A very special birthday!!

Our sweet Coopie turned five years old two weeks ago!! Where did the time go? I still see his baby face and he assures me that he is still my little baby, but truth be told, he is a big boy now!! He loves the fact that he is five and has told me many times that if he weren’t five he would probably cry about certain things, but now he is too big for that!!

Although the memories of his first five weeks of life grow more and more distant as time goes by, I still can’t help but treasure every birthday he has!! We are so thankful that he is full of life, happiness, and health!!

To celebrate his birthday this year he had chosen a Toy Story theme all the way back in the summer. When I reminded him that he was having a Toy Story party, he was a bit upset, but then we came up with some ideas and games and he slowly warmed to the idea. I don’t have the luxury of waiting to figure out what theme the kids will be into close to their birthdays so I try to have them pick things that are not too trendy!!

Coopie and I found several games all relating to the Toy Story theme on the internet. When the children all came in, they decorated Mr. Potato Heads (which Danny and I had cut out all the parts for late into the night, the night before!). Then, I made a big alien missing one eye and we played pin the eye on the alien. After that we headed over to Woody’s shoot out where we used Nerf guns to knock down paper cups (even some of the moms were eager to give this game a go!)! Next we went to the “claw” which basically consisted of a bowl with lots of plastic Toy Story toys in it. The children had to use chopsticks (I’m not sure I have a party where chopsticks are not used in some capacity!) to pick up as many as they could in 30 seconds! The kids all really enjoyed themselves and were cheering each other on! After that the children went to the Pizza Planet to decorate their own pizzas. While those were cooking the kids played a little Toy Story bowling - once again using those little plastic toys, which Danny always claimed were a waste of money!! We also played pass the parcel to You’ve Got a Friend in Me!! And our final activity before eating and digging into the delicious cake that Danny had made of the evil Dr. Porkchop, was a moon rock hunt!! Ellie helped me wrap little toys and candies up in foil to look like moon rocks. She then hid them all over the second floor where the kids found them! I think they loved this because they got to unwrap them all and discover goodies inside!! I’m pretty sure all the kids had a good time and this mommy was definitely exhausted when the party was over!! Coopie loved having all of his friends over and I think he could quite easily get used to all of the attention!!

On his actual birthday, he celebrated with his school friends during the day! He wanted a doggy cupcake cake to take to school. Thank goodness for the internet because we were able to find a fun and easy cake that he loved!! Danny was away for business, so when he saw my creative design he was quite impressed!

Coop requested breakfast for dinner that night and we all had a great time playing with all of his new toys!!

Happy birthday sweet Coop!! We love you to infinity and beyond!!

Performing Arts Star!!

Two weeks ago Ellie’s class finished their performing arts unit of inquiry with a fantastic morning assembly!! The children read poems, performed plays, acted out a favorite book, performed a mime, and played individual music pieces! Ellie was in the mime group and did such a wonderful job! She kept explaining the act to me at home, but I really didn’t get it. Once I watched it on stage I could not believe how clever third graders could be. Ellie also played a piano piece that she had composed herself. As I watched her, I was amazed at the grace and self confidence she has acquired since we arrived in Tianjin. A huge part of the children’s curriculum is speaking in front of their peers and adults. I was skeptical in the beginning of why this needed to be such an important piece of their education, but now as I watch my own children thrive, I can totally understand it’s importance in elementary education!

Saying good-bye to a best friend...

Most of you know that we had to leave our sweet beagle, Jenni, in the US when we moved to China. It was a very difficult decision that was only made after many tear filled conversations. She was really too old to be put in cargo for a 13 hour flight and we had no idea what kind of vet care we could find for her in China. We were very grateful that my brother and sister-in-law offered to take her in. This past November my sister, Steph and mom and dad began sharing responsibility for Jenni because Rob and Steph were getting ready for Kylee (niece) to arrive! Every time we saw Jenni we were so thankful she was being taken care of and loved just as she would have been if we were home. I truly thought that we would even be able to take her back once we moved back.

Unfortunately in the beginning of March, Jenni started going downhill. She was losing weight fast. My mom sensed that something was wrong, but I think she wanted to believe that Jenni had eaten something or had a virus. Finally in the middle of March while Jenni was being loved on by Steph and Jeff, it was obvious to me that she needed to be taken to the vet. Steph bravely took her in hoping she would be picking her up in a couple of days. Unfortunately, our family vet found a tumor in Jenni’s stomach. He knew she would not survive an operation and told us that the best thing we could do was put her down. We have used this doctor since I was little and my entire family has complete trust in him. Through many tears on the phone, I had to give my mom permission to put sweet Jenni out of her pain. It was terrible not being able to be there and hold Jenni for one last time - she was a part of our lives for 13 years. However, when we decided to leave her in the US we were fully aware that this might happen and there was absolutely no way I was going to try and put my family through trying to keep her alive for a couple of months because of my own selfishness.

We have all had a good cry here in China, but will probably be faced with more tears when we go “home” and she doesn’t come running out the door howling her ridiculously loud howl!!

They can really sell this stuff??

Not long ago I got urgent phone calls and many texts from a friend asking where I was and if I was okay!! Of course, I was fine, just not answering my phone because I was eating so many veggie dumplings at Din Tai Fung!! When I called her back she was a bit frantic because along the side of the outer ring road (which we take to get into the city) there were lots of people selling what appeared to be rifles and swords. This was about a month ago.

