April Showers Bring May... Heat Waves?

Wow. This will be our last post from Asia for a while! We'll be heading back to the U.S. in less than 3 weeks. There's a lot to do before then. Like crossing the monkey bars without any help!

Cade is swinging at a park behind a western restaurant. Chinese playgrounds don't typically have swings, so the kids really enjoyed these!

Dass enjoying the slide for the first time! Her face on the way down was priceless.

(So about the weather... the last two days record a 97 degree F high! What happened to Spring?)

Our friends Craig and Darcey (& Hudson, Gracie & Titus) are back from the U.S. so we are enjoying once again spending our Sunday mornings with their family and others.

Lils locked herself in one of the bedrooms and waited almost an hour for the key guy to come and help her out. I had peace in my heart the whole time as I read to her the entire Old Testament from The Big Picture Bible Story Book! We were all relieved after the guy finally busted the lock, and Lily requested more reading :O).

Can't leave without a game of Candy Land!

I bet the kids would have sat here for hours. They loved watching our friends go up and down the outdoor rock wall on our campus (for a friend's birthday).

"Go DAD!!"

This was such a precious moment. We heard from the living room, "Come and look at this!" Lily wrote and "M" for my side of the bed and a "D" for Josh's and then taped them up herself!

One afternoon when we were playing in the circle, two Chinese "aunties" came out with a bag of "mantou," or "steamed buns." The kids loved this big ball shaped treat.

This sandbox looks tempting to play in, but it actually doubles as a litter box for animals (and babies). New family rule: no playing in the sand :(.

This is a really neat contraption. Just ask Hadassah! Ha ha. It's intened to help a little tyke take a few steps. She actually really likes it, I just took the picture too late, after about a half hour of step taking already.

Cade's new silly smile...

...And Lil trying to out-do Cade with a more serious silly face.

Friends Forever!

Dassah's favorite spot to chill

This was such a funny incident. Lily and I would hand anything to Hadassah and say "Dass, chuck it!" And no matter what, she would throw it really far! The funny thing is, she obviously doesn't understand that kind of command, but we were all rolling with laughter.

My only playdough direction: Don't mix the colors.
(Notice Cade's big ball of "gray")

If we can't find Caedmon, he's probably fixing Lily's bike with his tool set.

Keep in mind that often, soon after a structure goes up in China, it is torn down for something new. So as we passed this heaping pile of metal scraps, Lily asked, "Oh no! Is that the Bird's Nest?" (The building with the Olympic track). It wasn't, the Bird's Nest was still standing on the next block :O).

Lil and Ab saying good bye until next time... from America!