I have never seen fencing in person. . . so I was pretty excited to be able to volunteer when this group came to teach about fencing at the kids’ school. Colt and Caden thought it was the greatest thing ever and obviously wanted to take lessons! haha. . . It was interesting the how much agility and coordination this sport requires. Yes, it is a sport:) I didn’t even know it existed here so close to us!

We had a fun cookout with the kids’ school this past weekend. It was perfect fall weather (which is rare for this city as it seems to ere on the too hot or too cold sides). We played games, at lots of food, and most people prepared little performances that we did around the bonfire. Caden sang a song with his class, and Kylie both sang and played her recorder with her class. Colt is already too cool for that It was a fun evening!

Caden is in the 1st grade now, finally at school with big brother and sister. He was really excited. . . key word “WAS” . . . He has decided it’s not quite as fun as preschool where you just play all day though Thankfully, he’s a quick learner and a good student nonetheless. The school has a special “rose ceremony” for the 1st graders’ first day of school. Pretty sweet.

He never ceases to amaze me. . . while I strive to help my kids appreciate and find the beautiful, he didn’t get any of his art ability from me

I know they all took the same driving test that I did in order to get a driver’s license here. . . but they still drive like there aren’t any rules???? This isn’t even bad.

This is how recycling is done here.  People go around and go through the trash collecting plastic, styrofoam, cardboard boxes, or whatever they are collecting, then personally take their load to the recycling place where they can get money based on how much they collect. . .

Just a guy carrying a falcon (?) around.

Seeing these precious older people permanently stooped over from a lifetime of working in the fields always gets me.  .  .

It’s finally fall ya’ll! It has been so hot, and we are gladly welcoming the cooler weather. Even though it’s 88 degrees again today, it is supposed to cool back down to lower 80’s tomorrow. The Chinese Lunar Calendar marks the start, middle, and end of each season. It is actually really interesting to see the seasons and temperature start to change right “on time.” They celebrate each of these as well. These are some pics at the kids’ school of the Mid Autumn Festival. The kids got to recite poetry or sing songs (one girl asked David and I to sing/play with her), and we all ate together of course too! Kylie was too shy to prepare anything before hand, but after seeing all the other kids participate she wanted to recite something too. So, she and her friend recited apparently their favorite (or only song they knew) because it was about SPRING! hahaha. That was funny.

A few weeks ago, we went on our annual campout with Colt’s class. It was about an hour and a half drive out to the middle of nowhere. Trying to find a place without people in this country is no easy task We cooked over the open fire and played in the water, then we took the kids on a hike to a waterfall. On the way there, we decided to take an “alternative route and follow the creek. . . . TERRIFYING and miraculous that no one got hurt! The waterfall was truly breathtaking though and freezing cold! We took the regular road back thankfully! That night we set up our tents in an area with some big sand piles. The kids had a blast running up and down the hills of sand and getting completely filthy. . . however, at 6am the big trucks that made those piles showed up for work!! So, we were all scrambling to get the tents put up and get out of their way. Also, so much for a finding a place without people. haha

It was ok that we got an early start packing up though because the kids’ school was having a race that morning that we all needed to get to anyways. The parents had to run with the kids, and I could not keep up with Caden!! Colt, Kylie, and Caden each got first for their ages. It was fun.

He is always doing something that makes people smile

While Mom and Dad were here, we had one day where we were supposed to visit a sister in the village. She was so excited my parents were here and really wanted to meet them! Dad did great – it was in the upper 90’s in an open air house with no AC with lots of different foods! We had a chicken (the whole chicken mind you) and tofu soup, some gourd with tofu, a different gourd in soup, eggs and chives, wild greens, and a pumpkin dish. It was delicious, and Dad said he didn’t eat anything he didn’t like Of course our friends loved hearing that! Thankful he was able to get a little taste of life here!

We didn’t take vacation back to the States this summer. Instead, we asked my parents if they would be willing to meet us somewhere. We were super excited when they said they would, and we started making plans for our destination. We settled on Railay Beach in southern Thailand which is pretty far out there. It was fun to fly into the little airport, then take a taxi to the pier (which also let us stop at the grocery store on the way), then ride a small wooden boat (in the pictures below) around to Railay Beach! It felt like a dream and I’ve always loved going to remote places. Somehow we made it with our luggage and about 20 bags of groceries!

Mom and Dad arrived a few hours after us, and we surprised the kids when they drove up on the back of a scooter that was carrying them and their luggage! The kids were super excited and wore Nana and Papaw out playing games in our little bungalow or playing at the beach. We also took a pretty amazing snorkeling trip which had to be the highlight for everyone! Yes, we saw Nemo in the sea anemone (and tons of other really cool fish)! Memories were made. . . and no one got sick on the food or injured