Temporary Ayi

So - now that we know our neighbors across the street will be heading back to Glasgow we have decided to hire their Ayi (who they have had for 4 years) full-time starting in August. Because we have been such good friends with the Wallaces we see a lot of their Ayi Lina and the kids have really gotten to know her well. I am hoping this will be a good fit for everyone when we return from the summer vacation. In the mean time, Lina has been training a young girl Qi who has helped us out for the last couple of months - so on her last day she was quite sad to leave us(especially Kyle) and we were a little sad to see her go (but because she speaks really NO English it has been hard for the kids). Bye Qi - Good Luck!

Goodbye Wallaces!

Well - we spent our last few days here in Shanghai with our great friends the Wallaces, who will be back in their home country of Scotland, when we return to Shanghai. They have been wonderful friends to all of us(even though Ian looks like he wants nothing to do with them- his usual picture pose these days) and we are going to miss them dearly.  They have made our transition to Shanghai much easier and very enjoyable. We have had an open door policy so the kids have had a great time playing back and forth from house to house. I am losing my favorite shopping partner and Mark is losing his work out buddy. So today we said our final good byes before we caught our plane to the US. I know this is not the end of this friendship just the end of our Shanghai days! See you in Scotland Wallaces!

Summer Vacation!

Wow - life here in China has gotten away from me. I guess that is good. Staying busy is the best way to stay sane here. Nicholas finally finished school on Friday, July, 3rd and Ian finished summer school on the same day. So there has been a lot of parties, concerts, speech days, etc. I am obviously behind on these posts so I hope to catch up soon. Anyway - we are in countdown mode now to come home. I am so glad we decided to come home for the summer! We are one of the few remaining soles here. It is 90 degrees with 100% humidity everyday - so we are either in the house or at the pool! We are planning a few trips this week with the neighbors and a few remaining friends to pass the days until our flight back over(I say over because the American flight we take really does go over the world- right over Antartica) the world. I cannot wait to be back in the USA! We have been here 5 1/2 months and we are all ready for a recharge of our batteries. The 3 boys are I are making the trip home alone and Mark will catch-up with us is 3 weeks at my parents in Indiana.  America here we come!