HEY!!! We've got loads of pictures from the last few months to share! Enjoy!
These awesome ladies let me hike Nanshan Mountain with them on Mondays. It's about an 850-1200 step hike depending on which route we take. Calves shake EVERY week upon completion. :)
This was Christmas decor in the Luohu Commercial Center. It's the 6 story shopping area I posted about last time. I'm not quite sure who that is in front of the tree, but it was picture worthy!
Are selfie sticks a thing in the States? They are EVERWHERE here. This is the salesman showing us how much we need one. :)
It's not every day you find a monkey outside the mall!
Me, "What are you doing?" Linc, "We are digging a tunnel to China." Me, "Uh...buddy, we already made it to China.":)
Lincoln's field trip to the Shenzhen Flower Market. Cole was thrilled to come along.
Awww....JOYCE. I miss you! Joyce Youse was one of the most helpful, positive and encouraging friends I made upon arrival here. She moved back to the States in December and we were all so sad to see her go! Such is the life as an expat in China. Lots of opportunity to find gems...and you BETTER ENJOY them while you can, you never know when the next one is moving!
Funniest Christmas party ever. Genius on the games, Cherie and Stan.
Ryan. Modeling the best and most appropriate white elephant gifts!
Get that Oreo in your mouth! STAT.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALLAS!!
Lincoln informed me that he was going to take Dallas to McDonald's for breakfast on his birthday before he went to school. And he did.
Dallas and me at The Top restaurant for birthday pizza...
AND Cole. :) Backstreet Boys was playing in the background the whole time. Hahaha.
Triple Decker Strawberry Cake. Tradition since Dallas' 28th birthday at Chuck 'E' Cheese. :)
Shout out to our Oregon peeps who were present for THAT!
We took some creative liberties with our candles.
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!
It is tradition to dress nicely and wear red (for good luck) on Chinese New Year. Linc had it nailed!
This is a wrap in China. Sprouts, veggies, mayonnaise, wrapped in nori. Not bad!
Also delicious!
Lincoln trying a sugar coated crab apple (or something sort of like it).
Jammin with friends!
Peanut butter pickle sandwiches with THESE babies. Best pickles ever. Super crunchy. DELICIOUS. Thanks for the inspiration mom!
So whenever anyone goes back to the States, they end up bringing back things that are hard or super expensive to get here. Hence the 5lb block of Tillamook HEAVEN. Thanks Carrie Turner for the hookup! Cheese here costs about $6 per 500g. Milk is about $3 per quart. I bought a 16oz tub of Greek Yogurt for $10. Crazy!
And Cole....STEALS IT EVERY TIME! THAT KID!
MOM!! These are licorice all sorts on STEROIDS. SO good. $5/bag, but WORTH every calorie AND penny!
Linc's class did valentines like this. LOVED it. They were asked to write something they liked about each person. Linc LOVED reading what other's had to say about him.
Sometimes, when your kids get mad at you, they sneak out of their rooms and leave a picture they've drawn with a giant X through you and strategically place it on the floor so you can't miss it. But then, when they come out of their room hoping you saw it and are hurt, you pretend you have no idea what
it even means. Hahahaa.
Hey mom, remember those days when I swore I wouldn't ever have giant piles of laundry stacked on my couch? :)
Back to Chinese New Year for a sec....HOW COOL to be ABOVE the fireworks!
The acoustics from all the tall buildings were incredible. It sounded like gunshots for hours on the first night, but gratefully, fireworks were quite moderate for the rest of the week...which was apparently an improvement from years past.
Cole downing some Coke on CNY eve. Then crashing.
Dallas was the champion of the fireworks/firecrackers this year. SO fun!
CNY festival at SIS (Lincoln's school).
Recently upon seeing these plants, Cole said, "Mom can I touch the fireworks?"
Shenzhen Zoo is AWESOME!!
ADORABLE PANDAS
Red Pandas. Who knew?!
Ligers are real. In case you were wondering.
Ah! I LOVE this kid. He and Dallas got to run in this hamster wheel type thing ON TOP of the water at the zoo. SUPER cool.
We took the kids to hike Nanshan. I forgot that the "lookout" area I normally view is only on the path I normally take. I kept saying, "It's just around the next corner," only to realize that because we started at a different spot, there was no "lookout" halfway up. We turned "around the next corner" and we were at the TOP. Linc, NICE work dude.
On the other hand. Cole had much more fun hanging on to my leg.
