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Lili, Eleri’s best freind, was over for a sleepover. Now that Lili and Elle are no longer in the same school, we are making special play dates for these two peas in a pod. They have so much fun together. Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 206 user reviews.
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Emersyn wanted to take an old camera with her to Avery’s birthday party. I downloaded the photos on the camera to find these old skyline photos. Amazing how quickly the skyline changes in Shanghai. This old skyline photo show the World Financial Building (WFC) when it was almost done. Notice the green patch of grass to the left. The grass patch was a driving range when we first moved to Shanghai. The patch of grass is now under construction. It will be the tallest building in Shanghai when it is completed. This old skyline photo at dusk. This was when the Pearl Tower was in full view. Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 224 user reviews.
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Emersyn wanted a Sock Monkey. She found a kit at the toy store in Lake Tahoe. She called Aunt Nancy to see if she could spend Saturday afternoon with her making Sock Monkey before we left for Shanghai. Of course, Nancy had the time for Emersyn. Nancy had all the extra material items not included in the kit. They worked all day on Sock Monkey. Emmy was very pleased with her Sock Monkey. Sock Monkey is extra special to her because she enjoys making and sewing with Aunt Nancy. She thought Sock Monkey needed a SF Giants t-shirt after going to the baseball game. The t-shirt is part of the “build-a-bear” clothing accessories, therefore, a little big since Sock Monkey is not a fluffy bear. But, it looks good! Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 160 user reviews.
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We have now been in Asia for 8 years. Our appliances are slowly dying. Soon all our Hong Kong plug appliances will be replaced with China plugs. The only problem is we still can’t bring them home to America with us due to the different voltages – 220V in China, 110V in the US. We had just replaced the toaster oven when the blender died. The after school snack in our house is a smoothy EVERY night. Emmy loves them and they are nothing but healthy – filled with fresh fruit and milk. A blender replacement was VERY important. Jim hopped on his scooter to Babaiban (the Chinese department store). He calls to report the cheapest blender is $150. Hum, I don’t mind buying good quality that will last, but I don’t need it to last! I could get by with a cheap, plastic one. However, with no options, our new blender has “more power” with a beautiful glass container. Of course, all the instructions and buttons are in Chinese. Good thing it only has a few buttons and we only care about the on/off and more speed! My smoothies do have one frozen fruit – frozen strawberries at 78rmb/$12 for one small bag! My smoothies might be equal in cost with Jumba Juice, but they are healthier! Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 262 user reviews.
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Emersyn’s best friend, Kate, is back in Shanghai for the week. The family came to see old friends and the World Expo. Kate and her sister, Sara, are staying with different friends throughout the week. The parents, Mary and Tim, will stay at the Jinmao Hyatt Hotel, near us. Kate’s Mom had the task of scheduling the girls with her their friends. We got Kate on Saturday and Sunday night which we were thrilled. Kate is such a delight and it seemed liked old times having her at the house. Kate grew in the past two years as she is now much taller than Emmy. The girls had fun playing all day Saturday. They played with the American Girls, wii and I took them to the pool. On Saturday night, we had a deck party for all of Mary’s old Shanghai friends. We had a house full of young girls and a deck full of parents. It was a beautiful, but a bit humid, night in Shanghai. On Sunday, the girls continued their play along with pool time. I think we sent Kate home very tired on Monday morning. We enjoyed the time we were able to spend with old friends. Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 207 user reviews.
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For the first time, both girls are going to the same school – Concordia American International School. There were many family discussions about moving Eleri from Dulwich, a British school. Elle wanted to stay with her best friend, Lili. In the end, it made sense to move her this year to Concordia, as she missed too much school in the past. It will be so nice to have them both on the same holiday schedules and riding the same bus. Eleri is a first grader in the Elementary School building. She has a very lovely teacher, Ms Shepard. She seems to be adjusting fine, but missing Dulwich. Dulwich is familiar to her and she reported they have a better playground (which is true). I guess at her age the playground is very important!! Elle is cute in her uniform. When we were picking up the uniforms, I asked Kelly and Emmy to take Elle to the bathroom to try on the skirt. They all came back to tell me it fits. Perfect, so I washed them. On Thursday morning when she came out with her uniform on, her skirt was hanging below her knees. It wouldn’t be a problem if it was a skort, but it is a skirt. She can’t bend her knees as the skirt is in the way. I may have to buy her a smaller size, but she is not complaining!! Emersyn is now at the Middle School building as a 5th grader. She has a very nice teacher, Ms. Torgenson. Emmy is so excited for middle school because they do so many fun things. Emmy and her friends have reported the first two days of middle school were “awesomeâ€. She is playing the saxophone in band and is excited to get started. She has drama this semester on off-band days. After the first day of drama, she reported back it was “great”!! In addition, she is allowed to wear tan shorts so she seems so much older in her middle/high school uniform option. She has more choices for food in the middle/high school cafeteria – life is good except the homework which will be coming soon. Middle school was never this fun for me! They have a 5th grade trip coming up in October. Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 242 user reviews.
