Singapore & Bintan Island

Singapore Pictures
Bintan Island Pictures


We took a vacation during the October holiday with the Taverna family - Joe, Keri, Emily, Joey, and Matthew. We started out in Singapore for a few days and toured the city and finished our vacation with a few days on the beach on Bintan Island, Indonesia.

Singapore is a really nice city/country. The first day we got there, we went to Little India. This is an area of town with lots of small shops, restaurants, and Hindu temples. The girls had lots of fun shopping and Emily and Elizabeth even got Henna tattoos on their hands. We loaded up on bangles and bindis. We didn't eat since we went in the morning directly after breakfast but the food smelled good.

The next day, we went to the zoo. Everyone says how great it is and they are not lying. Truly the best zoo we've ever visitied specifically because we were able to get so close to the animals. We only spent a half day here but could have easily spent a whole day here.

After the zoo, we did the Night Safari. This is next to the zoo and you can either walk through or take a train. We opted for the train. Here we saw animals in their natural habitat - specifically the nocturnals. Really cool because you couldn't see any fences and it gave the illusion that you were directly next to the animals.

Kath and Elizabeth got to see Peline and Crystal Tan one morning for breakfast. If you have followed our blog, you'll know that Elizabeth and Crystal were best friends at Concordia. They moved back home to Singapore this summer. It was great to see them.

We got to visit Kirk's favorite - Outback one night. We did some other shopping around Orchard Road area, pretty expensive stuff, so we didn't buy much. Kids also got to swim in the pool at the hotel.

Singapore is definitely a place to visit again.

After the city visit, we needed a break on the beach. We took a ferry over to Bintan Island and stayed at the Club Med for a few days. This was our first time at a Club Med and it was nice. It was all inclusive so all the kids loved going up and getting smoothies any time they wanted.

The kids had fun playing on the beach and jumping waves. There were only two pools but the kids kept busy all day in them.

We had a great time together!

After t

Alex Making Mooncakes

Wow, I think I'm caught up now. Gigi, this should keep you busy at 1:00 am when you can't sleep.

Alex's classroom had their Mid Autumn festival celebration and Ms Mellen taught them how to make moon cakes. They actually just made them with jelly and bread but the kids had fun making and eating them.

Swimming Pool at New Apartment

We had a few weekends after we moved to our new apartment where we could use the swimming pool. It is an outdoor pool and is not too bad. The kids had a lot of fun using it. Kirk took some picture of the buildings in the complex. I don't think the architecture is that nice, but the gardens surrounding the buildings are.

First Day of School

Here is the first day of school picture. The kids had a great summer day to start out. You can see we were still in our old place and had a great view of the city in this picture.

Roessler Family Picture & Video

Family pictures are always tough to get. The Dufon's got one this year, unfortunately without Kirk. The Roessler's got one but I'm not sure everyone was smiling as we were coming to the end of our trip.

Detroit Tigers Game

We got a chance to go watch the Tiger's this year. They played Seattle. The kids had a great time. Kevin's company sponsored a Detroit school corporation so our kids were able to run the bases. We were able to go down on the field and watch them run around the bases. That was AWESOME.

Thomas The Tank Engine

I'm not going to say much about this as it's out third year for going. We went to Huckleberry Railroad and rode Thomas the Tank Engine. The kids had a lot of fun.

Klein Golf Weekend

Kirk went to Crystal Mountain for his annual golf trip with his BFF Dave Klein. He doesn't see Dave much anymore since Dave left Dura so it was fun for Kirk to see everyone again.

Hanging out at the Swimming Pool

After the Harris', we went back to our apartment that we rented and swam in the pool with Ethan and Nolan. Here are some fun pictures of the kids.

Fun on Commerce Lake

Kirk went golfing for the weekend, so the kids and I went over to the Harris' house and played on the lake. Alex had fun swimming in the lake and even like tubing a little bit. Elizabeth is my daredevil. She and Ryan had fun tubing and she even started water skiing on the kid's board. I, on the other hand, am a complete loser and can not get up on one ski anymore. How sad is that!

Elizabeth Gets Her Ears Pierced

As my mom told me, I told Elizabeth that she could get her ears pierced when she could learn how to ride a two wheeler. She learned that last summer but was too chicken to get her ears pierced. She worked out her fears and did it this year. She looks so cute and has done a great job managing taking them in and out with no infections.

Chloe Rose Slivinski

Purple (Olivia's name for Nicole's baby) came on August 5. Her name is Chloe Rose Slivinski and she is beautiful. She's got chicken legs and is a little scrawny but is getting bigger every day. Olivia is a proud big sister and Elizabeth and Alex were having fun holding the baby.

Grammy's Friends & Grandchildren Get Together

Grammy and her friends organized a picnic at a splash park in Plymouth. All of Grammy's friends brought their grandkids and they all played together. Ethan, Nolan, Alex, and Elizabeth all had fun but I think Grammy had the most fun showing off her grandkids.

