Is it really February?

As I am checking facebook multiple times, daily (maybe too often) and responding to my emails to slowly (because they seem to be never ending), I remember we have a blog and this would make the updates SO much easier!  It's been awhile since we last updated and it would be impossible for me to even begin to tell you everything we have done in the last 5 months, hence (Joey Tribbiani's favorite word) you get this...

Beijing- It was great, look at our pictures on Facebook from October to get the end of the Beijing update, which I believe was called "Beijing 1 of ???".  The question marks were quite accurate.

Qingdao- In November we traveled to Qingdao, a port city in northern China.  It was beautiful.  We went with our friends Krystle and Zach.  This is the city where the beer- Tsingtao is made.  We spent a day touring the brewery and drinking beer, Travis' dream vacation!  We ate good food, spent time at bars, met interesting people, and went down by the water.  It was a fun weekend and we can't wait to go back when it is warmer out.

By the shore in Qingdao.  It was a beautiful beach area.

Eating dinner at an Italian restaurant in Qingdao with Krystle and Zach.

In December we had our first visitors!  The moms came first and then Cam and Elisa made it here.  It was so nice to have family here over the holidays.  I had a VERY difficult time not being home in America, and was on edge (just a bit :) during the whole month.  The moms arrived on Dec. 15, the first day of snow in Shanghai!  I was ecstatic to see the fluffy white stuff finally making an appearance in Shangers.  It doesn't happen often, and quite a bit fell.  However, it made our round trip to get our moms from the Pudong airport, 5 hours long!  We stayed here for a few days, and then we met Cam and Elisa up in Beijing.  We stayed in Beijing just long enough for Travis and I to each get the flu.  It was wonderful to be sick while on vacation and in a hotel (insert sarcasm).  Besides the fact that I was not too excited to head back to Beijing since we were just there and it was going to be colder than Shanghai.  I knew everyone else wanted/needed (if you go to China, you have to see the city) to go, so I agreed to head there for a few days.  The only thing I was really looking forward to doing was going back to the Great Wall.  And lucky for me, I was sick that day and missed it.  We headed back to Shanghai for Christmas and had a nice turkey dinner thanks to Bubbas!  The rest of the time we explored Shanghai and shopped til we dropped!  Mom just loved all the shopping!!!  It was so sad to see them leave, especially knowing it would be another 7 months until we saw them again.  Although, I now realize how quickly time passes here...

The yummy turkey dinner we had on Christmas Eve.  We used the turkey as an important part of our pictures that day.  :)

The fabulous moms at Tiananman Square in Beijing.

On New Year's Day Travis and I went to Sanya, Hainan for a week.  Hainan is an island province in the southern most part of China.  We stayed at the Howard Johnson, which was actually a huge, beautiful resort!  We spent our days reading by the pool, which was amazing, but VERY cold.  The city was not so great and didn't have much to offer.  We were glad we got some sun and R and R, but wouldn't recommend the place to friends.

This is just part of the pool at our resort.

Travis and I in front of our hotel.

And then we went on the BEST trip ever!  Bangkok...

To be cont...(hopefully before the next 5 months)