Carrying on

Even during such an unusual year, it's hard to believe we're barreling toward the holidays.  The girls are used to their teachers, classmates, and work routine, Ben has adjusted to his heavy load, and Kara has started as a Learning Assistant in the school as well, working with 5th graders.  While we're busy, we are trying not to take for granted our ability to go to school now and to have things operating on a safe level.  Security has tightened up in the city after one case of Covid hit Shanghai last week, the first locally transmitted case in almost half a year.  In other news, Ben finally upgraded from his iPhone 7 that wouldn't stay charged and got the new iPhone.  We've been having fun with the camera and look forward to seeing even more of its capabilities.

Halloween was another fun night and the girls enjoyed getting their haul.  The biggest treat was visiting their favorite art teacher from YCIS.  

Kara went to blow glass with Tracey and absolutely loved it.  Working with temperatures that felt "as hot as the sun" made for an amazing experience.  

Lastly, the girls have gone through a Rubik's cube obsession and have gotten quite fast.  Nina can occasionally solve them in under a minute.  Here's an old video of them at work.

Golden Week

We've been glad to celebrate Mid-Autumn festival in Shanghai. Combined with Kara's birthday, we got out a fair amount, hung out with friends old and new, ate a lot of food, and did our typical wandering.  From barbecues to mahjong, ice skating and visiting a farm, we managed to do a variety of activities and we have greatly enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Lastly, we heard Elmo was in town, and since many of the girls' cousins love him we had to make a trip to see him.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

School life

Another school year has started and we are appreciating the little things that we had taken for granted.   Both girls have had some ups and downs, but seem to be happy and Nina was awarded star of the week. We're holding all children, schools, and staff in our thoughts right now and hoping for all the best this year.

 

While we are certainly busy with schoolwork and planning, we've tried to have some fun.  Pip has gotten into solving a rubik's cube and can get the first 5 of 8 steps figured out.  She and Nina have also invented their own card games that we've been playing.  Pip made "Big three" which is similar to War but much faster, while Nina made "Aces go" which combines aspects from Solitaire and Garbage.  We took a trip to Century Park after our flu shots and also got to go see Mulan in the theater with some friends. 

August, the Sunday of Summer

Summer is quickly ending and school will begin on September 1.  Overall, the girls are looking forward to starting a school routine and meeting new friends.  Ben is bracing for the madness of the first month in which he'll take on some extra duties while some teachers are not back in the country, or are stuck in quarantine for a while.  

We've been fortunate this month as the air quality has been excellent and the rain nearly disappeared.  Unfortunately it's been a heat index over 110 every day.  Therefore, we've spent a fair amount of the day inside playing cards, games, and reading books; the girls have been reading a lot of Roald Dahl.  We've had some fun play dates here and there with different families and it's nice to get to use some other pools!