Grace, Katherine, Hudson, and I went to see the exhibit while it was here. The girls were so happy to see that their pictures got put next to each other.
Hudson liked the model of some new apartments going in.
Afterwards, they all played on a playground outside.
Grandmommy sent calendars for everyone! They've been trying to guess what pictures they have.
Everyone liked what they got.
just to clarify...we do not have 2 TV's...the back one is the landlord's and doesn't work and the one in front is ours ;)
Captain America ;)
In preparation for our cookie making marathon....a big bag of eggs!
We made cookies to give as gifts this year...candy cane cookies, confetti cookies, double chocolate, butterscotch oatmeal, Mexican wedding cookies, and sugar cookies!
This is Katherine's favorite part
I was asked to join an art class for moms. I thought I would give it a try for a few weeks just to meet some new people and to have fun drawing once again. I've never really used water colors before or drawn in this traditional Chinese style...it was fun
The kids always draw names for Christmas, and then I take them out shopping one by one.It was Katherine's turn and we happened to get an extended bus. We really took the picture to show Hudson. She said that it looked like a firetruck on the inside ;)
Granddad's class also sent some gifts for everyone! We were/are so thankful for the much needed clothes!
Typical Benjamin...putting shorts on his head...but I love the smiles when he is being a little silly! :)
New PJ's for this girl...she had to pose for every picture like this...bearly awake :)
Hudson got some cars!
Regan got some jeans...I've never seen her excited about jeans before!! :) (maybe it's because she's never had any that fit her well...these were PERFECT)
Katherine and Lauren spent the weekend at Winter and Yoyo's house. They went out to eat hotpot...one of their favorites.
The girls always play cards while they are waiting for the food to arrive.
Ready to cook their favorite!! Fresh shrimp
Jonathan got some new pants and a nice dress shirt.
Shrimp: Round Two
Oh, here is one of my shirts.
Trying on her new jeans :)
The younger girls saw a car on display at the mall. The company wanted Katherine to "drive" the car so that their photographer could get a picture for their advertising.
Making Candy cane cookies...officially the hardest cookie to make ;)
THIS. Was. Amazing. I tried a new recipe, and it was a winner!
We made lots of small bags and some bigger bags for closer friends and neighbors.
Getting bags (and notes) ready for the coaches and dance teacher/dance moms
The ballet school gave out Christmas bags to each of the kids
All ready for the "Making Christmas Cookies" English class :)
One of my students, Happy, gave me a box of oranges. It's literally from her family's farm and named after her, so her name is on the box. They apparently ship all over the province when the oranges are ready to be picked.
Let the learning begin ;)
They definitely have their own style...haha!
The kids were admiring their cookies.
They did a good job.
Hannah, Shirley, Happy, and David. Polly wasn't able to come because she had a high fever.
They were excited that I gave them each 2 bags to fill with cookies.
Regan and I had a dinner date. I took her us to Zhongshan for the race the night before because the race was so early in the morning.
We enjoyed some Chinese food from one of our favorite places (except the place had actually moved and a new restaurant was in it's place...so we ate their instead and it was still good)
Meat and Spicy Peppers
Eggplant and Green Beans
Cauliflower
The race was actually on our anniversary, so Lauren sent a card in my suitcase. The flower was from Winter. (Jonathan and I celebrated a day late)
There were so many people riding bikes to the race...and SO EARLY!
The sun wasn't even up yet, but there were people everywhere!
We were there to cheer them on!
After the race
Regan and Yoyo are right in the middle.
The girls were all reading a book while we waited for a table for lunch.
Interesting. I'm not a big fan of this water.
After an early morning they were ready to read a little.
So, we took selfies and talked about the girls not talking ;)
We had a Christmas gathering and a few snacks.
Jonathan and I went out to celebrate our 18th anniversary. We went to a place similar to Western Sizzlin' (Asia style) The lady INSISTED that she tuck this napkin for him. He kept taking it out and she would come back and insist that he wear it like this...hahaha!
What's an anniversary shopping date without a Christmas selfie. We got quite the laughs because the only display was so small that we had to get on the ground to get in the picture.
