The Concordia School trip for 7th graders is to Beijing. There are about 90 students in the 7th grader which were divided into two groups. Group 1 will visit the countryside to the City. Group 2 will see the City before adventuring to the countryside. Emersyn is in group 2 starting in the City.

Sunday, September 23: Travel to the City

Luckily, Sean is in Group 2, also. Jennifer’s drive took them to school at 5:30am. They had to be at Concordia at 6am to begin the adventure. Group 1 was not leaving school until 8am. Emersyn packed her pink suitcase, which she now dislikes the color pink. However, this pink suitcase from Pottery Barn Kids is just the right size AND she can find it easily.

Once they arrived in Beijing, the students walked around Tiananmen Square.

Lunch was a typical large Chinese restaurant which is never good.

After lunch, the Group went to the Urban Planning Museum in Beijing. We have one in Shanghai, also – but, we haven’t been.

For the first time, the children were able to pick their roommates. The idea of the trip is to make new friends. Therefore, in the past, they were assigned a roommate. I think the new metod is much better – it is always nice to come back to a room to someone you know. Emersyn roommate for the trip was Elyssa. The small groups during the day are randomly assigned to make new friends. Emersyn has about 9 students in her smaller group. However, on this trip Emersyn had said most activities were done with the large group. Luck was on Emersyn’s side as Group 2 included most of her friends.

Michelle

Kennedy & Ruth

Kaitlyn

Concordia chose a different hotel this year from past years. The hotel in the past has been located in the center of Beijing which required long bus rides for the children. The school found a hotel near more of the activities of the trip. The school did comment it was hard to find a hotel that would take 100+ people. Also, the school has a goal to get the children all on a floor together without other guests. Emersyn reported the hotel wasn’t very nice!

Dinner was a Brazilian Barbecue which Emersyn was looking forward to some good bbq meats. But, this is China and it wasn’t good! Good thing I sent her with a suite case filled with gold fish, homemade chocolate chip cookies and z-bars!

Monday, September 24: Jiaozi making, Hutongs and Hunts

The day started with a walk in Ditan Park.

The park was filled with the usual Chinese activities for the morning.

Exercise…

Fan dancing….

And character water writing…

Students tried their culinary skills at “The Hutong, ” learning to make jiaozi (dumplings)and learning about cooking using the Yin and Yang method of choosing and preparing foods in a friendly “Hutong Master Chef” contest. They enjoyed their homemade jiaozi for lunch. Emersyn report they were very good. Our ayi makes jiaozi once a week. Emersyn loves jiaozi night. Eleri loves to help ayi make jiaozi, but she doesn’t like to eat them…she doesn’t know what she is missing.

After lunch was a Hutong Scavenger Hunt “Amazing Race” Activity and Hutong Preservation Society Presentation and Workshop.

Daniela, Kaitlyn, Amanda & Emersyn

Tuesday, September 25: Countryside

The morning began with a bus ride to the countryside for one and half hours. The trips are no electronics allowed which is perfect for this tech-aged kids.

Josie

Once they arrived, the first activity was rock climbing. Emersyn has been rock climbing at our adventure Thanksgiving for the past three years so this was easy for her. The group was divided into two groups. Emersyn was in Group A which did the climbing activity. After Emersyn finished with the activity, the skies open up and pour rain. The students in Group B did not get a turn on this activity.

The group traveled to a farming area with the intention of working with them in the fields harvesting corn and undertaking other farming duties. Unfortunately, quite strong and persistent rainfall meant that this was not possible. Therefore, the students squeezed indoors for a mini-olympics activity in groups including limbo, planking, endurance tests, wall sits, stork standing, flexibility tests and talent. Since Emersyn was not able to do all the physical activity, she took on the talent part for her group. She sang part of a song.

At the end of the day, the group loaded into the buses for travel to the Hotel located near the Wall. It was a stormy night so everyone was hoping for sunshine tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 26: IWNC and the Great Wall

After a raining afternoon yesterday, the skies were blue and clear with temperatures around 80f for the walk on the Wall. The students hiked on the Great Wall to Jinshanling for 8km (5 miles) for about 3 hours. Emersyn took the one short cut with a few other kids. She came out of her surgery boot last week. After 6 weeks in the surgery boot, her leg muscles are weak. She must now build the muscle back in her leg. This week of walking is a good start. The teachers were very supportive of Emersyn with her ankle on this trip.

At the end of the walk, the children repelled down the wall. Emersyn said it was very easy…especially since she has been rock climbing and repelling for the past three years.

