Another Fun/Interesting Weekend

pictures of all the family....

yes upper left is our newest dubois child at 10+ weeks. Boy or girl, who knows?

upper right....kieran and riley carving one of our pumpkins at a neighborhood pumkin carving party. Kieran lost interest pretty quickly but riley finished the job!

Middle......kieran had a birthday party to go to this weekend-at A-Z kids.....man it was a kids dream! we were there 3 hours and could have easily stayed longer. many of the kids in this picture are in his EC4 class at school

Bottom...kellan gets into EVERYTHING! Shortly after this picture was taken....he yacked up all his day's worth of milk and fruits and vegetables. not sure if he had a bug or if it was the milk? milk isn't the easiest thing to find around here---as i am sure you heard in the news...

Yesterday....saturday.....kieran and i spent the afternooon at the birthday party. Kieran had a blast shooting rubber balls at othr kids and climbing around the huge playland. we didn't even make it into some of the other rooms before the actual party had to start where they had games lined up for the kids...it was fun. Riley took Kellan and ventured off to the "Dirt Market" ....he LOVES going on these adventures---and doesn't even hesitate to take Kellan with him. I will let him fill yoou all in on his adventure---he came home with some interesting treasures for people back home!

The rest of Saturday Riley and i spent cramming for the driver's test that we had to take sunday morning.

Everyone on the bus this morning was studying like crazy----it was like college finals week all ov er again. you just have to seee some of these questions to believe them....for example...

If you run into a person whose intestines are hanging out do you a. put them back in b. leave them out c. find a clay pot to cover them in and wrap a bandage around them or d. do nothing I didn't actually get this question on the test...but it is in the list of questions! i did get the spitting question...if yyou have to spit should you a. spit out hte window b. spit on the carpet c. spit in a towel and then when you stop throw it away d. spit on the passenger's side (ok maybe i made up letter d but it was s omething like that). you just have to see some of these questions to believe them! ok...well i had to explain the test before i tell you all that Riley got a 99 OUT OF 100!!!!!! No i didn't believe him ....as i have learned over the years, but he claims he is serious! anyway-with a test like that i can see why he did so well (ha ha --love you riley!). anyway-i got a 90 out of a 100 which was the lowest you could get to get a smiley face at the end of your test. there were a few people who got a sad face at the endof their test (they got below 90) but they still passed them.....we came as a big group from ISB...maybe that helped? anyway-i think everyone that went passed. i am sure if you did terrible they wouldn't pass you , so i am glad i studied. so now we can officially drive that jeep that has been sitting in our driveway for the last month! we didn't get any paper proof of passing so we will wait to drive until we have something IN HAND. I need to go out on the roads around here and practice driving a stick shift. has been nearly 10 years since ihave driven one! and those of you who have been to China know.....driving here is a mess anyway! i would get rearended in a heartbeat if i killed th car trying to shift! so i am in no hurry to drive....just glad we both passed.

we got home and relieved our ayi who must have worn kellan out b/c he took a 3 hour nap which was good since we had a pumpkin carving party to go to tonight. that was a blast....lots of great food and great company! i made special K bars which were a hit for those foreigners who had never had them...and an even bigger hit for those american's (mainly minnesotans) who haven' t had them in a while!

so now i am procrastinating doing my lesson planning for tomorrow....so i will keep going on and on and on....no i wont do that to you all. I hope you enjoy this and PLEASE....if you every plan to come to china....come visit! free place to stay and we could hook you up with a driver to all the sites!

we hope all is well for everyone!

Love

Laurie, Riley, Kieran, Kellan, and Baby

Beijing Marathon!!!

Laurie givin er a go at the beginning of the run. Notice Forbidden City in the background. To the left is a pic of a gal who was sort of a cheerleader. They had music going and she was doing some sort of aerobic thing.

Up above, a Chinese Dumpling expert whipping up a batch for us.

We're ready to roll!

The soldiers kept people from sneaking into the starting area

THe Minnesota Crew ready to roll!

Laurie and I... :)

We were lucky enough to have yet another eventful weekend. Sunday, Laurie and I got up real early and headed into the city to run the 10k as part of the Beijing Marathon. We were part of a group of 6 runners who rode together down there. A rather funny thought occurred as we were driving though... All six of us runners were from Minnesota! The only couple was Laurie and I also, so it proves that it's truly a small world!!!

