Quick family snapshot!

Quick family snapshot at the little village we went to see the ice sculputures.

Gavin Ryan - photo bomber extrodinaire

Gavin is literally jumping into people's photos as they are taking pictures. Luckily these ladies were good natured about it...in fact they loved it! That is going to make him want to do it again and again.

ice sculptures

We went by bus 2 hours north of Beijing to see an ice sculpture exhibit. The boys spent 1 1/2 hours sliding down slides made of ice....we spent all of 5 minutes appreciating the sculptures then we retreated someplace warm for the remaining 30 minutes....probably not the best use of our time!

Still Chinese New Year!!!

Chinese New Years goes on for officially 1 week, but people celebrate for 1-2 months. I will miss all of the red laterns when it is all over. They are so beautiful.

Oreos in China

They come in a lot of flavors.....I think just about every American coming to China makes the mistake of buying the green box thinking that they are mint oreos.....Oh how disappointed I was to find that that is not mint - it is green tea! It is disgusting!

Jack stalling going to bed

Jack has been potty trained since he was 3 months old. Now to delay bedtime he will sit in his bed and yell...."Mommy poop!"

When I opened up the door he used to say - "Ipad!"

I got wise to that so now he insists that I take him to the bathroom. As I am putting his diaper back on for the 10th time that night he's telling me...."Mommy, I funny!"

Guess what Tommy and Gavin are doing this very second....

Jumping rope! Gavin isn't all that happy about it, but Tommy is going to make sure he is no longer teased on the playground.

These are actually really, really yummy!

These are little fruits dipped in candy. The most popular one kind of looks and tastes like a crab apple...but somehow it tastes amazing when dipped in candy. I tried these today for the first time, and yummm! I don't know if I will see these after Chinese New Years...it is probably better that way!

Being a foreigner has some benefits...

As the only foreigners watching the performance the dragon gave Gavin a lot of attention....Sam went MIA when he saw the dragon coming.

Temple Fairs

We went to a temple fair today. Here were the dancing......well we aren't sure. We have been debating dog, dragon, etc.

Gavin gets creative

Gavin suggested that he takes a picture of me taking a picture of him.....I thought that was a great idea from a 5 year old.

Photography class

I just started a photography class, and I like to take Gavin (and his camera) out with me to do my assignments. Here we are together and Gavin is hamming things up!

Chinese New Years feast with friends

I am so happy that we got to enjoy Chinese New Years with friends. Everyone had an amazing time!

Celebrating Chinese New Years Chinese style

Chinese people make pot stickers for Chinese New Years. We were invited over to a friends house to make dumplings and eat dinner. It was a lot of fun!

Chinese people and pictures

We cannot go anywhere without everyone taking out their cameras to take pictures of and with the boys. It drives the boys absolutely crazy....it really ruins whatever they are experiencing at the moment.

Chinese people; however, absolutely love their pictures taken and will often pose for you....I try to remember that every time someone pulls out their camera.

Decorations for Chinese New Year

I still love how much Chinese New Year is celebrated in the winter - it really brightens things up. We've had so much fun. This is in one of the local parks.

The most interesting meat on a stick we've seen

We are definitely obsessed with meat on a stick. Is this crab???

Gavin playing around with a new ball

Sam devouring meat on a stick

....by the way, I have only seen these during Chinese New Years.

Cute Chinese girl in Minnie Mouse ears

Love how Chinese people wear stuff like this!

Meet meat on a stick

The boys and Tommy love these. They are made with all kinds of meat (octopus, crabs, lamb, etc.). They are often sprinkled with cumin. It was the first time I have seen Chinese people use cumin.

Jack in his fat suit

It has been so incredibly cold in Beijing this last week. It is probably no worse than what you would typically experience in SLC, but you don't have the luxury of driving everywhere. Regardless of how cold it gets Jack refuses to wear coats....but he will where 4 sweatshirts!

Happy Chinese New Years!

So Chinese New Years eve was last Sunday night. It was our first taste of what the next few days would bring. It was so incredibly loud. Chinese people are so quiet and constrained, and it was as if on Chinese New Years the firecrackers are their way of letting it all out with a big bang!

Some fireworks are shot off into the sky while who knows who is walking below it all, others are 10-20' of firecrackers. Individuals set these fireworks off any time day or night, and it really catches you off guard.

Some fireworks were colorful - almost what you'd see set off by your city during 4th of July. We tried to take Jack outside to enjoy enjoy the festivities, but it was too much for him. So here he is watching with me from inside.

I have been told that in the past there were so many that people could not sleep for days, but that the price of fireworks has doubled in the last few years, and people can't afford as many of them.

Chocolate addiction...

Maybe chocolate is an addictive substance. The Chinese seem to think so....that or maybe a lot of people shop lift crappy chocolate. Hmmmm....it is sounding more and more like a drug with each sentence.

Yeah for yoga!

It is helping me lift my spirits in the dead of winter. I have decided to do hot yoga....you take classes in temperatures around 120 degrees....you sweat out probably most of the fluids in your body, and somehow it feels so good! I go everday Monday-Friday.

Little Sam

Could Sam be any more perfect? He just goes with the flow, and has such a cheerful disposition (as long as you don't wake him up). The other day he was lecturing Gavin about waking him up....and he told Gavin that if he woke him up that he better bring something for him...."like Crepes, or something"

Chinese New Years is coming

With all the Chinese people in the middle of their Spring festival (Chinese New Year) it is hard to believe that the rest of the world is not on holiday too. I like how read lanterns have brightened up an otherwise grey city.

