Thanksgiving at the Stevens

Our friends from Minnesota, Missy and Luke Stevens hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their house. They had 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pumpkin soup, caesar salad, bread, corn, etc..... They hosted 8 families. There were 17 adults and 17 kids at their house. She did sit down, family style with a kids table and all. We rented a bounce house for a couple hours to keep the kids busy. The kids had so much fun playing together. It's obviously not as good as spending holidays home with our own families, but it was a good substitute.

New Shanghai Tower Construction to Start

The day we went to the WFC, they officially annouced they will start building the Shanghai Tower this week. It will soon be like the Jetson's! See the Shanghai Daily article below:

Defying the downturn, city builds even higher
By Dong Hui 2008-11-28 NEWSPAPER EDITION

WHERE some see crisis, others see opportunity.Three months after opening the world's second-tallest skyscraper, Shanghai is about to start construction of an even taller building - in the face of an economic slowdown and falling property prices.Construction on the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, expected to cost 14.8 billion yuan (US$2.17 billion), will begin in Pudong's Lujiazui financial district tomorrow, developers said yesterday.Gu Jianping, general manager of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Co, said that by starting work in an economic downturn, construction materials would be cheaper. He also predicted that by the time the 121-floor, glass-and-steel tower is opened, China's economy is likely to be soaring again."Launching construction at this time will help boost Shanghai's confidence in fighting the financial crisis," he told a news conference.The tower, which will comprise offices, retail space, a super-five-star hotel and cultural facilities, will be part of a triangle of tall buildings. The recently opened World Financial Center, at 492 meters, is now the world's second-tallest building. Its neighbor, the Jin Mao Tower, rises 420.5 meters above the Shanghai skyline.The new skyscraper will surpass the height of the 501-meter-high Taipei 101 in Taiwan, but the world's-tallest title will go to the Burj Dubai, now under construction in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj is expected to be roughly 800 meters tall, though its exact height has been kept secret.The Shanghai Tower is scheduled to open partially in 2012 when the top floor is finished and go into full operation two years later. The tower's pinnacle will feature the world's highest non-enclosed observation deck. And the building's high-tech office space is expected to help boost Shanghai's financial industry."The floors for trading will be designed especially for companies in the financial services industry," Gu said. "The building is expected to serve banking, insurance, securities and fund companies as well as the headquarters of multinationals."Unlike the Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center, the Shanghai Tower's three shareholders are all state-owned enterprises. Shanghai Chengtou Corp holds 51 percent of the company, Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development Co Ltd 45 percent and Shanghai Construction Group 4 percent. The developers declined to release future rental rates."What can be certain is that rents will be higher than current ones, as the economy should recover by the time the tower is finished," Gu said.

Trip to the WFC (Tallest Building in China)

The kids were off school the day after Thanksgiving and it was a very clear day for Shanghai so we took the opportunity to go to the top of the World Financial Tower. We can see this building from our apartment as part of the downtown Skyline. This building is currently the tallest building in China at 492m/1614ft (not including Taiwan - Taipei 101). It is the tallest building to the roof (not including antennas or spires) in the world. It will soon be passed by the Burj Dubai in Dubai (800m+). The building contains restaurants, shops and office space on floors 1 - 52. The Grand Hyatt is housed in floors 53 - 87 making it the highest hotel in the world (passing the Hyatt in the Jin Mao Building next door). We visited the 3 observation decks at the top of the building on the 94, 97 and 100th floors.

We had to take two elevator rides and a couple of escalators to get to the very top observation deck. The elevators are very fast. Once at the top, the kids were not scared of the heights and layed on the ground and looks through the glass floor down to ground level. The view was great, but it was still difficult to see in the distance due to the slight haze in the air. We were able to see Kirk's office building, but we could barely make out our apartment and Century Park.

