Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Concordia Christmas Concert




The kids have been practicing their Christmas songs for a while now and finally the day came for their Christmas concert. They both did well up on stage and had fun.

Alex was an angel (in costume only) and sang Angels We Have Heard on High. Elizabeth sang a song about instruments. Check out the video. There is a little boy, I think his name is Penn, and he is belting out his song like a pro! What a great performance by all.

After the performance, the kids got to open Christmas presents that we gave to them. Alex got a policeman helmet and Elizabeth got a new High School Musical doll.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Gingerbread Tea Party


Julie Romanski is a member of the Shanghai Expat Association and every year they host a Gingerbread Tea Party or something similar to it. She invited Elizabeth and I to join her, Maddie and Allie as well as Denise and Renee Rockett. The Dulwich children's choir was there singing Christmas carols. Santa welcomed us into the tea party and gave everyone a gingerbread house kit. There were several stations set up with crafts for kids to do. There was a tea party buffet set up complete with finger sandwiches, french fries, hot dogs, and desserts. All the girls had their faces painted and made bead bracelets and did other crafts. They even got a gift from Santa and got to sit on his lap. We saved the gingerbread house for when we returned home and Alex helped us put it together.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Shanghai Pub Crawl Hosted by G2 & Molly


We were invited to a tour of Shanghai by friends, G2 and Molly Forsberg. During the last Concordia auction, they won a bus trip in a Concordia bus. So about 20 or so people loaded up in a bus at the Hard Days Night bar in JinQiao. We proceded, after getting instructions from G2, to the lifestyle center near our house called ShiLe. ShiLe literally means 10 happinesses or something like that. It is a neighborhood of 40 villas, a spa, a lounge, and a restaurant that is ultra luxurious. We were able to tour a villa and the spa. Really nice place. We've always wondered what they were.

After that, we boarded the bus and drove over to Puxi. We played some games and drank some beverages. We made a stop at the Velvet Lounge which is a popular spot with many. After some more beverages, we loaded back on the bus to return to Pudong. We ended the night at the Irishman's Pub where G2 arranged for a band to entertain us and some of Declan's Guiness pies to fill us up.

Our hosts showed everyone a really good time. I have to say that it was the most fun I have had in Shanghai.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Visit to Christmas Train at Hilton


We read in the newspaper that there was a train up at the Hilton in Puxi. So after church one Sunday, we grabbed the Romanski girls and headed over to see it. Alex was in heaven. He could have stayed there all day if we would have let him. He couldn't take his eyes off of it and noticed so many details about the train. After watching the train for a while, we went to lunch in Xintiandi to see the decorations there as well.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Elizabeth's Gymnastics Class


Elizabeth took a gymnastics class this sememster on Saturday afternoons. She really seemed to enjoy the tumbling they did. They never let parents stay in the gym to watch, so I've never been able to get good pictures. This was the last day and I was able to get a picture of her getting her certificate and badge.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Dinner at Paulander Kristkindle



We visited the European style Kristkindle market at the Paulaner at FenYang Lu. This year we went with the Romanski's and we also met their friends there as well. We all enjoyed good German food and beer and were able to do a little Christmas shopping.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Elizabeth Daisy Trip to Migrant School



Every year for the past 6 years, the Concordia Daisies, Brownies, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts along with the Shanghai community center sponser "Giving Tree Bags". Each member of the Scouting group gets a bag and fills it up with a coat, hat, mittens, scarf, and a pair of shoes. These bags are then distributed to a local migrant school and given to a child who needs them. This year, Elizabeth participated.

Xiao Zhu (Ayi) took us shopping to the QiPu Lu Market to fill up our bag. This market is in Puxi and is a huge shopping area where you can get good prices. This place was crazy. Liu dropped off Elizabeth, Ayi, and me off and we waded through a million people to get into the market. It was dirty and the aisles were crowded. Never going back there again. Anyway, we started shopping and I thought we just had to buy a similar size as Elizabeth. After we bought a coat and shoes, I opened the bag and saw that there was a tag inside telling me the size and sex of the child. Great.....11 year old boy. Sooo we returned all that we bought and rebought items for a boy. So glad when that excursion was over.

The pictures you see are of us going to the migrant school on the bus a few weeks after the shopping trip. There were really nice Chinese students so happy to see us. I don't think everyone got a bag, just the neediest, but it was a good chance for Elizabeth to learn about charity.