The students are staying at the IWNC (I will Not Complain) Center. It is located in the country near the Wall. Most of the children chose to sleep in tents in the court yard. Emersyn shared a tent with Josie, Taylor, Ruth and Elyssa. She said this was a fun place and with the best food on the whole trip. For dinner, a choice of spicy meats. Some of her friends thought it was too spicy, but Emersyn loved it.

Thursday, September 27: Team Building and Travel Home

The team building activities were completed in the morning. Buses to Pinnacle Plaza for lunch and a small shop before boarding planes to Shanghai. The children were to arrive back to Shanghai at 7pm. I had a literacy night for ES students so the timing would be perfect. But, this is China and the flights were delayed. I went home after the literacy night and sent Mr. Nie back to Jinqiao to wait for Emersyn and Sean. They arrived home at midnight.

The students had another fun adventure together. They came home dirty, tired and full of stories.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 282 user reviews.

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We generally have a deck party at the end of the school year in May. Since May is crazy with school year-end, we moved our party to September – a much better time. We have this amazing deck that is fun to share with our friends.

The bar is set up in the corner.

Our main table is for the food. Everyone brings something different for such an interesting tasting night.

Our round table is falling apart, but Jim taped a few pieces together to have space for food. When everyone brings food, it always seems like more food than we would eat in one night. However, at the end of the night, it is all gone.

The view at night.

The girls had fun getting everything ready for the party. We had candles throughout the house.

Candles down the hallway to give it just the right look.

The girls put this candle creation together on the coffee table.

Emersyn had the idea of hanging these candles in the bathroom on the towel bar. It looked fabulous!

This vase is from Vietnam that Jim bought on a business trip. I love the vase and I have to find something very different to put into it. Emersyn said the flowers looked like vegetables!

There are never any photos once the guest arrive. We are always too busy enjoying the night. The party ended after 2am! Another fun night on the deck!

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 166 user reviews.

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We are having a deck party next weekend, therefore, the girls and Jim made a run to the flower market to fill a few empty pots. I think every time we plant flowers on the deck, it is a grey sky day. The photos appear to have a black and white background for the Shanghai skyline.

Once the flowers were planted, it was time to play with the water…

The photos tell the story. Emersyn, Eleri and Roxi were all soaked, laughing and enjoying the afternoon on the deck.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 230 user reviews.

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The first chapel of the school year was presented by Ms Burns 3rd grade class (Eleri’s class) and Ms Pineda 4th grade class. Chapel had a Noah’s Ark theme.

Eleri was all smiles waiting for Chapel to begin.

All the children had one or two lines to share for Chapel. Eleri spoke her line clear and slow, as we always talk about saying it slow.
Eleri’s line: “God’s strong anger against hate and sadness and death would come down once more – but not on his people or his world.

The children sang two songs for Chapel. The first one was a fun one about the Ark.

Chapel ended with everyone all smiles. The children did a great job on the first chapel of the school year.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 216 user reviews.

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The first day of school, already. The girls were excited to get back to school to see their friends. It sure makes it easy when they enjoy school.

Emersyn has Mr. Stone for homeroom. She had Mr. Stone as a co-teacher last year. However, as a big 7th grader this year, she moves classrooms and teachers move. She will have Mr. Stone for three classes. As 7th graders at Concordia, a lap top is required. Emersyn is excited about being in 7th grade. She did begin the school year in her boot and crutches. She will wear the boot for 6 weeks, but can be off the crutches when she is able to walk on her ankle.

Eleri has Ms Burns as her 3rd grade teacher. Emersyn had Ms Burns as a co-teacher in the 4th grade and she seems very nice. Eleri has her buddy, Anna, in her class which made her all smiles.

I buy the girls new uniforms about every other year as they look bad after two years in the China water. I spent 1, 300rmb ($200) on new uniforms, but Eleri doesn’t like the size 8 top…it hangs too long. Since I refuse to buy a size 6 as it is getting small, she will be wearing very faded shirts with her new shorts to school.

it looks to be another fun year at Concordia!

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 256 user reviews.

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August 12 and Eleri’s birthday. Two years ago, we went to the SF Giants game on Eleri’s birthday and again today. The birthday adventure includes Andy and Terri and Mimi and Papa. We all piled into the truck – a 7 seater which was perfect. Andy dropped us off at the gate closest to our seats and then parked the car. It was a warm day when we left for the City. When we got to the stadium, Eleri was shivering with cold.

Our first stop was to buy a new hat for Emersyn. She has been “stealing” or as she says “acquiring” Jim’s SF Giant hat. She decided on a fun one different from Jim’s. I told her she could always “acquire” Dad’s hat when she wanted a traditional style hat. Andy also bought a new hat on his way to the seats.

