Day 90 March 31

Josi did a presentation for her class about our trip to China. I was able to sneak out of my classroom for a few minutes to go watch her. She did a great job. No problem getting up and speaking in front of a group of people. I wonder where she gets that from! We really hadn't discussed what she was going to say and she had a lot to say! It was a joy to watch her.

Day 89 March 30

Josi is always creating something. I wonder what the future has for her because she is such a designer, inventor, and out of the box thinker. She got some bend-a-roos for Christmas. Here a a few things she worked on after school tonight.

Day 88 March 29

Cadi is snuggled in really deeply tonight watching t.v. She says she's staying up until 9:00, but I doubt she makes it that long!

Day 87 March 28

We had more snow today although most of it melted away on the streets. Still it feels like we have a long way to go until spring... Hard to believe we were in Yangzhou with the beautiful blooming flowers only a week ago!

Day 86 March 27

Here are two shots of the quilt I bought after we had our time on the Great Wall. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I got a good deal on it!

Day 85 March 26

On January 27th I took a picture out my dining room window a little before 5 p.m. Tonight I took the same shot right before 8:00 pm. Quite a bit of difference in the light. Still a lot of snow, but the good news is the volcano didn't manage to send ash our way today!

Day 84-March 25

This picture represents Parent Teacher conferences. Yes they are today and tomorrow. So I greeted parents with part of my brain missing due to Jet lag. Well at least I can blame it on jet lag...

Day 83 (I think)-March 24

Well, the empresses did well on the first day back to school. After school they came home and did homework, took baths, and then watched the first hour of The Biggest Loser. We miss so much about China, but it's good to be back home!

March 22 again since we had two of them....

In the Tokyo airport. Interesting t.v. viewing! On our way back to the USA.

March 22

When we arrived at the hotel in Beijing we spotted a group of newly adopted girls. It was the perfect "circle of life" moment. More babies are now with their forever families. It was like icing on the cake!

March 21

Yhe morning we left Yangzhou it rained for the first time since we arrived in China. It was almost as if somehow the Chinese had also orchestrated that Yangzhou would cry while the daughters of Yangzhou left once again...

Day 77-March 20

We went shopping in an area that was in the process of being renovated. It was fun to watch all the workers and I guess this guy felt like he needed to keep his eye on me...

Day 77- March 19

Cadi at the park with the zoo the second day we were in Yangzhou

Catching up

Day 76- these thermos bottles were lined up on a counter in the orphanage in the toddler room the day we visited Yangzhou Social Welfare Institute. I just thought they looked pretty cool!

Two days in one March 16 and 17 in China

Very little time the last two days, but here are the pictures for the last two days We were at the Great Wall and the Bird's Nest on the 16th and yesterday we went to the Forbidden City. If you want more information check out my Yangzhou blog. On my way to breakfast!

Day 73 March 14 (15th in China)

These are pictures of the dim sum and some little cakes (I think like moon cakes) that were in the supermarket we visited. I love the detail in the presentation of so many chinese things. I don't know if the dim sum is pork filled or not!

Day 72 MArch 13th (I think!)

This photo represents the joy of finding our soft comfy beds after the Looooooooong trip across the Pacific. The Radison Hotel SAS is wonderful and the king sized bids felt so good last night!

Day 71 March 12

This is a picture of the windows in the SeaTac airport. We had a bite to eat before our Loooong flight over the pacific. I just thought the design of these window was so very cool. I probably have sat and looked at these same window many times before, but the 365 project has me looking at things in a new way.

Day 70 MArch 11

We're in Seattle and the kids are having popcorn and apple juice for dinner. Another fine gourmet dinner by the mother of the year!

Day 69 March 10

Today, Cadi's fifth grade class presented their Power Point presentation for their city projects. Cadi's chosen city was Canon Beach, Oregon. She did a great job on her power point and had a lot of fun decided how to decorate her desk. The great news is that the end of the quarter pretty much coinsides with our trip so she is finished up for the quarter and has very little homework to do while we are in China!

