Happy Hour!!

Every day around 4:30 the sun would begin to set and we could finally pull ourselves out of the pool to enjoy the ending of the day!! We got into a bit of a routine in the late afternoon! We would pick up the munchkins around 3:00 and go to the pool for about an 1 1/2 hours. Then we would head to the beach bar and get drinks and sit back while the kids frolicked in the sand! It was probably my favorite time of day because we were all together enjoying the end of another beautiful day!

Pool time!!


Both boys jumped in the water and started swimming. I worked all summer trying to make them put their faces in with very little luck! I'm assuming it was because the pool felt like a bathtub so they felt completely comfortable!!
We added a new shark to our family over this holiday!! He was a big hit in the pool, but not as much fun as Uncle Paul!!

Where's Coopie??!!

Sports for Everyone!!

One of the many things I love about Club Med is the availability of many different sporting activities. Now don't get me wrong, I love to sit and relax, but I also like to be a bit active during the day! I figure this makes up for the large amounts of food that I eat while we are there!! Each resort offers different sports and each season allows you to do different things. We must have went during the perfect season because we were able to do everything we wanted to do in Bali!

Danny and I played tennis just one morning due to the extreme heat - and the fact that I am in desperate need of lessons again!! We also played golf one morning which I excelled at for the first two holes and then it went downhill, again, lessons would come in handy!!

One of our favorite things to do was snorkel. The first time we went out, the tide was in and it was rocky! We didn't even have to swim because we were carried by the waves. Ellie was begging to go, so we had her practice in the pool and then the next afternoon when the tide was out, we took her! She was amazing. The first time I went was when I was about 20 and it spooked me a little, but the mask and breathing didn't even seem to effect her! We saw many different species of fish and she loved pointing all of the different ones out to me! I held her hand and we just floated peacefully on top of the water!!

Danny and the boys also enjoyed their water aerobics! How funny it is to watch them in the water! I participated one day, but honestly it is much more entertaining to watch from the side!!

Danny also attempted to wind surf. I think it must be a lot harder than it looks because he kept doing it over and over. In the end, he was doing great and could stay on the board! Karen and John helped him and gave him pointers all along! I stayed on the beach and took pictures!

Danny and I kayaked one morning together! I really enjoyed just sitting there and letting him do all of the work! I had to get out of the boat at one point because I thought some Chinese were attempting to take my lounger! I immediately jumped out of the kayak and ran towards them only to realize they were a few chairs behind ours! I had to pretend that I was taking some pictures from afar to save face!!

I love being active and spending time with my dear hubby!!

Beautiful Bali!

After spending a couple of days in Hong Kong we (maybe Dan and I more than the munchkins!) were so excited to board our flight bound for Bali!! This holiday we were extremely fortunate to travel with our dear friends! We are all in the same predicament of not knowing when or where we will end up next, so we had decided long ago that we would vacation together in October!

We all met at the airport! Danny and I, with our large amounts of luggage and three children, somehow managed to get checked in at the Business Class counter. We were lucky because our luggage was overweight and they didn't even blink!! After we were all through immigration and security, the shops called our names! I love Hong Kong airport because it provides ample amounts of shopping that can be done until right before you board! This proved to be a bit problematic when Paul couldn't find Ginnette as we were boarding!! We shouldn't have worried though because she was just at the "chemist" (British for pharmacy - I really am learning their langauge!) buying new toothbrushes! We all made it safely on the plane just in time to start playing with the fantastic remote control for the tv!! It was probably the best flight I have been on in a long time - I could pick movies, tv shows, games, you name it and they had it there!!

Once we arrived in Bali, the boys had to negotiate a price for taxis to take us to Club Med in Nusa Dua. They thought they were so clever, but somehow we ended up paying for a taxi that we didn't even use!! Oh well - I think we paid about $45 total for 5 taxis!

Once we arrived I felt completely relaxed as I always do at Club Med! We unpacked and had our air conditioner fixed (there's always something that is broken when we travel), and then we headed straight to the pool!

