The Yosemite mini marathon on Mother's Day!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning for Mother's Day and our neighborhood held a "mini marathon" for the whole family.  Kelly, the girls and I, along with a couple of families that we are friends with all gathered bright and early for the race.  The kids were supposed to run a 3.5 km (which is roughly 2 miles) and the adults were running a 9.5km run (6 miles). 
Promptly at 8:30 we all lined up and were ready for action.  The gun went off and the kids took of sprinting like they were on fire.  This quickly turned into a jog, by the end of the street when they realized they had a heck of a lot farther to go...  ALOT farther!  Sometimes things just seem to get lost in translation here in China and those poor little darlings ended up running 3.5 miles.  They were spent by the end of the race!
The adults had a little bit different course to "add" the extra miles in there.  Kelly, of course, took off like he was shot out of a cannon followed by me and two of my friends that I run with here.  We are all training partners for the Great Wall half marathon so this race was nothing out of the norm for us.  We enjoyed our run together and ran it at a really good 8 minute/mile pace. We passed by Julia (who shot daggers at me with her eyes)and her friend, and Ella and one of her friends (they were doing more socializing than running). I ended up getting 2nd place for the women and Kelly got 2nd place for the men.  He actually should have gotten first place because the guy that came in in front of him messed up on the course and took a wrong turned that luckily shaved a 1/2 mile or more off his distance. 
At the end of the race we got called to the podium to collect our prizes.  Kelly and I both received personal humidifiers, for second place, that are about the size of your fist and 2 free estimates for a home theater system (home theater not included).  The best part was when my 2 friends sons got up on the podium to receive their joint award for 3rd place for the kids race.  Their faces were priceless when they both pulled out a bottle of red wine.  Yep that is what I said!  What 10 and 11 year old boy wouldn't love a good bottle of red wine.  I should have traded them for my humidifier!
All in all, Mother's Day was just amazing.  We got to run a race as a family, watch Julia play soccer, go out for a bite to eat and because of the physically exhausting day the kids were down for the count early!  Ahhhhhh! 
I will try to post pics on this later!

Spring Fair at ISB

Every year at ISB school the PTA puts on a Spring Fair that is really pretty impressive.  There were tons of vendors and games going on.  Lucky me got to run the "Buzz It" game.  How on earth I got assigned to that game is beyond me.  I must be on the poop list or something because it was the most annoying game EVER!  It was like a huge game of operation where you try to slide a ring around this coiled wire without touching it to the wire or you get "buzzed".  I think there may be permanent hearing damage involved but what the heck....the kids loved it!
Julia's cheerleading squad also performed a dance routine that was really quite good.  There were also different shows and entertainers performing various things.  One of the Chinese skits involved volunteers from the audience and Ella, who was vigorously waving her arms, got picked to go up on stage.  I had no unearthly idea what they were going to do but I never imagined it would involve putting some little kids in a huge plastic bag in the 90 degree heat!  Only in China!  They had the kids introduce themselves and then put them all in the huge plastic bag that was standing up tall.  Once in the bag, the clown (literally it was a clown) that was inside with them had them all sing a song and talk.  Low and behold the bag was full of helium.  I am not entirely sure that is safe, and I am sure that you couldn't do something like this in the US, but in China anything goes.  I thought I had seen it all but never expected to see my kid do something like that.  So imagine my surprise when I went past the stage again, after Ella's soccer practice, and saw my eldest daughter inside a giant plastic bag sounding like a chipmunk!  Really?  My kids have no sense of self preservation.  Everyone turned out fine and their voices don't sound like the Chipmunks anymore......well Ella's voice pretty much always sounds like that anyway!! Sometime I just have to shake my head!  Love them!

Ella was asked by West Hair Design to be a hair model. 

This is what became of it.....green braid and a blue bun!

Ella up on stage. (The other little girl is our friends daughter Ella too.)

4 kids and a super hero clown all in a huge plastic bag full of helium. (on a 95 degree day)

Julia and the ISB Dragon middle school cheer team.

Nice toe  touch!

Stunting

Girls just want to have fun!

Another day of hanging out with friends after school!  There is never a shortage of kids to play with in this community and that is one of the best parts of this whole experience.  Kids from all different parts of the world come together and just want to do the same thing.....be kids and have fun!

Hongluo Temple training hike

It was nearing the Great Wall half marathon, so a couple of friends and I went to a different section of the Wall known as Honglou Temple.  It is literally a thousand year old Buddhist temple and holy land (not to mention one heck of a hike).  These Buddhist worshipers must have been in phenomenal shape to hike that climb to visit the temple!  It is an absolutely beautiful hike up the mountain side and is sure to get your heart rate up real quick!  We got a great workout in but I am always amazed and slightly perturbed when a little Chinese lady in high heels passes us by going up the trail! 
This area is also known for the 500-Arhat Statues wearing red robes that surround an enormous statue of laughing Buddha.  It was a great day!  Fantastic weather, workout, view and company!

