Christmas 2011

It's hard to believe that we have been in China for a year. Time is going by fast!

Jason had the week before Christmas off. We were taking it easy - shopping, baking and tennis. Our little Lily woke up on the Wednesday before with a little cough. That night she had a high fever and did not feel well at all. The next day, we decided to take her to the clinic here at the club. She definitely wasn't feeling well by the time we left the clinic. They sent us to the hospital and she had a chest xray. Pneumonia. Poor thing - she felt awful. She spent 2 nights in the hospital. We were all thrilled when she was discharged on Christmas Eve. She was doing so much better and the fever was gone. She was back to being the happy, playful little girl that we all love so much!

We arrived home by 2:00 in the afternoon. I had everyone helping me in the kitchen. We made Chicken enchiladas for dinner, the stuffing for Christmas day, sugar cookies and Ravioli filling all by 5:00. It was a bit crazy but lots of fun. After dinner I made the dough for the raviolis and Jason started rolling it out. At the same time, Katelyn and Devin were working on decorating the sugar cookies.


They were delicious and did not last long. I should say that Devin made the dough for the cookies.

I was really running on fumes. I don't think I had more than 12 hours of sleep total in the previous 3 nights.

I am so glad the Raviolis turned out delicous!!!! It was worth staying up late and working.

Jason had decided to only shave some of his face over the holiday:) We all just kept looking at him and shaking our heads. I finally figured whom he reminded me of and is was Mario from the game station. He put on my Swiss red hat and sure enough that was it. His mustache didn't get real thick but you can see it. He looked too old!

We had our friends Carlos, Bethe and their 2 daughters for Christmas dinner. It was a fun day. I was able to fit the turkey in the oven but it was a bummer not having more than 1 shelf for heating up the stuffing. It still tasted delicous and everyone loved the raviolis.

Cheers! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

P.S. Jason shaved the mustache off before the dinner:)

A Night of Ballet in Suzhou

Jason and I decided to attend the ballet in Suzhou for a fun, quick getaway before Christmas. We stayed at the Intercontinental which is a very nice hotel. It has a beautiful view of the lake. That is what I was trying to capture in this picture (not Jason during work while on a fun day off!)

I took advantage of that sun coming thru the window for a while. We just don't get that very much.

The lights that night on the lake and the surrounding buildings were beautiful. I was surprised to see that I was "dressed" up more than the majority of people at the ballet.

The ballet took place at this mega-structure that houses quite a few shows. It has an IMax and maybe 3 other movie theaters. It was a hopping place and on the chilly side. It was a good 15 minute walk from the hotel on a nice cold night:)
Our playdate ended and we had to get back home to reality. It was a fun evening. The hotel gave Jason a nice parting gift - fruit and wine basket.

Quick trip to Beijing

Jason made a quick business trip to Beijing at the beginning of November. I just wanted to share some pictures that he took. They had some snow and fog. The airport was actually shut down for a couple of days because of the fog. Jason was lucky enough to get out before then.

Olympic Stadiums - The Cube

The Bird's Nest

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

We actually started decorating a bit early this year for Christmas. Since we were going to have the party for Phil, I decided to have the house decorated for the party. It was a bit early but Kate and I were excited to get the decorations out.

I was excited to be able to order a stocking for Lily that matched the others. I was afraid that it wouldn't make it but I was wrong. It arrived within 2 weeks! It was so fun for all of us to see her stocking with all the others.
Kate trimming the tree.

Kate had to do a presentation on symbols and traditions for Christmas. We made some pizzelles for her to take to her class. Our place smelled like Grandma Millie's.

Kate's Christmas program

Kate had her Christmas program at school for Grades 3, 4, & 5. It was a fantastic show - Papa Panov. Kate was the messenger. In the picture with Kate is Mr. Klein - Director of the school.

Grade 5 did a great job dancing and having some lead roles in the play.

The music was beautiful and Kate had a great time.

Lucas Played in a Tennis Tournament

Lucas had decided to continue with tennis lessons when we moved here. We are living at a great tennis facility - 6 indoor and 7 outdoor courts.

He has improved quite a bit and really enjoys the game.

It's not Wimbledon but it is very nice!

He had some nice shots.