The grounds of the resort were absolutely gorgeous - it truly took my breath away!

This was "our" beach for 8 days!! We had a bar and there was a running/walking path that went on for a couple of miles! Danny couldn't believe that I actually got up early and went running, but I just couldn't resist when I looked out the window and saw the beach calling me!

The children were all zen from doing yoga in kids club!!
There were many temples all over the island. Offerings and prayers were given frequently throughout the day. I need to research why the statues were all wrapped in cloth - I have no idea??
This was the kids club section - they had a wonderful pool that was completely shaded, so the kids did not get sunburned, unlike their mommy!!

This is part of the putting green and soccer field. This was all located behind our rooms!
On the way to the shopping mall (of course, I had looked up shopping venues before we even arrived!) there was this great building. I love being in a different country and exploring all of the different architecture and customs that exist!

Roller Coaster Boy!!

Coop has officially conquered his goal of riding Space Mountain!! Over the summer he was so disappointed when he learned that he was too short to ride the roller coaster at Disney World, so he set his sights on October and Disneyland! I made Danny and Ellie ride it first to make sure it was okay for him - they were unsure, so I went on! I made the executive decision to let him try it! I knew it was safe and I could not stand to see the sad look in his eyes if I said no! There was one catch to riding it at this time though, it was not just Space Mountain, it was Ghost Galaxy Space Mountain, so it was full of monsters and ghosts projected on the ceiling throughout the ride!

Coop loved every minute of it and went on to ride it three times! I was going to take him one more time, but he decided he had had enough of the ghosts and he would wait until we came the next time and it was "normal" Space Mountain!

Well done Coopie!!

Day 2 at Disney - Invasion of the Mainlanders!

On Friday, Eesn woke up bright and early and ready to start the day!! We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's in our hotel, which is the kids favorite restaurant there! We thought Eens had forgotten about the night before, but on our way to catch the bus, he started asking questions like, "what time does it get dark?", "when do the ghosts come out?", and then he decided that we should leave the park before dark!!The kids carried on getting pressed pennies to fill their books that they got this summer at Disney World!Danny thinks the castle is tiny!!Eens was much braver during the daylight hours!! As soon as we ate lunch though, he kept asking if it was 6:00 pm yet!! We finished riding some of the rides we didn't get to ride the afternoon before and then rode our favorites again!!

Disney experienced the invasion of the "mainlander" (those who come from the China mainland) on Friday due to the fact that it was a national holiday. We had never been to Disney during a holiday, and after our experience, we probably will steer clear of doing it again! We saw and heard many familiar sights and sounds that we are surrounded by in Tianjin on a daily basis. We heard the the preparation for large spit to be expelled out of the mouth and we heard quite a bit of loud talking! We also were fortunate to see the rolled up shirt (or Tianjin ren, as my children like to call them) and we saw many sleepers!!

Thankfully Disney is prepared for everyone with their food choices! Who wouldn't want some fish balls or a jumbo sausage on a stick?!!After we realized that Disney had been taken over and since Eens kept warning us that the ghosts might come out, we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel for a swim!! On our way out we got to see our dear friends for a few brief moments! It was enough time for Eens to warn them that they should basically turn back around and leave the park and to snap a quick picture!

We made many happy, funny, and spooky memories in Hong Kong Disney this time around!!

Happy Halloween from Hong Kong Disney!!

