We just got back two days ago, from visiting family in Utah. It was such a wonderful trip. Six weeks of fun and playing! Michael needed to stay and work, so the first four weeks, we stayed at my Mom and Dad's house, and split the time between my family and Mike's. We stayed with his parents for a while when he came. We did so many fun things...to name a few, there were trips to St. George, the Alpine Slide, swimming, Cherry Hill, Lagoon, shopping (this should be in italics...there was a lot of shopping), birthday parties, yummy food, waterskiing and camping, girls camp, the big young women's project, family reunions, parades, a 5k and 10k, training for the runs, did I mention shopping, or eating? The list could go on and on. Obviously, we had an incredible summer. The best part was just spending time with our family. It is always my favorite thing to spend time with our brothers, sisters, and parents. And the children sure do love their grandparents, and cousins. It is so much fun to see them all growing up. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend a large period of time just getting to know everyone more. We also had a visit from Nicole's friend Erin, from Michigan for 10 days. That was so much fun. We kept her very busy, and it meant so much to Nicole.
Well, I know I have some pictures. Not near as many as I would like. I was so terrible at remembering to bring my camera on all of these fun things. Anyway, I still haven't found it in my unpacking. So, pictures will have to come soon. We had a long, long, trip home. The children were very good, and it was wonderful to have Mike along to help. There is just no way of getting around the journey, but it was definately worth it. We came home to our new house. Poor Mike had to go to work the next day, so he was off, and we got busy with the boxes, and suitcases. The children have been such good sports about all of the work. We've made good progress with a lot of the boxes, and the 14, yes 14, 50 lb. suitcases. We used up every pound! Luckily, Mike has elite statis, so the couple of bags we went over, weren't charged to us! I'm hoping to finish up the house this week before school starts.
It took me a little bit to get back into the Chinese speaking again. Luckily, it's coming back pretty quickly. Mike and I went to the store yesterday to get some food and stuff for the house. I think I had gotten used to the smells after being here for a year. Wow, were they potent yesterday! And the crouds! It's impossible to even describe them. We're back!
We had a terrific summer, enjoying our family, friends, and the ease of America. Just the break we needed. I feel like we are ready for another year of China. Is China ready for another year of us????
