "ran" into the rest of the family. The smiles were priceless. Matthew and Isaac just smiled and were speechless. You surprised us AGAIN!!! It was so wonderful.
Off we were to Guilin for a night. We had different flights so we met up at the hotel. Then it was off to dinner. We went to a local restaurant and it was fun to show my family China. We had a blast. The next day we took a 4 hour boat ride down the Li river to Yangshou. It was worth it. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!!

The weather was great. We found a gal who was willing to show us around and arrange for transportation. 9 people in the group so that was needed. Jenny our guide took us on a 6 hour bike ride through the fields of Yangshou. It was by far our favorite part. What a great way to see the country and meet the people. We are so blessed to have family come and share this adventure with us.



to wrap us the trip we spent 4 days in Shanghai. We walked and walked everywhere. All 9 of us went for feet massages one night. The boys thought it was a hoot and so did the Chinese ladies working at the place. Shanghai was so much fun. It was hard to part the family but knowing we will see them soon made it easier. We are so blessed!!!!



Grandma Sharon and me



Kerry and Kathy

They could play all day

Story of RIBS

last week we were invited to a friends house for dinner. They were making ribs and potatoes. Matthew was so excited he could hardly stand it. It was all he could talk about. Well Sunday night we got a call saying that one of their daughters was sick and they needed to reschedule. Not a problem we could do that. Well when I told Matthew he lost it. Tears were coming down and he was so upset. We had to talk him through it. He kept saying that he has been waiting SO long for ribs and it was not fair. Doug and I got a good laugh out of this. We both said well at least he is not crying because we do not give him McDonalds.

The next day my girlfriend came in with some left over ribs for Matthew. I told her the story and she almost cried too. I did not tell the boys that she brought leftovers until dinner. It was a great surprise.

Well today Doug and Matthew were on a mission at the market. They were going to find ribs that we could make for dinner. Sure enough they were successful. It looked a bit like the Flintstones buying ribs but that part of the fun. I wish I took pictures of Doug cutting the meat. It was so funny. You do what you can with what you have :)

I took pictures of the boys at dinner and I will post pictures tomorrow :)

Spring???

Laughing is good medicine. This last weekend I went shopping with some friends. It was a day of laughing and OIC (Only in China) moments. We had a great day. At the end of a busy shopping adventure we met up with all the guys and had a great dinner at Brooklyn’s restaurant in downtown Dalian. The next morning I got up and ran 8 miles with my friend Sarah. It was the longest I have ran and I did it J. Then after church Doug and I went out to dinner to celebrate 13 years of marriage. It was nice to get away and talk.

Spring is starting to show itself. The weather is getting warmer and we are enjoying every minute. Today we hit the baseballs and enjoyed the weather. We are starting the cleaning process or weeding out process. Two more months and we will be heading home. First we get to enjoy spring break with my mom and brother, Chris. We are so so excited. We will be traveling to Shanghai and to Guilin China. The other great thing about this trip is that the boys DO NOT KNOW that ALL my brothers will be joining us for our trip and my sister n law. We can’t wait to surprise them. It will be fun. So if you read this and talk to us do not tell the boys!!!