Haircut Time

This week is was high time to get both the boys' hair cut. I took Mason on Monday and forgot to take pictures. Today I took them both back and got Reister's cut. There is an import store near to our house called "Sabrina's" Actually we prefer to go to another one even closer to us called "Summer's" - we are friends with the owner.

Anyway, there is a "babyshop" next door to Sabrina's that has a small hair salon in the back for cutting kids hair. Since they have the fun car-chairs and a mounted TV/DVD player to watch, it's much more enjoyable for my boys than a regular shop. It's about a $1.20 more to go here (altogether the haircut costs a little over $3 ha!) Here's the store front - you can see Reister & Mason in the stroller and a couple that stopped to talk to them. They had just gotten their baby's hair cut.

Here's Reister getting ready to "race" :) Note his long hair! It has been full of sweat lately because of the heat and humidity.

This lady has been the one to cut their hair the last 3 times. He was tuned into the show playing on the TV in front of him.


He even allowed her to wash it after ward - of course I did bribe him with the promise of a sucker if he would (and was good during the cut)

Mason is chesing it up for the camera. He didn't get his cut too short - who could cut off those beautiful curls!

There is a play area behind the chairs and Mason was content to play there while Reister was getting his hair cut.

I thought this view showed off his new 'do and he seems to look older here too. (He will turn 4 September 1st)


I'm thankful for this place that opened up (at least the hair cut part) while we were gone to the states.

Swimming

It has gotten HOT here! Although it's still probably not nearly as hot as Texas, it is very humid and when you walk or ride your bike most places, it feels pretty hot! How do we cool down? By going to the pool! We don't have a pool inside our apartment complex but we found a nice one very close. Today we went as a family. We went last week too, and I took my camera, but forgot to take pictures! Here's Micah with the boys on our bikes. It only takes less than 5 minutes to get there riding our bikes.

The deeper pool is on the right and then there is a shallow kids pool straight behind me.




Reister has gotten very comfortable in the water and will even go under water to get his pool toys. He can't really swim yet, but he's made great progress in just a couple months.


Mason prefers to sit on the side of the pool and play with his toys. He pours water on himself, others or toys. Sometimes he'll let us take him in the pool with us, but really he's not that interested in it. Fortunately the people at this pool don't charge us for Mason. It's $1.20 USD for Reister and almost $2.00 USD per adult.

Brothers

Reister and Mason have been playing really well together lately. Sometimes I don't even think about arranging play dates with others because they are content to play with each other. I think it has a lot to do with Mason maturing, being able to talk and express himself more, and being into the same pretend games and toys that Reister likes. I'm so thankful to have two boys and that they are so close in age.
I'm sorry I haven't been blogging that much lately. We have a very busy month of July due to visitors from the US. It was good, there just wasn't much spare time. Hopefully I can get some more daily life type posts up soon.

Buzz Lightyear !!

Is that a cute Buzz or what?

A new site for photos

Every time I want to upload a photo to this blog, I must resize it and sometimes crop it. And even then I can only upload 5 at a time and it takes a really long time to upload those. Soooooo... I found another way to upload bunches of pics at a time and have a new site you can go to if you want to see lots of pictures at a time from our everyday life.

thewebbsonline.shutterfly.com

I just posted one album from last week with pictures of time spent with my BFF from the shining city who was in town visiting! Also reister with his teachers and friends at VBS which was a treat!

Happy 2nd Birthday MASON!

We celebrated Mason's 2nd birthday with a party at our home this past Saturday morning. We decided to just invite a couple American families and FIVE local families. We don't know any of the local families too well, but we are trying to get to know them, so this seemed a good opportunity! It was a little stressful for me since we had a very busy week last week but it all turned out good. I wasn't very pleased with the cake - I had two failed attempts at making the colored decorative icing and ended up sending Micah to the store to buy imported colored icing for writing. The cake itself tasted really good but was a little too moist maybe due to not cooking it long enough. (but you know how you never know how done it is till you flip it over to ice the "bottom" and by then if it sticks to the bottom of the pan it's too late to cook it more!!)


These two girls are actually 3 years old - Mason is holding some books that the girl in pink gave him (all in chinese, but very cute pictures and the chinese characters are accompanied by the phonetic pinyin so I can use them to learn and practice my chinese!)


Mason blowing out his 2 candles. Before we sang Happy Birthday, Micah read (in chinese) from Psalm 139 about how we are fearfully & wonderfully made and talked about how the Father knew Mason before he was born. Don't you love the way the little boy (Tong Tong) on the left is holding his hands over his ears? I guess it got a little loud for him.


