Category: Uncategorized

We learned that Saturday, June 23, 2012 is Dragon Boat Race day  – a national holiday.  The Chinese workers got Friday off from work.   We REALLY want to see the Dragon Boat Races and see what they're about.  So why not take a cruise on the Hai He River (which runs through Tianjin)???  Maybe…

It's a lazy afternoon so why don't we try something new and different?  Have you tried taking the commuter trains here in China?  We haven't!  Our friends have and are willing to show us the ropes.  They've ordered two taxis to come pick us up so hurry on over!   Ah…we're at the train station!…

We'd heard through the grapevine (ie FB) that there was a Russian circus performing in Tianjin.  Naturally we had to check it out!!!   One morning our friend Jennifer drove to the circus tent to see if she could procure tickets for all of us (three families).  Turns out they wanted ~588 RMB (nearly $100US)…

Won't you come along with us to Beijing for a fun, family-friendly Saturday outing????  We promise it will be amusing for the entire family!!!  Plus, we're going to meet up with two other families – the more the merrier! 🙂 Hurry on over to our house- the car will arrive any minute now to swoop…

Several months ago- just after our trip to Phuket in April- we decided that we needed to do something special to celebrate our anniversary. After all, doesn't 17 years seem like something special to celebrate??!!!! Happy Anniversary to my sweet, amazingly patient, thoughtful, clever, fixer-of-all-things-broken husband!!!!! Mark found a JW Marriott located in Sanya– on…

How exciting!!! The last day of school is here at last!   And what a year it has been!!!! We've been anticipating summer break for so long….It's hard to believe it's finally here! How about we start the day with breakfast: typical breakfast- Annika reading a book and eating a huge bowl of cereal and…

It's time to play the music…it's time to light the lights…it's time for… (drum roll)…………………………………………… The IST Spring Show The primary school at IST put on a fabulous Spring Show for us parents. The kids and teachers worked very hard for several weeks to create this show.  All grades- from Nursery through Grade 5 participated…

We got The Call two Fridays ago- Mark's grandfather (Great Granddad) had passed away in Phoenix, AZ.  While we knew that The Call could come any day it still caught us off guard.  Can you ever be ready for such a call?  No, I don't think so.    Thankfully, through Mark's company we were able…

 After some minimal bribing (she wanted roller skates) Ava FINALLY got the courage to ride her bike without the aid of training wheels!!!!   Here she goes….. It really does help having a flat, smooth road- rather than our hilly, gravely roads back home!  Watch her go!!! Hooray Ava!  You're on your way!  We did…

Happy day-before-Mother's-Day-day.  Let's celebrate with lunch at a fantastic French restaurant with friends in the lovely Italian District! What??? Did we seriously forget to take photos of our friends????   I guess we were too busy eating and having a lovely time!   After our fantastic lunch we attempted to find the biggest flower market…