Katie is here. Winter Break almost is.

We are happy to have Kate here in town. Emmett has no school this week, so they are playing all day while the rest of us finish up our last week of 09. Big party at our place on Saturday night so she can meet some of our friends.

Gotta go grade final exams, but here's some evidence that the holiday spirit is a global thang.



Desi was psyched to hop on up. Asked for a robot. Methinks he might be in luck...mwahahaha! As we waited in line, Desi asked "Is that the REAL Santa?" When I feigned incredulity, he explained that it just looks like a guy in a suit. I had a feeling this day was coming. Luckily, his boots were super-authentic looking, and Desi had to concede that point. By then, it was lap-time and all doubts vanished. For now.

Emmett, not so psyched for the lap. He DID draw a picture to give to Santa. Video of that forthcoming. For now...



Here's mom and E with a shirt that gets more true with each really loud tantrum. He IS 3, after all.



And, i couldn't resist one more, as it's just a little cute. emmy wishes you all peace this holiday season. Lately he has taken to singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." Not a dry eye in the house!

TGIF

hey there world. the work week is over, at least on this side of our beautiful blue ball. soon i'm off to catch the fading sunlight for a game of ball with Emmett. friday nights at our house are Breakfast and a Movie Night. Cereal and cartoons--at night! It's so sweet.

Then we have a party with co-workers. I'll be sneaking away from it to watch the Civil War for the Roses at a fellow Oregonian's apartment. Our other co-worker taped it off of Filipino satellite TV, which carries ESPN. Gotta love the modern conveniences. Of course, the game is already over. But so far, I have successfully avoided hearing ANY news. Let's hope it stays that way for 3 more hours.

FInal exams start here at the HS next week. I, for one, am looking forward to it. I know for a fact the students aren't, and that reminds me how great it is that I AM NOT A STUDENT ANYMORE. Sure, it's been ten years since I was. But even at 36, the math still indicates that I have spent most of my life as a student. I won't be over that hump for a couple years. So let's all pause and appreciate the fact that we don't have homework or exams or projects hanging over us.
There. Doesn't it feel good?

So we have the Xmas tree up. Stockings, lights, the whole nine yards. And if you think the Chinese-exported lights you bought are crap, you ain't seen nothin' til you've seen (or should I say "felt"?) the ones for domestic consumption. Shocking, I can tell you. Actual sparks shooting out as I plug 'em in. Still, we are enjoying the season. Lots of holiday music, and I can happily report that the boys' favorites are the parody songs on Dr. Demento's compilation album "Holidays in Dementia." Like "Rusty Chevrolet" (to the tune of Jingle Bells), "Hanukkah Homeboy" and "It's so Chic to be Pregnant at Christmas."

Desi is tearing it up these days, reading and writing like a madman. He wrote a thank you note last night with minimal help and only one misspelling. He's getting into wu shu (just got him the outfit last week) and drum lessons from a neighbor kid. Emmett is showing art skills, including a SWEET butterfly. He also likes wearing his lion costume to school for no apparent reason. I went to a parent-teacher conference and Ms. Beini said Emmy jumped through the door yesterday in his lion suit, growling and pawing the air. I promise I'll post a pic soon.

In case I don't post again for a couple days, happy birthday to Brad Brown (Dec. 7). For those of you who know him, he's now a father of two and his wife Marlo runs a nice blog that puts mine to shame.

Gotta run. GO Ducks and only 10 days til Katie arrives here!

Yearbook photos!

Just got our next-year's yearbook mug shots. Emmett's class photo is coming in a couple weeks. But I can't wait to post these. So cute! Even mine turned out OK.





WHY IS THIS BOY SMILING, you ask? His pilot shirt is a clue. You see, the morning of picture day, we put a collared shirt on him, against his will. Big fuss! As a compromise, we put the pilot shirt in his backpack and said he could change into it after the picture was taken. You see how well that plan worked. Little sneak!

And, in case you forgot what I look like:



Desi is becoming a writer, before our very eyes. Below is a page from his food journal. See if you can read it. (His class learned about food last week, and this week they will analyze what they all ate last week for their dinners.)



As for Emmy, he cracks me up like every single day. A recent exchange:

While reading "The Paperboy" to Emmy, I pointed to a picture that shows the paperboy's dog following him out on his paper route.

Gary: "What a good dog! Do you know any good dogs?"