Family pic at the end of the party


It was super fun (a little chaotic with 10+ kids in our home) and everything came together nicely. Our friend Ann brought lots of Mickey Mouse party supplies from Hong Kong and that really was special to have. Mason's actual birthday is Wednesday the 30th. He is getting to be such a big boy. Although he is sometimes hard to understand, he loves to talk, loves to repeat anything anyone says and has the sweetest disposition (most of the time;) ). He loves to play with Reister and loves to say hello to anyone he passes (and since most of the people he sees when we're out are Chinese, he addresses them appropriately in Chinese: "Ayi" (auntie) "Shu Shu" (Uncle) "Jie Jie" (big sister) "Ge Ge" (big brother) "Mei Mei" (little sister) "Di Di" (little brother)
We're so very thankful for our Mason Turner and the blessing he is to our family!

Running

In April my parents bought me a great little gadget for an early birthday present. It's called the "Nike + iPod"
You can use it with an iPod Nano, iTouch or some iPhones. I have an iPod Touch and have LOVED having this little thing! I have never been a runner, but for some reason this has motivated me to start running. It tells you how far you've gone and at what pace and in what length of time. Then it stores all your run history and you can even sink it to your Nike+ account online. I started running a little before we left Texas but have actually kept it up and run 2-4 times a week. I normally run 2 miles at a time but have been trying to go further as I'm gaining endurance. I go at about 7am when the boys are normally just waking up and Micah can take care of them. I've really enjoyed getting exercise first thing in my day. I try to do a few sit-ups, push-ups and other stretching when I get home. I'm actually kind of proud of myself because I have never consistently exercised in almost my whole life. I hope I can keep this up because I know it's good for my body (so far I haven't had any major knee pain, etc), heart and spirit, really :) Another friend and I have even tried to go together when our schedules/lives allow once a week.
If you have this Nike+, add me as a friend (I use my actually@pobox.com address) so we can keep up with each other's progress. I had it linked to my Facebook account for a while but then got a little embarrassed at it showing my runs EVERY time I went, so I took it off.
So now that I've posted about this, I'll hopefully stick with it and update you all down the road!

Sunday School

My friend SB told me about this curriculum last year but I wanted to share in with you all in case there are others of you out there searching for Sunday School curriculum to use in a home group setting.
www.praisefactory.org
We used it some last year and are using it again with the friends we meet with here. As I'm preparing to lead the kids tomorrow, I just thought it might be good to let others know about it!
It's systematic theology for kids :) yeah!

A Fun Family Outing to an Amusement Park!

This past Saturday was my 31st birthday. I started the day by running (jogging?) with a friend. That's another post in itself, which I'll try to do later this week. Then our family went to Peter's Tex Mex for breakfast. Their food is really good and pretty authentic. I had a breakfast burrito and cinnamon roll, the boys had sausage patties, and Micah had a egg white omelet.



Our family on the patio before we left

Then we brainstormed about what to do with the rest of the day. I love to go to the pool so we considered that, but it still wasn't quite warm enough. So we decided to try out an amusement park in town called "Happy Valley" or 欢乐谷 in Chinese. We were thoroughly impressed and had a GREAT day!
The front gate

You can see the giant Ferris wheel in the background. Both boys got a lot of attention and had their pictures taken by strangers many times throughout the day. The lady below is posing while her friend takes a picture of her with Mason.

There was a large childrens area with lots of rides Reister could ride and some that Mason could ride. Here we are on the carousel. You can see Reister in the background on a horse.

Here's Mason getting swarmed by people wanting to admire his cuteness and take his picture

This was an indoor (and air-conditioned - it did warm up during the day!) ball play area - there were tons of nerf like balls that you could put into holes and then shoot them out all over the place. Quite fun for the kids and a neat place to rest for couple minutes. It was very loud, though!

There was a raft ride on the rafts pictured below. Reister and I waited almost 30 minutes to ride it. Everyone else bought 75 cent rain ponchos to wear but we were wearing sandals and it was pretty hot outside so I thought we'd just get a little wet, right? Wrong, we got SOAKED! Reister was not a big fan. We changed him into his swim suit and let him go shirtless the rest of the time. I just walked around wet - but actually it did keep me cool!

Just part of the park...

Reister and Micah went on a small roller coaster while Mason and I fed these goldfish.

Then we all joined up and Reister got to feed them some too.

Then we all rode on the big Ferris wheel



Afterwards we ate at the McDonalds at the gate (there was also a KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks!!) Inside the boys were swarmed again. Amazingly, there was a little boy with the exact same shirt as Reister. Reister's was given to him in the states so i wondered where the boy had gotten his - turns out his aunt that lives in California had mailed it to him. ha!

It was a very fun day. We actually got year long passes (for us, the boys are free) for $50 a piece! So we'll be able to go often and there is even a water park section that opens this week.
It was a very happy and special birthday. Although I miss our families in Texas and would have loved to have celebrated with them, it was still a special memory to have made here!

Old Navy - the world over

Micah and a friend he was meeting with - the other person they were meeting with, a guy, took the picture.


It's official, Old Navy is in China. When I get the chance to go and look around for myself I'll let you know if prices/sizes are comparable.

