Sunday, August 25, 2013

Smiling Faces

Thanks for the package auntie Nanny!
I would lay Gus on his back to get a picture of his new onesie and by the time I got in picture taking position, this is the shot I got! Ha! What a roller :)
Two days before daddy got home we decided to give August some rice cereal! Cade enjoyed the opportunity to introduce his bro to some yummy goodness...
but August wasn't quite sure this was a good idea :)
He currently loves his new combinations of apples, carrots, & zucchini for breakfast and dinner!
Hooray for hiking!
I missed Danielle for this one, but was happy to get on the trails again! I went with Cheryl, a good friend who just moved to town. We had an adventure! 
The Less Traveled Path
It looked friendly at the beginning; however, we encountered quite a bit of overgrowth and a few stray dogs. All else was pleasant. 
 
 A Buddhist Shrine in the middle of the mountain.
 pretty yellowish/ orangish fungus
 feeling buggy
We planned for about 2.5 hours on the trail and our time was running out. So I had the brilliant idea of taking a shortcut to the road. At the bottom of this extremely steep slope was a barbed fence- probably warning folks not to go up! Maybe they should put one one the top as well! We had a good laugh as a little tractor put-putted along the road. "Watch out during the slippery parts so you don't roll down and get hit by that!"  
 
a sure sign of good fun
 I love the year-round blossoms in this city
 This was somewhat near the top- the view, though beautiful, was not amazing since we couldn't see much :) We had a fun hike. August & Micah (Cheryl's 4 month old) were glad to have us home!
 HOME SCHOOL WEEK! A wonderful teacher employed by the International School in town puts on a one week program for homeschooled children. They had a great time this year studying China! They made fans, maps, timelines and put on a wonderful skit. 
 Chinese fan
 Map of China- with sugar cubes for Great Wall and painted newspaper for mountains
 Lil's scroll
 Cade's scroll
 The kids did a presentation for the parents on the last day. Here Lily is explaining the fans they colored.
 Caedmon is just acting normal
 fun group of kids
 Hadassah finished her "100 Easy Lessons" reading book last week! Hooray!!!! It's fun to have 3 big readers in the house!
future reader- she expressed she wants her stickers on her face, not on a chart
 August is 5 months old already!
 I love it when he laughs so hard after lots of tickles.
 Obs showing off her painted nails :)
 silly goose
 The best kind of buds- polar opposite :)
 12 braids 
 We had fun braiding Dass's hair as we watched the dancers on the walking street. We especially liked the older lady with the bright white shoes who had really high kicks and sharp movements :)
 August loves his bouncy chair
Thanfulness Fishies!


 Lily's colorful depiction of her and Cade before Jesus
 Lily's Rainbow
 Vivi's "purple"
 Picture of the month! I love it! Big sister Lil carrying around little Broady.
Ballet Class!
Don't think too hard about the quote on the wall at the dance room. I'm not sure it makes sense. Maybe it does?? Sweet Ballerinas: Corrie, MaryBeth, Madeline, Lily, Hadassah, Vivianna
 
Boy Night!
 Nuk Night!
 Our seeds are growing!

 With Lily's help!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Eyes for You

Eyes for Mom
I love this age! Just when I feel someone is staring at me and I look up... this is what I see! 
My 4 month old big boy- fitting best in 12 month old clothes!
 Joshes former Chinese teacher came by to visit last month- she was really surprised by lots of things- big sibling helpers, no sock wearing (in 85 degree weather), homemade bread & beer etc. 
we do tend to invoke a high shock factor :)
 Happy Birthday Dass!
Dass turned 5 in June- after I posted our month's pics :)
She finally got her own Barbie.
 What to do with a broken cd player?? Let's see how it's made!
(after two weeks of radio parts in buckets I finally had to throw it in the trash :)
 Most days after lunch- how does it get this bad?? 
Order of events: eat lunch, take a picture, take a nap, clean it up :o)
 Our good friends Justin & Natalie before they headed back to the States to get married!! 
 me & "broady"
 This is one of my favorite all time meals. It doesn't look awesome, but it is a treat to the taste buds! Salmon patties w/ baked potato & sweet carrots- topped w/ a nice cold glass of fresh milk from the farm. Mmm. 
 Lily & Corrie
Happy 4th of July!!!
 3 families took a trip to a local park for some 4th of July kickball fun.
 new friends
 sweet grandma
 Even after living here for lots of years- things still surprise me!
These ladies were exercising like this- walking like an animal across the field with rubber gloves on! Maybe it's worth a try!
 smile baby
 Dads in the outfield
 Kickball has got to be the best game there is.
 Olivet disagrees.
 Caedmon is intense like his pops. I love it.
 Contemplative Dass
 Goofy Viv
 Playful Obs
 What a crew!
 Our little friend Sarah
 She came over to play her pipa- here is her attentive audience
 Yes! Hot pot noodles!
Viv has been making this face when she thinks really hard. Who does she get that from??
 Chunky Legs- these are from me!
 Si si & August (Si si just LOVES babies)
 Axin, Xiao Li, Si si & August
 Happy Birthday To Me! I got a new, turbo powered blow drier! And some awesome yummy treats from the kids. My family knows the way to my heart- anything practical and anything chocolate!
 My request for my birthday: a family hike!
(not sure why I am posting this inappropriate picture- the kids got a kick out of it)
 We drove up to a park in the mountains. It was gorgeous out!
 I love how the kids "come alive" in nature
 exploring
 looking for bugs
 Go Badgers!
 Where is everyone going?
 I'll just chill out over here...
 making our own path
 we just got a little wet- the rain didn't last long!
 let's see where this will take us!
 I love this amazingly beautiful soil
 On the way back we found some pretty cute mini pinecones
 At first Olivet wasn't a huge fan of this carrier, but in the end, she didn't want to get out!
Thanks family for a fun Birthday!
 Our friends the Greene's spent the day with us on their way to America-
we had a fun day eating, playing, and catching up!
 Sweet August
 4 month pics
 such a happy baby
 Enjoying some family time b4 daddy left for the States.
(Only 4 more days to go!!!)
 pizza on the grill- amazing
 Curious Olivet
 Smiley Gus
 A whole box of grapes from our neighbor who's a pilot. YUM!
 Smile if you love your mom!
 Happy Birthday to Olivet!!! 
Olivet turned 2 at the end of July
 The sign said, "Princess Party." There was no party but there was a princess! As long as it's pink- does it really matter?!
 a puppy dog!
 Our friend Wendy visited us for about 3 days and brought Olivet a sweet gift-
 adorable homemade shoes!
She also made Olivet these yummy brownies for her birthday treat! 
Lots of sweets in July!