China Baby!

Here we are, all four and a half of us in China baby!

The first city on our China tour was Beijing. Our first stop was the city wall on the way to Tienanmen Square. This was the very beginning of our trip so we had to make sure we got a picture of this really cool city wall in case we never saw another one. As it turns out they are every where.

Tienanmen Square. We were told that here would be our safest stop not just because of all of the soldiers and police officers but also because of all the undercover authorities.

This was the first photo that our children received a request to be in, we thought it was cute and the kids had fun. We had no idea that it was the tip of paparazzi frenzy that would inundate our trip.

As we walked through the square it was impossible to not think about what took place here 22 years ago. Our children did not realize what tragedy had taken place on the very ground they tread, instead they looked for other children that they could make new friends with. I couldn't help but wonder what a different place the world would be if each of us remembered the lessons and sacrifices of the past and moved forward with the hope, innocence and open hearts of our children.

These are a few pictures of us in the Forbidden City, not so forbidden any more.

Our Diva.

Here we are at the Temple of Heaven. Our favorite Chinese buffet in North Dakota had a large mural of this on their wall. We used to joke about how funny it would be to be here in person, and we actually made it.

Day Two

Our trip to the Jade factory. Here we got to learn all about Jade and see pieces being created. This Replica Terracotta Warrior behind me is made of Jade.

We finally made it to the Great Wall. I'm still in shock that I got to go and be there with my family. I am very lucky to be married to someone who keeps making all of my dreams come true.

This was only day 2 and already our children were sick of having their picture taken. Any time we tried to stop and take a picture we were swarmed and unable to get a shot. Here my cute husband is hiding with our children so we can get a photo before they get mobbed again.

This is an example of the paparazzi that would swarm my children constantly. It made getting anywhere and sightseeing a little more difficult than we planned. However, it gave us the opportunity to meet a lot of very sweet people.

Even our hike on the wall resembled the scene from Forest Gump where the large crowd starts to follow him, it was the same with our children. Only people would try to hang on to our children as they would climb.

It's funny to think that so many people made this great journey to see such an interesting part of history and instead they were looking at my children. Recognizing this made me take a step back and remember just how special and precious they are. Also, this is a picture of a baby they thought was cute so they wanted their picture with him, we thought it was only fair.

Notice that as soon as my sweet husband turned around for me to take his picture that they were already being approached. We were not prepared for this.

Of course the reward after any great journey is ice cream. These two have never earned it more. They did more walking and hiking than I thought their little bodies were capable of.

This wall was built to help protect workers on the Great Wall from the dangerous wildlife. I loved that everywhere we went there were kites flying. Over each city and various sites people would be out flying grand and colorful kites. I became fascinated with this beauty that filled the skies. No matter the scene, calm or chaos below, in the sky peacefully bobbing above it all were the kites. I even saw one being flown from the middle of a construction site. Would that we could each find a way to gracefully rise above the chaos in our lives and beautifully gain perspective of the bigger picture.

This is the Ming Tomb which is actually an amazing garden filled with statues.

My cute family waving hello.

We had the most awesome opportunity of getting to see a show that I had hoped for a very long time I would get to see some day. I had no idea and was very excited that we got to attend a performance by the Shaolin Monks. Afterwards our children got to take a picture with them. It was another amazing experience.

The view from our hotel room in Beijing.

The walls to the bathroom in our hotel were all glass. Thankfully we discovered they had electric shades that covered them. My cute husband found it quite humorous to tell me that people who use glass bathrooms shouldn't....(whatever phrase seemed appropriate at the time).

Day 3

As you can imagine we ate a lot of local cuisine. Our children started out fearlessly eating what was put in front of them. Our daughter quickly became frustrated when nothing was what she thought in was. She ate squid on the airplane thinking it was a roll and a piece of fish thinking it was an orange. She finally gave up and refused to have her taste buds betrayed anymore. She would eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and then not touch anything the rest of the day. So twice we made stops at McD's. The funniest part is that our daughter has not ever had the big M that she can recall, so she thinks it is a China thing. She ate her fries, chicken nuggets and her dad's double cheese burger.

Lunch was followed by some jumping on a bouncy castle. Apparently bouncy castles are universally awsome to all children.

We made a quick stop to the Beijing Zoo to have a look at some Pandas on our way to the aiport. Just next to the pandas is this fun wall with each tile individually designed by a different child.

I love this picture becuase there are people everywhere but in the center of it all are two young soldiers taking a break. No one is sitting next to them except for the statues of playing children.

Day 4

A visit to the Terricota Warrior dig site and museum in Xi 'an.

This is the general, he is pretty awsome, but I have met better.

These are a couple of friends that we made on our fun trip.

It wasn't uncommon to see three poeple riding one scooter. However I couldn't get used to this image. Mom and dad on scooter with baby standing in the front. Our daughter was jealous.

Xi' an city wall. Our children had a wonderfull time playing up here. Apparently it was the best place to play tag that they have yet found.

At night we went to the Tang Dynasty show. It was a visually stunning performance of dancing and music.

