Ni Hao! 我愛中國

I made it there and back again. My first trip to China. Eleven long days, with a little fun in between all the work. The flight there was LONG. Atlanta, to Seattle, to Tokoyo to Shenzen. 22 hours later we were in China. We started in Shenzen with a lot of work, and little free time. After 7 days in Shenzen, when we were all ready to leave the humidity and pollution we headed to Shanghai, which was pretty cool to say the least. 25 million people and counting live in the city. It was huge, and kept on going. Beautiful city with amazing skyline views.

Here are some of my co-workers I was with. From left to right, Stacy, Kate, Jen, me and Elizabeth

Here is a temple at old Shanghai from the 18th century, it was amazing and beatufil.

We think the rock says "shanghai"  Included in this photo are our co-workers from the Shenzen office. They were so fun and great co-workers. They were great tour guides and made sure we didn't get lost anywhere too!

I just thought the architecture was amazing at the temple, hard to believe they did all those so long ago without any technology.

My new friend Kathy and I. Kathy  completely cracked me up all trip  and taught me a lot about Chinese culture. She was as funny and sweet as they come. She works in the home depot shenzen office and has a daughter the same age as Hannah.

In between work, we got traditional chinese foot massages, 2 hours, $50, worth every penny.

I got to know Tsingtao beer pretty well on the trip, especially enjoyed during our 2 hours massage.

Traditional chinese formal dinner our last night included duck. Head and all. I didn't take pictures of the other items, there was plenty to capture though. I pretty much ate green beans, white rice and bread.

Apparently all of China was going to know we were in town. Across the street from that building is where all our work meetings were held.

We spent  A LOT of time in the care traveling to Chinese factories. I am pretty educated on the materials, construction, assembly of blinds, garage shelving and furniture at this point.

This is what most of Shenzen looked like outside the city walls. And, where we spent a lot of our trip. We are very lucky to live in the United States!

And what's a trip to China without brining the kids back some goodies. They loved their chinese outfits.

Drew the dragon warrior and Hannah the chinese princess.

And a panda hat!!


Overall, it was a great trip  but very happy to be home. An amazing experience to learn a new culture, new friends and see new sights. But always happiest to be home with my family.   Until next time, Ni Hao!

Go Mt Bethel Cardinals!!

Today was Hannah's 1st softball game. She is playing at Mt Bethel Church on the K-2 girls team. There are 3 Hannah's on the team which Hannah thought was pretty funny. Also on the team are Hannah's friends from the neighborhood Camden and Alexandra.   Camden is on Hannah's right side and is in 1st grade, and Alexandra is in the second row on the left, she is in second grade. The 3 girls are becoming good buddies.

Hannah played 3rd base and did EXACTLY what they do in practice. She would run and catch the ball, and throw the ball back to the pitcher, regardless of where runners were or where the ball needed to go. She wasn't too worried about getting back to third base to out a runner, she would just throw is right back to the pitcher :)  Oh, and the picture of Hannah above would also be a picture of her watching the soccer game on the field next to the softball field :)

We are exactly sure how Hannah managed to actually see the ball she was hitting, but she did hit the ball. All the girls helmets were falling over their faces and like the picture below, they all ran holding their helmets up. It was pretty funny and cute.

And she runs, and runs. The first time she hit the ball, she was a little unsure of running to first base, then just stopped. She made is to second base after the hitter after her passed her. Entertaining at best. By the second inning, she was in full swing and knew what to do with a little help from the coaches.

Here is Hannah's biggest fan. He did a lot of clapping, yelling go Hannah, and played with the girls in the dugout.

It was a cute little game. All the kids would go up to bat, and just keep swinging until they hit the ball. They all got the run the bases one way or another. They made it a lot of fun.   Later in the evening, we went to dinner with our neighbors and all the kids. We had an adult table of 6 adults, and a kids table of  5 girls and Drew. He seems to get a lot of attention from all these little girls and seems to like it :) We had a great time and are so grateful that we have such fun neighbors and friends!

And now, I get ready to say a little "Ni Hao" for the next two weeks as I head out to China for work. I will be in Hong Kong, Shenzen and Shanghai. Wish me luck, or better yet, wish Todd, Grandma and Grandpa luck with the kids while I am gone. I am sure going to miss them a lot, but also look forward to the opportunity to see a new culture and different part of the world. I'll be signing off for a few weeks unless I figure out how to load pics from China. I'll be signing back on in October. Stay tuned!