Below are some links to information about the WFC:

WFC Official Website

Wikipedia WFC Website

Grand Hyatt Website

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

I'm not sure how it happened, but Kirk has caught the Christmas Spririt! At lunchtime on Wednesday, he went to YuYuan Gardens and Bazaar shopping for Christmas stuff. Now, for those of you who have visitied, you know how crazy this area can be. He went into the crowded market by himself and found a Christmas tree, lights, ornaments, and a train. He brought them home and the kids were so excited. They couldn't wait until the weekend so we put the tree up that night after they ate dinner.

Elizabeth's Fall Art Project

On the way back from parent/teacher conferences, we stopped for coffee/tea/hot cocoa and it was a nice day, so Elizabeth and I decided to walk home. The Northwest entrance to Century Park was open so we decided to walk back through the park. It was so sunny out and many leaves had fallen. We decided to pick up leaves for some type of project when we got home. Elizabeth decided she wanted to make a fall tree. She did a great job drawing the trunk. I helped her tape the leaves up and then we put it up outside of our door.

Elizabeth's Ballet Recital

Kirk did a nice job taping exerpts of the ballet recital. It was held at the Portman Theatre again and the girls all did a nice job. They have all really improved from last year. You can see that Elizabeth was very proud of herself.

Santa Visit @ Concordia

This is the first year that neither kid was scared of Santa Claus. They saw him at the Concordia Christmas Bazaar. Elizabeth told Santa that she wanted new pants (although she NEVER wears pants!). Alex told Santa that he wanted GEO trax. The yellow one. They were really funny with Santa and you can see from the video that Elizabeth was very nervous.

Playdate with Crystal and Clare

No school last Friday, so Elizabeth invited Crystal and Claire over for a playdate. They played dress up and did crafts. Claire's older brother, Andrew, stayed and played with Alex. They all had fun.

Alex Brings Dottie Home from School

Alex is in the Ladybugs class at school. This week, he got to bring Dottie home with him. He had to take pictures of activities that he and Dottie did together. He took her to the park, in the police car, and ate together. We printed out pictures and put them in the book to send back to school.

Ballet Recital Practice

This is Elizabeth's second year of ballet. This year, they had their recital in November. This year, there was only one practice day. Last year, there were 4!

Dulwich School Fair

Another international school in Jinqiao, Dulwich, had a winter festival. They had 4 different bounce houses/slides and the kids had a lot of fun jumping on them. Elizabeth ran into Crystal and the two had their hair sprayed pink and their nails done. Alex just had fun playing on the bounce houses and the playset.

Elizabeth Field Trip to Organic Farm

Elizabeth's first field trip of the year was to the Shanghai Organic farm. Organic products are in abundance here in Shanghai and I think are the safest to eat here so we enjoyed seeing where they grow. The kids were able to pick leeks, carrots, red peppers, and spinach. They were able to plant there own bok choy. They were also able to pet and feed the goats. It was a beautiful day. Elizabeth loved it since she has spent time in Bumpa and Gigi's organic vegetable garden.

Elizabeth Rides Her Bike - Picnic at Century Park

Kirk took Elizabeth's training wheels off earlier in the spring, but she just didn't get the hang of riding a two wheeler until Sunday. We went to Century Park for the first sunny day in about 2 weeks. We took the kid's bikes and as soon as we got into the park, she took right off. I think because the roads inside the park are smooth and wide and not much traffic. She is so proud of herself.

Alex had fun too playing in the leaves and riding his "motor" tricycle. He makes lots of noise when he gets going fast.

We had a great day.

Indoor Picnic - Rainy Day in Shanghai

These guys never run out of imagination. They decided to have a picnic in the hallway on Saturday because it was raining outside. They set up the towels, the umbrellas, and oh yeah, the scary masks....not sure about that.

Elizabeth is a Daisy

This is Elizabeth in her Daisy apron. A Daisy is one step before a Brownie and two steps before becoming a Girl Scout. They meet once per month. She really likes it and the friends that she has met.

School Pictures

Self explanatory. I just love Alex's expressions! Elizabeth has a great smile.