Family Reunions!

We are being completely spoiled with all sorts of family time during our visit! The kids are loving reconnecting with their cousins and I love watching them - it is amazing that after one year they have all changed so much. I see the same kind of relationships developing between them that I have with all of my wonderful cousins! I wish I could give them more time together, but we will cherish every moment and make lasting memories while we are here! And then next year, we'll do it all over again!!
We really appreciate all of the effort that our family and friends have put towards making us feel comfortable and right at home! It is not easy living out of suitcases for 8 weeks, but I wouldn't change it for anything! We are extremely blessed and grateful!!

Puppy Love!

We have been enjoying our sweet puppy (not really, she's almost 11) since we got back!! The kids are so good to her and I think they truly missed her. We are so grateful that she has been in the wonderful care of my brother and sister-in-law, I know they really love her too, which makes it easier to leave her!! She is a little bit fatter, but it is just from lots of love!!

The Joys of Jet Lag!

Arriving in Chicago last Sunday was wonderful, but unfortunately that elated feeling of being "home" only lasted for a short while! Jet lag for my children set in immediately, so Sunday night we were up from about midnight until 6:00am when exhaustion took over and we fell asleep until 1:00pm! At that point, I was completely frustrated because I felt like I was losing precious time enjoying the US!

I find it very difficult fighting jet lag with three children. It seems like when I get one to sleep, another one wakes up, and then the last one wakes up, and then we start the whole vicious cycle again. I tried the Benadryl, which made two of them bounce off the walls. Then I begged my doctor for the correct dose of melatonin for 3 year olds (he's the worst when it comes to jet lag), but he told me it is much better if their natural clock resets itself. I'm not a big fan of Coopie's natural clock!!

I have read that it takes one day for every hour of time difference you have travelled through. The time difference we are battling against is 13 hours - uhhhh!! Every night I get all comfy and wait for the little voice asking me if it is morning yet! I know it will get better (and it already is!), but then I think to myself that I get to do it all over again in about 6 weeks!!

Sweet "Home" Chicago!

I felt right at home in downtown Chicago on Friday night! You see, they were selling purses right on the street corner - I might as well have been in China!!
But unlike China, cars do follow the rules of the road and pedestrians have the right of way!!
Chicago is one of my favorite cities, so I was thrilled when my sister Steph wanted us to try on bridesmaid dresses downtown. My sisters, mom and I all made a night out of it with a bit of shopping, eating, and giggling!! I got to take some melatonin at the hotel and got my first real night's sleep since we had arrived! Thank goodness because I needed my strength on Saturday watching Steph try on loads of wedding dresses!! In the end, she found the perfect dress, and I cried even though I told myself I wouldn't. She will make a beautiful bride next July and I am so happy that I get to be a part of her and Jeff's special day!!
Hmmm...I wonder which dress we chose???

Back in the States!

Despite fighting jet lag, and dealing with a bit of rain, we enjoyed ourselves with Danny's parents the first week we were back!! The kids performed shows, which were quite entertaining, especially when Coop would not get off the "stage". I always thought Eens was going to be my little actor, but I could be wrong!! We also met up with a dear friend of mine from college who I reconnected with on facebook a few months ago!! We had fun playing at the mall and going to Rainforest Cafe. I am so thankful that the internet makes the world seem like a much smaller place.
The munchkins also got to go to a children's museum. They had fun, but I can tell we are entering the stage where Ellie would like to do different things than her two little brothers. She gets bored quickly and I have to remind myself that she is growing up!!
I was also able to sneak out for a fantastic night with 3 of my bestest friends!! We lived together in college, after college in Chicago, and we were all in each other's weddings. It has been almost 2 years since we were all able to be together at the same time! Everytime we are together, you would never know how much time has passed!! I cherish every moment I get with them and I'm already looking forward to a kiddy playdate soon!!

We will head back up to Chicago at the end of July when Danny flies in (yeah - we miss him so much!!). Hopefully we will get a chance to meet up with even more of our friends up there!!

It's Time for Summer!!

Our 10 days with my parents went by way too fast...before we knew it, it was Sunday and we had to pack up and head to the airport.  I'm not sure how we did it, but we managed to fit 12 large suitcases/duffle bags, 6 carry ons, 3 pillows, a double stroller, a child sized driver (it wouldn't fit with the rest of the golf bag in my luggage), a carseat, two drivers, and seven family members in two mini vans!!

The kids and I were very sad to say good-bye to Danny.  I cried, so Ellie cried, and my dad was probably wondering what in the world he was going to do on a 13 hour flight with two very emotional females!!  The nature of our expat life in China is that during the summer holiday, most (not all) wives and children go back to their home countries.  The main reason for this is to be with family and friends that we have missed horribly over the past year, but another reason is that Tianjin gets so hot that most people stay in during the day so there is really not a lot to do during the summer when school is not in session.  I do have to admit though, I got choked up saying good-bye to our friends and our ayi - we're only gone for 8 weeks, but I guess that shows how emotionally attached I have become!! 

Luckily, in the airport we ran into friends from Tianjin (small world, huh?) so the kids had fun riding the train to our terminal!!

We're off to America!!  And at this time, praying the kids will sleep on the plane (which they did!!)!!