Emersyn & Andy with their new hats

We are not in our seats very long and Eleri is ready to go play. The first play stop was the cable car. Eleri had fun climbing all over the cable car.

Back to the seats for stadium food. Both girls like the traditional stadium food of hot dogs and nachos. Terri and I went searching for something more…we tried hamburgers that were ok. The fries looked good, but they were cold by the time we reached our seats.

We had seats on the sunny side in the bleachers. We chose these seats as they are the closets to the “kid fun”. The seats were good except we didn’t like having the big screen behind us.

Eleri on her way to the “coke” slide with the Bay Bridge.

I only have a photo of her climbing the stairs as she was down the slide faster than I could walk down the stairs.

The birthday girl with her ticket – August 12. She turned 4 at the Beijing Olympics, 6 and 8 at the SF Giants…I wonder where she will be for 10?

Turning 8

Turning 6

Turning 4

Eleri in line for the t-ball fun. The last time we came to the game on her birthday, it was mid-week. With a Sunday game, the kid fun was more crowded with long lines.

Hitting the ball…

and rounding the bases…

Back to the seats to check in with Emersyn before we ran off again.

…to the cable car, again.

Eleri was pretending to be sleeping, so this young man (who had been drinking) join her in playing dead.

The view from the cable car area. The boats are waiting for a home run ball in the Bay.

We decided we should leave the stadium early as Emersyn would do better to exit without all the people. We stopped to look at the hat booth one more time. As we were looking, Andy and Papa were watching the game. When we told them we were ready, Andy was …”but, but bases are loaded with no outs”. The Giants were down by 2. We watched the last ending on the tv screen near the elevator. A great last ending – the Giants hit a home run to win the game.

A few last photos on our way to the car.

Emersyn had to hop the three blocks to the car. There would be too much traffic for Andy to go and get the car. It was actually very close for SF City standards. She was a little tired by the time we got there, but she is a good hopper!

After enjoying pizza in Palo Alto, we drove home to have ice cream cake with family. Nancy, Jenna and Kathy came over at 7:30 to celebrate the girls birthdays. Ernie was at home babysitting Aaron. The girls had their first Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (the first one they can remember). We did have an ice cream cake for Emersyn when she was little. They had fun finding a cake to share. I like the little ice cream cones around the outside. Each girl picked three flavors for the little ice cream cones.

Ready to eat…

A birthday wish blow…

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 216 user reviews.

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Eleri had her Sock Monkey she purchased in Tahoe to make with Aunt Nancy. We knew it would be a squeeze to get it done before we left. We had spent Saturday in the City. Emersyn wanted a Crumpler bag for her school bag this year. Crumplers are made in Australia. Both Jim and I have one from our trip last Christmas – we both love them. The only store was in downtown San Francisco. We loaded the wheelchair into the car for a day in the City.

We enjoyed a Gott’s hamburger before heading to the shopping district of Union Square. Andy dropped us off and left to find parking. We found the Crumpler bag store in the Mall on the third floor – it took more time finding the elevators for the wheelchair. Emersyn knew what she wanted – the laptop messenger bag. There were three sizes. She decided on the smallest which was a hard decision. It was a bit small, but the next size was really big on her.

We left the City with a temperature of 60f. When we arrived back down the Bay, it was 90f. The girls and I went over to Nancy’s for Sock Monkey making time. We had the pleasure to spend time with Jenna and Aaron. Jenna and Aaron are visiting from Seattle for a couple weeks. Nancy loves the time with her grandson. Jenna is having a baby girl in December.

While Emersyn and I were playing with Jenna and Aaron, Eleri and Nancy were busy sewing. Eleri was the stuffer and Nancy did all the hard sewing. Mimi and Papa came by to see the progress. Ernie ordered pizza for us all to enjoy – a nice evening together.

Sock Monkey in progress with Aunt Nancy.

Eleri’s finished Sock Monkey with an American Girl shirt.

Both girls have a Sock Monkey made with love from Aunt Nancy. Since the Monkey’s are homemade, they each have their own unique look.

The girls lover their Sock Money made with Love!

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 179 user reviews.

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Emersyn I traveled from Colorado back to California. Once we arrived back in California, Emersyn and I had two days to take care of our to-do list before her surgery. We shopped both days checking off the list and enjoyed long lunches at our favorite place, Aqui’s. The days were full, but I enjoyed the time with Emersyn.

