Surprise Surprise

I knew my dad was coming to visit me in China over Christmas break, but it was a complete surprise when he came in days earlier on Christmas Eve. Dad showed up as I was practicing violin before church. I have never been so shocked! So, over the next week, we hit up the major sites. Here is the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Thanksgiving & Tom the Turkey :)

 The WHOLE gang! Such an awesome group of people :) I'll be so sad to be leaving them.

This lovely thing was used in an epic war of hide and seek. Ick. But the ladies won the battle in the end!

About a week ago I got a package from my AWESOME family. There's nothing that lifts spirits in a foreign country, like getting something from back home. My sister included this cool scratch off world map. 

 You get to scratch off a country after you visit it. How fun! I see I have a long way to go...

 So far I have China, Thailand, Vietnam...

 Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Czech Republic...

Canada, Jamaica, and good old U.S.A.

I'm blessed to have already visited this many places (especially since now I have more to scratch off my map), but now I must travel more!

 Today in art class, we studied Jackson Pollock. They boys loved him way more once they realized that THEY would get to do some crazy action painting of their own. Once they had finished the paintings, they had even more fun building a fortress around them so that no one would touch their beautiful art! There were ropes, tape, bricks, brooms, mops, and signs involved.

 This one is my favorite.

Ming Tombs with Ming

Gretl, Emily, and I went to the Ming Tombs with a new friend we made, MING! He thought it was a hoot that he shared a name with our destination. The jokes went on all day.

Here he is pretending to be dead in "his" tomb. :) He is such a friendly and talkative guy with a very kind heart.

 More pics ahead...

Halloween Party

Apparently, in China there is no rule about putting pictures of children on the internet. I was told its cool to use some. So, here is a little bit of our school's Halloween fun. 

Frida Kahlo (me) with the adorable kitty, Grace.
More Pictures ahead!!!!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Yes, our little preschool/homeschool had a good old fashioned joint pumpkin patch and apple orchard field trip a couple weeks ago. It was a fabulous day to be outside. The sun was out and shining so much. I look back on this day fondly, since now our days are brisker and cloudier. The winter is coming. I can feel it! Anyway, here are some of the delightful things that a Chinese indoor pumpkin "patch", actually a greenhouse, offers...

Oh, did I forget to say this was an Entertainment Farm!
Don't stop looking now. More good stuff is coming up.