Chicago

It's always hard to see everyone when we come home to the US for the summer. Pelton organized a weekend when all of our friends could converge in one location. This summer was at Cronley's new house in Chicago area. The Chesna's, Wasik's, and Harris' all made it and stayed there. Chris and Sherry House made the drive across teh city for a cook out. Another of Kirk's fraternity brothers, Jim came as well. See the picture of the kids on the porch. They are all getting so big. They all played so well together. It was a lot of fun.

We spent one afternoon in the city. Elizabeth was able to take her American Girl doll, Emily to the American Girl doll store and get washed up and have her hair done. After we went to Cheesecake Factory. Wouldn't be a good trip to Michigan Ave without stopping there.

Florida

So as I said in the last post, the kids got left in Florida. Kirk met up with them there just a few days after I left. They had a ball swimming, going to the park, and going to splash parks. I think they slept good every night they were there.

Washington DC

I took the kids to see Grammy and PopPop in Florida. They like it when they can have the kids to themselves for a while. This was a nice break for me. I took the opportunity to fly up to Washington DC to see a couple friends.

Vineeta, Praveen, and their son Nehru Mooganur live in Virginia. I got to spend a couple days hanging out with them and Vineeta's parents, Mr and Mrs Dubey. They cooked some great Indian food for me! Vineeta and I were able to get out one night and go to the Mall to see the monuments lit up. It's been about 12 years since I've been there so I was again impressed. I didn't remember how small the city was. Maybe my perpective has changed since living in Shanghai. It was great to spend some time getting to know Nehru. He is such a sweet, smiley baby.

After a couple days, I met up with Jeri Ward. She just moved to DC the prior year. She lives in the heart of the city just down from all of the embassies. We were room mates in college so we had lots of catching up to do. We were able to do some good eating, shopping, and even got in a run. We laughed a lot over the couple days we had together and it was really nice.

Can't wait to take the kids back to show them our Capitol.

Dufon Farm

The kids had a great time hanging out on the farm. Tons of wide open space to run in, lots of cousins to play with, and rides on every vehicle imaginable. We even took a trip over to Aunt Hotch's to see her cows and Rusty's garden. Gigi's knee was starting to get better so she taught the kids how to make her yummy chocolate chip cookies.

Elizabeth at Tennis Camp

Elizabeth joined Anna at a tennis camp in Ludington. This was the first time she played tennis. The camp was one week long for a couple hours a day in the afternoons. She really enjoyed it and even got her picture in the Ludington Daily News.

Kirk Visits Beijing Olympic Green

Kirk had to go to Beijing for a meeting with Audi so he got a chance to take a tour of the Olympic Green area. This is the area where the Bird's Nest Stadium and Water Cube was located. He was able to take a tour of the Water Cube. It was nice to see all of the Olympic venues up close.

Dufon 4th of July Camping Weekend

My favorite....4th of July at the farm. The kids love it too. Alex especially loves sleeping in a tent. Elizabeth had a lot of fun hanging out with Anna and Alli and you can see that Alex and Olivia and Natalie became good pals around the kitchen table.

Tiffany's Wedding

My cousin Tiffany got married at the end of June. Just I went and got to see Bumpa and Gigi, Suzanne, Nicole and Dale. Nicole was huge but looking gorgeous.

The wedding was on the golf course in Vassar and was beautiful. Tiffany is such a nice girl and you can see how gorgeous she is. She and Justin make a nice couple. Although I don't think I have a picture of him.

We got to see Matthew and Jennifer, Chrissy, Beth, Jim, and Megan who we haven't seen in so long. It was great to reconnect. You can see Uncle Joe Farkas standing next to Nicole and there is also a picture of Uncle Joe and Aunt Phyllis together.

Back in the USA

We went back to the USA for the summer at the end of June. We landed at Kevin and Chrystal's house and went through our jet lag there. Alex was so excited to see Ethan. Rachel and Ryan came over to visit. Everyone had fun playing together. Lots of sleepovers in Aunt Chrystal's bed.

Late Spring/Early Summer Activities

Spring in Shanghai is always nice once the rain goes away. Grammy visited at the end of April and early May. Here are some pictures of the kids and their activities.

My favorite picture is of Alex washing his police car. I walked out in the hallway and saw him with his bucket and his water washing it down. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was washing his car just like Liu does.

Elizabeth played soccer this spring with her buddy Claire. She played in the field in Century Park and we would picnic afterwards. I love that park.

Kim Young and Family Leaving Shanghai

From Drop Box

Okay, catching up on the blog now that I'm back in Shanghai. This picture is from June. My first friend in Shanghai, Kim Young, and her family moved back to the Detroit area. You've seen their pictures scattered all throughout this blog. Now that I'm back in Shanghai and she is not, I really miss her. She is such a good, easy going, laid back person and was always good at helping me put things into perspective. Also, she was my only friend here who would run at night with me and then end the run at the pub and share stories over some Jameson's. Good thing is that she is in Detroit area so we'll get to see each other again!

Meet Liu's New Daughter Sunny

We were invited to our driver Liu's baby daughter's 100th day lunch celebration. Her English name is Sunny.

New Apartment

Well it's official. We will be in Shanghai for 2 more years. This summer would have been the summer that we would be moving back, but we have the opportunity to stay a bit longer and it's probably a good move since there are not a lot of jobs to be had in our companies back in the US.

