Hong Kong Disneyland

I was seriously salivating at the thought of going to Hong Kong.  Why you ask? I LOVE Disneyland .  We had to leave the country to renew our visas and Hong Kong was the best option.   We had a great time there.  There were a few little hiccups along the way, but all in all a fun experience.  The first day there R took care of the visa thing and then we just have to wait to get things processed, so we spent our days at Disneyland.  Upon our arrival it started raining/pouring while we were in line buying our  2 day pass tickets.  The rain ponchos we purchased helped a little bit, but we walked around all day in wet soggy shoes and clothes.  Which was fine because the lines were short and we were able to get a lot of rides in.






The only way into Disneyland was by subway. 
The minute you step on the train, the magic starts to happen.  It was all decked out Disney style.

M's had this great plan of swinging on these handles.  I tried to talk him out of it, but it was a no go.  I let him get on to get a quick picture and then he had it out of his system.  What a little monkey.

                                                    We had a great day, rain and all. 

When the rain just wouldn't let up, they decided to play in it.  They held there ponchos out and caught streams of water running from the awning.   A gallon of water later and it somehow ended up being dumped all down C.  He was wet, but now he was soaked.  I think this was about the time R babe started getting tired and ornery.  Little did we know that those were not just signs of being tired, but that he was actually getting the flu.   I was lucky enough to jump out of the taxi with him in hand right before the puking started happening. 

                                       Remember: You should be Sober and in good health to ride. 

                          I love that R babe couldn't hold still for a second to get a picture. 

                                                      This was day 2 of Disneyland. 
We came prepared for the rain this time with flip flops and umbrellas, but lucky for us we didn't have to use them. R babe wasn't completely better, so we rented a stroller and he slept in it most of the day.  By the middle of the day he was up and about and even felt good enough to go on his favorite ride, Buzz light year.

Sorting their collection of Disney sticker's that they were thrilled to get for FREE!

The older two kiddos are a little timid, so they would find a Disney worker, send M over to ask for a sticker and then they would all suddenly show up when the sticker's were being passed out.  

They thought they were pretty clever.

Watching the Disney parade.

This guy in the overalls was a crack-up.  I think I watched him more than I did the parade.  He new every word to every song.  Not Kidding!  He was dancing, singing and taking pictures. 

Why did this day have to end.  I think I got a little teary-eyed as we walked past this sign.  On the way home the kids just kept asking "Mom, why didn't we move to Hong Kong...Why?" 

   M getting one last ride.

Sao Paulo, Bountiful, Shanghai all in One Year

Our year anniversary moving back from Brazil just came around. June 2nd to be exact. It seems like so long ago we were sitting on the beach, sitting in traffic, and sitting on an airplane flying home from our wonderful, crazy life in Brazil.  Our life living as ex-pats was somehow over and what we thought would be the end of our overseas adventures.  We were so happy being home.  The convenience of family, familiar foods, super stores, the neighborhood, bikes, a back yard, being able to read labels, going out for yummy Mexican food or any type of food, made life so simple.  

Then the talk of moving to Shanghai came up.  My first reaction was, but I am so happy here, my second reaction is how can we pass this up if it is offered to us.  We had grown so much as a family living in Brazil.  We loved being able to see new things and have our kids experience the world, different cultures, different languages, and different people.  We loved being home, but having another wonderful experience was just too hard to let it pass by. 

In one year since we moved from Brazil to Utah, we vacationed in Bear Lake, Moab and moved to Shanghai.  Upon our arrival we lived in temporary housing for 4 weeks and then moved to our permanent home.   We flew to Hong Kong for a weekend to get our visas renewed and R's work visa.  We were home for a week and then flew to Chongqing for 15 days to finalize our work and resident permits. Upon our arrival home we received our shipment container that had been sitting in customs since March 8.  We now have our bikes, our comfy beds, couches and last but not least the kids have their toys (and I have my elliptical machine).  Oh how we have missed comfortable furniture.

R has put in more than his fare share of hours working. His travels have taken him to Taiwan, Chongqing, Beijing, Hong Kong, Suzhou and Baotao.  The kids have been troopers despite the instability.  They have been challenged at school in almost every subject.  They have made new friends and they continue to just amaze me.  Amongst all of this R babe has been potty trained and has learned how to ride a bike.  M goes to school full time and enjoys every minute of it.  His teacher has been working really hard with him learning his letters and numbers.  He loves having that new found knowledge.  He quite frequently comes home singing all sorts of gospel songs and tells us phrases in mandarin he has picked up at school.   J and C have both started violin lessons and are learning Mandarin.  J is also learning how to play the recorder.  C continues playing soccer with his buddies at school, and has started basketball.  We also just purchased his first swim cap for school swimming.  He has been able to make quite a few friends..  

This past year has been a whirlwind and the travel doesn't seem to end.  In just 20 days we fly back to  Utah, back to our family to catch up with cousins and friends, to indulge in our favorite foods and have fun.  We are so thankful for all the experiences that we have had this past year.  And wouldn't change most of them anyway.