After being gone all summer long it was good to be back for a beautiful Shanghai fall. By September 1st I was working pretty much everyday at the Shanghai American School as a substitute teacher. Trent kept a pretty low profile and didn't have to travel much until mid-October for work. In October we took another family vacation to Bali, Indonesia and had an absolute blast. Bali was beautiful and relaxing. We had our own private villa that was just beautiful and the kids of course loved playing on the beach and splashing in the massive waves. The food in Bali was amazing as they tend to cater to Australian's. The cuisine (besides local Indonesian food) was fresh seafood presented in the most artistic fashion.
When we arrived home from Bali, Trent was once again gone a good portion of the time, to Europe and back (a few times) and travel within China. During this time we got the kids a trampoline since we now have a nice size back garden to put it in. They have had a blast on it (as well as mom and dad). We like to sneak out there when the kids are doing other things and bounce really high and crazy-like. It's nice to act juvenile every once in a while.
The first week of November I ran in the Hangzhou Marathon (a short marathon, only 9 miles). It was a great experience and I am currently registering for a half marathon (13.1 miles) on the Great Wall of China in Beijing. It will be in held mid-May.
December presented us with a big decision....do we travel back to the US or stay in Shanghai and have a Christmas in our own home? We finally decided that we wanted to be in our "own" home for Christmas instead of traveling around like crazy living out of suitcases. The week before Christmas we traveled to Tokyo, Japan to see old friends who are stationed on the airforce base there. We had a great time and got a taste of America being on the US Airforce base. On Dec. 23 we landed back in Shanghai just in time to be settled for Christmas Eve and Santa Claus' arrival.
Christmas Day we had the most enjoyable day. The kids had a wonderful time tearing through boxes from Santa and from family. This was the first time we have ever been in our own home for Christmas. Late morning, we had a beautiful, elegant Christmas Day Champagne brunch with our friends from Australia. By nightfall, Trent and I were looking at each other wondering what happened to the chaos that usually comes with Christmas day. The next morning we skyped friends and family and by that time were were really feeling homesick. We realized that even though Christmas can be chaotic, loud and crazy (traveling to family member's home's, sleeping in guest bed's, and living out of suitcases)......it's worth it. It's what it's about and without it, it's like having Oreo's without milk. It's just not complete and certainly not as enjoyable and fulfilling in the long run.
After the holiday's, we decided we couldn't make it till summer without seeing family and friends. So in January we booked tickets to come to America over Chinese New Year (in February) when the kids had a break from school. Trent had a mandatory work meeting he had to attend the last week of January so he went to the US 2 weeks before the kids and I.
After Trent was gone but prior to me and the kids leaving Shanghai, I decided to do some last minute shopping downtown to bring home a few Chinese gifts for our families. I was at my first shop when I became doubled over with stomach pains. As a dedicated shopper, I managed to stand in line to purchase my items then went straight to my driver and told him to take me to the hospital. After a few hours of testing, a CT scan determined I had Appendicitis and was immediately taken in for surgery. Being the middle of the night in the US, Trent was sound asleep and I was not able to get ahold of him before my surgery. Poor guy woke up to over 20 missed calls and texts from myself and friends....I think the fear he felt waking up that morning was far worse than my surgery and the pain of recovering.
I had 7 days to recover before taking the flight with the kids to America. Because it wasn't laproscopic, I really had to take it easy all week. Our good friends Yong and Yang helped me to the airport and carried my luggage. From there, I was all set and we had a smooth flight. Since being in the states we have traveled to Denver, Cheyenne, WY, Casper, WY, and Ardmore, OK. Which brings me to current day. I am writing this blog as I sit in my parents house in Ardmore. The Chinese government has major controls over what comes to China via the Internet (if you haven't read) Therefore we have many problems accessing sights such as Facebook, Myspace, and Blogspot (which is how I do this Blog.) Half the time I cannot access Blogspot to change or update it. I have no faith that it will change anytime soon so please be patient with my sporadic blogging. I will update this when I can.
March we will be heading back to Phukett, Thailand. We had such an amazing vacation last Spring Break we decided to go there again. We will be making a 1 day stop in Hong Kong to take the kids to Hong Kong Disneyland. This will be a total surprise to our kids so if you happen to read this and see Tenley or Tayton....please don't spoil the surprise!
Until the next time I have access to this restricted site.....Take care and God bless!
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