A hint of Spring....

Just when you have the hope that Winter is past and Spring is here.....you look a little closer, and you find it is all an illusion. Maybe that is China in a nutshell....

A messy kitchen never looked so good!

The kitchen was left a mess......and I didn't see one cockroach! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....and I didn't even have to buy a gecko!

Diabetes lecture

I have a huge sweet tooth, and I find it very hard not to eat chocolate and sweets. So Gavin found one of my candy wrappers....I heard him take a deep breath, and thought - Here comes the lecture of why did you eat all of the good stuff and leave non for us......but instead he lectures me on my health. He warms up by asking me, "Do you realize what this stuff will do to you?"...then he really kicks it into high gear... "This stuff is terrible for your body. Mom, you eat this and you'll get diabetes, and then you'll have your legs chopped off".......Then just when I think that the lecture is over - he belts out, "Why do you do this to yourself!" I felt like a drug addict.

Taking out the trash was never so exciting!

I love the age where kids are dying to do household chores....Like taking out the trash. Who would have thought the boys would love it so much!

Jack and his trains

He is a big fan of Thomas right now....I love this stage. The toys are small enough that they can go anywhere, and boys can play with them for hours!

Jack still has long hair.....I am tempted to keep it that way until Halloween, bust out the "comb over" and teach Jack how to say "You're Fired!"

Shoes are still cheap in China....

....so I am buying enough shoes for the boys for the next 6 years. I couldn't resist - they were all so cute, and they only cost between $5-$15 per pair....compared to the $20-40 you pay in the US. I justified it by asking the question of how many of your investments have a guaranteed rate of return of 1-5x over the next 5 years...

I did realize once I had them lined up that they all have velcro....looks like my boys will be 12 before they start tying their shoes!

Remembering my expectations

When I left the US I told myself that if I could get the boys to school each day, and be able to throw together peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side of vegetables that my trip to China was a success.

Now that I am here - I sometimes put so much pressure on myself. I have to remember to keep it simple and not put too much stress on myself to make the children's Mandarin perfect, get to yoga daily, get the kids involved in activities, publish articles on www.GovAtHome.com, get 501c3 done, grow liker base, learn Mandarin, take photography online, etc...Breath!!!!

Pic of Gavin's first love

It is the girl in the hot pink jacket.

Gavin and his two dance partners

With every performance in Gavin's class they have made him dance, and he is always in the front with the two best female partners. This is a picture of Gavin between his 2 dance partners. Love this pic because you can just tell that Gavin is totally comfortable and self confident in his class.

New Years celebration at school

The school did a New Years performance on Dec. 31st. My guess it is because after that everyone started leaving for Chinese New Years (Jan. 23 this year). It is typical that people take 4-6 weeks off during Chinese New Years. I had Jack that day because our nanny had a 3 day New Years off (not to be confused with Chinese New Years).

Sam looks like a giant next to his classmates.

Gavin was happy to show off his little brother...side by side they look so much alike!

Learning to jump rope

Gavin has taken worst in class for jump rope….the teacher a couple of months ago sent me a message telling me that I need to help Gavin learn to jump rope….definitely a sign of a one-child society.

If you don’t know how to jump rope you get teased. At this point Gavin is so embarrassed that instead of jumping rope he pretends to hold the jump rope in his hands then jumps up and down and waves his arms, and then he says- see mom, I can already jump rope.

The other day I gave him the mom speech about practice, and put him to work jumping rope. I was all excited and started to count his jumps….next thing I know a little boy approached Gavin and started to tease him. Much to Gavin’s credit, he stuck with it, and then a huge group of kids began cheering him on. I tried to take a picture, but when they saw the camera come out – it turned into a dog pile.

Picture taken same time - two weeks later

Look how much lighter it is at night just 2 weeks after the darkest night of the year. I bet the dramatic shift has happened because we are so far north.

Ice skating in China is so much fun!

They mount chairs to skates and let you go crazy. The boys had a great time. Sam loved bossing Gavin around today - it was fun to watch!

Friends, fishing, rabbits

We went over to a friend of a friend's house last night for dinner. It was a lot of fun. We should have taken a picture of the food - there was so much of it, much of it in preparation for Chinese New Year (CNY).

It was a fun house in the southern suburbs of Beijing...not much out there. They family had 2 girls one 5 and the other 4. They had a bunny, and they had what looked to be a jacuzzi that they used for gold fish. So fun the boys spent the night holding the rabbit and catching the fish. They loved it!

There's Sam's big butt crack....gotto love it!

Salmon - Gavin's one request...after quinoa.

2 things Gavin is always asking me for in China - quinoa and Salmon. We had the Quinoa shipped in from the US (cheaper than buying it in China)......and I finally gave into him begging me to buy salmon. This little piece was around $12. Gavin devoured it.

Cash in cabs

In the U.S. there are signs stating that cab drivers aren't carrying more than a miniscule amount aof money....usually an amount less than a cab ride costs.

In China cab drivers are constantly counting their money in front of you. This driver got a little shy when I asked him to take a picture. I need to figure out how to say in Chinese - "This never happens in America!"