Sunday, April 22, 2007
April 22, 2007
April has been such a beautiful month. We are loving the weather, and the green we enjoy here on the mountain. Every time I drive home from downtown, I feel like I'm going to a clean, peaceful place. We have all stayed busy doing all sorts of different things. Mike has been working hard, like always. I have been running lots. Rachel and Nicole have been trining on their bikes, working on their production, and working hard in school (we hope). They went to a youth conference for church last weekend in Shanghai. They really had a great time. I can't believe all of the stuff they fit into the conference in 2 evenings and one day! Caitlin is getting ready for a tap-dance she will do for the school in a couple of weeks. She is also doing a little play-school on Saturday mornings for the kids in the neighborhood. Right up her ally! Jay and Eli are playing hard, and suffering through homework. They are also living in a starwars world right now. That is all that they think about! I've included a few pictures of some pictures I took on a walk around town, and a couple of Eli's swimming lessons. We are looking forward to having Mom and Dad Nichols come on Wednesday for a visit! We can't wait to show them around and play with them! We will be moving into our house the second week of May. We look forward to that, but are doing fine in our apartments.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Some random photos...
Happy Birthday To Michael! The big 38!
Bamboo forest in our compound
Festival Dancers
Everyone was dresses up so nice for Todd's reception! It was great to play with my neices and nephew!
Bamboo forest in our compound
Festival Dancers
Everyone was dresses up so nice for Todd's reception! It was great to play with my neices and nephew!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Did you think I Forgot????
Wow, it's been so long since I've written! I have had the worst computer problems. I haven't been able to get online. We were finally given something to reboot our system with, and it seems to have worked, but things are coming up in Chinese! In fact, this blogger page has all Chinese buttons on it! Luckily I already know what they say (not because I can read Chinese, It's a major challenge just to speak it!)
Well, I think the first thing that happened in my long absence is my trip to Utah. That was so great! How amazing to be there with my family for my brother Todd's wedding. I was so grateful to go. My little family here was so supportive. All of the kids pitched in so I could go and Mike was the one who made sure I did go. There is nothing better in the world than a terrific family. I'm so grateful to have mine here, and Mike's and mine back in Utah. The wedding was so beautiful. Todd's Jen is so darling! I didn't get to spend much time with her, but the time I did spend with her was great. She will make Todd a happy man. It was fun to see the nieces and nephews, and hang out with both families. I especially loved hanging out with Todd before the big day!
Getting settled back in, hasn't been bad. Well, I have wanted to go to bed at 6:00pm every night, but other than that! The first week was the hardest, and now things are easier. The kids have stayed busy. Nicole actually went to Beijing the week I left. One of the girls who was supposed to go to the High-school Model United Nations, wasn't able to go, so they asked Nicole to fill in. They tried not to tell people how old she was. Luckily she looks easily like she's in High-school It was a great experience for her. This was international, from several countries. She is hoping to go to Cairo for a really big convention next year. Both Rachel and Nicole have been working hard on their school play that is coming up the end of the school year. They have also been training like crazy for their Tibet trip. This weekend will be their biggest bike ride so far...100 kilometers. They are working hard, and I'm really proud of them. It's not easy! I think they will be glad when they get there. Jay has been taking Kung Fu lessons 3 times a week. It's so cheap, and he loves it, so I'm all for it. Anything to keep them moving, and not in front of PlayStation or TV, right? Who knows, maybe he'll be a Jackie Chan! Eli started swimming lessons two Saturdays ago. He is quite the little fish. He has a class with one little friend named Eva from Holland. This gives him incentive to do well :-) His teacher works him really hard, and he is exhausted by the end of class! Caitlin has been busy with a soccer trip to Shanghai this week. She really enjoyed it, and was glad that she didn't have stitches in her finger this time, so she could play!
