"Just a little bit longer..." :China life, 6 months down... 18 left?

BiG News... 

Looks like we will be living in China until the end of 2014. So if your were thinking about coming to visit us... now you have a little longer to save, plan, and do. :) The weather has been so beautiful and the sky so clear I am almost convinced I love it here! But then the smog creeps back in and reminds me why Utah is such a glorious place to live. Oh and I'm sure winter will be a good kick in the shins too.

So here is our week.

Monday: We had a wild day. The kids and I go crazy if we don't leave the house early enough in the day... and I was being lazy and enjoying talking to the fam. So by the time we left all three of us were a little frazzled already. Mitch is such a great runner. We put on our running shoes(he throws a bit of a fit when I want to wear flip flops instead running shoes) and went over to the park across the street and ran kicking his ball for a good 10-15 minutes before we began wandering, chasing butterflies and dancing. we also found "Moe's work" on our way over. Picture included. I don't know why he thinks this is your work, but I love it! It is either where they smash the trash or the recycling. It smells terrible so I think it is the trash smasher. :)

JuleZ loves to play peek-a-boo all day!

We also enjoyed visiting the park again after dinner for a run with Dallin and a little dancing with the Chinese ladies. And a "bearded lady" for dessert (cream puff with ice cream in it.)

 Sunday: We went on a picnic with our Chinese friends shao yan, Allen and their daughter yoyo. Flying kites, playing football, eating snacks (mitch stole all their yoghurt), catching butterflies and fish, and they brought a scooter that Mitch would not get off of. They are a very sweet family. We really like them.

Picture of Jules with a little bearded lady on her face.

Saturday: We took the kids back to the giant splash pad that they love and some little Chinese boy that looked like a tank went a little wild. He stripped down naked and was sticking his toosh over the holes blowing out a lot more water than would be comfortable in part of your body. He got quite the crowd. We promptly removed Mitch before he followed suit. (And he was trying to!) Mitch also helped out with our last minute late night shopping trip on the way home.

Friday:I did some painting with Mitch. I'll have to take some pics and send you what we have been working on!

Thursday: Was a sad day as we said goodbye to the fam again.

Wednesday: We did a lot of shopping with mom and dad and had a great time at the splash pad with the kids!

Tuesday: Last wild day of the trip! Poor Anna was such a trooper. We went to the temple of heaven. Mitch made a friend there and we had a hard time getting very far since he just wanted to play!
Unfortunately my phone was almost dead so I couldn't get any pictures.

It was a good thing mom, dad, and Anna came back with us, or I don't think Dal could have drug the kids and I back. We were having a wonderful time in Utah playing with cousins, grandparents, friends, and breathing the clean fresh mountain air. The swimming and splash pads everyday were pretty amazing too! We had so much fun with them here and it was such a blessing to have them in China to point out all the beauty and wonder of the ancient culture and fascinating places we are surrounded by. So now we are trying to get in a mindset that will sustain us through another year and a half of China life.