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It’s Eleri’s birthday and we are off to the SF Giants baseball game. For her 4th birthday, we were at the Beijing Olympics. She has all the fun birthdays! This adventure day included the Lyon four, Terri & Andy and Mimi & Papa. We drove to Palo Alto and took the Caltrain to the City. The ball parks has both of the public transportations arriving near it, Caltrains and Bart. However, it was not cheap for all of us to take the train, it cost $68 with senior and children discounts. The forecast was for fog and cool weather. It has been a cool summer in California of 65F in the mornings and evenings with a high of 80-85F. I MADE Elle wear jeans, which she hates. Everyone took their Shanghai fleece for a summer ball game in San Francisco. The weather was beautiful with no fog, no clouds and a blue sky. I did get the “MOM” look for dressing everyone for winter. The girls have never been to a baseball game. The relatively new Giants stadium (opened in 2000) is wonderful. It is on the waterfront in the China Basin in the neighborhoods of South Beach and Mission Bay. This park has it all. It has the old feel of a brick built stadium with more than anyone would expect in a ball park. As we walked to our seats, the promenade is along the water with a beautiful view of the Bay. We could see all the rafters/kayakers waiting to catch a home run ball. Birthday ticket documenting the fun of another birthday. The stadium has all kinds of activities to entertain the small non-baseball fan. The coke slide was a favorite hang-out for Eleri. The coke bottle has four slides – two guzzlers (56ft) and two twist-off (20ft) slides. Elle was tall enough for the guzzler. From the platforms of the coke slide, you can see the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge and downtown. There is also a little league sports field, Coca-Cola Fan Lot. It is a 50×50 replicate of the stadium. The children bat with a plastic bat and a plastic baseball (a whiffle ball). After hitting, they would run around the bases. When Elle hit the ball the first time, Jim was surprised as Elle has never played softball. Elle’s reply to Jim, “Dad, I play cricket at school”. Oh, but of course!! As you can see, I saw about 10 minutes of the game. Jim had said they have standing only tickets for cheaper…that is what I need next time. Emmy enjoyed watching the game with Jim and Andy along with Mimi and Papa. Aunt Terri played with Elle and me. There was a grand slam I missed along with Jim and Emmy making the big screen dancing at the 7th ending stretch song. The only thing Emmy really wanted to get at the game was the foam finger. The girls had fun with their form fingers. Aunt Terri bought Emmy a SF Giants baseball and Elle a small bat – both picked them out. The gang minus Andy, the photographer. On the walk to the train station, Elle was more than pleased to get a ride from Jim. The birthday girl at the train station with her birthday date on the platform information sign. Next stop of the birthday adventure was Paxti’s pizza in Palo Alto – last time before leaving tomorrow for Shanghai. Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 246 user reviews.
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Each summer, we celebrate both of the girls’ birthdays with the family. It is always close to Eleri’s birthday which is close to the time we leave after our summer holidays at home. It is always a nice family gathering to celebrate the summer, the birthdays and family. It was extra special to enjoy our celebration with old friends, the Litt family. Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 272 user reviews.
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As a 5th grader, Emersyn is part of the middle school. She is loving everything about Middle School at Concordia. The students have a choice of band, strings or choir for first period. Emersyn decided on band. She listed her three choices for an instrument at the end of the school year of 4th grade. The band teacher meets with the kids to help them decided on the instrument and to put together a band that is not all one instrument. There were 12 students wanting to do the flute…must be because it is small and light. Emeryn’s three choices were the flute, the clarinet and the saxophone. She was assigned the saxophone which she was excited about. Before we left for the summer, we got the cost of instruments in Shanghai. The saxophone cost from $1, 100 to 1, 800 in China. Hum, not a cheap instrument! We decided we should go saxophone shopping in America, also. Our first stop was our last stop in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The music store first showed us a slight used instrument for $1, 295. Emersyn was not too thrilled with the scratches on the instrument. The same instrument new was $1, 395…a $100 for no scratches. The sales person also informed me this was the beginners saxophone and she would need to upgrade the instrument for high school…REALLY!! Then, she pulled out one more instrument from the back that she forgot about. She asked her husband if Emmy could play this one as a beginner since it was not the student model. He said, “yes”. He had purchased these saxophones at a close-out sale, therefore, he was passing the savings onto the buyers. We got Emersyn’s advance saxophone for $1, 495. The retail price was $3, 000. Ok, I felt happy with my bargain and best of all I wouldn’t have to upgrade later! Emmy was thrilled with her new, shiny saxophone. It is a beautiful instrument. SInce Emmy’s new saxophone is too long to fit as carry-on luggage, it takes up the whole suite case. Now, I was a suite case short for going back to California. It will be taking up valuable space when we fly to Shanghai since we take so much food back with us. When our Colorado friends came to visit, Makayla played the saxophone. She is also in the jazz band at her high school. She showed Emmy how to put it together, how to play it and the scale. Emmy played the scale and learned the notes. Then, she played “Mary had a little lamb” from remembering the notes from piano. She is going to have a blast in band! Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 208 user reviews.
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Old friends from California were coming back to the Bay Area for a visit. Julie and Barry moved to Colorado 10 years ago. We still see Barry on business trips to California. We have been to Colorado a few times to see them when we are in Nebraska. The last time we saw the whole family was 5 years ago. We went for Julie’s 40th birthday party Barry had organized. Good thing Julie has a summer birthday since it is about a three hour drive from Grandma & Grandpa’s home in Nebraska. Amazing how much a child changes in 5 years. Koen went from a ten year-old boy to an almost 16 year-old teenager. Makayla is no longer a little girl at almost 14 years old and standing at 5’9. Both kids are athletic, musical and straight A students! I was beyond impressed with these two teenagers. They sat around talking and laughing with the adults. Then, they would go out and run around for 2 hours with all the young children leading them in games. If only all teenagers could be like them…I hope mine noticed all their good qualities. Barry and Julie look the same, of course. We had a Friday night get together for the old gang that was in town. Many of the old gang were on vacation before school started. It was fun to reconnect with old friends. Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 199 user reviews.
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