Field of Dreams

What else to do on a Sunday afternoon but create Field of Dreams right there in your front yard?   Todd needed to mow the grass, but before he did, he mowed a little baseball diamond for the kids. They loved it. They had so much fun taking turns hitting, pitching and running the bases. It was pretty cute.

Here is Drew making is way to first base after a pretty strong hit off the tee :)   Monday night after a little more playing, the field got mowed away, there were a few sad faces and tears from Drew, but we promised a new field in no time.

Later Sunday we went to the Atl Airport to meet up with Aunt Andrea, Cash, Drake and Ashley during their layover on their way back from the UCF vs OSU game. They were good sports and even got the kids shirts and accessories despite their UCF loss.   It was also Andrea's birthday Sunday, so we surprised her with some cupcakes at the airport to wish her a happy birthday!

As you can see, the kids loved their shirts, as they continued wearing them the next day to school too! They are pretty happy little Buckeyes at 6:45am on their way out to the bus stop.  Thanks for the t-shirts guys!!!

Labor Day Weekend 2012

We had a great labor day weekend this year! We planned a last minute getaway to Florida to see the Renick Family. Todd and Scott attended the Gator game in Gainesville while Amanda and I entertained the girls ( and Drew) for the day. Todd and Scott brought the kids to Home Depot workshop Saturday morning to get them out of our hair for an hour or so before we took them on for the day. It was pretty cute, they loved wearing their aprons and they built football goal posts.   We had so much fun seeing the Renicks, it was all Hannah and Drew could talk about all week. When I asked Hannah her favorite part of the weekend tonight before bed, she initially responded that her favorite part of the trip was seeing Layla, the Renick's adorable Boxer dog. But then went on to tell me that she just loved seeing friends and family, and sea world too.

Sunday we headed to SeaWorld. The kids love it there, and we went in April we were there for a short time due to the weather. This time, we wished we were there for a short time given the 90 degree heat and crowds :)   The kids loved every minute of it though. Drew is still obsessed with dolphins and watches the movie Dolphin Tales about once a week.  We went to all the shows, went on rides, splashed around in the water at the splash pad to cool off, and saw all the animals.

Here is Hannah and Drew while waiting for the Shamu show. We got there early and sat and ate lunch in there so we could get good seats. The kids choose "the splash zone" and wanted to get wet. We didn't "luck out" and get splashed, Shamu kept missing us.  So Drew ran down the stairs and went closer to the water, thus Hannah and Todd followed. I sat right where I was. Still, Shamu barely missed them and did not get the tidal waves they were looking for. Next time.

See the excitement on Drew's face?  We bought about $30 of fish for that smile :)  He indeed got to feed the dolphins and kept asking where Winter the dolphin was from Dolphin Tales.   It was cute, worth the overpriced fish.

After the really hot, humid, and sticky day at Seaworld, we headed to the hotel which had an awesome pool and lazy river. The kids swam their little hearts out. They went from 8am to 9pm with no naps, lots of walking and lots of swimming. Finally, lights out at 9:30pm last night. Mom and Dad were just as tired as them!

Monday morning, we woke up early and met the Steinemann family for breakfast. We appreciate everyone waking up early on their day off to come say hello and have breakfast with us! It was nice seeing everyone as it is pretty rare everyone can get together at the same time.  

Here are the cousins, Hannah, Drake, Sean, and Drew. Ashley couldn't make it otherwise we could finally have a picture with all the cousins together!  Next time!!!

It was so nice seeing friends and family this weekend, and Shamu too! :) The kids had a great weekend, as did we. It is so nice to just get away and spend true quality time together as a family rather than focussing on everything in the house that needs to be done, or errands to run, laundry or work. Just good quality fun and time together.  

And now, back to reality. School and work tomorrow. Gearing up for a busy week. We hope everyone had a great labor day weekend too!!!

Weekly favorites

Hannah before Kindergarten one day last week. The first two weeks of school they have "assigned" colors to wear each day. This day was orange. Hannah has been loving getting ready for school each morning, getting dressed up in the color of the day and meeting all the kids at the bus stop. The bus stop seems to be the highlight of both Hannah and Drew's days. Drew is now a proud owner of a new backpack so he can match all the other kids. It is pretty cute.

Here is our little guy before church on Sunday. Just being his little own self, checking things out while we were getting ready to get in the car.

