Springy

We’ve made it through winter and spring is in the air.  Mostly, that means it’s rainy and damp, but we’ve had some nice weather as well.  The weekend before last is was 27ish all weekend (81-83F) and we took some time to take advantage of the weather.  As you can see, Kiddo was in her element and just having a ball.  We also did the library and a few other things as the weather was nice.  

Since then we’ve gotten rain and misty weather (think Seattle) and that’s been fine as well since temps have ben 12-19 degrees (55-68ish F) and it’s not exactly shorts and teeshirt weather, but not cold either.  We’ve still gotten out and had some fun, getting to do some drum practice, having soup dumplings, and generally just having a time of it.

The real big news is that it is International Week at school.  Yesterday was Career Day, so Kiddo dressed as a vet (sorry, no pics) and today is Jammies Day, so Kiddo got to pick some jammies to rock all day.  She is “loving the comfort” and just had to rock the mix-matched (quote on quote) socks.  She is certainly full of personality.  Tomorrow is Shark Day so she will be in full school spirit and rocking something sharky.  Thursday will be Crazy hair day and I’ll get some pics of that, even if I post them later.  J brought home some pipe cleaners, so I’m sure the hair will be wacky and wild. 

Besides that, we are just living.  We all have our routines right now and are just having a good time with it.  Nothing grandiose happening.  We are starting to look at our summer and do some planning.  After last summer, we wanted to take a break from ten million miles in the air.  We are, as of now, planning on staying in China for the summer and using the High Speed Trains to get a few places.  Little trips.  4-7 days each.  However, with the cost of the rail and all that, we can maximize and see 3-4 places, maybe even 5 places.  The girls have 7 weeks off for summer, so that is a nice bit of travel and home time, allowing us to explore and still keep it simple and not spend the summer living out of a suitcase.  It’ll also give us a chance to scout some areas to see if we wouldn’t like to stay in China but transition to a different city/area.  

We also know J will apply to jobs come fall.  Some in China and some outside.  It’s not because we are unhappy here.  It’s been great and we are loving it, but maybe we can find a better opportunity, better pay, or an offer that we just can’t refuse.  We can’t know if we don’t look.  Besides, it will allow J to keep up on those interview skills and keep them sharp and that’s never a bad thing either.  I can say that America has a big red X through it right now.  I could go into that, but if you know me and us, you don’t need me to go there.  If you don’t know me and us…. I’m 99.9999% sure you can take a wild guess and hit the mark.

We are just watching Shanghai bloom around us now.  We watch in awe and splendor as the winter city starts to take color as the trees and flowers blossom and come to life.  We got here in late summer and tried to take it in, but transitioning is always hard and you miss things.  Into fall and we saw the reds, oranges, and golds of that.  Winter was cold, grey, and brown.  Now, however, we are starting to see the green, pinks, blues, and hues of the summer to come.  We can’t wait to see more of it and watch it come back alive.

Let’s go, Kiddo…. Spring is in the air and we are just enjoying the new views.  Thanks for being our little adventurer.  Our digger.  Our get out and player.  Our little drummer.  Our best thing. We love you and can’t wait to see the Spring with you and enjoy the summer to come.