Since we are going to be here a couple more years, it made sense for us to make the move into Jin Qiao. Jin Qiao is the area of Pudong where all the expatriates live. The schools, shopping, restaurants, churches.....Westernized ones.....are all here. We love living in our high rise that looks over the park and the city. We love our local Chinese/Japanese/Korean/European neighborhood. However, the kids have a 20 minute commute to school each way and all of our good friends have moved out of our apartment complex so their friends are in Jin Qiao now too.

We were able to find a nice townhouse that has a little more space than our current apartment and also has a small garden. The complex has a garage that runs underneath the property so there are no vehicles that drive in the neighborhood which makes this really nice for the kids to be able to ride their bikes, scooters and play without worrying about the crazy drivers.

We will be a 10 minute walk from school. The kids won't need to ride the bus anymore although I think that will seriously bum Alex out. We will be in walking distance to many of our favorite restaurants, church, and shopping. As well, we will be in walking distance to many of the kids playmates homes.

Tough decision to move into the bubble but much better for the kids.

Cronley Visits Shanghai Again

From Drop Box

Only a guy like Cronley can figure out a way to break from his Corporate Jet group to have dinner with us for the night. Can't wait til he comes into Asia again!

Elizabeth Field Trip to Fuxing Park

One of my favorite parks in Shanghai and one of the oldest is Fuxing Park. This is in the heart of the French Concession and has so much charm. The kindergarteners took their last field trip here. The funniest was when the kids were exercising with this guy. He was like the pied piper.

Alex's Music Program

The preschool put on their spring music program. Alex did a good job standing up nicely and behaved for the most part.

The Great (Fire) Wall of China

China has blocked access to the Blogger website, Youtube and many other social networking sites. This is due to an unpleasant event that happened 20 years ago in Beijing. Due to this we have not been able to update the Blog. Kirk is working on a fix to this issue and we should have the Blog updated soon.

Donuts for Daddy

Kirk had a very busy week this week and had many work people in from out of town. He was able to rearrange his schedule to make it for "Donuts for Daddy" in Elizabeth's classroom. Only Dads were allowed (No Moms) so she would have had to share someone elses Dad if Kirk couldn't make it. Elizabeth showed Kirk around the classroom and many of the projects she has been working on. Kirk's favorite was the portrait that Elizabeth made of him. You can see it in the pictures.

Daisy Camping Trip

Elizabeth was a Daisy this year. This is the youngest group in Girl Scouts. This year they planned an overnight camping trip at a ranch just outside of the city limits. Da Qian Ranch was the name. We boarded buses at Concordia with other groups of girls from all of the participating Pudong area troops. There were 4 bus loads of girls and moms.

The Daisies had to bring a mom while the older girls (brownies, juniors) were assigned chaperones. The Daisies and moms got private cabins. You can see they were nice cabins that slept 3 people and had private bathrooms. More on the bathroom later.

ELizabeth met a lot of nice girls from another troop from YCIS (Yew Chung International School). They did lots of activities ranging from learning how to tie a knot in a rope, making an edible campfire, treasure hunt, singing songs, horseback riding, a boat ride, and a bonfire.

At night after the bonfire, we went back to our cabin. As Elizabeth was going to the bathroom, I heard a scream ...very loud one. I ran in to find her completely freaked out by the huge COCKROACHES on the floor. If you know me, you know that I don't care for bugs. However, since Kirk wasn't there to rescue us, I had to. I killed one and the other one scampered away. Where to, only God knows but we didn't see him for the rest of the night.

Great time!

Yu Yuan (Garden)

Yes, it is touristy, but Yu Yuan Garden (Yu Garden) is one of my favorite places in Shanghai. I love taking visitiors here.

Elizabeth's Music Program

They did the spring music programs for Elizabeth's class a little different this year. This year, each class did a performance during their normal morning class. Elizabeth's teacher, Mr. Nurre, is truly one of the most talented teachers I've ever seen. He really did a nice job teaching these kids about rhythm and sounds. Great program, made us proud of Elizabeth.

Trip to Hangzhou

We decided to take a weekend trip via train to Hangzhou. Chinese people call Hangzhou "Heaven on Earth". The train ride there was nice, nice train, fast. We walked around the West Lake the first day. I was not convinced after this that it was heaven. There were about a million people and half of them were zooming around on bike and golf carts almost running us over! I just didn't get why people thought it was so great.

The next day, I got it. We went to the Lingyin Temple. This place was completely amazing. Hundreds of Buddhas, very spiritual.

Dinner on Huangpu River

We went to dinner with Grammy, Romanskis and Tavernas at the Paulander on on the River. The night was very nice so we were able to get some good pictures of the kids and the Shanghai lights at night.

Trip to Nanjing

Grammy and I mirrored the Nanjing trip I did with my Delphi group. We took the train there and back in one day and really enjoyed it. We especially enjoyed the park area where Dr Sun Yat Sen's mausoleum is.

Alex's Chapel Music Program

The Ladybugs and Butterflies were leading a chapel. Alex had line and we practiced and practiced with him but he ended up having stage fright. He's so cute.

