A Day at the Soccer Field

Caroline is playing soccer this fall and last Saturday was the first "real" game. Alot of the things are the same as they were back home...parents and siblings line the side lines, all the players clump around the ball and kick each other's shins, etc.

But then there are some differences, such as catered burgers and hot dogs...not too bad!

And of course Benny was a big hit with the girls...

More Trip Pics...

Kayaking on the lake...

Old shrine on the way up the mountian.

Really cool statues inside the cave...

All these animals were made with tiny shells from the lake!!

5th Grade Trip

Sydney just returned from a 3 day trip with her class to NanBeihu (nawn bay who) which is a 3 hour bus ride to the South-SW of Shanghai...hats off and a big thanks to the teachers and chaperones who went with the near 100 5th graders!!

The purpose of the trip is to challenge the students in ways that would not be possible in the classroom both individually and in teams. Some of the activities are repelling, walking a high wire, rock climbing, "Leap of Faith" from a small platform to a trapeze and kayaking.

Sydney had a great time and would love to do it all over again! Everything wasn't easy and several of the challenges were down right scary, but she participated in them all and learned that she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her.

Below are some pictures she took with her comments...



My friends and me on the bus!



That's me in the orange. When the other girl and I almost reached the end we bounced up and down. It was wobbly!




I made it to the top!

Morning Ride

Now that we're settled in, we are starting to explore our surroundings a little more. We found that it doesn't take long to get outside of the ex-pat "bubble". The other day we took a ride along a canal that is just behind our neighbor hood, within minutes we were riding through countryside and fishing villages.

Get your fresh bananas, grapes and chickens!

One of several modes of transportation...

These 3-wheel bikes are all over...

Quite a contrast, you can barely see the tallest building in China in the background on the left, with the rubble of an old factory that was torn down to make room for new construction in front.

A brother for Max

Most of you know we decided to have Max, our beagle, stay with my dad while we are in China. We were having a hard time finding an airline to transport him and he would have had to be quarantined upon arrival. So for now he is living the good life chasing cows on the farm! When we got here we soon realized how much we missed him and having a pet (Caroline, especially!) So we decided to " just go and look" at puppies. Well, meet Benny! We did everything wrong-you are told not to buy pets at the local pet stores-they aren't always healthy-and he did have a few problems at first but I am glad to report he is healthy now and a great addition to the family! He is a Yorkshire Terrier and only weighs 4 lbs but he doesn't seem to know that!

It Must Be Crab Season?!

Well, this morning our driver, "Joe" rang the door bell and had a bucket of fresh and snapping hairy leg crabs. He doesn't speak any English and we do not speak any Chinese, so it was an interesting charades session of how to cook and eat them!

Sarah Jane Lost Her First Tooth!

Sarah Jane lost her first tooth! She was quite excited! She got 30 bucks for it, well actually 30 RMB, which is about 4 dollars.

Boompa's Visit

We just completed a wonderful visit with Boompa-Samantha's daddy. He was able to come and stay with us for about a month. We really enjoyed his visit and tried to convince him to stay longer. I don't know why he would want to go home?! It was really neat to have him here for so long, he was really able to be apart of our daily lives. Here are some of the highlights.

"Born to Ride" - Boompa bought an electric bicycle to get around!

Beautiful day in Zhujiajiao, a nearby "water town"

A great Chinese dinner on the Bund

Settling in Shangahi

Hello Everyone!Well we made it! We arrived in Shanghai at the beginning of August and have settled in pretty well. The girls started school the 1st of September and are adjusting well to their new surroundings. Our sea and air shipments arrived with a few broken legs, some broken glass, and a few missing parts but it is so nice to have our own stuff, even with the bumps and bruises.It is amazing how a huge city of 17 million people can seem so small. We live in an area called Jinqiao which has a large expat community with one main grocery store, a few schools, two churches, soccer fields, etc. so you keep running into the same people everywhere you go on a daily basis. It is kinda crazy!We are sorry we haven't written sooner and hope that we will do a better job from now on. It just seems like it takes a little longer to do the normal things here. For instance, going to the grocery store is the major event of the day. The best analogy I can come up with is that it is like walking (nothing new, stuff you have always done) but now you are walking uphill. It just takes a little more effort and you are tired when you get done. Since we have been here we have all passed around a virus with a high fever and two rounds of lice! Yes, lice! Nothing like washing all of your new bedding in a washing machine the size of a gerbil's wheel! It has been fun! We had to find a pharmacy because they don't sell lice shampoo at the grocery store-nothing like playing charades with the little man behind the counter, acting out lice-we got a few other things before we finally got the correct shampoo. We think it must work, well at least we know that it takes the skin off your fingers when you use it! Oh well, hopefully we are done with that.We feel very blessed to have this opportunity to live here and experience the Asian culture. It is great. We love you all and pray that you are doing well. We truly miss you! And look forward to hearing from you.love,Dan, Samantha, Sydney, Caroline & Sarah Jane