Saturday, November 22, 2008

quote of the day (Election 2008 edition)


For fans of the Desi singing video from a few weeks ago, here's a pic his teacher sent. He looks how we felt on Election Night. Even weeks later, I'm so proud that 63 million voters made the smart choice. Ya gotta love America. And if you don't, we'll invade your country (or one in the vicinity) and hide you in Cuba so we can torture you!

As Emmett and I sat together reading online news on Thursday, he spied a photo of Obama and asked "Can we Skype Obama?" side note: This hat was actually made by Desi, but I rather think Emmy pulls off the look smashingly.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

zoo part 2

PANDAS! We saw 3, and if you understand Chinese, you'll learn a lot from the panda-ologist auidble in the video. My favorite part is when he/she scratches the butt on the ladder.

Warning: if watching with children, turn volume down for the end of the lion part. Some foul language by the narrator as he serenades the lion with gangsta rap. 



zoo video, part one

as promised, here's part one of zoo trip video. youtube is being funny right now, so if the video won't play here, go straight here and try it.

pandas are in part 2, so check back soon!

It just got cold here, also, which is fun because it's also dry, so I can wear my puffy jacket. fun.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

check me out on NYTimes

So our shipment came today. woo hoo. so i'm blogging on our nice 20" desktop iMac. feels like home...

on an unrelated note: being in china means i'm on lunch break when NYTimes.com posts the next morning's editorials. so in my quest to get the first post, i've become a frequent commenter. i'm proud to say my comment (#15 in the list) on my fellow Oregonian Nicholas Kristof's education column was chosen as an editor's selection. check it out and feel free to click "Recommend" after reading it.

beautiful day here today. probably 78 degrees for the high. no joke. clear as skies get here, which means some blue, some grayish brown soupy parts. 

boys are both sick w/some virus. i have not yet succumbed, but sarah is worried she's next. send anti-viral thoughts.

and if any of you will be in our neck of the woods on Jan. 20, we're having a big "End of an Error" party at our place. come one, come all.

oh, and the zoo video will be up soon, i promise. 

Sunday, November 9, 2008

2 new posts in one day=Blogger of the Year


Two more Halloween shots. Photo credits to Jeff Dungan, father of the lion and the spread-legged bad guy from BenTen. Props also to all the teachers at SRC who stayed home to hand out treats.


Below is the crew at the post-Trick or Treat party. Bars allow children here. Not that we make it a habit, but that was a fun night. Taxis also allow open containers, so I had a Corona (and an Oregon beer!!) on the way downtown last night. Mexican food and massages. Living right, I tell ya. 

(King) Emmett dressed up, too

Here's Emmett doing a guest spot at his big brother's Elementary School parade on Halloween. I got the costume in Inner Mongolia, so he's actually Khan for a day. But he preferred to say "King." Whatever--he's the khan.

In other news, of course we're psyched Obama won. Not that we get tons of crap for being Americans, but it will be nice not to have to wonder if people who first see us (in all our obvious Americanness) are thinking "Did THOSE people vote for Bush?"

And we hit the zoo today. Much video to edit, so expect that (not) soon. 3 giant pandas, tons of big cats, giraffes. And open, green space. Bright, if chilly day. Fun times. Peace out.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Here's hoping Election Day is less scary than Halloween

Don't call the Pulitzer people. These photos will win no awards. And the best one of them was taken by Cliff, father of Desi's classmate. Please enjoy the fun anyway. The boys paraded through the elementary school, instead of all over campus, because it was raining. We trick or treated after school over at the Racquet Club. Then it was off to the pre-Grand Opening of The Thirsty Monk, where we ate chicken nuggets and pizza and fries and carrot sticks and drank 2-for-1 bevs. Then we walked home, crashed in bed, and slept late. Fun all around.

Here's Desi, He borrowed his ninja suit from the Leipold family (thank yous!).



I got Emmett's khan outfit in Inner Mongolia back in September. (Our Halloween stuff is sitting in our shipment, awaiting customs clearance at the Shanghai airport. We're going on 17 days now at 35 bucks a day for storage fees. ugh...) I couldn't get him to wear the hat for the photo, but I did get the full costume on film. I'll post that soon. Here he is with our neighbor Mia the Lion. Enjoy.