Views from the "Eye"

Friday after the kids finished their last day of school, we made our way to the Tianjin Eye.  It is the largest ferris wheel built on a bridge.  It was another beautiful day, so I got some great photos of the city. 

It was my dad's turn to be brave during his "China experience", because not only does he dislike ferris wheels, but he also does not like bridges.  So, here we are on a ferris wheel, on top of the bridge, in a compartment that is not air conditioned, and takes almost 30 minutes to complete the ride!  Thanks dad - I know you hung in there for the kids!!

It's amazing what a blue sky day can do for Tianjin!  This part of town is really growing and they are trying to revitalize the riverfront!

Will she make it??

On Thursday, Danny and I took mom and dad to the Great Wall!  I was again in awe of this amazing structure!  We decided this time to do the "left" side since we did the "right" side on our run and I was not about to attempt that again!  Plus, I really was fearful my mom may ask our driver to drive her directly to the airport if she was forced to walk on a cliff!!

She's still smiling - she has no idea what we were about to encounter!!

Yep, Dad and Dan made it up this part of the Wall!  I made it halfway before fear gripped me and I realized I had to go back down!  Mom didn't even attempt it!
She's still not that mad at me!  If you look in the background, you can see the "right" side, which is what we ran on!!
Here is another picture of the "right" side!!  It really does just snake through the mountain - amazing!!
She's not real happy here.  I believe she said something like she couldn't breath!!  I'm such a good daughter, I giggled and pulled her up further!!  I didn't want her to miss any of her "China experience"!!
What a good son-in-law, he made sure she made it down the last part of the Wall and these are the toilets that were waiting for us!!  Yes, there are several holes in the ground!

To celebrate a job well done, we took mom and dad to the Jing Jin City Hyatt Hotel to eat lunch.  This hotel is quite exquisite to be sitting in the middle of nowhere (actually it is halfway between the Tianjin Great Wall and Tianjin).  Apparently, a Chinese entrepreneur built it and then sold it to the Hyatt.  After seeing it, I've decided it will be a great little weekend escape for us this fall!

It's Showtime!!

On Wednesday night we were treated to the Elementary Spring Show!  I was so excited that my parents were able to see something that the kids have been working on at school. I hope it gave them a sense of the community spirit that thrives there!  Ellie worked extra hard for the show.  She was a part of the grade 1 performance, and she also spent her lunch recesses practicing to be an elegant, graceful swan (not an easy fete for my sweet El!!), which she pulled off beautifully and which may have sparked an interest in ballet!!




It was an entertaining show and all the children seemed to enjoy themselves, which is really what is important!!

The TV Tower

A trip to Tianjin cannot be complete without a trip to the TV Tower.  I've mentioned before that the TV tower is the structure I always try to find when I'm in the car.  Some days that is nearly impossible due to the pollution, but thankfully during my parent's visit, we were blessed with many beautiful, blue sky days!!

Below is a picture of what we were allowed to walk through on our way in.  I say allowed, because can you imagine the lawsuit that would occur in the US if anything happened to someone while walking through a construction site?!!  No problem in China!!

A view of the city from the top!

Looking down on the world below!!

Rickshawing through Beijing

Sorry it's been awhile, but with our dear visitors and travelling back to the states, I am a bit behind!!  Now I have some serious catching up to do...

Last Tuesday my mom, dad, and I boarded the fast train for a day of sightseeing in Beijing!  The fast train is amazing - we got our tickets through the automated machine (which has an English option available) and were sitting on the train within 15 minutes.  Dad took a quick nap while mom and I watched how fast we were going...

Once we arrived in Beijing we took a taxi to Tiannemen Square, where security was upped quite a bit due to the recent anniversary.  We had to go through a bag check in order to enter the square. Once on the square we were able to explore the largest public gathering space in the world.  

View of the Forbidden City from the "square".

Next we walked underground to reach the Forbidden City.  We hired a guide, Sherman (he was definitely better than Betty!!), who shared a lot of history with us surrounding the Forbidden City.  Some of the interesting facts that I learned were...the center line that runs through the city is the center of Beijing and only the Emperor could walk on this line, many statues are placed using feng shui, the more dragons that line the corner of the roofs represent the importance of those occupying it (Danny had told me this, but I needed verification!!), and all of the concubines were named after a flower.  My dad decided my mom's name would be Dandelion (hehe!!)!  It was a beautiful stroll through this most interesting city that was built about 600 years ago!

We decided to get adventurous after the Forbidden City, and I did promise my cousin Laura a picture of mom on a rickshaw, so we searched for one that would take us to the Silk Market to shop!  We found two interesting gentleman who agreed to take us there.  It was a fun and breezy ride, yet sometimes a bit scary when we went into major intersections!  We made it to the Silk Market where we got ripped off on the price, but it's really all about the experience...right?!!!

Mom and I shopped until I almost literally dropped!!  She loves to shop and probably would have continued had I not told her she was done!!  I think I get exhausted because I get tired of bargaining.  It's fun for the first hour, but after that, I begin dreaming of shopping where there are set prices and I know I'm not paying way too much!

Danny had arranged for a car to pick us up after shopping (he knew we would have too many packages to make it back to the train!!), so we enjoyed a peaceful journey back to Tianjin!