Peking Opera

Keep reading and watching. I have 15 more of these posts!

This one is about the Peking Opera that Julie, Grammy, and I went to. Grammy wanted to go to one and Julie is always up for Chinese culture so I asked some of my friends and they suggested this traditional opera. It was really interesting and the costumes were beautiful. I think the way Elizabeth sings, she could do this.

Hong Kong Disneyland

After spending a few days in the Hong Kong, we went out to Hong Kong Disneyland. We have been there once before but we really enjoyed it as it is not very busy and there are not the long lines like in Florida.

Alex's favorite ride was the Small World or "Little World" as he called it. I think he went on it about 10 times and I'm not exaggerating. He also really enjoyed the car ride.

Elizabeth went on Space Mountain with Kirk and I and held on to Kirk for life the first time. Then she proceeded to love the ride and dragged us on again about 8 more times.

The Romanski girls were also with us and we had a lot of fun with them as usual. We all stayed right at the resort which was really nice. We went to a character breakfast and saw Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, and Daisy. The kids love that. We also saw lots of princesses.

Hong Kong

We had a holiday in May and so decided to take Grammy to see Hong Kong. The Romanskis joined us. Kirk did an awesome job planning a full itinerary for the long weekend. First we jumped on one of the Big Red Buses and toured the Kowloon island where we were staying. There are some great pictures of the harbor and Hong Kong Island. Of course we made the trip to Outback and had a bloomin onion. Hong Kong is a way for us to get our Western food fix. To end the night, we watched the light show over the harbor.

The next day was a packed day. We took the Star Ferry over to the Hong Kong Island and boarded the Big Red Bus again. We went all over the city and was able to have a bird's eye view. We hopped off the bus at lunch time and had lunch at a decent Mexican place. We rode the world's longest elevator. Now the kids were getting tired of walking so Kirk and Mike took the kids back to the hotel for some swimming before dinner and Grammy, Julie, and I went to the Stanley market.

There is a large market in the Stanley area of Hong Kong. It's mostly junk but you can pick up some clothes, art, jewelry, etc. We didn't buy much, although we did see an exact picture like one we bought in the city and found out that we paid too much for it! After the market, we walked out by the beach area. There is a line of restaurants and bars along here. It reminded me of the beach town that Kirk and I visted in Bpain. We stopped for a beer as it was pretty hot.

We took a taxi direct from here to the Peak where we met Kirk, Mike, Maddie, Allie, Elizabeth,and Alex. They took the Peak tram up. There are amazing views from this very touristy area. There is a shopping mall and restaurants. We had dinner at the Deco Cafe and had a great view of the harbor.

The next day, all the girls packed up and went to Hong Kong Disneyland. Kirk and Mike went to see a big Buddha. Mike went back to Shanghai after this and Kirk met us in Disneyland.

Alex's School Field Trip with Grammy

Now that I am in the US, I am able to access the blog. Here come a bunch of postings and pictures from the spring. Grammy visited us this spring and stayed for about a month. She came in just before Alex's birthday and was able to help him celebrate. One of the activities she did with him was go on a school field trip. This was one of the preschoolers only field trips. They went to the gardens at the Shimao Riviera Apartment complex in Lujiazui. Looks like they had fun.

Grammy Visit's Alex's Class

Alex's School Birthday Party

Alex had his school bday celebration the Monday after his bday. Grammy brought some masks for the kids to make as crafts. Alex really got into his birthday this year.

Concordia Gala (Prom)

The evening of Alex's bday, Concordia held it's annual charity gala. Missy calls it the prom. We had a great time but had a little too much fun and stayed out way too late.

Alex's 4th Birthday

I am working backwards on the pictures. I figured I should put these up soon so that we don't lose any time seeing Alex turn 4. I cannot believe how fast this time has gone by!

We asked Alex who he wanted at his birthday. Thank goodness he doesn't have a million friends like Elizabeth that have to be included in everything. He asked for 2 classmates, Andy and Allison, as well as Joey and Matthew Taverna. He also wanted Mama, Daddy, Sissy, and Grammy as he knew we were shoe ins.

Kirk and I made the cake. Again, staying up way past midnight to finish it up, we constructed a car. Alex loves Transformers, and we had just been to the Shanghai Auto show and saw the yellow "Bumblebee" Chevy Camaro. My friend, Missy Mama, let me borrow her Wilton's cake deco kit again and the colors turned out great.

The kids came over around noon and they played with Alex's toys, ate pizza, fruit and cake. After cake, they played some traditional games like musical chairs and pop the balloon. Alex really understood Birthdays and Parties this year and he's had a big smile on his face ever since.

Grammy Arrives to Shanghai

Grammy made her annual pilgramage to see us. Alex and Kirk picked her up from the airport and they rode the Maglev home. That night, we all went to watch Elizabeth's friend Crystal Tan in the school production of the Sound of Music. She was a great Gretl.

AutoShanghai 2009

We took Alex and Elizabeth to the Shanghai Auto Show. I was able to get tickets for the preview day so the crowds were not too bad. The show was the biggest in Shanghai to date and had many international vehicle debuts.