Day 5

We went and played in Shanghai.

This same eavening we enjoyed a fabulous acrobat show.

The view outside our hotel room in Shanghai.

Our last night in China we went for a boat ride on the river to see the lights of Shanghai.

The entire sides of buildings were turned into t.v. screens.

It was a very fast and eventful trip and the children learned to sleep whenever they got the chance.

Beach Day

This past Saturday I needed a beach day. I was feeling semi adventurous so we tried a new beach about an hour from the house. It is on a different Island but connected to ours by bridges. As we drove out to the island the tide was so low that people were parking their cars on the side of the road and wading out picking up something. I don't know what they were looking for, but I told my husband that next time we need to stop and see what all the fuss is about. Not too mention it just looked like fun. As we came home from the beach the water was way back up and one would have to dive to explore this same area of the ocean floor.

Yes, this is wear I live.

Each time we take the children to the beach they get more and more adventurous. We can't waite until swimming lessons start.

By the end of the day they had both gotten in over their heads, literally. It didn't stop them from going right back in.

This picture is proof that I really live here and not just blogging post card photos.

I figured out that if I went out in the far enough I couldn't feel the weight of my pregnant belly, it really is a magical place.

That eavening my cute husband took me on our first date since we moved. We went to a place called American Village that has all kinds of shops and resteraunts and is on the beach. It is very colorfull and decorated with all kinds of beautiful lights. The street performers a lone are great entertainment, but if that isn't your style there is a theator and arcade the size of a mall, spas and even a place to have the dead skin eaten off your feet by leeches. However, we opted for a quiet dinner followed by some frozen yogurt. Now this isn't just any frozen yogurt, it's reputation proceeded it. It is a serve yourself place that gives Basken Robins a run for it's money as far as number of flavors. When it comes to toppings it is unsurpassed. Then you pay by the weight. I opted for peach with fresh pinapple, kiwi, peaches, strawberries, papaya and a sprinkle of granola. I definately got my fruit fix.

My husband went a little more exotic. He had a cheese cake/terra root swirl yogurt with cheesecake chunks, cookies, real tapioca and some fruit called the white jewl.

This was our view as we sat and devoured our tasty dessert. The beach is on the other side of these buildings, but it didn't show up on film. Some times film just can't capture how amazing a moment is.

This is just a little more of our view. We could see people out on their balconies also enjoying the view.

This ferris wheel is also their and we took our daughter on it just a couple weeks earlier. It is a great view of the Island once you get to the top.

The following Monday I was sorting through my recent haul of sea shells. I had a couple set a side in a little bag from a trip I had made to the beach a couple of weeks earlier. As I went to carefully take one of the sea shells out of the bag, it walked away from me. Our daughter begged us to keep it as a pet, but I have no idea how to feed or keep something like this a live, so we set it free. Not quite a "Born Free" moment but we thought it was cool.

Our temperory pet. Although she never got the chance to name it, I'm sure it will always hold a special place in our daughters heart. (Just a side note, everywhere we live we seem to have one or two wild animals that seem to make our yard their home, so we let our daughter name them. Our most recent wild pet is a large dove that has taken up residency in our back yard, our daughter has named it fgraken, she says the g is silent so it is pronounced fraken. I'm not sure she is quite ready to help pick out names for the baby.

It's A Boy

Indiana In The Making

Saturday we decided it was time to get out and have another adventure. So my sweet husband planned a fun day for everyone. Our first stop was at a castle not too far from the house. It was a great place for exploring and just plane goofing off.

One of the first things we saw just outside of the castle walls was this plant. At once we all commented that it was something out of a Doctor Sues book.

We quickly discovered this castle is mostly just a fortress of walls just above the jungle. This made it even more perfect for exploring.

Our brave girl had to explore every corner and climb every step. We are going to have to start calling her Indiana.

Of course on our way out of the castle there was an ice cream stand as there seems to be at most of the attractions we have gone to. So of course it was a necessary end to our castle adventure.

Next was a trip to a roller park. A roller park is a regular park like you would find in any neighborhood. The only glorious difference is the slide. It is a massive slide made of little beads and requires the climbing of many stairs to get to and a piece of cardboard to slide down on as not to let friction get the better you. Our sweet daughter learned this the hard way when she didn't wait for her dad and the cardboard before going down the slide.

As you can see going to the play ground here is a work out in and of its self.

Our little adventurer finished her first run and was on her way back up the stairs before her dad and brother made it down.

Father and son bonding on the slide as they plummet down word.

Our daughter made new friends at the park, just as she usually does when we go out.