We celebrated Mike's 38Th birthday yesterday. The boys really didn't think it was fair he had to work on his birthday. I don't think Mike thought it was either. But, we did get to go to a quick lunch, and we had a nice dinner and cake when he got home. We are looking forward to Easter this weekend. We wish we had the days-off that go with it, but Sunday will be special. We will get to watch conference, and that will be nice. We will also get to eat a ham I found at Metro (that is hit and miss!) and will have some friends over to enjoy it with us.
Eli's teacher told me a funny story yesterday. They were talking about days of the week, and his teacher is Australian, so said Tuesday with an Australian accent. Eli tried to correct him. He then informed his teacher that "America has the GOODEST English!" His teacher thought that was the funniest thing he's heard in a long time!
Well, the leaves are coming out on all of the trees up here on Purple Mountain! Talk about beautiful! I have really enjoyed watching spring come to life a I run around up here. Life is good, and we miss you all. We are very excited for Mike's Mom and Dad to come and visit in just a couple of weeks!
Well, I think the first thing that happened in my long absence is my trip to Utah. That was so great! How amazing to be there with my family for my brother Todd's wedding. I was so grateful to go. My little family here was so supportive. All of the kids pitched in so I could go and Mike was the one who made sure I did go. There is nothing better in the world than a terrific family. I'm so grateful to have mine here, and Mike's and mine back in Utah. The wedding was so beautiful. Todd's Jen is so darling! I didn't get to spend much time with her, but the time I did spend with her was great. She will make Todd a happy man. It was fun to see the nieces and nephews, and hang out with both families. I especially loved hanging out with Todd before the big day!
Getting settled back in, hasn't been bad. Well, I have wanted to go to bed at 6:00pm every night, but other than that! The first week was the hardest, and now things are easier. The kids have stayed busy. Nicole actually went to Beijing the week I left. One of the girls who was supposed to go to the High-school Model United Nations, wasn't able to go, so they asked Nicole to fill in. They tried not to tell people how old she was. Luckily she looks easily like she's in High-school It was a great experience for her. This was international, from several countries. She is hoping to go to Cairo for a really big convention next year. Both Rachel and Nicole have been working hard on their school play that is coming up the end of the school year. They have also been training like crazy for their Tibet trip. This weekend will be their biggest bike ride so far...100 kilometers. They are working hard, and I'm really proud of them. It's not easy! I think they will be glad when they get there. Jay has been taking Kung Fu lessons 3 times a week. It's so cheap, and he loves it, so I'm all for it. Anything to keep them moving, and not in front of PlayStation or TV, right? Who knows, maybe he'll be a Jackie Chan! Eli started swimming lessons two Saturdays ago. He is quite the little fish. He has a class with one little friend named Eva from Holland. This gives him incentive to do well :-) His teacher works him really hard, and he is exhausted by the end of class! Caitlin has been busy with a soccer trip to Shanghai this week. She really enjoyed it, and was glad that she didn't have stitches in her finger this time, so she could play!
We celebrated Mike's 38Th birthday yesterday. The boys really didn't think it was fair he had to work on his birthday. I don't think Mike thought it was either. But, we did get to go to a quick lunch, and we had a nice dinner and cake when he got home. We are looking forward to Easter this weekend. We wish we had the days-off that go with it, but Sunday will be special. We will get to watch conference, and that will be nice. We will also get to eat a ham I found at Metro (that is hit and miss!) and will have some friends over to enjoy it with us.
Eli's teacher told me a funny story yesterday. They were talking about days of the week, and his teacher is Australian, so said Tuesday with an Australian accent. Eli tried to correct him. He then informed his teacher that "America has the GOODEST English!" His teacher thought that was the funniest thing he's heard in a long time!
Well, the leaves are coming out on all of the trees up here on Purple Mountain! Talk about beautiful! I have really enjoyed watching spring come to life a I run around up here. Life is good, and we miss you all. We are very excited for Mike's Mom and Dad to come and visit in just a couple of weeks!
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