Just getting up to the starting line proved to be a story in itself.. We were not allowed to just cross the street to get to Tiananmen Square (where the race began). We had to walk underneath the road where there were guards and soldiers. They wanted to see our numbers and were randomly searching people. Some made a mad dash only to be checked again and possibly again before emerging on the other side of the road. Quite a comical scene...

We arrived up on Tiananmen Squrare to be greeted by thousands of runners preparing to run distances from a 5k up to a full marathon... Some estimates said that there were around 30,000 runners in all. Alot of people...

The elite runners began at 8:00, followed by the marathon, half marathon, and then us. By the time we reached the actual starting line, the race clock said something like 21 minutes... So, we took off and headed out by The Forbidden City (as you can see from the pics). It's quite amazing that they shut down such a huge and busy street in the middle of Beijing. I have frequently stated that I will never again whine about traffic in the US after being here. Unbelievable... And then to shut down a major artery for a race just adds to the jumble...

The race went great. Laurie and I ran together along with Josh, a friend from MN who decided to run the night before... He's a trooper and did great.

After the race, it took us about 2 hours to get home. A combination of getting our bags, finding taxi, communicating to taxi driver, getting him to drive us out to Shunyi, then navigating through traffic, is what this entailed... A typical day in the neighborhood. And it's all part of the experience!

The day before (saturday), I went to an electronics market and purchased a new camera. Jim, a great man who has done a ton for our family, organized the trip for us and attended. He also took me around the back to find a Chinese delicasy. Chinese dumplings... They tasted quite good, even though I am not a fan of gooey bread stuff... I must also mention that 3 servings of dumplings and a big beer that was shared between 3 of us cost about 2 dollars... Not bad eh?

Laurie finished up her volleyball season with a tourney on Saturday night. So, now she's off until the spring basketball season...

We love you all and hope things are all well for you...

The DuBois Crew

Laurie's long weekend away

One activity.....balance 10 nails on top of 1 nail.....this group got it (after a few hints) One of the kids in the picture had to go to the hospital after he broke his thumb screwing around with the volleyball....
This is the best of all my pictures of Hong Kong at night. A bad camera combined with a smoggy night equals bad pictures. i did get some good postcards though.
Here is my volleyball team.... we are pretty happy after winning our last game and taking 3rd place! GREAT GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kids were busy doing team-building activities all day long. This group was pretty proud b/c they won one of the competitions.

above: HKIS is getting new turf on their field. This view is from the road pulling into their school. You can see the school to the right of the football field. The picture on the right is taken looking out one of the balconies of the school. How would you like looking at that view on you way to class? i wonder if many students skip?

picture of a few of my volleyball girls with "Flat Stanley" in Times Square...notice how much taller i am than them. The girl on the right in the photo is one of my middle hitters!

things are finally slowing down after i was away thurs morning until sun night....my 8th grade class went on an overnight mentoring trip to a nearby ski "resort" and then i had to have a driver pick me up friday morning to bring me to catch the plane to Hong Kong with my volleyball team.

The mentoring trip was great. they tried to get me to return to school that afternoon b/c they though i would miss my plane the next day....but i said "no i think i need to stay with the kids." Well about 1 hour after i COULD have left----and just after we set up our tents....it started to POUR! most kids put their tents up pretty sloppily so many o fthem ended up getting rain intheir tents. I was in a 3 bedroom tent with two other females and we weren't even done putting up our tent when it started to rain. We survived though. it actually rained at a good time-if it was going to rain. we ate supper after the rain stopped and then ended up having a rain free night. had a big bon fire---which the workers kept THROWING kerosine on....over and ove.r then the kids roasted marshmallows and they said they tasted like kerosine. YUK! That night it was FREEZING .....i would guess in the 40's----i had lots of layers on! but it was an experience.....like riley says to me all the time "It is all part of the China Experience!" The next morning i got up had breakfast and then a driver came to pick me up. I was bummed b/c friday was a BEAUTIFUL smog-free day and one of the activities was climbing to the wall ........another time. The kids said it was great!

Fri was a long travel day-----4 teams checking into a chinese airport isn't the easiest thing....but the kids were great. 3 hour flight to hong kong was needed for me -----i slept the whole way! that night we played Shanghai American School and won easily. That night the girls all stayed with host families and some of the coaches and I went out and checked out a few local bars. I had a beer and was ready for bed, but i stayed out for a while to peopl ewatch. we had a bit to eat on the street an dthen a couple of us headed back to our hotel---i had my own room which was nice! slept like a rock!

