Life here is going good… Nearly a year and a half into our move I can’t say it feels completely at home… but it certainly feels close to it. The cooler weather is here and this year we are more prepared as we now actually own jackets. We went from AC to heat in a matter of a week. We are celebrating Thanksgiving this year with our family away from family - our expat friends. 50 of us misfits are getting together for some potluck fun. Turkeys here are VERY expensive - I may have to do a chicken breast and call it turkey if I can’t find anything under 150 bucks. My oven is much smaller here too so that could present some problems with cooking the bird. The kids actually go to school on Thanksgiving!!
Jordan is doing well… she still plays baseball in the boys league and is one of the top players. She loves it and seems to be at her best when playing sports. Her friends are more male dominated. Each year I think it will change but the boys seem to be who she relates to the most (scary to even write that). I know we are embarking on that time when there is some separation and the guys think… oh, she’s a girl… but for now she has her guy pals and loves it. This week, she was happy to report that she was the ONLY girl invited to her friend Christopher’s party. It was kind of funny as the mom called me to make sure Jordan was okay with this! OK… she was over the moon!!!
I will say that recently she has done some totally “out of her box” things. She signed up for a school DANCE show. They practiced at lunch and after school and the big performances were held at night. It was a bit surreal to see my daughter stand in line to get make up on and actually have her hair teased and done for the show. She surprises us everyday with her confidence and out of character things she is tries. She has also started to play Volleyball… I think this stems from our Borocay, Philippines trip last year as we played beach volleyball everyday -- all day. We are going back there again this February so I know she is practicing for some serious matches. I know who I am picking to be on MY team! She also plays soccer, basketball and flag football.
She is doing well in school. This school is absolutely amazing!!! We couldn’t have asked for a stronger fit for her. Our entire family is learning about the Chinese dynasties which has proven to be more interesting then I thought. She continues to work very hard and has one of the strongest spirits I know.
Garrett is having a fantastic year. While he seems to be in complete motion constantly, he is REALLY excelling in school and thriving socially -- finally. Last year was a rough transition year for him. He has really gotten some traction and turned himself around. He is taking swimming lessons once a week and is no surprise to be a “fish” in the pool. He is VERY into music and can sing every top 40 song word for word. He is obsessed with the computer - particularly iTunes, Keynote, Numbers, Garage Band & iMovie. He puts together these visual shows that are outstanding!! You can tell the wheels in his head are constantly moving which is right on par with his body that seems to be in perpetual motion as well. (Could have a touch of HyperA) We have this great study room for he and Jordan to do their homework. I have found however that they are completely incompatible doing homework together because Jordan needs complete silence and NO distraction and Garrett can’t do work without singing. Literally!! I have tried to get him to keep quiet but unless he is belting out some Pink song or Queen (his latest favorite) he can’t stay focused. Who am I to stifle this homework strategy … so he has since been relocated to the kitchen.
This is him holding a moon cake in celebration for the Moon Festival.
HOUSE RULES:
Last week after feeling like captain rule maker with no first mates to follow, I told the kids we were going to develop a set of house rules. Garrett got up early the next morning and came up with his list.
Ayden -- where do I begin. At the moment Ayden is in heaps of trouble with me for getting into (and ruining) some of my makeup. She also uses (and has ruined) this facial brush that I own. Long story but the short version of it is… Ayden DO NOT USE & Ayden uses anyway. We have now figured out how to lock my bathroom door because apparently this concept has not yet landed in her long term memory. She runs to her own set of rules and that has landed her in a weeks worth of home detention. On the other hand, she is loving school and has a social network that is hard to keep up with. This year she has asked to take gymnastics. We have been trying to get her into this class for a year now but she kept breaking her leg. Now that she is healed, she is finally taking this sport she claims is her “best” thing. If I could attach the video I would but to give you the verbal version… she sucks. She will hop on the spring board and land face down on the mat -- no flip, no twist, no horizontal body movement and she can’t seem to land it. Once to her feet however she does a tremendously talented arms stretched up and out for the judges with complete perfection!!! We are so proud.
The first two pictures of her and the kids is UN (United Nations) day. They celebrate the countries they are from so as you can see we have the Russian flag on the left and the American flag on the right. I am in the process of looking for things to put on my resume -- considering becoming a clown as the only thing on my current resume is face painting!
Both Garrett and Jordan started CCD. Garrett has been very inquisitive about heaven and God. He is learning a lot and has really embraced some of the traditions of the church. Jordan only goes because there are snacks.
Chris is doing good… I think he finally feels more settled now that I uploaded sports illustrated on his iPad and he has purchased NFL.com to watch both on the big screen and his iPad. We haven’t seen him since. He is traveling a lot within China and has really grasped the mandarin. We call his dialect “Bosmandarin.” Like most Bostonians, he looks at people and says -- “what, I am saying it right!!”
As for me… I am living the dream. There are Shanghai highs and Shanghai lows. I have done a few things out of my box here and really enjoy the cultural learning experience MOST of the time. As long as we are all together and healthy, I feel like a winner. I am starting to research summer retreats as it isn’t the easiest finding a short term furnished rental… but we will land again in Charleston this year for the summer. Chris and I also signed up for the Great Wall marathon in May. We are mentally training for it now.
I was able to check one thing off of my partial “bucket list” items off my list, but can’t believe I had to travel all the way to China to do it. My bucket list is to be invited to an Indian and Chinese wedding…. but the Diwali celebration was right up there in awesomeness and I can’t help but give it a partial check.
This past weekend we were able to celebrate Diwali with our Indian friends. While the sari was a bit challenging to put on (thanks to a you-tube video) we were had an amazing night with friends and terrific food. A first for both of us!
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