This is before school on "crazy hair day". It's hard to see, but we shaved Eli's name into his hair. It was so blond, you couldn't see it well, so we used blue marker to make it stand out. Note Nicole's crazy hair is a side pony (that was not so crazy in my day)...
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I went to a cooking class not too long ago, and learned to make "Mandarin fish" here is a photo of the deep fried special. Yes, it started out as whole fish, and it was pretty entertaining to watch us ladies try to do the fancy cuts, and deal with the gross parts. My fish wasn't the worst looking, but definitely not as nice as the chef's fish...you should note that they usually leave the head on , and that is the best part. I think they knew who they were dealing with...wimpy western ladies.
Here, we are on our way to Hong Kong!
We had a great time in Hong Kong. The kids really enjoyed Hong Kong Disneyland. Our first day there, we were asked to be the "first family of the day". We were let in 10 minutes early for photos like this one with the staff, and then we did a count-down to the opening time. We felt pretty special, and were the first ones in the park to start the rides. The kids were in heaven!
We just had to stop on our way to the rides and have a photo...notice nobody else on main street U.S.A.?
We enjoyed some beautiful walks just outside our hotel along the ocean.
The kids thought it would be fun to go to a beach. We found one called Big Wave Bay. It was quite an adventure getting there. We took the subway, and then found a bus, where we rode it to a certain rode and walked 20 minutes. We actually found it, and used the YMCA towels to lay on. I wonder if they didn't like that. We rented some body boards, and had lots of fun. The waves were actually really high, and there were some people surfing. I spent the afternoon like a mother worrying about whether or not I could see all of my kids! Here are Jay and Eli, the one time I didn't need to worry where they were.
We had a great time in Hong Kong. It was just the break we needed, and fun to spend time together. I notice, the older the children get, the more busy they are, and the trickier it is to find "family time". These are great chances to be relaxed and just have fun (and eat food we love, and speak English, and shop for our sizes, etc. etc.)
A couple of days after we got back from Hong Kong, my sister Lori came to visit! We had such an awesome time! She is such a good sport. She tried everything I gave her to eat (and believe me, growing up, she was a picky eater!), and tried the massages (and actually enjoyed them), and never complained even though I walked her all over Nanjing. I'm not sure she ever got used to the Chinese toilets, though. I am so glad she was able to come and see where I live. It's hard to say good-bye, but so wonderful when people you love come to stay. Here are a couple of photos of her trying out some of the Chinese life...
I took her to Mochu Lake, the same lake I put up photos from the last entry. She thought she would try to stick her leg up in a tree like so many of the older people do to stretch. Good try Lori! But when they do it, their legs are almost parallel to their bodies. Keep trying!
Here is a photo Lori took of me with "Satan Mickey" as we called him. She thought it was pretty crazy how they copy everything, but many times it just doesn't look quite right...
Here is Lori and Caitlin in front of the Lake of 10,000 men. This is a lake that the emperor decided to have put in over-night, and took 10,000 men to hand-dig.
This is "Buddha Lori". We went to QiXia mountain, where there is a monastery and beautiful carvings in the mountain. There was an empty spot, so I asked Lori to pose. I think she did a great job!
Life is back to normal now, if you can call life normal. A couple of side-notes: I found out just before going to Hong Kong that I need to have hip surgery. I will be flying to Hong Kong for November 15Th. It will be arthroscopic surgery, and that makes me really happy. There will be a special training course on that day, so I will have one of the best surgeons for this problem in the world in Hong Kong to work on my hip that day. Also, not long before going to Hong Kong, I entered a competition to run in the torch relay for the 2008 Olympics. China will choose 8 foreign residents to run. I certainly didn't get the top votes, but it was a lot of fun. I got just under 700 votes, and loved reading the comments people were able to leave. I don't think I'm out quite yet, maybe I'm going on to the next round. We'll see. Either way, it's been fun.
