So Help Me...

... if I hear "Billy Jean" being played in the import store one more time. All the Chinese workers park in front of the screen in the dvd section of the store to watch Michael Jackson dance his way through what was once a big hit. Wasn't that twenty-five years ago?

No disrespect to the King of Pop, but can we be done now?

Or at least play a different song at Pines Market.

Like Father, Like Son

Caleb noticed tonight that when he opened his laptop to do homework, he was suddenly on ESPN.com without knowing how he got there. Seems that he instinctively types that address in. It's like a reflex, no thought required.

I remember another high school boy who's mind operated in a similar fashion. No, there wasn't a website to access then, but the sports section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was read on the school bus every morning without fail.

What Time Is It, Miss Pumpkin?

Gwen loved the role of Miss Pumpkin at the fall party we attended last week. Here she is whirling around to catch those who were creeping up toward her turned back, a few steps at a time.

She's a Natural

I took a series of pictures of Gwen trying to hula hoop the spring she had turned three. Although the pictures were adorable, (click here to see them) she wasn't very successful. Now she's a natural!

Not that she has any hips to hold that thing up...

Heading Home

This is my last post from our Vietnam trip, I think. :-) Took this one at the airport the night we were heading home. Our flight wasn't until 1:50 a.m., and having nothing else to do late at night in a foreign city with eight kids in tow, we arrived at the airport around 10:30 p.m. Amazingly, the girls ran into some school friends and stayed busy running around the deserted airport with them. The older kids, however, slowly succumbed to sleep on the oh-so-comfy metal airport benches. In this picture, Stacia dutifully catches up on homework with Caleb and Lance asleep on one side of her and Seth and Lucas conked out on the other side. She lasted about an hour, and then she joined the boys in a snooze until it was finally time to head to the gate.

Hangin' with the Sculpted

I think these funny looking granite people, in their traditional Chinese granite outfits, were our favorite sculptures at the sculpture park. There were so many of them, in all different poses. The girls had fun climbing on these funky folks, and trying to mimic their positions, as you can see Gwen doing in the picture above.
Standing on some heads!
I am admiring this woman's darling little granite baby. :-)

Surrounded

How many times do you feel like you are truly in the minority?

Last week the girls and I had a field trip day that took us to a pretty cool sculpture park on the other side of Shanghai. We are used to being in the minority as Westerners in Shanghai, but there are usually a few other foreigners around. Not at this park! We were the ONLY ones, in the midst of numerous school groups of kids of all ages. While climbing on these fun bouncy nets, Madelyn was suddenly surrounded by this group of friendly young teens, all peppering her with questions. She knows enough Chinese to know they were asking her name, which she answered, but they wouldn't leave her alone even after she did. She said they laughed at the sound of her name, which was perhaps why they asked it again and again. None of them seemed mean spirited, they were just curious about her.

Do you see Gwen, in the upper right of the picture? They didn't notice her. Huh.

Last Day, at the Beach

Our Vietnam trip wasn't a beach vacation, but there were certainly some beautiful beaches. Our last day, as we were finishing our motor bike adventure, we rode the bikes down to a beach that we hadn't seen yet. It was nearly empty, and it was a lovely, clear day~ both sea and sky were a beautiful blue. We didn't have swimsuits on, but we all waded and played on the beach for a golden part of an hour. Here is a snapshot of our last bit of fun on Catba Island.

Stacia and Rich walk and talk.
Seth and Lance, a pair of really good guys!
Love this shot~ all the kids watch as Caleb flings a big rock!
Buddies, Caleb and Lucas
Sue and I walk and talk!

A little long jump contest
Gwen didn't quite get the long jump idea, but she tried hard!
Lance made his jump pretty fancy.