This little girl lives in our apartment complex and loves Kylie. LeLe just turned 2 this month. She calls for Kylie to come play all the time. Kylie also loves her! They are pretty cute. . . Kylie will try to carry her around, and LeLe is just compliant as can be! 
Try driving this around. . .
GL in the morning. . .
I’ve been meeting a local friend at 6am to run. This is something I really look forward to since it’s not only fellowship with a sister, but also language practice and exercise! Win, win, win We sure do get to see some beautiful sunrises too!
Tracy and Lryic came to visit!
Our good friends from Chengdu came to visit us! While we were in Thailand for meetings, Tracy sent me a text message which was a picture of their train tickets from Chengdu to our city. She had purchased them without even mentioning it, and we weren’t even going to there! After mentioning that small detail (of our being out of the country during the time of her planned visit), she switched them to come the same day we returned home. However, their train was a 24 hour train!! So they ended up arriving about 13 hours after we got back. That gave us a little time to unpack
We really enjoyed their visit, catching up, and the kids playing everyday. We all crammed right in our place for a week! Tracy’s mom came too and cooked us yummy meals every day! That was so wonderful!
The excitement and joy captured! So happy to have Lyric staying with us!
They thought our “car” was pretty cool :)
Climbed Chuan Mountain across from our place to see the beautiful scenery of Guilin!
The kids raced to the top!
Swimming in the river to beat the heat!
A rainbow while we were swimming! How neat is that?
My sweet friend. So thankful she came to visit!
Tracy’s mom came with them and stayed with us too. She went to the market everyday and cooked lunch and dinner for us. It was such a treat!!
Qualifications
David and I took turns completing the course required to teach English here. The closest location offered was in the next province over, about a 5 hour fast train. David went a few weeks before I did. It was a long time away for both of us, but hopefully will open many doors for visa options. My week of training was a bit more eventful with some heavy rains and flooding which I will probably never forget.
I had just left the kiddos and D at home, anticipating my 5 hour train ride to be peaceful and quiet (traveling without the kids is not something I ever do). I ended up sitting beside this 5 yr. old and his mom, who weren’t the least bit shy. We had a lot of good conversations and paper, rock, scissors games :)
WuHan flooded the week I was there. This was what I walked through to get to class (yes we still had class)!
My class
After we each completed the required 8 days of classes, 10 quizzes, one 40-minute presentation, and two 90-minute exams. . . we both passed! Certifications in hand!
Chicken Soup and Hot Summer!
We had our friends over to play one Saturday morning and ended up going with them to this place to eat and play in the water. The place was out in the middle of nowhere, but it was beautiful. There was a nice refreshing (clean) stream that the kids all played in. There wasn’t a menu at this “restaurant” though. They only had one thing. Chicken soup. It was good though! We brought along some fruit and water and made a day of it!
Loving the food!
Chicken soup and rice. . .
The chickens that make the chicken soup. . .
Beautiful countryside reminded me a little bit of West Virginia :)
All the land is being used to grow vegetables!
Water fight!
Hoping to catch some fish, but he didn’t :)
This girl loves to be outside and loves the water!
Nice cool watermelon for a sweet treat! Caden’s face cracks me up. These two are just a few weeks apart in age. They are double trouble.
Friday Evening Drive
Last Friday was a hot hot day! We decided to take a drive and look for some water to play in. . . but because of lots of rain, areas that were previously small streams looked more like rivers. It was a beautiful day though with sunshine and blue skies! This is really an amazing place we get to live at here.
Random pics of the kids at school!
This teacher often takes Kylie aside to let her “help” with crafts that she is preparing. She has realized Kylie loves to do crafts, so she often takes time to teach her. As Kylie’s mother, I love this teacher!
This kid loves to make things!
Caden is often climbing something at school! Yes, he is barefoot. . .
Picking barley from their barley plants they have grown!
They also planted those sunflowers!
This kid loves his school!
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Another family trip out to the countryside!
The kids had a 3 day holiday from school last week, so we decided to take another trip out. We had a yummy dinner with some AM friends of David’s at their restaurant. It’s called Mao Cai. You pick out the raw veggies/meat/tofu that you want, and they cook it all together in this REALLY spicy soup. I.love.it. I didn’t get any pictures of that unfortunately.
We also always try to do something fun on these trips so that the kids look forward to them and make some memories. Otherwise, they may dread another “trip to the countryside” which includes long hours on a bus. Not many kids think that is too fun This trip we did a hike which followed a beautiful stream. The water was freezing, but the kids loved it!
What happens when I try to get a decent picture of all 3 together. Caden isn’t looking and the other two bust out the bunny ears.
Trying out some exercise equipment. . .
There were at least 10 of these pet bird cages hanging on the trees in this little park. Is this how you “walk your bird” I wonder? Their singing was beautiful!
Thankful Caden always falls asleep on the long bus rides. He has learned you really do “get there faster if you fall asleep!” He reminds Colt and Kylie every time, but unfortunately they don’t sleep.
Yes, that is a chicken head. Our kids actually argued over who would get to eat it. . . I still think it’s gross, but I try my best to keep my opinions of these cultural differences to myself lest I unfairly influence those around me :)
Mmmmmm. . . the chicken head.
Daddy scoping out the area to see if it would be a good place to swim!
Not ever far behind. . .
Kylie Joy is 5!
So, these pictures are out of order, but you can still enjoy them
Sunday was David’s 32nd birthday. When you are hosting a party it’s hard (for me at least) to take many pictures. Sorry Babe! I know HE doesn’t mind. . . but I do. I attempted a surprise party Sunday evening and kept it a surprise until Sunday afternoon when I was had to start getting ready. Then it was obvious dinner was going to be much bigger than just our family, and he started asking questions I couldn’t avoid. He wanted Mexican, so we spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen making everything from scratch – salsa, refried beans, black beans, chicken, mexican rice, tortillas, cheese dip, and fresh toppings. We ordered avocados online but they weren’t ripe when they arrived, so we will have to wait about a week to enjoy those. Nevertheless, we had a fun time with friends, yummy food, and a cake (which I didn’t make – our neighbor has a bakery. I like to support local businesses – ha!! Here’s a pic of the cake though! It was good.
Kylie’s 5th bday was the day after David’s bday. So we kept the party rolling. Her teacher’s invited us to their school that afternoon for a birthday celebration that they had prepared. She had asked me to send her “Kylie’s story” about how she was born and a bit about her growing up until now. They had made a delicious fruit cake, decorated the table beautifully, the teacher told “Kylie’s story”, and all the little classmates gave her a gift (picture they drew for her). It was seriously sweet. Oh, and the teacher’s also gave her their own handmade gifts which you can see below. I almost cried it was just so sweet. I liked her teachers before. I think I love them now
Her flower crown and handmade doll were gifts from her two teachers. She LOVED them! She named the doll “baby Kylie” since it was “born” on her birthday :)
No need for words. This picture captures how much she enjoyed her school birthday celebration!
She “put out” the 5 candles instead of the tradition blowing out the candles. She thought she was big stuff!
Each classmate drew her a picture and personally handed it to her. So sweet!
Lighting the candles . . .
A beautifully decorated table!
My sweet little girl is 5!
Caden got a special seat right at the front too!
The cake her teachers made topped with mangoes and peach slices!
Sweet.