Pigeon and Broccoli Casserole

OK, this I didn't take a picture of because I didn't want to traumatize anyone, so allow me to create a fabulous mental image for you. Last night we decided to make grandma's chicken and broccoli casserole. It is a yummy dish with a deceiving title. Calling it chicken and broccoli makes you think you are eating something healthy but upon closer examination of the sauce and other ingredients you realize that every spoonful is a artery clogging good time. Although I must say my amazing sister has modified it to have less fat with the same great taste and for that our hearts thank her. So last night as I'm preparing this dish I ran into a little snag. I had the sauce mixed and all of the other ingredient ready to go. So I take my rotisserie chicken out, (purchased at my local grocery store) and begin to prepare the chicken for the casserole. Now this chicken was unusually small and looked a little different so I double checked the bag and it was indeed labeled chicken. I first went to remove the white meat only to discover there was none. In fact the breast meat was virtually non existent and what little meat was on this bird was all dark meat. I have seen enough chickens and other birds to realize this was no chicken. I'm rather sure it was either a pigeon or a dove. So I decided to modify grandmas recipe one step further than my sister had. Tonight we would have pigeon and broccoli casserole. So I thought, but I soon realized this small bird would not provide enough meet to even cover a corner of the casserole. So, I improvised as not to let the other many ingratiates go to waste we added chicken nuggets. It all turned out edible and left us with a fun memory.

We Are All Ok

Our little family really appreciates all of the concern about our well being. We just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that we were in no way affected by the tsunami or the earthquake. Everyone here is fine. However, please don't forget to pray for and keep an eye out for ways to help all those who have been affected by this tragedy.

A Moment for Grattitude

Since we have moved here, we have found many things to be grateful for. We are grateful for new experiences as well as being grateful for things we may have once taken for granted. I thought I would share a few with you. This is the view as you step outside our front door. My sweet husband has taken many pictures of this view because he is still in awe that we can see the ocean out our front door. Every time we walk into the house at sunset he makes sure that we all stop and recognize the beauty we have this opportunity to be surrounded by.

Another thing that we have learned to love and be truly fascinated by are the bats. As you can imagine they are a little difficult to get pictures of, but they really are something to behold. They are about the size of a pterodactyl and very cute. At night we can hear them flapping and squeaking out side our bedroom window. The other night I finally managed to pry my eye lids open so I could have a look at them. I saw them climbing from branch to branch eating fruit out of the trees in our backyard. Then as one would take off I couldn't help but be so amazed that something so huge could remain so allusive. My goal before I leave is to get a picture of these critters. The problem isn't seeing them, they aren't shy. In fact we have found they are fond of doing very low fly byes so close their faces are easy to see even in the dark. The problem is that they are so fast and well camouflaged when they are holding still. So some day we will hopefully have a picture to show you of these bats before our time here is up.

This mourning a kind and merciful neighbor introduced me to the produce markets here. Our usual shopping spot we have learned is not always the best option for produce. For a family that usually eats a fruit salad or some kind of fresh fruit every night, this has been a big deal. Thanks to certain bulk chain stores, we could come by all kinds of produce any time of year in huge quantities, great quality for a reasonable amount. You would think fruit would be easier to come by in Okinawa than in the middle of winter in North Dakota, not so. My first trip to the grocery store we decided to by some strawberries, a tiny carton for the same price as the bulk size in the states. We got home opened them up and found that they had rotted starting in the center. It wasn't visible from the outside. We made several attempts with only one purchase even being edible. Then I kept hearing I could get good strawberries at the produce markets. Could it be, is it so, it is. Now we aren't talking bulk size strawberries and the prices still weren't great. But the fruit that had disappointed me so regularly as of lately caused me to remember why I was in such hot pursuit of this piece of ambrosia. I cut them up for the kids for lunch and then realized I hadn't put any on their plates. I just kept washing and popping them in my mouth, I couldn't stop. Finally I managed to spare a few for my sweet and very deserving children. So hopefully by now you are all craving the delicious sweet taste of the divine fruit known as the strawberry and are off to buy yourself some, or at least buy and eat a good helping of what ever your favorite fruit is.

Another miracle my eyes were opened to were the beautiful flowers for sale. Big beautiful flowers of all kinds for such a small price. Flowers I would spend a small fortune on in other locations cost me just a couple of dollars here. Since we are still surrounded in boxes and not quite settled in I only bought a small bouquet of orchids rather than going over board with some fabulous arrangement. This bouquet of orchids only cost me just over four dollars. That wouldn't even cover the cost of tax for what I would pay for these in other places. I love the flowers.

Last but not least can I get whoop whoop for the microwave. After living with out one for a bit I realize I am totally dependant on it. The beauty of being able to throw some thing in and have it ready in minutes is amazing. It saves on time and dishes. The particular microwave we use was a gift from my brother and his wife when I got my first place. It has now done quite a bit of traveling with me and for the first time I am truly appreciating its ability to turn a flat bag of popcorn into something fluffy buttery and divine that manages to delight even my children. So pick a week and see how often you use your microwave. Then be thankful you too belong to a microwave generation. OK so these might sound like small things, but they all have one thing in common, sadly I had to live with out them to truly appreciate them. Is it possible to truly appreciate something you have been surrounded by your whole life with out having to have it taken away first. Just a thought. Our lives are amazing and a blessing, so take in a deep breath and savor every sound, taste, smell.... ( OK maybe only most of the smells), sight and what ever else your senses absorb and soak in life. Drink in the amazing life you have been blessed with and appreciate every experience in brings you. It is so much more fun that way.