Alex and Elizabeth had to sit in all of the cars. They especially liked to sit in the back of the cars. I guess that is where they are used to sitting. Alex's favorite was the Ferrari's and Elizabeth liked the VW Beetle.

They both loved the RV that was produced by one of the local automakers. They couldn't believe that it had a toilet. Sure enough it was Thetford. Kirk worked at this company as a co-op.

Sanya

I was looking at pictures on Facebook from my friend Thuy's recent trip to Sanya. The pictures were so beautiful and the weather in Shanghai had been dreadful for so long that I talked Kirk into going. Turned out to be a great long weekend and the kids had a great time swimming. You can see we stayed at a nice place and were blessed with great weather. Great bonding time for us.

Easter

Easter Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day. The kids were pretty excited to find their baskets and do their Easter Egg hunt. I took off around 9am to run the Jinqiao 8k and Kirk got the kids ready for church. I ran the race, then ran to church and met them. I was a little smelly but had a fun run.

Elizabeth wore her bonnet that Kirk brought back from Paris and looked like an angel.

Boat Ride in Century Park

Everyday I look out my window and see boats going up and down the stream that runs through Century Park. The kids and I are always trying to talk Kirk into going on a boat ride in the park but in the past two and a half years have been unsuccessful.

One day, the kids had a day off of school. The Romankski ladies and the kids and I went for a boat ride. It was fun but not as exciting as we had built it up to be. The kids like driving the boat but after 30 minutes, they were ready to get off the boat.

Elizabeth's Transportation Field Trip

Elizabeth's class was studying transportation. The kids studied maps of Shanghai and all the different methods that could be used to get around. The teachers set up field trips to coincide with these lessons.

First we took a bus to the Pudong airport. There we boarded the Maglev train (it was really fast) and took that to the Longyang Metro Station where we hopped on line 2. From there, we took Line 2 to the Shanghai Science and Technology museum. Here the kindergarteners and their parents were able to walk around outside for a bit and have a snack. We got back on a bus and took it to Puxi to People's Square and had a look around. We got back on the bus and took it to the ferry near YuYuan Garden. I think the ferry was the kid's favorite. This costs .5 yuan (7cents) to get from Puxi to Pudong or vice versa. Bikes, pedestrians can take this. From here we walked down to the riverside promenade and had lunch. We had a really good time. The last picture is of Elizabeth and her teacher Mrs. McKeough.

Kirk's Trip to Dubai and Paris

I (Kirk) had to make a trip to Europe for work to visit several of our facilities in Germany and France. The direct flights to Europe were very expensive, but I was able to find a cheap flight that connected through Dubai. I was able to take this flight and spend a day touring Dubai.

Flying into the city all you could see was desert until you came to the city. We flew over the city then came back to land at the airport. In the distance you could see the man made "World Island and "Palm" developments.

I was lucky to find a tour bus called the Big Bus Company that allowed me to see most of Dubai very quickly. The Bus would stop at all of the major tourist stops and allow me to get off for as long as I wanted I could get on the next bus which came every 30 minutes. The city was pretty amazing to see. There is construction everywhere in the city. I was able to see the Burj Al Arab Hotel, The Jemeirah Palm Island, Ski Dubai Indoor Ski Slope, the Burj Dubai (tallest buiding in the world - 800m+), and the old part of town. There are definitely many things to do in the city and would be a great place to come back and visit on a vacation.

Dubai is one of the 7 Emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The majority of revenues in Dubai come from Tourism, Trade, Real Estate and Financial Services. Only 6% of the revenues comes from Oil & Natural Gas. The global financial crisis is taking its toll on Dubai and many of the new building projects have been halted.

After my overnight stay in Dubai I travelled to Germany for work for the next week then drove back to Paris for the weekend. I got to hang out with Mike Powrozek (a co-worker of mine). We toured the city on Saturday and then found a Canadian Bar that was showing the Michigan State Quarter Final Game (which they won). It was tough rooting for the Spartys.

Concordia Field Day

The kids had field day at school early this year since they are tearing up the field due to the new school construction. Both Elizabeth and Alex participated and had fun. There was a 50m race and Alex did a great job running the whole way. Elizabeth of course did too.

Book Charater Parade

Concordia celebrated book week this past week. They had many activities to get kids interested in books and reading in general. The week ended with a book character parade. This year, Elizabeth was one of the Seven Chinese Sisters. Alex was one of the monkeys that jump on the bed and fall off. The kids love this event!

Elizabeth's Class Field Trip to Science & Technology Museum

The theme that Elizabeth's class was studying recently was the earth. They learned all about the earth's crust and fossils and volcanoes, and earthquakes. To put some more sense to the teaching the kindergarten class took a small field trip to the Science and Technology Museum.

This is a really nice museum with many exhibits and many of them are interactive. The classes were able to see a volcano go off and were able to experience what it would be like to be in an earthquake. That was pretty scary and made me think a lot of last year's earthquake in Sichuan and how the children there must have felt.

After that, they had some time to play in the children's area. Here there are different exhibits demonstrating concepts such as heart rate, physics, and oscillation. They had fun and the parents liked it also because it was only a half day field trip!

