Saving the Best for Last!!

On our final day at Disney we spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom - my absolute favorite!! Once again, we talked dad into getting up early and going for the early morning magic hours. Two days in a row of this means he must really love his grandchildren!! Although the park was extremely busy, even during the early morning hours, we rode and saw everything we wanted!! Coopie rode his first “big” roller coaster, Big Thunder Mountain! Eensie declared that, “he is not a roller coaster kind of guy!” and he preferred the Transit Authority, which is the slowest ride in Disney!! But, the great thing about that ride is that there is rarely a wait so he can ride as many times as he wants!! Coop was heartbroken when he was too short to ride on Space Mountain - I was thrilled because I was even scared on it!! I told him he can ride the one in Hong Kong because it is much easier, so that made him feel a little better. He continues even now to ask me when he can ride the roller coaster Poppy (his dear friend from nursery!) rode!! I think part of the reason he was so upset was because a girl got to ride Space Mountain and he didn’t!! Poor kid!!

I can't believe my baby went on this ride - as we were going down the hill he was chatting away and told me to look over at some other rides. I'm screaming and he's talking, how funny!!

I was a little bit sad during this visit that the kids pretty much skipped over Fantasyland, except for the Peter Pan ride. Ellie is not interested in the princesses at all, so I guess this saves us some time from chasing them down and waiting in line to take pictures, but it just makes me realize how fast she is growing up! I am proud of her for being patient and riding the rides the boys wanted to ride in between all of her “big” rides!

Another thing we did this trip was to collect pressed pennies throughout the parks instead of getting autographs from the characters. We did wait and take pictures with some of their favorites, but I knew it would be really busy and waiting in line on a hot day did not sound that appealing to me when I was planning our trip!! The kids loved the pennies and they could each get different designs at each station - this allowed for their very individual personalities to shine through!!

We had a very wonderfully, full three days in Disney, and of course, I cannot leave without knowing when I will be going back!! We will once again enjoy the magic at the end of September in Hong Kong - we have a two day layover on our way to Bali!!

Searching for Animals!

On our second day in Disney, we spent the day looking for animals at Animal Kingdom! We somehow persuaded my dad that we needed to get up early and take advantage of the extra magic hours because we were staying on Disney property. If it had not been for the fact that his grandchildren were with us, there is no way he would have done this!! Ellie and I enticed him with riding Everest several times if he got up!

We made it about 30 minutes before the park opened and what a difference it made! We walked on Everest (probably my favorite roller coaster!) twice in a row, then we got a fastpass for the Kali River Rapids, and proceeded to the safari ride! We were done riding all of the rides we wanted and we had eaten a brunch with the characters by 12:30!! At this point I was feeling like a Disney pro!!

The safari ride was amazing on this particular morning! The sky was a beautiful blue with large cotton ball clouds and all the animals were up and about because the heat had not set in yet! We had several animals walk across the road in front of our vehicle. I love the fact that Disney has gone out of their way to make the land as close to their natural habitat as possible.

Who's more excited here? Mommy or the kids - probably mommy, but everyone ate really well and enjoyed our brunch at the Tusker House!!

After our lunch we stumbled upon a little area where there were many characters interacting with the kids! I always think of my brother when I see Thumper because when he was little he lost his favorite stuffed Thumper and my parents went through a lot to get a new one! This was before online shopping!!
Ellie had her hair braided for the first time while we all had a rest in the shade!! I was so happy that she could do something "girly" and fun for her - I love how Disney can appeal to all age groups!! We all got soaked after riding on the "Kali River Rabbits" as Eens called it!! Poor Eens, he begged not to go on it, but I sort of made him, and the whole ride, he and I were going backwards through every waterfall there was!!

My only problem with our day was that Eens and Coop would have rather played carnival games the entire time - all I could think was that I could have saved a few hundred dollars and taken them to the LeRoy Fall Festival! They would be happy out there!! Another problem with this was the cost of a game was $2.50 and we had to keep playing until all three children won a stuffed animal!! ahhhh....

Hollywood here we come..

Hollywood Studios, that is!! For those of you who know me, you know that I cannot be within an hour’s proximity and not visit the “World”! So, on our third day in Florida we drove off in the early morning to Hollywood Studios! My dad was even brave enough and agreed to go with us for the three days we were going to be there (I think if you asked him, he would say he had a great time, except he wasn’t too impressed with the kids fighting over a silly fan water bottle!)

