Goodbye China...Hello America! (June 15, 2012)

Faster than a blink of an eye, our last days in China snuck up on us.  A flurry of packing and goodbyes and last minute dashes to the markets and sights..trying to get everything in and relish the final moments in this far away place.  How lucky we were to have met the fabulous Peter Sun and Rose.  They made our lives in China so memorable and took such good care of us.

And coming home to this guy was as good as it gets.

One last fling...Kyoto, Japan (June 2012)

School got out on June 8 and we decided that one last fling was in order before returning home.  After much deliberation we decided that a quick trip to Kyoto would be just the thing.  Off we went, for one last adventure. it's a quick flight from Shanghai to Osaka, and then a bullet train down to Kyoto.

Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, Kyoto is famous for its beautiful gardens,  thousands of temples, tea ceremonies, Soba noodles and of course the Geishas. A city of about 1.5 million, its very clean and walkable and modern, despite its history spanning many thousands of years.

Checking out the street sights and pedestrian walkways...

Ladies out for dinner

A day spent biking around town

Out for dinner -- Soba noodles

Classic China Moment

...ho hum....driving along and you see this.....

Classic!

KTV in Shanghai

Last weekend we were invited to join our amazing ayi Rose and her family for some karaoke on Sunday afternoon.  It wasa blast!  It's a very popular form of entertainment for Chinese people, and the place was packed with a long waiting list to reserve a room. Everyone gets a private room and drinks and food are served.  Songs are available in Chinese or English. We had the chance to meet Rose's husband, her adorable two year old daughter and her mother and father.  They all live together and her father takes care of the baby when Rose comes to work.  Such nice people.  Despite the fact that our communication was very limited, we all had a lot of fun and music really is the international language. Not too many shy people in this bunch....a GREAT day!

Here's Rose:

Rose's little daugher with the perfect face.  I wish she was mine.

That's Rose's husband on the right.  He is a bus mechanic.

Goings on About Town....

5/6th grade talent show....here's Jeb and his friend Kevin as Justin Bieber and Ludacris:

Madeline as Dorothy in her school choir "Wizard of Oz" medley:

Hope and her new friend Anna in our neighborhood:

Busy night surfing the web at home!

A visit from Granny

Following quickly on the heels of our trip to Vietnam for Spring vacation, Anne arrived in Shanghai....welcome Granny! Fresh off her 12 day China odyssey with her friend Nancy Snyder as part of a tour group, she stayed with us for four days of sightseeing, restaurants and catching her breath.  It was fun to be able to show her the sights we have come to know.

She even got to watch a game of soccer in Shanghai...

Thanks for visiting, Granny/Anne