Alex's New Bike

We were going to wait until his birthday to buy a bike for Alex. He has been trying them out in Decathlon for a while now. It was really sunny this day and he and I rode up to Decathlon to try to find some shin guards for Elizabeth. He was trying the bikes out again and was having so much fun. So....spur of the moment purchase and he was off and riding! He loves it and is really good at it.

Elizabeth's Birthday

The big day finally came. Elizabeth was so excited for her birthday. She woke up to find her presents right outside her door. Alex was more excited for her to open them than she was since he helped buy one.

She got a scooter from Daddy and Alex, an armoire for Emily and Ivy's clothes, and a jewelry box. She also got an American girl hairset from Gigi, and a dress and book form Grammy.

She rode the scooter that afternoon and fell once, but it only left a small mark on her face! She's getting really good at riding it.

She is already talking about turning 7.

Daddy Daughter Dance

The Girls Scouts had a Daddy/Daughter dance on the night before Elizabeth's birthday party. She was so excited about it. The theme was a masquerade ball. It was held at the Thumb Plaza Radisson. From the pictures, it looks like all the girls looked beautiful.

In the afternoon, she went to the salon to get her hair done. On the way, she ran full force into the arm of the apartment entrance parking lot. She hit her forehead dead on and it knocked her right on her bootie and even her shoes flew off. I was so scared! She put on a good show for everyone at the salon, but after she had her hair washed, she was better. And luckily, there was no mark!

Elizabeth and Daddy had a lot of fun and both of them danced all night. She didn't want to leave the party. Sounds just like her mom.

Elizabeth's 6th Birthday Party

Elizabeth turned 6 on March 8. She has been looking forward to turning 6 for a long time.....365 days to be exact.

I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted and she said "Camp Rock". For those of you who do not frequently watch Disney movies, this is a movie with Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers in it. The main character is Mitchie who is a singer who goes to a music camp for the summer.

She gave me the list of all the girls she wanted to invite. With her classmates and her other friends, it totalled 17. No way I could do that in my house. So I decided to host the party at a new salon behind our house and have the girls get their toes and nails done. This also worked out good because the next night was the Daddy/Daughter dance and most of them would be attending so they would be all ready for that (nails and toes wise).

Kirk looked up birthday cakes on line and decided that we should make a guitar for her birthday cake. Then he conveniently schedules a trip to Chongqing the night before the party so I am on my own. I bravely made a guitar shaped cake, fondant, and butter cream icing. Man is it nice to bake when you have a housekeeper to clean up after you! Kirk came home and we did the decorating portion together.

You can see all the girls were properly pampered and really enjoyed themselves. Elizabeth loved being around all of her friends. She really was looking forward to the day. The salon did a great job decorating it and accomodating all the girls. They even braided and sprayed their hair colors.

She really wanted Alex to come to the party. And he had to dress up like a rock star and wear jeans she said. He came, but lasted about 30 minutes and then the ayi took him home. She requested that Kirk come dressed as Joe Jonas. She told him he had to wear jeans and a skinny tie. Of course he complied.

We had New York Pizza delivered and the girls all loved that. They also ate fruit and then of course they were served birthday cake. She got lots of nice gifts from her friends but she was most happy that they were there. I think she had fun.

Elizabeth Loses Second Tooth

Elizabeth now has a perfect hole for her straw to fit through.

Elizabeth Loses First Tooth

After wiggling her tooth for many weeks it finally came loose! Kirk helped a little to get the little tooth to come out. She was very excited. Kath read the Tooth Fairy book to her and she could hardly sleep. She woke up at 2:30am to find $1 under her table. Of course she had to come in and tell us.

Elizabeth's good friend Orla also lost the same tooth on the same day. They are both in the picture above.

Harbin Trip

To watch video in High Quality double click video and select High Quality


Julie Romanski invited us to join their family on a trip to Harbin. Harbin is in the Northeast of China. To describe it accurately??? It is REAAALLLY cold there. The city is famous for their Ice festival. They build a small city completely of ice. It is an amazing site on the internet. This is one of those places everyone says you have to see while in China.

So we flew up on Valentine's Day. Another family joined us, Deanna and her son Andrew Smith. It is a 2 1/2 hour flight from Pudong. We arrived at the airport around 11 am and we were met by our tour guide, Susan. Susan led us out to our van which was actually a tour bus. There must have been 35 seats on that bus for our party of 10.

From the airport, we went straight to lunch at the Dumpling King. Dumplings, or Jiaozi, or as Americans would call Pot stickers are very popular in North China. They brought out about 10 plates of dumplings as well as other special dishes from the area. Harbin also has it's own brand of beer - Harbin Beer. They are famous drinkers in Harbin. Probably due to the influence of Russia which is not far away. Of course, our kids didn't eat much, but the rest of them did.

After lunch, we boarded the bus to our hotel, the Shangri-la. Here we were able to nap for an hour before getting bundled up to spend the evening at the Ice Festival. We all looked like stuffed sausages by the time we had everything on. I think there must have been about 5 layers on.