Emersyn had to be at the hospital at 5am on Wednesday. The nurses checked her in and prepared her for surgery. She had a 7am surgery time. I was sent to the waiting room to wait. Jim’s Mom, Mimi, came to keep me company during the surgery. Her doctor came around 9:30am to tell me all went well and she could be moved to a room. The hospital has a children’s floor that feels very comfortable. She slept most the morning which was good because when she woke up she was in pain. The surgery performed was cut to her bone cyst in her ankle, scrapped it clean and added bone filler. The bone filler came from her hip. At this point, her hip hurt more than her ankle.

It was a long first day. She was on codeine pain medicine she could take every 4 hours. Food was delivered to the room for the child and one parent…she only has one parent here so that would not be an issue. I didn’t need to leave the hospital room to get food. Movies were available to take from the play room. I think they had every Disney video ever made.

We spent the evening time watching the Olympics. The nurse would be back at 11:30pm for the next check and meds. The Olympics end at midnight West Coast time. By the time we went to bed, it was 1am. Emersyn was up about every 4 hours in pain. It was a long night, but hopefully, we were on the road to recovery!

To be released from the hospital, the physical therapist needed to come to her room to show her how to use crutches. The PT had to sign a release for her to go home. She was on crutches for 5 weeks when she broke her leg so that would not be an issue. However, when the physical therapist came by and she got out of bed for the first time, it was too painful for her to hop with her hip. We now needed to wait for further instructions for release. All the nurses were very nice.

It was after 6pm before we were given the release to go home. Emersyn was still in a lot of pain. Our check-out nurse was extra nice in helping us get her home. I had to go and find the car as I parked it across the hospital for surgery check-in. I had not left the room hospital since we arrived. We got her in my truck, which was not easy, with no seat belt as it hurt too much. Good thing we were not going far.

Once we were home, we had another challenge of getting in the house. I could really use Jim’s muscle power about now. Elizabeth helped me to carry her in as she was not able to walk or hop. She was in pain by the time we got her settled on the sofa…her home for the next 12 days.

Emersyn’s bed for the next week would be the sofa. I slept in the kitchen on a blow-up mattress. The mattress had a slow leak so that by morning I was on the floor.

By the third night, Emersyn was sleeping through the night, finally. I moved upstairs to a real bed. I gave Emersyn the mobile phone. She would call the home phone when she needed something or to go to the bathroom. I had the home phone next to my bed. It was nice having a real bed again! I didn’t mind getting the call at 4am to come downstairs to help her go to the bathroom as I had a real bed to go back to sleep.

Eleri, Terri and Andy came home on Monday evening from Nebraska. Emersyn was beginning to feel better and get to the bathroom on her own – shuffling on Mimi’s walker.

Emersyn had her first lunch out on Wednesday, a week had past and she was ready to see the outside world. We went to lunch at Aqui’s. It was a beautiful day to sit out and enjoy the fresh air.

On Friday, we had Mall errands to check off the list before heading back to Shanghai. Mimi borrowed a wheelchair from a friend. It was perfect for getting around the Mall. With out it, we would had to cut our shopping short as she would have been tired on crutches. We enjoyed a last meal at the Cheesecake Factory.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 192 user reviews.

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Day One: Frontier Days and Concerts

Our Estes Park adventure started with a stop in Cheyenne for Frontier Days. Terri and Andy had purchased tickets for the girls to see Journey. Journey is one of Terri’s favorite bands. Emersyn knows some of their songs because our 80’s music is used for the wii game, Rock Band. This was their first concert. Grandpa, Grandma and I would continue to Estes Park to get settled into our cabin. After enjoying a delicious pizza lunch, we said good-bye to the concert goers. Eleri had said she didn’t want to go, but Terri really wanted her to come so she did.

We checked into our cabin and dumped all our luggage. We had two cars full of luggage as Emersyn and I are leaving from Estes Park to go back to California. We had to cut our Nebraska time by a week to be back for her leg surgery. Grandma and I did the grocery shopping at Safeway. It appears this is the main grocery store in town and it is always packed. We picked up hamburgers to put on the gril for a nice, quiet night in – no kids!

Terri, Andy and the girls arrived around 1am. The report was that Emersyn loved the concert – the fun of being at a concert. Eleri did not. The music was too loud and the ear plugs wouldn’t stay in her little ears. Terri and Andy took turns taking her out and walking around the grounds. Our friends, Julie and Barry, met them at the concert which was a fun way to catch up with old friends.

Day Two: Poppy’s, Shopping and Fishing

Everyone slept in after a late night. We had an early lunch planned to meet classmates of mine, Brenda and Rob. Rob owns Poppy’s on the river. It is our favorite place to eat. He reserved a prime outside seat for us. Rob always takes very good care of us by giving us all kinds of food to try – appetizers and desserts.

