Some things I DON'T love about China

Okay, so as of April 1st of this year Beijing instituted a new Taxi law.  Only 4 passengers are allowed to ride in a Taxi at a time.  We have had some trouble finding a taxi willing to take all 5 of us, even though our kids are all 5 and under.  Today we actually had a taxi driver get back out of the taxi once he saw how many kids were sitting in the car and start yelling at us to get out and smacking the window to point out the fact that we had too many people. First of all ... holy crap!  How are we supposed to go anywhere in China???  And second of all ... seriously, you had to yell at us??? Couldn't he have just nicely said "I'm sorry but I can't take your poor family with three small children because of the new law."  Instead we had to change the appointment time at Brie's school because we were so late, and Lowell and I each carried a boy in our new Ergo baby carriers (awesome, but insanely hot) and book it to the metro, wait two stops, and book it to the school ...  all that took an hour and 20 minutes!!!!!  I was sweating so bad it was like I had just stepped out of a pool, and today was only 85!  What are we going to do when it is over 100???  It was the closest I've come to actual crying since we've been here.  I couldn't stop a few tears from actually leaking out of my eyes.  How in the world are we going to be able to go anywhere as a family?????????

Some things I love about China

There are some things that I won't ever complain about again once we are back in the States ... like going shopping with three kids.  I definitely miss my van and Costco.

Brie is constantly making new friends ; )  We finally got the chance to go out exploring. The people of China have been so kind to us.  Of course it might have something to do with how cute our kids are...The park by our apartment is so beautiful.I love Beijing by night.

The architecture of China is so amazing.  These roof tiles are entirely made of Jade!

It's Getting Better

Okay, still no pictures.  I know, totally lame.  It is my new goal this week, find a way to start taking pictures and not lose one of my kids.  We may have finally broken the "no sleep" barrier.  Gavin and Brie slept through the night, and now we are just waiting on Jude to figure out that we are living in China now, not California.  Not too bad though, it's been less than a week!

One of my favorite things about being here, so far, is the amount of love my children are getting.  Especially Jude who is usually deprived of attention since he is the youngest.  One lady was very concerned because we didn't have any socks or shoes on Jude and it was "too cold" in Beijing for a baby to not have socks on.  It was at least 70 degrees.  For anyone who lives in Monterey, you will appreciate how warm we thought it was!

We also had our first couple of days with some awesome pollution.  It looked just like a good, thick Marine Layer had rolled in ... so that's what I just kept telling myself it was, just the Marine Layer like it used to be in Monterey.  By the time we got back from our hour-long excursion my lungs were actually burning like I had just sucked in a bunch of campfire smoke.  Gross.

Our First Day

So I don't have any pictures yet, mostly because our entire first day was entirely spent with kids napping, Lowell filling out paperwork, no food, and failed attempts at ... well ... everything we tried.  All three kids literally fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows . . . and Lowell joined them.  I didn't even get the Room Service here in time.  Looks like our first day in Beijing needs a "do-over" with more naps, more food, and more people who know what they are doing.  Tomorrow can only be better . . . right??

Gavin is TWO!

I can't believe my little baby is already two. He is the sweetest little boy in the whole world! He is talking all the time now and it is so fun to hear what he has to say. My favorite phrases are: "Oh Fine!" "Awesome Fire Truck" (more like Fi-dy Truck) and whenever I ask him to stop doing something he just looks at me and smiles and says "oh Allll Right." For his birthday we took him on a real Choo-Choo train ride. At first he was scared, then he had a blast. Waiting to get on the train he stood there laughing and saying "All-Abooaarrd" over and over again. We love him.

Pinnacles

Lowell and I are trying to see all the places that we still want to see before we move . . . one of those places was Pinnacles National Monument. It was beautiful in the winter greens and the talus caves were fun and challenging at the same time. We brought Brie a friend to keep her busy so Lowell and I were climbing and weaving our way through the knee-high water and pitch black slot-canyon-like caves with a kids each on our backs and one 4 year old each . . . SOOOO much fun!

The Kids

All our kids are growing up way too fast!! Jude can sit up all on his own, Gavin is talking up and storm and Brie has hit the wonderful phase of being five! Jude is settling into our family nicely. Gavin loves all things that have motors . . . cars, planes, trains, trucks, boats . . . you get the idea. And Brie while still being every bit the princess she is also our angel who loves to help her brothers and read books to us.