We started our cold tour at Century Avenue which is Harbin's version of Nanjing Rd, basically a pedestrian shopping street. There was a lot of Russian influence here. We stopped into a store and Kirk tried on a hat. He decided against it.

We got back on the bus and drove to the Ice and Snow World. Okay, this was really amazing. We got there while the sun was just starting to set. You can see the pictures. We all went down the ice slides. The kids had a blast doing this. They just kept wanting to go back for more. We finally drug them away to go see some of the other buildings as the lights were coming on now. Alex wanted to eat the snow. I had to explain that this is not Michigan snow and you can only eat Michigan snow at Bumpa and Gigi's.

We all stayed warm for the most part thanks to Julie's good thinking and bringing heat warmers. Elizabeth needed hand warmers by the end of the night. We were able to take a horse and sleigh ride before we got back on the bus to go to dinner.

Dinner was gross. That's all I have to say about that. Don't go to St. Petersberg Cafe in Harbin. It was just slop in my opinion.

By this time, we were all exhausted and went back to the hotel. The kids and I passed out and Kirk and Romo went to the Ice Bar in the hotel.

The next day we went to Sun Island to see the snow sculptures. I can't say a lot about this. It was very windy and cold and Elizabeth wasn't feeling good so the kids and I turned around while walking and went back to the bus. Kirk got some great pics and I'm sad that we didn't see most of it.

From here we went to lunch and then to the Siberian Tiger park. The kids loved this. We got on a bus and drove around the park and had great close ups of Tigers and Lions. They even saw a Liger. A cross between a Tiger and a Lion....only in China.

It was a quick trip, but we did manage to see a lot. Hope you enjoy the video and pics.

In the pictures you will see an "Ice Swimming Pool". Click on the link below to see a video and article about this activity in Harbin. These people are crazy.

CCTV Link on Ice Swimming in Habin

Below are links to a National Geographic Show About Harbin called "Inside Ice Vegas" each one below is about 8 minutes.

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 1

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 2

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 3

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 4

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 5

Harbin Ice Vegas Part 6

Shanghai Wild Animal Park

I (Kirk) was able to take some time off work to go with Elizabeth and her class on their field trip to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. First stop was the Seal show where we saw the seals did a lot of interesting tricks. Next they got back on the bus and drove through the wild animal section. There were giraffes, camels, lions, bears, tigers (including white siberian tigers) and deer. There was an interesting sign as we drove through that said if our car/bus broke down during the trip we should whistle until help arrives (see the pictures). This was comforting. We were able to eat lunch with Elizabeth's best friend Chrystal and her mom. After lunch we got to see the pandas and we were able to feed the Lemurs. They were pretty crazy (see the video). They climbed all over people. Elizabeth got to pick out something from the gift shop afterwards. She picked out a small white tiger and called her "Miley" after her new favorite singer. We both had a great day.

Lantern Festival at Yu Garden

We made it to the Lantern Festival this year. It is really something to see. We picked a good night as it was pretty warm, but there were lots of people who also had the same idea. Afterwards we went to a new Tex-Mex Restaurant called Cantina Agave. It was very good. We are finally starting to get a couple of good Mexican restaurants in town. This was the last day of the Chinese New Year Holiday so it was back to the grind for us all on Monday.

Shanghai Aquarium & Science Museum

During the Chinese New Year Holiday we were able to make visits to the Shanghai Aquarium and Science Museum. We were suprised to find the Aquarium empty and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Alex and Elizabeth were both excited to see the Sharks, StingRays and Jellyfish.

We weren't so lucky at the Science Museum where there were a lot of people. Alex got to play in the construction area where he wouldn't share his wheelbarrow with any of the other children. We also saw a 3D IMAX movie about Dinosaurs. It was in Chinese, but the kids still loved it.

Xin Nian Kuai Le! 新年快樂! Happy Year of the Ox

Happy Chinese New Year! Xin (Sheen) Nian (Nee ann) Kuai (Kwhy) Le (la). 新年快樂!

Kirk needs to post the videos and pictures of the fireworks.

It is the year of the Ox.

The Ox is thought to be the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. The Ox is a power sign, like the Rat, Snake, Dragon, Tiger, and Monkey. They're quite dependable and possess an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.

Ox people, according to tradition, need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise. An Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever they do, though they have a tremendous imagination and an unparalleled appreciation for beauty. These people speak little but are extremely intelligent. When necessary, they are articulate and eloquent.

Traditionally, people born under the influence of the Ox are thought to be kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families. Strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, the majority are highly intelligent individuals who don't take kindly to being told what to do.

The Ox, it is thought, works hard, patiently, and methodically, with original intelligence and reflective thought. These people enjoy helping others. Behind this tenacious, laboring, and self-sacrificing exterior lies an active mind.

The Ox, according to tradition, is not extravagant, and a modern interpretation of this is that the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.

Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome in small gatherings because of their humble composure and reverent nature towards the host. They are reputed to be the most beautiful of face in the zodiac. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. People born in the year of the Ox make wonderful parents and teachers of children.

It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them.

President Obama is an Ox. I also think Bumpa is an Ox.