This was in the "restroom" we used before the hike.  I still don't really get it!

Kasey, Jen and myself ready to get a workout in.

View from up top!

One of the temples.

These are some of the 500 statues surrounding the huge laughing Buddha.  Each statue has a different expression on their face.

Picnic at the Asgard Equestrian club

Beautiful Sunday afternoon of soccer followed by a picnic.  Some of Kelly's co-workers had a picnic at an equestrian club not far from our home.  It was a really nice place (even for American standards) for the kids to run around and pet and feed animals in the petting area.  They had 3 big beautiful barns that housed some very large, gorgeous horses.  There were also a couple of riding and jumping arenas.  Ella decided immediately that she wanted to take riding lessons.  (Oh lord, help me now!)  Thank goodness the price was somewhere in the ballpark of ridiculous so I think I am off the hook for now.  Don't get me wrong, I want my children to experience anything and everything life has to offer BUT, I'm not sure my heart or pocketbook can handle the equestrian club!  I wonder if I can get her interested in knitting??  I think it may be safer and more cost effective.

Billy goat loving the carrots! 

This little guy is a good size for Ella!

What the hell???  It looks like a mountain lions head on a deers body, and what's up with the missing antler??  (scratching my head!)

This horse was hilarious.  He was getting mad at some boys and would shut his window when they came around.  He opened it back up to get some carrots from Ella.

This horse was massive!

This is that horse that opened and shut the window getting some loving from Ella.

Ella was not feeling the love from this horse.  This naughty little guy was kind of nippy!

These are some of Kelly's co-workers and their spouses.

These little boys were having a ball on the tire swing! 

U15 girls Beijing International Football Club

Starting this spring Julia, my 12 year old, started playing on a new all girls soccer team.  She is the baby on the team but really enjoys the camaraderie of playing with girls again.  The team is made up of the best players from different international school around Beijing.  They are being coached by none other than one of my best friends here.  She used to work for the Women's National team and played college soccer herself.  She is just an awesome coach and person in general so I couldn't think of a better person to share her love of the game with my child!  (Julia's father most definitely approves too!)
These are a few shots that I took during a scimmage game that they played against ISB varsity.  The game ended in a tie, which is pretty darn good for a bunch of 8th graders, a 7th grader and my 6th grader!  They are currently working on finding other competition for them to play against and getting them fitted with cool new uniforms and warm ups (compliments of Nike and the Danish embassy).

Julia is still playing on the China Club Football boys team as well, and is really having fun with that too, but sometimes the boys just don't want to talk about clothes and hair!

Julia bringing the ball up the left side.

My friend, Coach Hilary Biggs.

Julia in action.  (These are borrowed uniform shirts from her school.)

Kelly's new position on the sidelines.  He sits as far away as possible so he doesn't "coach" from the sidelines!



Ella hanging out on the sidelines, playing with Hil's daughter and my other friends son!

 

Black Sesame Kitchen

Had a great adult night out in Beijing with some friends at Black Sesame Kitchen.  It is a family style Chinese restaurant, in the middle of a hutong (Chinese neighborhood), that has unbelievable good food.
We enjoyed strolling past the shops and vendors, and I even bought me some Cheetah ear barrettes.  I have admired them on many of the local Chinese women (seriously), and decided that I needed to blend in a bit more. 
It was a great night that involved way to much beer, wine and bijiu (Chinese liqueur that taste worse than rubbing alcohol). Thank goodness we got to sleep in the next morning because I had a MSG hangover and Kelly had a regular one!

The chef's cooking one of the many courses.



Our cute little American waitress that is studying abroad.

And here comes the bijiu.....gombay!! (what you say before you take your shot)

Our friend Jason liked the bijiu a little too much.....until the next morning!

Streets of the hutong!

Had a few drinks at a bar called "The Wiggly Jiggly".  The minute we walked in they started playing country music. They must aim to please but do I look country????  How about a little Linkin Park???

We had to walk through a maze of houses to get to the restaurant.  This is in in front of the restaurant.  I love the clothes hanging on the line!

Black Sesame Kitchen.  It is a top restaurant in Beijing on TripAdvisor.

Our group

My friend Heather rocking my Cheetah ears.......Meowwwwww!

I love this hutong area.  It is an experience in itself and I also love my kitty ears (which have now been confinscated by kids).

Springtime in Beijing!

It has been beautiful here the past few weeks!  Temps in the 70's and 80's, flowers in full bloom and low pollution levels!  Yahoo!  We have been outside as much as possible and loving every minute of it!  My friend took the girls out for an impromptu photo session to get some test shots for her upcoming shoots.  They look like little garden fairies!