Party and Field Trip

Had a busy week with Thanksgiving, a birthday party, and a field trip... Both kids were invited to their friend Joey's bday party at Adventure Zone in Jinqiao. You either have to be members (expensive!) or attend birthday parties in order to play here so the kids always love going here! They had a great time playing with their friends..

Rilynn with her BFF Saria :)

One big thing I love about here is that I am able to be active with the kids' school. Working full time in MN I wouldn't be able to do it so I'm soaking it in as much as possible here. Rilynn's class went to the Shanghai Aquarium and I was able to volunteer and help chaperone. It was fun and really great to see some of the kids she is always talking about :)

My 3 responsibilites for the day :P

All of the Y1 classes went

Could touch a shark, but Rilynn passed on that one :)

Buds!

We had the fun group! LOL

First tooth..

Finally, after having her 2 bottom permanent teeth already coming in Rilynn lost her first tooth!! The tooth fairy found her in China and left 20rmb ($3) and a pack of Barbie stickers :) She was such a trooper!

Happy China-versary!!

November 8th marked our 1 year anniversary since moving the family from Minnesota to Shanghai, China.. We boarded the plane and left everyone we knew and loved to a strange unknown place on the other side of the world.. A year later I am happy to report that our trip here has been wonderful!

The kids have made so many friends from all over the world, are learning Chinese, and have both learned to swim. Rilynn is learning the violin and has learned to read. They both love going to school. But the best part is- is that the kids are experiencing and learning a whole new culture that they wouldn't have ever dreamed of living.

Myself, I am thoroughly enjoying the life of a tai-tai here. I am taking another photography course here as well as starting up a cupcake and cake pop home business. I love being able to go on field trips and school events and am also Brady's parent class mom.

Chad is a very dedicated and hard working employee. Unfortunately for him he is either traveling or at the office so really doesn't get to experience China as much as we do, but without him and his job we would've never been able to have taken this adventure. So we are so thankful for the sacrifices he makes for us!!

Things I love here..

McDonalds delivered hot to my door in 10 minutes for a $3 value meal.

$7 a month cell phone bill

Never having to worry about getting a designated driver :)

Unpredictability- My days are never the same. I never know what I will see that day - may be a grown woman grocery shopping in her heels and flannel PJ's or a dog wearing sunglasses and a jacket sitting in a front bicycle basket.. Priceless!

$1.50 DVD's out the same time that they are in the theaters in the US :)

No bathroom cleaning for the past year! I don't mind cleaning, but toilets are just not fun for anyone!! LOL

Things I'll never get used to...

Spitting : Doesn't matter male or female, young or old, anyone will hawk a loogie anywhere! GROSS!!

Nose picking : A bunch of gold digging going on here...So GROSS!

Smells : Being a nurse I thought I had mastered the ability of breathing through my mouth, but at times the smells here can be unbearable!!

Squatters : As much as Rilynn prefers them, I will never master them. I am guilty of having to take off a shoe and take a leg out just to pee!!

Staring- They never got the memo here that staring at someone is considered rude!

Scooters : My worst enemy here. They feel they own the road and abide by no rules whatsoever. Must keep your eyes open for them everywhere!

Things I really miss..

All of you of course!

Driving- In the past year I've only been able to drive a couple of weeks. As nice as it sounds to have a driver I really miss my freedom!

Taco Bell and Diet Dr. Pepper!!

Target! There is no one stop shop here..

Blue skies, fresh air, and a starry filled night

On the plane to Shanghai last year

 Amazing how much they grow in a year.. They both look so little :)

Our little Brady at IKEA losing the battle to jet lag.. LOL

Thank you all for your love and support over this past year! LOVE YOU ALL!!

We will be home December 10 - January 2 for the holidays. Hopefully we will get a chance to see everyone.

We've Moved Again!

But only down the road :)

Our lease was up October 31st and thought it would be nice to look for a new place. Most of our friends and the main clubhouse are on the other side of the compound, so I went looking for a place down by them. It definitely was not a smooth sailing transition, but thankfully worked out in the end!

Our new address is:

Lane 1 Wei Fang Xi Road

Building 1, Unit 22F

Shanghai, China 200122

Home Phone: 021-5876-5641

Technically our assignment here is up on June 31st, so we only could sign a 8 month lease, but we'll see what happens.. However, we all LOVE our new place.. It's so big (3300sqf!) and Chad is loving having a study at home. He loves having the option to work from home at times... I just love being able to shut his door so I don't have to listen to his conference calls at 9:00pm :) And also the great kitchen for my baking business here...

Here's some photos of our new pad :)

The Entry Way

Our Bedroom

The Dining Room- From Entry this is to the left and to the right is our bedroom

The view down from the dining room

Kitchen off of dining room

Guest Bathroom

Rilynn's Room- with kids' bathroom

Brady's Room

Living Room

LOVE our great big comfy couch!!

Patio off of living room

View from patio- looking down at the wave pool and clubhouse

 

Study with sliding doors off of living room

 Front door

My bee and boxer...

Now that dad and Val had left, we had to buckle down and start packing since we were moving the next day! LOL.. We hadn't packed a single thing until they left Sunday morning and we to moving into our new apartment the next morning... So we packed all day and thankfully Chad was able to stay home on Monday and help with the moving. We hired some local movers which was well worth it as they were done in 2 hours.. Our lease was up and had decided we needed some move room as well as a study for Chad (to work from home on occasion).. The process was interesting (to say the least) but after only starting to look for properties 2 weeks ago it all worked out in the end.. Thankfully!!

We were in building 7, but just moved down the road to building 1 in the same compound. We are closer to the clubhouse and our friends, plus it's an awesome apartment!! I'll take some pics and do another post..

Anyways, after a long day of moving and Rilynn's swimming we headed over to our good friends in Jinqiao for a Halloween party. Sue is such a great hostess and always has great parties :) We had pizza and goodies and then headed out for trick or treating.. We went out with 3 other friends and the kids had so much fun. Sue lives in a villa so her compound is all villas, so for the time being we almost forgot where we were.. It was kind of nice for a change! Anyways, the kids had fun and made out like bandits, so it was a success!!!

The next morning we had to go through the kids' candy to throw out the one's with nuts and there was definitely some candy/snacks you would NOT get back home!!! Like, for instance, Prawn crackers :) YUCK!!! Susan didn't even want those :)

Good friend Katherine and her daughter Saria

MMMMM.. Prawn crackers!!