Happy New Year!!

Since it's a new year I figured I better get caught up with our recent outtings from last year :)

The kids and I went to check out Yuyuan Gardens, however we didn't make it to the garden part, just the bazaar section. There were streets and alleys of vendors hangling us to buy something.. Kids were a little annoyed at first, but learned to tune it out quickly :) We will definitely be going back for the garden part, we were there all day and didn't even make it that far..

Can you find the Starbucks and McDonalds? Thought it kind of cool seeing those within the Chinese buildings..

A dragon turtle? Not quite sure on that one :)

We were drawn to the strong sense of incense and crowds of people. We had to pay 10RMB to enter the Temple of the Gods. The kids and I first just sat on the side and watched them worship quietly. It was interesting to see that side of the culture.. It was a weekday midday and there were people of all ages there.. They had different buildings with each housing a different god for them to worship.

The statues were huge!

They would go and purchase the incense sticks, pick a fire pit, light them, and do their bowing and praying in the middle of the temple.

A couple videos from the temples. Really enjoyed experiencing this part of the culture...

Right after this pic was taken began our mob of onlookers. We were in an open plaza and they had Christmas music playing. The kids were dancing around and next thing I know we are surrounded by a large circle of people watching them and taking pictures. They even went as far as picking the kids up to have their pic taken with them!! This is a part that I just can't get used too.. I couldn't imagine doing this in the US..

Streets of the bazaar

We met a family from New Zealand who just moved here last month and live in our same compound. They have a 10 year old girl who the kids just love to play with!! So, we've had a couple playdates with them :) Our first one was at the Shanghai Zoo.. It was a gorgeous day and they were hardly any people around, so it was great!!! Overall, most of the animals looked good and well taken care of.. However, the elephants were by far the worst, they looked so sad and sickly :(

Zoo standards definitely not the same in China!!! This picture looks pretty bad with the kids and lions in the back!! LOL

Kids with Holly from NZ

LOVE technology~ We were able to watch the Vikings game live last week, although it was Tuesday morning for us :)

We met up with a group of moms and kids for a day at the Science and Tech Museum. Brady loved it so it was nice to have Rilynn be able to check it out too :) After the museum we headed down to the underground fake markets. It was a fun day, but very exhausting!! We were gone from 9-4:30 and then I had to hurry up to get ready for another Moms Night Out :) Chad came home and off I went with a couple other moms here to meet up with more. We had 12 people show up. It was a lot of fun and plus I had a couple GREAT chocolate martinis!!! And this time I managed to come home with my wallet. LOL

A robot drew pictures of the kids

Sitting in our melon getting ready to be eaten :)

Here we go! Open up :)

Only in China....This ride is a small roller coaster type, where you sit on a piece of fruit and go through the ride that takes you through the digestive process. It's all in Chinese and quite comical, especially the ending!!! LOL.. They ever take your picture right after you see this :) Enjoy!!

Since Rilynn has been home for break I am letting her pick some places that she would like to visit. It's hard for her to hear and see pics of where Brady and I go while she is at school. Unfortunately, we didn't had much luck with the playgrounds that she wanted. The first was in our compound and we walked over to find out it was closed d/t renovation. Then yesterday she really wanted to check the one out where Brady was crashing into the mats. It took awhile to get there and then we found out that one was also being renovated!! UGGGH, poor girl :( Thankfully, there was an arcade right next to it that the kids had fun at..

They loved this game!!! Rilynn got 3 strikes in 5 frames :)

We rang in the new year last night by eating at an AWESOME mexican restaurant, Pistolera.. Chad was in heaven :) Then bought a bag full of DVD's from a vendor next door.. His movies were only 5RMB each, which is less than a buck each! Home to watch them and the kids didn't even last through the first one.. Chad and I made it until midnight and were able to see some fireworks from our bedroom overlooking the river. It was nice.. Looking forward to see some the celebrations of the Chinese New Year which is in a month..

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!