Week 32 - USA Pavillion

Last weekend we went to Expo, and loads of people were comparing their arm span (and height) with Kobe Bryant.   Most people were significantly shorter, and had a much smaller span.  Mike created quite a stir, as clearly he was a professional basketball player (except for the manbag), and was photographed by loads of onlookers!

  

Week 31 - Science lesson

I'm spending a lot of time in this room at the moment... I'm doing my second prac for my teaching diploma.  I'm teaching Year 6 at the moment, and this was a science lesson that rocked.  The kids were engaged, interested and got on with their work.  I was impressed with them all!  FYI They are using Newton meters to compare the difference in force required to move an object in and out of water.

Week 30 - Rainy day

Apart from having cut off the top of his head, there are a number of things about this photo that I'd like to bring to your attention.
1. He's now able to walk up steps without a helping hand or crawling.
2. He loves to carry around leaves (as in his right hand) which he subsequently 'posts' in cracks or drains.
3. He finally fits into his first pair of gum boots... and aren't they cute?  Hello, muddy puddles!!

Week 29 - Autumn morning

Yesterday morning the kids and I took a bucket of water, a water pistol and a water cannon down to our lake to try and shoot down Peter Pan and the Wendy Bird.  Captain Hook and Smee did a pretty good job.  When they weren't in character the two kids were gorgeous and the sun was shining and the sky was blue - a perfect morning to be outdoors!

Week 28 - First Day at School

This is my baby.  Wearing a uniform.  Carrying an enormous backpack.  Taking a packed lunch. Going to school.  Where has the time gone?  She's so grown up.

Week 27 - Moon Cake in Carrefour

Coming up in late September is the Mid-Autumn Festival.  It celebrates the end of the summer harvest, and the autumnal equinox.  Celebrations include eating moon cakes.  Like Christmas decorations, these seem to be appearing earlier and earlier each year.  This one we called the 'Whole of the Mooncake' - it's enormous!!!  And so you'd expect for costing 2888RMB (AUD$478). Those baskets behind are full of bite size mooncakes... some are delicious, and some have awful surprise meat fillings in!  I particularly like a coconut one this year.

Week 26 - Natural History Museum

After sweltering in 40deg heat, we decided that one way to escape the heat would be to visit a museum.  We caught a taxi to Puxi to the Natural History Museum, except that the taxi overheated and dropped us closer to People Square, so we had to walk back almost a kilometre to get to the museum... And then it was cool only for being in the shade and with high ceilings, this old museum had some portable air conditioners and ceiling fans only.  It was interesting to see all the specimens, skeletons and stuffed animals.  And a year after visiting and loving the Natural History Museum in London, it was funny that Jie Jie didn't like the dinosaurs because they had 'no skin'.

Week 25 - First haircut

It was so hot and sticky, and his long curls were giving him heat rash on the back of his neck and a few dreadlocks were forming, so I took him to Head to Toe, Jinqiao to have his first real haircut at 18 months old.  (We have trimmed it once before.)  He sat so still, while the snipping and combing was going on, sitting in a little red car - you can just see the steering wheel and back tyre.  He never ever stays still that long when I try to brush / comb the knots out!

Week 24 - Baishuitai, Yunnan

Baishuitai, or White Water Terraces, are about 100km from Shangri-La and was one of the most beautiful localised spots we saw on our trip. The terraces are formed as a combination of erosion and deposition of limestone, and the area has an incredible amount of water continually flowing, higher up the mountains in streams, and then just flowing over the stone. It is high altitude, so the water is cool, and also I think the cleanest flowing water I have seen in China!

Week 23 - Shangri-La

That's me and Ellie lolling about in rubber rings. We are relaxing in the Tianshenqiao Hot Springs not far out of Shangri-La. The water in the pool comes out of that cliff, and is hot like a bath. The minerals in the water made our skin tingle. Such a magnificent spot for a swim, surrounded by the cliff, mountains all around and you can hear the rapids in the river running just next to the pool.