quality health care

So we're in Thailand. Last week we came to Thailand so that Aaron could have shoulder surgery (after a couple of recent dislocations). I'm sure I'll blog more about this and the awesomeness of Thailand (I've been taking a lot of pictures and video), but I have this to share first. Bumrungrad. This is the most amazing hospital I have ever been to, in fact most of the video I have been taking is trying to capture the efficiency and quality of the hospital.

But, I forgot to bring my camera cords with me so that I could blog while in Thailand (which is why there have not been any posts since being here).

So until I can show you just how nice this hospital is, I thought I'd let CBS's hit show 60 minutes tell you....

the year of the peace sign.

The invitation to Aaron's party

Every year I really look forward to Aaron's birthday. It's really fun to think of things that he loves and surprise him with them on his birthday. This year for his birthday, I decided that I wanted to get him a grill....then Aaron made it his quest for the summer to learn how to make North Carolina barbecue, making the grill the perfect gift, so that he could learn to smoke a boston butt on a charcoal grill. Family helped by ordering him a boston butt, grill accessories, and surprised him with a sling box so that he won't have to miss a single Carolina basketball game next year. We spent the day after his birthday preparing pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and sweet tea for a pig pickin' in honor of his birthday. Here are pictures from one of my favorite days of the year.

Start of the day

His request - chicken biscuits at a local western restaurant for breakfast 

1st gift - hickory chips

3rd gift - the grill to cook his 2nd gift, the boston butt, on

putting the grill together

"butts rubbed nightly" - that's the slogan from one of my favorite barbecue places
and happens to describe what's going on in this picture.

candid peace sign while eating dinner at our favorite japanese restaurant

mochi - a newly discovered love of mine and an ole favorite of Aaron's

starting the charcoal.  i love him and that peace sign...ridiculous.

waiting on the meat, and getting the house ready

finished product

the spread

enjoying sportscenter on the slingbox after the festivities

When it's summertime and the weather is high...

OR is it when the weather is hot? Does anybody even know? Mungo Jerry, solve this - what are you singing? hot or high?

I'm still really missing home. When skyping family and friends I wish I could be there with them, instead of on the other side of a computer in a city as equally muggy as North Carolina in the summer, but without all the perks of a Carolina summer.

So, to combat all this homesickness of late, I have decided to become a little more proactive in my summer plans. Aaron and I have been brainstorming things that we can do to make new summer traditions - things that we can do no matter where we are in the world and that we can look forward to doing every year. I don't want every summer to be hard as I think about all I wish I could be doing at home, but I want there to be things that we do here that I get excited about as well.

Movie matinees once a week was the first thought I had, then I remembered that the movies here are in another language and I don't think I'd really like doing that more than once in a summer. Then Aaron came up with Western Wednesdays. Every Wednesday throughout the summer (which just started for us this week, since Friday was our last day of class) we will watch a Western movie. I'm not talking about Western - like Asians are Eastern and we are Western. But Western like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

And I decided that we should come up with a peach drink. Like in America - peaches are only available here during the summer months, so I thought it would be fun to come up with a drink that I know we can only have during one season a year. But, the problem is, I don't know a peach drink recipe - so I've been looking all week for peach drinks. The other trick is - the peach drink has to be something that couldn't be done better in America (like a peach milkshake). Because that will just leave us wanting and comparing it to Chick-fil-a.

Today we watched The Outlaw Josey Wales. No peach drink yet though. I'd love to hear your recommendations on peach drink recipes, westerns, and other ideas for new family summer traditions....just remember we can't drive to the beach here or drink cheerwine slushies.

God shed His grace on thee

How do you celebrate America's Independence Day while living in China? By having a cookout (or "a barbecue" to apparently every other English speaker, except those of us from the South) at the home of your Kiwi friends, of course.

our gracious hosts

This is Vernon and Gaynor.
Though they are from New Zealand, they hosted a 4th of July party for all their American friends - as well as some Canadian, Australian, British, and Swiss friends. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed traditional American 4th of July dishes like potato salad and a Kiwi/Australian Pavlova.

all decked out

Making hamburgers

Thanks Aamee & Pop Pop for the flag decor!

I guess the little 5 year old boy in our apartment complex could see that we were patriotic people by the clothes we were wearing, because when he ran up to say "Hello Stacy!" he asked me my Chinese name, and then - "Japan is bad.  Is it or is it not?"  Aaron: "What?  Say that again?"  Kid:  "Japan is bad. Okay, Bye."  I guess he thought we would share his sentiment.


Another classic Chinese moment today - one of our American friends received a text wishing her a "Happy Indecent Day!"  Indecent, independence....tomayto, tomahto.

Happy 4th of AMERICA!

I love America. I miss America.

I don't know what else to say. George doesn't know what else to say.

Should I go on?

Game. Set. Fireworks.