Now they are still selling these “weapons” that they claim are toys along the road, but coming even closer to our compound! I am now used to these people selling their handiwork on the side of the road, but it doesn’t make me less uneasy! Our drivers all laugh at us for being so scared. We have been told that it is not necessarily legal to sell these particular products on the side of the road, but no one wants to do anything about it. Sometimes I find it very strange how the government can be so strict with some things and then so lax with others!! I will never understand!!

A Quick Jaunt to Hong Kong!

After a very hectic February, we planned a short trip to Hong Kong. We like to go to Hong Kong in early March because we are in need of some warmer weather by that time and the kids cannot get enough of Hong Kong Disney! We also were anticipating that that would be our final trip to Hong Kong as a family for quite some time.

We left early on a Friday morning so we could make the most of our time! Soon after we checked into the hotel, the kids were ready to go play at the park! Eens was thrilled that it was not October so he did not have to worry about the ghosts and goblins coming out!! We now know the park quite well so we were able to cover everything by the evening!! Cooper finally wanted to go on Space Mountain right before we left. He is usually so brave, but for some reason it took him a while to warm up to the idea of riding on a roller coaster again! By the end of the trip he had been on it over 5 times, so I am pretty sure his fears are gone!!

On Saturday we were so excited to see our friends who had left Tianjin in December. They had only relocated to Hong Kong a few weeks prior to our arrival, but were more than happy to meet us at Disneyland with their adorable little girl!! Since we had covered everything the kids wanted to do on Friday we really just got to hang out and take our friends on our favorite rides! We all had a wonderful time catching up and in the end, of course I was wishing they had not left Tianjin!

On Sunday we decided to explore some more of the city and I needed to do some serious toy shopping for someone’s upcoming fifth birthday!!! Hong Kong is extremely hilly so I got many complaints from my dear family when I made them walk to a park! Danny was complaining about having a stroller because Hong Kong is not easy to get around with one! I rationalized having one because I needed some place to put my packages!! He finally gave up!! We made it to the park and had a nice wander around.

Can we say dramatic?!!!

After exploring the park, Danny thought it would be fun to take the kids on the Star Ferry to get across the harbor to the shopping mall I wanted to go to. It was a really quick trip on the ferry which was good because it was a bit windy! The kids seemed to enjoy the new mode of transportation though!! Once we arrived at the mall we enjoyed a very American lunch and then quickly shopped until my arms were sore!! Thank goodness for plenty of taxis in Hong Kong because I was too exhausted for public transportation!

The kids are a bit disappointed that this was there last trip to Hong Kong for the year! Next October Disneyland is going to be opening three new areas. We were able to see the plans and the kids were so excited to see that one of the themes is going to be Toy Story! An entire themed area devoted to Woody and Buzz - I’m not sure my boys could ask for anything more!! Hopefully we will make our way back to Asia in the next few years so they can enjoy this before they are too old!!

Good-bye clean air!!

It's not Chinese New Year Without...

FIREWORKS!!

This year Danny spared no expense when he was buying fireworks and apparently the locals felt the same way because we saw some awesome fireworks displays right behind and in front of our house!! The kids favorite this year were the "ayis" - I'm not sure we were teaching them a good lesson by blowing up the ayis, but Danny thought it was hilarious! On the last night of lighting off fireworks, Danny was preparing a sparkler for Ellie when the end blew up. That was the end of our fireworks extravaganza!!

We did have one problem with the fireworks and that was sweet Mei Mei - she was terrified. On the final night, people were setting them off for nearly 8 hours straight. Mei refused to go potty outside. Poor thing had to sleep in her crate that night because we didn't want her to have an accident in bed!!

This is the aftermath of Chinese New Year!!

Winter Carnival

During the month of February, my life pretty much revolved around planning the first winter carnival at our school. Karen and I worked together on this endeavor, even though she originally had no idea what a lollipop tree was!! We work so incredibly well together because we both know each other’s strengths! Karen is amazing at organizing, art, and design! She took the whole concept and really brought it to life with all of her artwork and color schemes for the tents!

We used the gym of our school for all of the games and activities! I brought back most of the prizes and small items we needed from the states when we were home over Christmas. Most of us felt better about using tattoos from abroad than from China - one never knows!! We had lots of activities for the younger children and then to satisfy the older students we set up two wii’s! The hardest part of the planning for the games and activities was getting enough volunteers! We recruited both parents and students and in the end it worked out great, although every 45 minutes Karen and I were running around making sure the new volunteers were in place!!

In the cafeteria we had food, sales of jewelry, a local Tianjin artist, basket raffle, and cake sale! The biggest hit was the Snowball kiosk, which is Korea’s version of Dippin Dots! The most interesting piece of equipment was the cotton candy bike! Yes, you read that correctly. The cotton candy was made and sold directly off of a very dirty bike! I’m pretty sure it would not pass the health inspection in the US, but in China, anything goes!!

I think the entire PFO (who were extremely helpful and dedicated in the planning!) was shocked at the number of people who came out on a beautiful Saturday! We sent busses to two different venues and they all filled up. The food was all eaten and we ran out of almost all of the prizes. There is not much to do with the family during the winter here, so it was fun to spend the day together!