 Until Hannah got a hold of him.   Hugs from every direction.   They are quite the cute little pair, one minute hugging and loving each other, next minute wrestling each other to the ground over a toy of some sorts :)  

All in all, things are going well here. Hannah loves kindergarten, is meeting new friends and really likes her teacher. Our after school nanny Tess started last week too, the kids seem to love her and all the parents at the bus stop in the afternoon give me a thumbs up and keep asking to borrow our nanny. The kids love her and that is all that matter.

Thank you Andrea & Drake!

Thank you, thank you, and thank you to Aunt Andrea and Cousin Drake for coming to visit us and the kids this weekend and giving Todd and I  some much needed time away to explore Atlanta, run some errands, shop and indulge in some good food.   Andrea and Drake arrived Friday night and the kids were SO excited! We played, did lots of art, and caught some lightening bugs outside which was fun for Drake too since they don't have those little buggers in Florida!

Saturday Andrea, Drake, Hannah and Drew had a big day. They went to Chucky Cheese for lunch, went to the swimming pool for awhile, then to dinner and Menchies for some frozen yogurt, which is always a big hit.   The kids were exhausted yet a little too wound up for bed at the end of the night, I don't think they wanted their day to end.

And before they headed back to Fl on Sunday, we went to our favorite BBQ place, Fox Bros for lunch. Oddly, the kids were actually some what well behaved at lunch so we could all enjoy our food and have a good time.

Thank you so much for coming to visit! We love being able to spend time with family so much more now and that Hannah and Drew can spend quality time with everyone!  Thanks for the visit and making the long drive with it!!! Can't wait until next time!

8 Happy Years!

Here's to a Happy 8 years, or as of today, 8 years and 1 day as  I didn't get time to write yesterday!

Let's review... 1 apartment, 3 houses, 2 cities, 1 dog, 2 kids, and multiple job changes through Target and Home Depot... some how we've made it so far.   You never know what curve balls lie ahead, and where life will take us, but for now, life is good. We are so blessed to not only have a wonderful friendship,  partnership and love for each other, but two amazing kids that make us a very happy family.   We are so lucky circumstance brought us together, but love, laughter and appreciation for our differences and likes are what keeps us together each and every day.

Here's to the next chapter, may our marriage be blessed and full of health and happiness, and may our current city, jobs, and house not change for awhile!!  So I guess.. here's to stability! :)

Hannah's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Hannah's first day of Kindergarten. The day that all parents both look forward to with so much anticipation and excitement, yet with a little bit a broken heart that their little one is heading into a bid adventure all on their own. I really can't believe it. This day came way too fast, as I know so many more days like this will creep up on us as well.   Today like almost every day, I am proud of my little girl. She woke up at 3am, yes 3am... all dressed, teeth brushed and asked for breakfast. Todd and I woke up wondering what in the world was going on. Hannah was excited, so excited she was ready to go and start her big day. Quickly, we had her hop back into bed with us for a few extra hours of sleep.

Finally at 6am, she got up (again) and ate some breakfast and got ready for school. She was even a big helper getting Drew ready this morning so he could go to the bus stop too. Her smiles in all these pictures are so genuine, I love it. I was just so excited she embraced the day with excitement rather than being anxious and nervous.

Drew cannot miss a beat and of course was asking where his sign was to hold. We let him hold hers for a few pictures, he wanted to feel part of the day. In fact, Drew wasn't too happy once Hannah got on that school bus and he quickly realized he wasn't joining her. There were a lot of tears from Drew saying " I was to go to east side elementary"  and some big elephant tears saying he missed Hannie. It was pretty sad, yet sweet.

Here are are portion of the kids at the bus stop that made it on time, the early birds. There are a few kids missing who got there a little later or their parents drove them on the first day. The little girl to the left is a friend of Hannah's, Alexandra. Her little sister Camden ( not pictured, she was not in the mood) and Hannah are playing softball together this season.   Hannah has a total of 4 other kindergarten girls, and about 6 or so 1st graders in the neighborhood between the two bus stops by our house.

This is our neighbor Elise. Hannah is quite attached to our neighbors, the Johnsons. They are a full house with 4 kids and 2 dogs, all the kids seemedto take quite a liking to Hannah and Drew and have become our babysitter/ playmates for them. Elise is heading into 4th grade. It is a good thing she was watching out for Hannah today, because Hannah almost didn't get off the bus on the way home and Elise went back onto the bus to get her!

