Bucket List

For the runners of the family (that would definitely be Andy and somewhat be Kelly!) they knocked an item off their bucket list earlier this month when they ran in the Great Wall Half Marathon...13.1 miles, 5164 steps, and some of the most amazing scenery! Their focus was on enjoying the experience and taking lots of pictures...meaning they finished the race but not in any record time! The race starts/ends in the Yin Yang Fortress, runs on the Great Wall, down through a local village and back. There were lots of locals cheering the runners on and giving high fives along the race route. Andy & Kelly also got to spend a very fun long weekend in Beijing - walking the city, eating street food, and meeting up with Kelly's friend from Reign Ministries last summer.

Last week, I also had some business out west in Chengdu - home of the largest panda raising base in the world...way cute! You could just take pictures of them for hours. There were probably 40-50 pandas from 4 months to adult, all in natural habitat, chomping on their bamboo and being adorable. Now the bucket

list would include feeding a panda - but we'll save that for when we go with the kids!

Pictures from Schwartzman Family Visit

Photos from the sleeper train, Hutong tour rickshaw ride, Forbidden City and an ice cream break (where we drew quite the crowd to watch our little people have a snack!)

Hanging with the Schwartzman's!!!!

What can make a great vacation even better - when some of your best friends in the world show up for a visit! Thursday morning after getting back from Yangshuo we headed back to the airport to anxiously await the arrival of Solomon, Eli and Shawn & Anita Schwartzman! The squeals of excitement from Abigail & Zoe as the boys came through security were priceless and the kids were inseparable for the entire week! It was such a blessing to have them here, share our Shanghai world with them, and spend time just being with such close friends! We also got our fill of China sight-seeing in - especially with a weekend trip up to Beijing. 10 of us (everyone but Kelly & Megan who stayed home alone for the weekend!) took the overnight sleeper train on Friday - according to Eli...this was the B.E.S.T ride E.V.E.R! We hit some of the big sights - Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Place, acrobat show, hutong tour, Drum tower and, of course, the Great Wall. We learned the hard way it is best NOT to go to the big tourist cities on a holiday weekend (it was Chinese Labor Day) - luckily we just kept talking and enjoying each other's company even if just going slowly in traffic (oh and we taught our tour guide how to play the 'I'm Going to Grandma's House' game in the car, to which he said - P my name is Peter, I'm going to Grandma's and I'm going to bring...can I say a church?!') Whew - were we ever exhausted but so proud of the kiddos as they hung in there through all the sites! Back in Shanghai we went for walks, played at the park & the school, went out for ice cream and did all the fun stuff you do hanging with friends! Some highlights - listening to the laughter of Zoe/Solomon/Abigail/Eli, staying up at night talking, Andy & Shawn getting a few runs in together, Anita wheeling & dealing at the fake market (we went back a few days later and they still remember her!), playing Ninja on the ferry on the HuangPu river, Anita doing a backflip at the park and the Chinese people nearby then trying to copy her!, Eli and his paparazzi photographers everywhere he went (cute, blond, curly hair, he was simply irresistible for the Chinese, some of whom tried to remove him from his parents arms!), and drinking Cokes - for way too many meals! We could have stayed home every day, all day and still had a FABULOUS time just being such special friends again - we are so grateful for their friendship and their visit! We miss you guys again already!!

Pictures from Yangshuo

Spring Break in Yangshuo

For Spring Break we travelled down to Yangshuo in south China. It is on the famous Li River with limestone mountains popping up all over - it was absolutely beautiful! For starters, it was Joseph's first time on a plane - his eyes got real big on take off and he spent a bit of time crying on landing so for the return flight we taught him to chew gum! We spent our days on outdoor adventures and nights down on West Street (a 15 minute rickshaw ride from our resort with lots of outdoor restaurants and quaint shops). Day one we visited a small local village and spent time in their outdoor market before starting a 2 hour bamboo raft ride down the Li River and amidst all of the mountains - yet another amazing creation from our God! Now it is still China so there were A LOT of rafts on the river - and the rafts couldn't start in the day until the transport boats finished traveling too...but it was fun! Day two we headed to the mountain for some rock climbing and abseiling - Zoe & Abigail had a fabulous time just playing in the woods, gathering flowers & sticks (something they haven't been able to do in Shanghai!), Joseph & I encouraged all the climbers and everyone else did the climbing. After a hot day of climbing everyone headed to the river - for some swimming and bridge jumping (it was quite a sight for the caucasian/asian family - minus me and Joseph - to jump from the bridge as the bamboo rafts stopped to cheer everyone on!). Day three we headed out for a hike on Moon Hill - put Joseph in the back pack and got our hike on! Getting to the top of the mountain was an experience we didn't expect as a college class (in Yangshuo working on their English skills) was there and literally swarmed us - for pictures, autographs, and answering LOTS of questions. Day four (Megan's 15th birthday!!), we did a quick bamboo float on the Yulong River, spent some last time in town shopping, had a birthday lunch at McDonalds and then headed for home. It was such a relaxing time out of Shanghai (back into some nature!) and just having fun as a family...I love vacation!!