Breaking out my dad's old whiteboard for family night! A goal not written down is just a wish!
Don't mess with Batman.
We've had a Wii since 2008. It is finally getting some use. Mainly just Saturdays...but Lego Star wars and racing games are where it's at!
I just have to say...THIS is such a happy place for me. A turf field, with strong players who are both talented AND hilarious. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
Hey Nate and Christian....someone in China had your same idea! :)
Cole had to stop and sit down and inform me that our apartment logo was, "OPTIMUS PRIME!" Hahaha. This one's for your Brooke.
Hikin' Nanshan!
The Burton and Stahle boys on the way to church! We are going to MISS you guys when you're in Hong Kong!
Such an awesome looking tree, right? Four Seasons park is one of my favorites...
I'd never considered people carving their own names or thoughts on trees in Chinese...just like I'd never considered Chinese graffiti. Some things span across cultures. :)
I love this tree!
Paddle boats!
Bumper cars! (Except I think the crazy foreign kids**us**did the bumping. Most of the locals cleared out rather quickly.
Someday I'd like to know the story behind this. IT. IS. GIANT. Those are our littles standing in front of the fence at the bottom.
I document the beautiful days often, but some days, when the air quality is like this, it feels a little stifling...so we GO TO THE BEACH...
"The beach" is about a 10 minute bike ride. We decide to not think about the air quality, water quality or what might be lurking in the sand, and just pretend we are on the coast in Oregon. And the boys love it...as well as their "swimming" in the bath tub afterwards. :)
This is a play place inside of the mall a few miles from our house. It's like a mini version of the Children's Museum. PACKED on holidays and weekends, but when everyone is in school and Cole wants to play, we usually find a few other people there and it's PERFECT.
Linc had a week off for CNY, so we decided to play soccer in the rain!
No idea what this means because I couldn't read the sign, but it's a SWEET looking wall and I want to know it's story!
Lollipops from Candy Artist are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Lots of exercise equipment like this around most apartment complexes. The kids find it entertaining, so it all works out!
I can't tell you how many times I've seen Cole this way. Couches, tables, beds, desks...sneaky, sneaky~
Another cool tree at the Fairy Lake Gardens!
UM...THIS DESERVES IT'S OWN POST.....Mango crepe cake. DELICIOUS. Layers of crepes, whipping cream, fresh mangoes....YUMMM!
I love this picture. It is a perfect depiction of my children. I love my life.
My sisters and I all have this necklace. I love it and it makes me all gushy. :)
Ah Yeah....guess who's coming to Hong Kong? And guess who's GOING?! Mmmmhmmm.
Alicia and Colby making us Falafel. SO delicious. They JUST moved and are currently touring Europe for a month before returning to the States. We miss you already!
Possibly my favorite picture of these two.
Thanks to the Turners, Dallas and I are now currently addicted to Canasta. I'm highly disappointed that this is the only picture we have because I likely just fed Steve that pile that won he and Dallas the game. If you haven't played, learn! It's FUN. Totally.
When in China, do as the Chinese do, right? Haha. Potty training is so simple in China!
Someday we'll commit to actually doing it.
On the other hand. When in China, I will not do as the Chinese do in some respects. Shoes here are so fascinating.
On the other hand. When in China, I will not do as the Chinese do in some respects. Shoes here are so fascinating.
Spiderman and Captain America sitting "reverently" for Family Night. It lasted 5 seconds. We're making progress!
This is a common occurrence these days. How nice to have a buddy.
Okay. All you frozen yogurt people. Fro-yo, and whatever else they are called back home. THIS IS IT. From Spain...It's called llao llao and it is HEAVENLY. Words TOTALLY fail.
This is a common occurrence these days. How nice to have a buddy.
Okay. All you frozen yogurt people. Fro-yo, and whatever else they are called back home. THIS IS IT. From Spain...It's called llao llao and it is HEAVENLY. Words TOTALLY fail.
Dad knows how to have FUN! While I was away for the weekend, the boys went to a ropes course. Awesome!
First hair cut in China was a success. DAD...get this...30 minute head massage after washing!!
Jane and Cherie (two on the right) are moving to Hong Kong next week. HK is getting HOOKED UP.
If you don't look like this from looking at the amount of pictures on here, then you should enjoy the video below. Dallas and Cole were trying to invite Steve over while I was gone for the weekend. Hahaha!
LOVE TO ALL! :)