Day 68 March 9

So tonight I'm trying to tie up those little lose ends. Took Josi back to the doctor today because her cough sounds so bad, but she said that Josi's lungs sound fine and she is good to go. She's sleeping now and doesn't seem to be coughing right now so hopefully she will get some good sleep tonight.

So when I was trying to think of something to photograph my eyes stopped on this catalog. It came in the mail today. I almost threw it away, but there is something about the spring catalog that just brings back thoughts of my childhood. The fall and winter Sears catalog meant the ordering of school clothes. Back in those days you would mail in the order and then wait for about 6 weeks for the package finally to arrive. Half the time something didn't fit right so by the time you mailed it back and then waited again it could be almost Christmas before you got your school clothes! Then when the spring catalog arrived we would always still be buried with snow, but the Spring and Summer catalog held the promise that sometime the snow would melt. The arrival usually coinsided with the daylight increasing so it brought the same hope. Today we got about 6 more inches of snow, but the Spring and Summer catalog arrived. I couldn't throw it away even though the internet now makes living in Alaska a whole different life. I couldn't throw it away though. That would be like throwing away hope...

Day 67 March 8

I didn't take this picture so I guess it's another cheat, but it was an important day! We got to see a new baby born into our family! My cousin's son and his wife had a baby girl! She almost waited to be born on Cadi's birthday, but she was born on March 8th China time so that's close enough for us! This is a picture of her dad holding her...

Day 66 March 7

The last day of 10. How did it happen? She's going to be 11 the next time I see her. In the midsts of Josi being sick, Cadi's birthday party was postponed until after we get back. We had tickets to go to the play Radio Girls ,but I knew Josi wasn't well enough to go. I asked Cadi to call my cousin and see if she wanted to go with her. Instead my cousin volunteered to come stay with Josi. So the two of us had a date and enjoy ourselves so much. When we got back we sang a quick Happy Birthday and had a piece of chocolate silk pie. She has requested breakfast in bed in the morning. I may have to sneak back upstairs in a few minutes and take one more peek at my 10 year old...

Day 65 March 6

So Josi has been sick for the last 3 days with a fever that runs between 100 and 103 degrees. Most of today she was feeling much better and her temp was down to normal most of the day, but now it's back up again. We have a plane to catch on Wednesday. Please pray for Josi and for Cadi and me that we don't get this stuff. We are going to China in 5 sleeps!

Day 64 March 5

I'm cheating today. Still home with Josi today and will be again tomorrow. Her fever is starting to go down a bit, but the cough is pretty gnarly. Anyway, this is a picture Cadi took on Tuesday. Her girl scout troop went snowshoeing up to the reservior and she got a couple pretty good picture with the little camera. So here you go. A look over Orca Bay which is part of Prince William Sound.

Day 63 March 4

Josi and I were home all day today and it looks like all day tomorrow too. She is running a fever around 101-102 degrees and has a gnarly cough. The one thing about having a sick child and taking a day off is that I feel fine and could actually get alot accomplished while she sacked out on the couch. One project I have been working on for the last 3 months is curriculum mapping of the language arts program in kindergarten. What a huge undertaking! I did get a lot done today though. It was nice to have about 6 hours to devote to the project. When I'm all finished it will count for 8 graduate level credits so I will be set for recertification when that becomes due. I'm very tired tonight but satisfied with what I accomplished today.

Day 62 March 3

I'm working the homework lab tonight and dont think i will have time to take a picture and get it on tonight so here you go from photo booth on my Mac at school...

Day 61 March 2

The old diaperbag/backpack that I took on both trips to China and every trip we have taken in the last 10 years has really seen better days so I bought myself a new one to take on the trip. It came a couple days ago and I feel like I've move into a new era. It's made especially to carry my laptop and other electronics. I think it's going to be great and I really love the color!

Day 60 March 1

I took some pictures today for a friend of mine. She and her husband needed some updated photos to use on their church's webpage. Anyway we went to the harbor and I was fortunate enough to get pictures of a sea otter who had hauled up on one of the float. It was sunbathing and I guess the thought of me being close was less offensive than going back into the water. I was probably about 20 feet away when I got this one. The fur is just incredible...