Emmett: "Alfie, and Hay-see, Dana's dog."

Gary: "Is Hay-see a big dog or a little dog?"

Emmett: "Little."

Gary: "Does it have straight hair or curly hair?"

Emmett: "Ummm, it's not hair. It has petly fur. And eyes for seeing."

PETLY FUR! i mean, come on.

and when stills are not enough, here is this:

my trip to Yunnan

firstly, props to Sarah for watching the kids for 5 days whilst I chaperoned China Alive! Our group of 50 kids stayed in Dali, a chill little city. We did lots of stuff. See below.

we learned how batik cloth is made. a LOT of work



we had nice walks/hikes on mountains.



we took a boat ride to an island on a BEAUtiful day

those promised photos

emmy's field trip to the farm took him back to his family's roots as farmers in Gervais:



and his other family's roots as shoppers in Scottsdale:


As for the big guy, we just wish he weren't so camera-shy. (that's a travel neck pillow, BTW):

november already

Life flies by us here in Shanghai. Halloween was fun, and it never fails to amaze me how quickly the kids forget about ALL THAT candy they had just one night earlier. Not that it was all quality candy, mind you. Desserts are one of the few foods here that consistently disappoint. I guess, coming from the USA, there ain't a country in the world I could move to and say, "wow, they like sweets even more than we do."

Briefly, as it's bedtime:

1. boys started doing wu shu (martial arts) this week. pretty fun to watch. I'll get at least a photo up here soon.

2. go Cats! Way to beat Iowa and ruin their season. That's what they deserve for having all those nasty pork farms. what with the acres of poop and all...gross

3. we're excited that Auntie Katie will be here in 5 weeks. And word has it that Auntie Erica just bought her ticket for February, so we'll show her around for New Year's. Chinese, that is. Aunties on the way!

4. Musically, we're listening to a lot of Afroman lately. If you miss the dirty-but-harmless party rap of the 80s, you should definitely check out his "The Good Times." Feel free to e-request a sample. Side note to record companies: I never share music illegally. (far as you know)

5. I'll post some pics from campus tomorrow. Still the only place I can get em thru. My hope that internet censorship would lighten up post-60th National Day are for naught.

take care, wherever you are.

Catching up is hard to do

Before I forget, and before I leave for a 5-day skool trip to Yunnan province, here's an update and a backlog of photos. In general, life is grand. Emmet takes a skool field trip to the organic farm today, Desi has a Grade One Literacy Morning that Sarah will get to visit. Details later, I'm sure.

He IS reading like a champ these days. Every night, Emmett looks forward to getting read to by his big brother. It is cute. As for E's schooling, his Chinese is coming along, he can count to 16 in both languages, he knows his colors, body parts, foods, family pronouns, lots of things.

And as for what we're up to...

Last weekend, went to the JZ Music Fest, outdoors, at Century Park. Lots of bands, food, fun with our friends the Wang-Chus. Never thought I'd get to do something like that here in Shanghai. Then shabu shabu (Japanese hot pot) for dinner. Emmy slept thru dinner, but Desi tried some foods.

Here's what that all looked like:







This weekend, watching the high school production of Mulan (with the Wang-Chus) and heading to the grocery store. Exciting, I know. Just got some shelving at IKEA and want to fill it up with bulk items. (See, when I don't blog for a couple weeks, it's not like y'all are missing out on much.)

Next weekend...trick or treating at the SRC (big apartment complex where most teachers live).

Here's a preview of this year's costumes (Buzz Lightyear and A Knight), courtesy of my ma, who just brought them:




now THAT's cute.

Now that baseball season is over, I am resuming wu shu lessons. I'll be taking the boys to a kids' class, too. I am also looking for a Mandarin tutor for the family. My goal is never to repeat the same frustrating language-barrier-induced situation. So that I don't feel like I'm making no progress at all. Here's where YOU say "Zhu ni hao yun"--good luck.

You're all invited to come see the World Expo here, from May-Oct 2010. "Better City, Better Life" is the motto that's supposed to make us less annoyed at all the massive traffic snarls and dust. So visit and make it worth all the hassle, please. We'll likely be here a few more years, so no hurry, but Expo is a one-time thing here.

BTW, if you'll be in Chicago in early March, Sarah would love to see you. Chicago is lovely that time of year. Contact her for details.

gotta go grade papers! Love to you all. Zai jian.