He didn't win very many games but had lots of fun. He did come away with a nice trophy for "Best Sportsmanship". Jason and I had to chuckle at first and were a bit amazed. This kid was the one that always was banging his head on the hard tile when he was 3 years old and didn't get his way! Hee Hee We are very proud of him!

Our Skyline is Changing!

When we moved here a year ago, the apartments by the freeway were being built. Then in March or April, they began doing some drilling.

In May and June they were hauling tons of dirt away. When we arrived back after summer vaction in July, there were huge holes in the ground. I actually shot this picture because a huge monsoon was suppose to hit.

Now it is December and we have 8 huge buildings in our view and at least 8 more that we can't see. It's amazing how fast they went up.

I was able to capture some men on the bamboo scaffolding.

Now look at them in relation to the top of the building.

The cranes are huge too.

I was watching the crane one morning and it was moving so fast while moving a load of plywood sheets. It was crazy.

We have had fun watching them go up. I'll be following up with new pictures.

40 years

Back at the end of November, we had our first big party. A few weeks before, Jason had taught Jin Di (ayi) how to make his grandma's fried chicken. So she was busy in the morning (using her chopsticks) to fry chicken. It was delicious!

Phil, the guest of honor, was retiring from Johnson & Johnson after 40 years. He and his wife Janet have been in China for the past 5 years. They were one of the first ones to start up the manufacturing site.

We had a full house - I think 23 people plus the 6 of us.

It was a beautiful day and we were able to sit outside as well.

Jason gave a nice farewell talk. Phil received a beautiful, glass covered photo album and a vase. I think Phil was thrilled with it all.

Phil is a great guy and will be missed. We wish him the best in his retirement at his home in England and all the fun travel they have planned.

Concrete Craziness!

Can you imagine going down the street and seeing a huge pile of concrete? Then going further and seeing another one? I think the first time I saw this was back in August. In October, I finally remembered to get my iphone ready and snap some pictures. It looks like somebody ordered too much concrete and the driver didn't want to take it back so he just dumped it right along the road. I think they are finally trying to break it up. I would hate that job!

Last week, I was coming home from Kate's school in a taxi. We were on a street about 2 blocks over from this one. I saw another pile but not quite as big. A guy was actually using it for a toilet. Using the road as a toilet is not uncommon here. I do wonder why he chose to go to the top of the concrete pile??????:)

All I can say is "CRAZINESS!!!!"

Happy Halloween!

This year we only had one transformation - a Vampiress! Katelyn's school had a parade and then had a party afterwards with their buddies in preschool.

It's amazing how much her face changed by adding the fake teeth:)
We didn't do any trick or treating but we had 2 treaters on Sunday night. I didn't buy any candy so I gave them some cookies that we made for Kate's class party. It worked and they were happy.

Day 6 - Busan, South Korea

Our final stop was Busan. I snapped a few pictures as we were entering the port.
It is definitely a port city.

We hopped on a bus and headed to Gyeongju which took quite a while (an hour). I'm not sure how it happened but Devin was in charge of holding up our group number. He wasn't too thrilled with that position. It was quite funny.

Our first stop was the Bulguksa Temple.

It was built in 528 during the Silla Dynasty.

The detail of the artwork and color was my favorite part.

The site is a designated World Cultural asset by UNESCO.

I really like this picture. I love the cane and his stance. I would have loved to have known what he was telling the 3 girls that he was speaking with.

We visited Tumuli Park which is home to some "20 Royal Silla" tombs. We went inside the "Flying Horse Tomb" to see the construction of the tombs and some artifacts. No time to take pictures - Kate and I had to run to find a bathroom which was about a mile from the bus!

Our last stop for the day was the Jagalchi Fish Market. It's the largest seafood market in Korea.

Lots of variety!

Some spiffy(sp?) dressers at the market.

Sea Cucumbers and shell fish.

Heading out of port - there is a lighthouse on the far right.

That night was formal night. We missed the first one due to seasickness:) It was a fun evening.

We had a great show that night too. The performer was Linda Gentille and she had been on the excursion with us the day before in Fukuoka. She wouldn't tell us what she does during her performances. She wanted it to be a surprise. However, when we got back to the ship, the tv had a little blurb on her. She is a concert pianist/entertainer. She amazed us all. She is known as the "piano princess" and is well loved in China and around the world. We were fortunate to have her join us for lunch on our last day at sea. We look forward to seeing her again when she comes our way again!