Ellie, dad, and I went straight towards the Rockin Roller Coaster, while mom and the boys headed to Toy Story Mania. Mom doesn’t ride roller coasters and Coop‘s height didn’t qualify, so they got to spend some quality time bonding with Eens who doesn’t like any ride that is remotely fast! This was my first time on this roller coaster because there is always a long line. I’m not so sure I would have let Ellie ride it if I had known the speeds it reaches within about 5 seconds! Luckily it was a short ride because I was still shaking for at least 30 minutes after we were finished!!!

My aunt, who owns Magic Touch Vacations (she books all of our trips to Disney along with our dining arrangements!), booked our meals for us and this time we tried a restaurant I had not been to before, the 50’s Prime Time Cafe. Imagine Leave it to Beaver’s house and that is what we ate in. The wait staff was definitely in character and our waitress gave us rules straight away! Leave it to my father to not follow her rule of “no elbows on the table”. She gently reminded him a few times, but after that she had had enough. She proceeded to squirt ketchup along the table to keep his elbows down! It worked wonderfully - I think I should use some of the discipline tactics from the 50’s on my sweet children!! Another waiter got tired of refilling his customer’s coke, so he brought him three full glasses and a pitcher! Of course, this was all in good fun, and it had us giggling away! But, I don’t think my kids realized it was all an act because they were very well behaved!!

It was very hot and crowded, but watching the kids faces as they saw new things, like the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and the Muppets 3D, made it all worth it!! Coop also was fascinated with Lotso (the new evil bear in Toy Story 3), so we had to watch him for a bit - Coop didn’t want to go near him, he just wanted to watch from a distance!!

After we saw all of the attractions that we wanted to, we went to check into our cabin and rest before we were off to Magic Kingdom for the nighttime festivities!!

I Want to Retire!!

As I have mentioned in previous posts, last week the kids and I spent 7 days with my parents at their house in Florida and Disney World!! This was the first time I was able to visit their new house in Florida and I was very excited to see where they spent a few months over the winter! I am so happy that my mom and dad have a place to escape where they can both be happy. They live in a community called The Villages, which is about 1 hour from Disney World. There are something like 17 swimming pools, tons of executive golf courses, a few championship golf courses, and more classes than anyone could take in a year! Both mom and dad worked extremely hard to raise my sisters, brothers, and I. They rarely bought anything for themselves, so they could provide for us. Now, they deserve to enjoy their little retreat away as much as possible!!

These are pictures from one of the downtown areas. The kids and I loved picking out our favorite golf carts!! You can also drive cars, but most people were out and about on the carts!

Probably my favorite part of being down south was that we could all stay together. The kids and I stay at my grandparent's house in Illinois (which is right next door to my mom and dad's), but in Florida we stayed with mom and dad the entire time! I realized as we were ending our trip that maybe they like a little peace every night when we go over to grandma's, but really, who can blame them??!! Plus, we do love staying at my grandma and grandpa's - they are so good to us and make us feel right at home!!

The kids loved all of the golf cart rides they got to take. I have a secret love of driving golf carts myself, so I was very excited when my mom reluctantly handed over the keys!! I could get used to driving a golf cart everywhere!!

Our visit to their house was just perfect! We were in no rush (no one really is, you have to be 55 or older to purchase a home) and the area was so peaceful! I foresee many trips back in the near future!!

Happy Birthday America!!

We made it to Florida just in time to celebrate the 4th of July! We started our holiday at my parents' place in the Villages and that is where we participated in the 4th activities! We spent a bit of the day shopping and swimming and then later in the day we headed to one of the two downtown areas. There were clowns, music, stilt walkers, baton twirlers, and a very fun DJ all waiting for us! The downtown was packed as many of the residents had visitors in town.

The munchkins loved (well sort of!) the clowns that made balloon shapes for them!

Eens was very interested in the stilt walkers - he kept wanting me to stand right next to them to see who was taller! Duh!!

Coop was most interested in the misters that were out! He could have played in them all night if I had let him!!

Ellie spent most of her time asking everyone if she could pet their dogs!!

Mom was loving the music and at one point was dancing in the street!!

We ended the night, not with fireworks, but with lots of homemade ice cream! The perfect ending to a wonderful day celebrating all of the freedoms we enjoy!!