We started our October holiday off just right with our first stop being Hong Kong! We were fortunate to be able to fly directly out of Tianjin for this trip (quite rare when we fly international!) to Hong Kong. When I found out our flight plan, I knew we had to stay for a couple of days for the kids to enjoy Hong Kong Disney because we can't get enough of Disney! We left on Thursday and spent all afternoon and the following day at the park! The kids were all very excited because the Halloween decorations were up! They kept asking to look at the website weeks before we were leaving to plan out what all they would do. Eens appeared to be up for the challenge of confronting ghosts and goblins!! Things change quite quickly...It was a beautiful day when we arrived, so we went straight for all the rides! As usual we walked on everything, although we did think it was a little busier than it has been in the past! We usually ride Buzz about 10 times at least - I'm actually getting pretty good at aiming my laser, but my arm is always so tired when I am done! Danny and Eens adore Small World, so that is always a must on the to do list!! As you can see Coop cannot complain about Small World even though he is a "roller coaster boy" because he gets to drink his frozen Coke!Eensie (my sweet, sweet boy) still loves the Winnie the Pooh ride. I think when the hopping starts on the ride, he actually gets scared!! Bless his sweet little heart!I was thrilled when Cooper declared that he wanted to ride Dumbo, although I was the only one! Danny, El, and Eens mumbled and grumbled the entire time we waited. It did turn into a somewhat exciting wait as there was a scuffle at the front of the line. Security had to be called and unfortunately due to the language barrier we couldn't understand a thing! It appeared to me that two ladies and there children forgot the "wait in line" policy and pushed straight towards the front. An older gentleman and his wife/girlfriend? did not let them pass and they started to fight. There was a lot of yelling and a bit of pushing - it was really entertaining to watch! When the security arrived they tried to take all of the people involved away, but the older gentleman (who had no children with him) refused to go until he got to ride on Dumbo!!As it got darker, scary things started to transform Disney! Danny and Ellie were all smiles, but Eensie was beginning to doubt his bravery!!I thought it would be fun if we all went through Demon Jungle (you must be thinking I'm crazy), but honestly I thought it couldn't be too scary - we were in Disney! We all got in line and then I started to hear screams. These were real screams and they sounded like they were coming from very scared people! Danny and I both looked at each other and we decided that it might be best if I wait with the boys for him and Ellie to go through!! We went to the exit and immediately I knew we had made the right decision! Ellie was fine when she got out, but Danny said he had to give "the look" to all of the "ghosts" he saw standing ready to jump out at El!! Thankfully we haven't had any nightmares, but I think that was probably a bad decision on my part!!We decided to make our way towards the front of the park to shop and watch the fireworks! The castle was lit up in festive colors, so of course we had to take a picture!! As we were making our way to Main Street, I heard creepy music fill the air. I looked up and saw dancers in rags filling the street. Straight away we ducked into the first shop because it reminded me of the Thriller video and that always spooked me, so I knew there was no way Eens could handle it! We decided to walk through the stores and exit the park early!! We were almost halfway down the street when we had to exit the store and cross a street to go into the next one. I looked out the window and didn't see anyone dancing, so I assumed the coast was clear! Wrong...
This lady (I know she doesn't look that scary, but she was) gave Ethan a spooky look and our night ended much faster than we thought it would!! Eens burst into tears and was shaking like crazy. Danny basically grabbed him and ran out of the park. El, Coop, and I really didn't understand what was going on until we caught up to them! Poor Eens, he will probably never go to a Disney park at nighttime again!!

Thankfully when we arrived back at our hotel, Donald was wandering the hallways. He put a big smile on all the kids faces and we all fell asleep happy! Eens did not let go of me all night, but at least he slept!!

We're Back!!

We are back in Tianjin and completely refreshed and relaxed, ready to move forward to Christmas. Many times it feels that our lives here are completely focused on our holiday schedule. When we first decided to move to China, another expat told us to always have a trip planned for the future. We have done this and although sometimes it can seem exhausting, it helps us get through some of the day to day difficulties that we have. It's nice to think in the back of your mind, "only 6 more weeks and I'll be on a plane to the US for Christmas". It makes the time fly by and it makes some of the difficulties that much easier to bear!

This past trip, (which I will write about and put pictures up over the next few days), was absolutely amazing. I feel completely blessed and grateful to have the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places in the world. While living in Iowa I never sat back and thought, one day I want to go to Bali, because it seemed silly to dream like that!! We have definitely made some amazing memories over the past 2 1/2 years in Asia and now I have to start thinking about Chinese New Year...where to go next??!!