"A Field Trip" experience

Last week Micah called the school he teaches English at once a week to see if he should start back teaching this week. The headmaster told him that this week the students would be taking a field trip to a nearby city and our whole family was welcome to go. (Now I'm not certain the exact words that were used, in Chinese it was probably more like "going out to play") Micah's students consist of all female countryside English teachers who have come to spend a year studying to improve their English and I assume overall teaching skills. So we decided to make the day of it and go. We tried to ask around about what there was to do in the aforementioned city. No one really knew of anything interesting. Oh well, we would just wait and see. We drove ourselves and met at the school at 8:30am. His students were happy to see him after six months! He asked one student, Annie, what we were going to do. She told him we were going to another school to observe their teaching. Oh, okay, not exactly a "field trip" - we had been thinking it would be to visit a park or a scenic spot or something. It took almost an hour to get there and we arrived at an elementary school. The first thing we did was join all his students and the principal of the elementary school in a big group photo. The school had already set out chairs and had a banner welcoming everyone. Then they said we would split up into three groups: English class, Music class and Chinese class. Guess what class we were going to? And guess who was going to be teaching the class? AND, guess who knew nothing about this ahead of time and had prepared NOTHING! :) Oh, China, we love you! :) Yes, they told Micah right then that he would be teaching a 40 minute period of English. He told them he had not prepared, but Annie threw out a couple of ideas and we went with it. Reister & Mason stood up at the front with us. I helped by leading them in "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It", Micah reviewed the body parts in the first song, talked about growing up on a farm in Texas (you know, where Yao Ming plays basketball), and we opened it up for a few questions at the end. Somehow we made it through the 40 minutes without making complete fools of ourselves (we think!) One of the last questions was "Can I have your autograph?" There was a mad dash of about 50 eleven year olds to the front to get both of our autographs. We went outside right about the time the whole school was gathering for their daily exercises / announcements. Then the school presented Reister, Mason and us with presents. The boys actually really enjoyed their gifts - Reister got an army men set with airplanes and tanks, Mason got a cool toy airplane that plays a modern Chinese pop song and rolls around. We got some kind of local pastry delicacy in a box. After that, we went to a place where the teachers played Mah Johng or cards and drank tea for 45 minutes and then we all ate a plentiful lunch at a nice restaurant. The boys were getting kind of cranky at that point so we said our thank yous and goodbyes and left. Oh what a day! Actually it wasn't that bad and everyone was really nice. It was a good opportunity to meet some of Micah's students. We're glad the boys got to experience it - as unplanned and crazy as it was - because that's what life here looks like!
The pictures are out of order, but anyway here they are:

Here's the lunch table


Here's the elementary school gate, principal and assistant principal (?) of Micah's school


Reister, one of Micah's students, and the presents


An english teacher named "Lacy" at the elementary school


The classroom where we "taught" - the red banner says "Warmly welcome Micah and family from America to our school room" (They knew we were coming, but we didn't!)


Micah, the boys and the class we taught

Sammy!

One of my closest friends here is named Sammy. We kept up some by email while we were in Texas and she was persistent to keep up with Mason and his surgery and every little health issue he has had. We knew Sammy because she worked in a store we frequented but had never met her husband till last night. They are both so nice and we really enjoyed our time with them. Although they both liked the taco salad I served, Sammy had a HUGE second helping and said at the end her mouth still wanted more but her stomach didn't have any more room.
Reister really likes Sammy, too. In fact when we told him she was here he went running to meet her as they came off the elevator. I'm pretty sure he remembered her. Mason probably didn't but he's at the stage where he likes to say and do anything Reister does, so he went running after him calling "ammy".

Mason loved how Sammy got on the floor and played with him.

I hope we can continue to spend lots of time with Sammy and her husband.

Chipotle Corn Salsa

We had friends over last night for dinner and I wanted to have the corn salsa from Chipotle. So I looked it up and tried my hand...

Chipotle willingly shares the recipe on www.chipotlefan.com
I thought it turned out pretty close and was very yummy on taco salad.
I'll share the recipe changed to my liking here:

1 Can of whole kernel corn - I sauteed it in a little oil and Chipotle tabasco sauce
3 Poblano Chilies
1/2 Red Onion
1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Roast the poblano peppers over stove top, let them cool in a sealed tupperware container. Dice the Poblano peppers, onion, and cilantro. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

A cool meal planning help

My friend passed this on to me and I thought it was pretty neat - now to USE it! :)

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/meal-planner.html

Fun at Home

Just a couple more random shots - Mason's a lot more into posing for pictures than Reister. Note that his eyes are so straight. It's still a miracle to me the difference. So many pictures of him from last year show his eyes obviously VERY crossed. Praise God for the success of his surgery!

In fact I'll show you one from last fall at my Mom's house (not one of the worst, but you can see the crossing)

One of Reister's new favorite passtimes is to fill up a water gun and shoot himself with it. You can see his reaction here...