Can you tell Coop ate blue ice cream?! I'm pretty sure it was called Superman, so naturally that is what he chose!!

As we were leaving the downtown area, Eens found his "dream" golf cart!! And Ellie posed under a palm tree!

One Way Road Trip!

My mom, dad, the kids and I are currently on a "road trip"!! On Saturday we drove all day and into the night to make it to their new house in Florida! The trip took us a bit over 17 hours and the kids were fantastic! I had unrealistic ideas that they would enjoy the landscape and play car bingo all the way down, but they really weren't interested in my games! Thankfully the DS's were loaded with new games and I had bought new DVD's for the DVD player! Maybe in a few years they will enjoy the giant Cross off of the interstate, the huge Superman in Metropolis, IL, the people camping and boating, or the mountains, but for now they are entranced with technology! When I am brave enough, I will take the gadgets away and make them be creative like I had to when I was little! (One of my creative ideas was to put little pieces of gum in T's hair - that obviously did not go over well with my parents!)

I can't wait to share all of the adventures we are having when we get back this weekend! I already have tons of pictures to share!! We are actually flying back on Saturday - a one way road trip is enough for now to test the waters!!

Happy Two Year Anniversary to Us!!

I find it very hard to believe that we have finished our second year living in China. As of July 1st, we have finished two years of our contract - time has flown, and so much has changed over the past two years. Some of these changes have been positive and others not as positive. Danny and I have both had our moments of wondering why in the world we agreed to move to the other side of the world. On the other hand, we have both had similar moments of wondering how we can go back to our “normal” life in the US! We will go back at some point during this next year and we will be different people than when we left, but we will figure out how we can fit in again and like before, we will find our new “normal”!

I continue to have a love/hate relationship with China. This year I have found it more difficult to stay positive some days. I’m sure that is because everything is not as new and exciting. The thought of going to E-Mart now makes me cranky instead of excited to find new products. I have started shopping primarily at import stores and the local fruit and veggie markets!! But on a positive note, I have found places to buy kids clothes and a few things for Danny and I that actually fit!! I still can’t find my size of shoes, but that is just a good excuse to go shoe shopping in the US!!

We continue to be grateful for the travel opportunities we have in Asia! I hope the kids remember all of the beautiful places we have been to and the amazing cultures we have experienced! Danny and I have so many wonderful memories etched in our minds of the time we have spent exploring!! We are really looking forward to making the most of next year. There are still many places I would like to see in China and Asia! In fact, I just booked a trip to Bali for October - we can’t wait!!

I think one of the best things about living in China is the opportunity our children have. I was just talking to one of my bestest friends in the states and we were discussing class sizes in the schools. Our children are so spoiled to have such low teacher/student ratios. If you include the full time teaching assistants, Eens has a 6:1 student/teacher ratio. I’m sure that has had a huge influence on the progress he has made this year!

As I’m typing this, Ellie has just asked if we can stay an extra year in China (apparently she is very happy!!)! That makes me extremely happy, not that we are going to stay, but that she is content! As a mom, I constantly question the parenting decisions Danny and I make! To see the kids’ smiling faces, reinforces that living in a foreign country agrees with them!!

I also think that this move has been very healthy for Danny and I. When we decided we were going to do this, we knew we both had to be on the same page. The move wasn’t just about Danny’s job, we had to figure out a way to make it positive for all of us! We have tried our best to learn from all that is thrown our way. Danny’s “work” life is much different here. He amazes me with how easily he has adapted to the business culture, he doesn’t always like it or agree with it, but he has learned to be effective regardless! I am so proud of him - I probably don’t tell him this enough! For me, I now have a greater appreciation for this great big world! I have friends from almost all continents and they teach me so much on a daily basis! All along I thought that I would be the one to get the least out of this experience, but this was completely wrong! I am one very lucky tai tai!!

I find this time of year very bittersweet. I am very sad to have had to say good-bye to dear friends who will not return in the fall. I am also sad to have left my dear husband for 5 weeks, our very good friends for the summer, our Mei Mei, our home, and our routine. Living out of a suitcase for 7 weeks is not easy! But, I love being with our family and friends who so graciously welcome us into their hearts and homes! I love being in America and enjoying all of the conveniences that are offered. I also love jumping in a car and setting off on errands!! We have so much to be thankful for over the past two years and I hope next year is the best yet!!