Our Community Garbage Bike

I really should say garbage/recycle bike. He always has a big smile on his face. The garbage is collected everyday from each floor by the building cleaning person. I am not actually sure where he takes it. I am assuming over to the clubhouse where there might be a big container. I rarely see big trucks in the complex.

Dragon Dance at Shanghai Times Square

Today was Jason's last day of his holiday. We read in the newspaper that there was going to be a lion/dragon dance. Jason, Katelyn and I decided to go check it out. The boys were in school:(


We arrived early and they were having a practice session. We were able to be up close.

Do you see those posts in the back on the left? 2 performers danced on those. It was amazing to watch them hop around and with such ease.

I was a bit worried about these 2 guys because the wind was starting to pick up.

Jason giving Kate a better view.

Kate and I after the show.

We did some window shopping since we were in the area of all the designer stores. There weren't any good buys in Shanghai today. It was a fun day to end the holiday.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

The New Year came in with tons of bangs!!!! Fireworks are very common here every day. They go off during the day and night all the time. I was told that people set them off for new babies, special celebrations and for whatever reason they want. On Wednesday night around 11:30, we witnessed and heard an incredible sight. Every direction we looked there were fireworks. It continued for an hour nonstop. Actually, we have really been hearing them all day for the past week but nothing could compare to that one hour. It was a very unique experience!

Wednesday, we decided to get up and visit the "Yiyuan Garden". It is the area that Jason and I visited back in October and now they had it decorated for the celebrations - Year of the Rabbit. We weren't the only ones with the same idea:) This is actually a zig zagged bridge with tons of people on it. It was pure craziness. People just push and no one was actually stopping to take pictures. I couldn't think about it too much because my mind was racing with all the horrible things that could happen. Yes that is my head sticking out right in front. We don't stand out at all. Hee Hee. It wasn't easy pushing Kate in her stroller.

The decorations were pretty when we could see them. Kate ended up putting her hoodie on her head because she was tired of the people staring at her. It is not common to see little kids in strollers. It is rare to see little babies in public. I've only seen maybe one elderly person in a wheelchair and only 1 other disabled child in the 7 weeks we have been here.

We escaped into the actual garden area. It wasn't very crowded and it was such a relief to get out of the crowds.

Then we headed back out to see the big Rabbit.

We took a quick look!

Then we got out of that chaos!

The boys return to school tomorrow. Kate has one more week off. Jason actually has 2 more days off as well. It's been a nice break. Many people we have met took off to Thailand and the "Chinese" go back to their hometowns and families. It was very quiet around here. Many shops were closed. The weather has been beautiful. We have been reaching the high 50's - 60's. We have been practicing our tennis, swimming and watching lots of movies!