Brenda, Rob, Brenda & Terri

After lunch, we did a little shopping and then we went back to the cabin for some fishing. Eleri found her spot out on a rock.

She had her bag of gold fish to eat!

Emersyn and Grandpa joking about the fish that got away.

We had dinner in as we wanted to be done with dinner and cleaned up before the London Olympic Opening Ceremony begun. Hard to believe it was four years ago we were at the Olympics in Beijing. Four years ago, we watched the opening ceremonies from our apartment three blocks from the Olympic Greens.

Beijing Olympics – 2008

The girls have gown in four years…from 4 & 8 to 8 & 12.

Day Three: Rocky Mountain National Park

We drove through the Rock Mountain National Park. Last year when we came into the Park, the snow drifts were taller than us. This year has been a dry year with little snow and rain. We did see some snow caps on the mountains in the distance. We enjoyed the beauty of the Mountains.

We drove past the top and over the Continental Divide to find a lunch spot. We enjoyed lunch at the same spot as last year…but, it looked so different with no snow. After lunch, we walked around the small lake.

We drove back to the top to the visitor’s center. Eleri was the only one who wanted to stop and shop. But, it was Emersyn who found something to buy – this cute owl hat. Eleri had purchased a bear hat last year at the vistor’s center.

I found some cute gloves for the girls for the Shanghai winter.

We drove back to our cabin for more fishing and shopping. The ladies, except Eleri, wanted to go back to a few shops in town and to the grocery store for tonight’s dinner. We are enjoying dinner at the cabin on the bbq. Eleri just wanted to fish as she is not much of a shopper. She and Grandpa had fun fishing.

When Emersyn came home, she took up her fishing chair with her birthday book from Aunt Nancy. Aunt Nancy gave her a 4-book series for her birthday…Emersyn is on book 2.

Emersyn is on a roll for losing sunglasses. She lost her second pair of the summer this day out fishing. Good thing the sunglasses are not expensive and at this rate it is going to a long time before she can own anything but cheap ones. The hardest part of sunglasses for both of the girls is they both have the Lyon big head. Buying sunglasses is a challenge as their heads are big, but they still have little faces.

Day Four: Poppy’s and Good-bye’s

We packed up our gear and loaded the car. We enjoyed breakfast outside on the deck and a slow morning. We were meeting Julie for lunch at Poppy’s at 11:30. Julie is always late so we were not in too much of a hurry. We had a lovely lunch with Julie. She is always a delight. She offered to take Emersyn and I to the airport so Andy could get home faster to South Dakota. My Dad was concerned Eleri would be upset or sad when Emersyn and I left her…but she wasn’t. She kissed us good-bye and skipped off with Grandma, Grandpa and Terri for their car ride back to Nebraska. Since Emersyn’s surgery came up after we booked these tickets, it worked for Eleri to stay in Nebraska another week. She would come home with Terri and Andy.

We moved our four bags to Julie’s car. We had time to go back to Julie and Barry’s house before going to the airport. We had a nice visit and were able to see Koen. He is now 16 with the freedom of his own car and a job to pay for that freedom! I can remember when he was 2!! I enjoyed the time to visit with Julie and catch up on her life.

Emersyn and I got the luggage checked in and grabbed a quick dinner as we were leaving Denver at 6pm. It was a fast flight as we are used to long 13 hour flights. It was another fun, but short summer in Nebraska.

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 based on 209 user reviews.

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My friend, Shelly, says “Fort Robinson is the best kept secret in Nebraska”. She is right. In the past, we have taken 45 minute horse ride trails for $15. The girls love it, but we didn’t make time for it this year. We went to Fort Robins twice to see the musicals at the Post House. The Post House puts on about four musicals a summer. The musicals always have talented actors – many with college students from Florida. The tickets are very reasonable at $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for children.

The first musical was, “A Year with Frog and Toad”. It was a fun outing with my Aunt Edna, Uncle Don, Cousin Gaylene & Russ and their two granddaughters, plus the 6 of us for a total of 12 people! Russ had a friend with a van (more a mimi bus) we could all fit in so we could go together. We enjoyed lunch at the cafe before the show.

We had seen “A year with Frog and Toad” 7 years ago. I remember because Eleri was almost one. We were not sure she would be entertained for the entire show, but she was. Emersyn was 5 at the time. There was a part when Frog asked where the sandwiches were for their picnic lunch. Toad couldn’t remember and Emersyn yelled, “in the basket”. This production was just as fun, but completely different scenes from the last time. The only scene that was the same was the snail with the mail – my favorite part!

We went back one last time to see Oklahoma. It was sold out every weekend so we went on a Wednesday afternoon. Andy join us for this musical.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 285 user reviews.

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