And she finally makes her way onto the bus. It was adorable, the bus pulled up, and Hannah gave my hand a tight squeeze and pulled me down and gave me a huge kiss on the cheek. It was like she knew I would have a harder day than she would. I loved her little reassurance of saying "mom, I got this one, it's going to be ok". Love her.

And finally... off they all go.

When she returned from her day, I was there waiting with all the moms excited to hear about everything. ( I have a great boss who indeed understood the need to take a half day off for this)  Hannah got off the bus with a big smile and the first thing she told me was that "kindergarten was awesome" and she was so happy to go. Oh, and "goddard school is for babies". Well, didn't take her too long to adjust.   I haven't seen Hannah with so many smiles on her face in a long time. She was excited about everything. She loved her teacher, told me about her new friends, and seeing her Goddard friends at recess was a big hit. She told me about all the neighborhood kids she ran into in the hall ways and playground, and all the fun things they learned in the class room today. I think her favorite part was eating in the cafeteria. She told me she had grapes, yogurt, cheese and goldfish with awesome chocolate milk for lunch. Who knew that would make her day.

I am happy day one started so wonderful, the perfect start as a great summer comes to an end.   This has been by far one of the best summers we can remember in a long time. The kids were so active and full of energy. We spent many weekends at the pool playing with kids, hanging out with neighbors, enjoying life. I was able to manage some nanny time along with me sneaking away when  I can so the kids were really in daycare no more than 3 days a week this summer. I was so happy they could spend more time being kids, and less time in daycare. They were able to enjoy camps, play dates and have some home time. Hannah and Drew became little fish this summer. Hannah is diving for toys in the deep end, and Drew just in the last two weeks start swimming freestyle with out his little floatie. I am amazed that before 3 years old we have a little swimmer on our hands. He will always amaze me.   We are looking forward to fall and all the fun that comes along with it.  Stay tuned, as I am sure plenty of updates will be coming soon!

East Side Elementary Kindergartener in training

On the countdown, 2 more days until kindergarten. This will was full of activities for the rising kindergarteners to get them ready for their  big day. Thursday was "meet the teacher" day, which also should had been called "parents, bring your check books" day. We got to meet her teacher named Mrs Broome, which was sweet as could be. Her school is brand new, just built last year and it is a big one. There are 7 kindergarten classes with about 22 kids each. Hannah got to see all her Goddard and neighborhood friends at orientation which she loved.

Here is hannah in her new class room at school.

And Friday Cobb County had a trial bus ride for all the kindergartners and their parents so they could meet their bus driver and get to  know the route. It was super cute. Hannah got up early and got her routine down pretty quick.

Here are some of her new friends on the bus from the neighborhood. Avery, Lila, Hannah and Lila's older sister Caitlyn who is going into second grade.

Today we are off to find Hannah some new shoes, she has been begging to for me to buy her some "flats" that will look cute with her skirts. Oh boy, and it begins.

Just life.

I haven't taken a lot of pictures over the last few weeks. These are from before church last weekend while we were just playing around outside before we left. We are just staying busy, enjoying summer and make the most of the time we have left before school starts for Hannah.

Hannah's new favorite hair accessory, the head band. I find these all over the house, and keep asking me to do "fish tail" braids in her hair in which I needed to do a you tube tutorial to figure out. Soon she is going to realize the teenage babysitters are much more fun to do her hair than me.

And Drew's favorite accessory, the juice box:) Always kicking back with his juice boxes and some type of sports ball.

Life is good, one week till kindergarten starts. Hannah has orientation this week where she gets to meet her teacher. She is really excited, scared and nervous all at the same time. This week she broke down crying and said she was really scared because her friend at school told her there was going to be really hard math tests and if she failed she would not go to 1st grade.  I told her to just take one day at a time and everything will work out just fine, I don't many kids that did not eventually make their way to 1st grade.   We know she will be fine, and already knows about 10 kids from either the neighborhood or her goddard school that will at the same school that I think will help.   We are kind of excited for fall to start, we have ballet and softball lined up for Hannah. And Drew.. he is finally old enough to take little soccer classes at daycare once a week, he couldn't be more excited about that! He is on the countdown, 1 yr and 2 months until he is allowed to play t-ball. He asks us every day if we can "sign him up". :)