Lunch at the Liu's home

Normally we are traveling during holidays and out of Shanghai. This year, because of the uncertainty with the economy, we decided to not travel during this vacation period to save money. Our driver, Mr. Liu asked us over to his house for dinner on Chinese New Year day.

He lives in Puxi, near the Yangpu Bridge. He shares a penthouse apartment with his wife, his daughter Candy, and his wife's parents. They were very gracious hosts and had all of Kirk's and the kid's favorites to drink - diet coke and soy milk boxes.

Liu and his mother in law are the chef's in the house. I think they must have spent most of the morning cooking because when we arrived, there was already a ton of food on the table.

Sharing a meal together is very important in the Chinese culture. This was our first time at a local Chinese person's house for a meal. For Liu to invite us, was a big deal for all of us collectively. Our children didn't surprise us, they barely ate anything. I wish I knew what genes they inherited as both Kirk and I truly enjoy food and the act of eating it. I really hope that Liu's family didn't think too poorly of us because our children didn't eat well.

Kirk and I did a pretty good job chipping away at the food. There were at least 20 different dishes on the table. Maybe 6 cold meat dishes, 2 soups, 3 vegetables, 2 different types of Jiaozi (dumplings), and 7 different meat dishes - pork and beef.

Liu's wife is expecting a baby in March. I'm sure they are hoping it is a boy since they already have a daughter. We will go back to his house then to take presents and meet the new baby.

Fireworks with the Young's and our buildings lit up and the fireworks

We got a call from Kim Young on Chinese New Year's Eve. The girls and she pestered Jeff enough to go to Metro and buy some fireworks. Since it was late, he was only able to purchase big ones. We went down to their building and watched him light them off. Orla and Elizabeth played with sparklers that a local family gave them. A lot of families were lighting off fireworks around 8pm so that the little kids could see them.

After the fireworks were done, Alex, Elizabeth, Kirk and I went for a walk. It was a little chilly, but there was no wind so it wasn't bad. We walked across the street to the entrance of Century Park and took pictures of our buildings with the blue lights up top. They look really cool all lit up.

It was eerily quiet on the street. We saw maybe 3 cars go by and no pedestrians at all. It was a great calmness that allowed us to just take in the sights with no distractions. It actually would have been a good night for a run around the park.

We got home and had dinner. The fireworks continued all through the night. The kids went to sleep, they couldn't make it until midnight. When midnight came, the city lit up. There were truly spectacular fireworks being shot off. It's nothing coordinated like the October holiday fireworks. But to see all the different shows all across the city is magnificent. I think we have one of the best viewing sites in the city and am glad that we live where we do in Shanghai.

This night of the year I will always miss once we move on. I can't imagine there is anything else like it anywhere else.

Pictures & Video from Visit Home

Video of Trip Home

Roessler Christmas Pictures


Dufon Christmas Pictures


Florida Pictures


These go along with earlier posting on Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all following our Blog. Timing didn't work out so well for me to send out Christmas cards, I apologize to all for that. This year, Christmas creeped up on me pretty fast.

After we returned home from summer in the US in September, I really didn't want to deal with the 14 hour flight and jetlag again at Christmas, so I initially told Kirk that we should holiday somewhere and not go to US. However, I think many of our family would have a broken heart, including me, if we weren't together during the holidays.

So we traveled back to Michigan on Dec 19. We spent time with Kirk's family at his brother's house first. Alex was so excited to go to "Ethan's" house. He was really excited to go play with all of Ethan's toys mostly. Elizabeth, Alex, Ethan, and Nolan all play together really well.

Kirk and I were able to catch up with our college friends on my birthday. It was great to see all of them, but sad because we didn't see the kids. The weather that day/night was horrible. The weather in general while we were in Michigan was crazy. Tons of snow, then it would melt, then snow all over again in a matter of days.

The kids got nice presents from Santa and were really excited to play with them. Kevin and Chrystal got Guitar Hero for Wii and Kirk and Kevin had fun playing with that.

After Christmas, we drove upnorth to the farm. That is where we got the unexpected happy news that Steve and Kim would be driving over from Minnesota. This was a week of lots of snow, rain, fog, more snow....again crazy weather. Elizabeth got to build a snowman the day we got there, but then he melted the next day. The new snow was too dry to build a snowman with.

The kids had fun snowmobiling and playing with all of their cousins. We went bowling one day. Everyone bowled and Bumpa and Gigi turned it on and both broke 200. By the end, the kids, especially Olivia and Natalie were exhausted. Alex even began throwing the ball by himself.

Another day we went ice skating. Elizabeth took off by herself pretty quickly and enjoyed it. Alex and Olivia both tried out skating, but didn't really like it. Ali, Sarah, and Anna are all really good skaters.

There were many poker games, including an only Dufon game one night as the in laws stayed at Sue and Collin's house.

On New Year's Day, we traveled to Florida for a visit with Kirk's parents. It is sunny and warm here right now. This is the place to be when Michigan is frigid.

We'll head back to Shanghai on the 8th and arrive on the 9th. Back home with added lbs from all the great food we've eaten.

Kirk will post pictures later.

Hope you all had great holidays and are healthy and safe in the new year!

School Christmas Parties

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.