Sat was interesting-we played Hong Kong International School (HKIS)and then a local Chinese school and got killed. They all serve overhand hard.....and 6 of my 9 girls serve underhand so needless to say we didn't do very good at serve receiving..... so we lost both those games. we got done early so i got to walk around a little before the tourney started taht afternoon. hard to explain where HKIS is. It is on Hong Kong Island--but it is on the opposite side and on the top of the mountain where all the buildings are. it was an unbelievable school---built on the side of the mountain. i took some pictures of the views. nowhere to walk around there as there is basically one road that winds like in the Black Hills and there is no shoulder. Anyway-that afternoon we had to play HKIS again and lost big.....so we were done. My team and i headed to Times Square to eat and do some shopping. Interesting being with 9 15-16 year olds. One of my girls is a HongKong native so she took us around. Then we went to "The Peak" where all the famous Hong Kong pictures are taken. WE went to see the light show but it was a little smoggy so the view wasn't as good as we would have liked. Then i drove with 2 of my girls to their homestays b/c they didn't want to get in a cab alone. Over an hour winding around the mountain.....i was so carsick by the time we dropped the last girl off...i actually cleared out one of my shopping bags b/c i felt so sick! so when i got back to the hotel i crashed!

Sunday-up and at em----we won our game today! great way to end! then we had a luncheon and awards ceremony before heading ot the airport. We ended up being in the airport for 3 1/2 hours before our plane left so i got to do a little shopping for the boys. Krispy Kreme donuts were a big hit for all the kids---and me too! i brought some home to share...and got the boys both some toys. The school gave me a per diem and i had some $$ left-so basically the school bought my kids toys! Got home that night and the boys were all in bed....tried to wake them up but nobody wanted to stay up.

Monday i got to see the boys for a bit before i was off to school-and had another volleyball game after school (terrible timing) so finally at 6 i got to spend some time with the boys! One more week and volleyball is done! i love the game and the girls-just tired of being away!

so riley and boys stayed busy-----don't thinnk they even realized i was gone? Amazing how much they change in 4-5 days! Kellan is getting a little attitude and throws some fits.....Kieran is still sweet as ever.

well-this novel is about to end...sorry i got a little long-winded. i will add some pictures---the ones from Hoong Kong didn't turn out great-our camera is pretty crappy! i think riley is going to get a new one this weekend!

we hope all is well with everyone back home! we miss you all and love hearing from you!

love

laurie and family

Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City

Kieran in front of the Main Entrance to The Forbidden City. Notice the pic of Chairman Mao..

Getting ready to go in!! We're on Tianamen Square here...

Kieran enjoying himself..

My boys...

Check out the architecture...

Kellan always ready to rock n roll...

Bubby leading the charge..

Quite the exit eh??

As we walked out of Forbidden City, this was our view.

Kieran loved these Olympic characters on Tianamen Square. Are western kids popular you ask??? Just look...

Pics from The Ranch Camping

Here is the tower I climbed to....

Looking out of the watch tower to another one on another mountain..

Looking down from the watchtower!! Truly remarkable!

Looking up at the watch tower I climbed to... Sorry it's sideways..

Laurie and boys hiking near camp.

An abandoned watch tower... Above it is The Great Wall... Where I am standing is on an ancient path through the mountains that the traders used to pass over...

Kieran on a hike in the mountains...

On the reservior just up from where we ate supper... Truly beautiful..

Kieran and a friend getting over to where we ate supper.

The brick shown is the remanants of an abandoned village I ran into on my way up to The Wall..

Another unbelievable experience!

A view of our camp in the middle of the mountains. Note the valley that we are in and the mountains behind in the haze... It's nestled near a reservior that the locals get their water from..

Kieran and Kellan hangin out after dinner on our camping trip at the Ranch.

Greetings all... Hope life is treating you well as you read this... Well, we've managed to have ourselves yet another meaningful adventure that is worthy of mention...

Yesterday, a group of people from ISB set out on an overnight camping trip up in the mountains to a place that I'm going to refer to as "the Ranch," since I cannot remember the actual name of this place. We met outside of our neighborhood (all 11 vehicles), and set off on our adventure that included a 2 hour trip from Shunyi into the mountains.

The drive was full of adventure in itself. Picture a bunch of high school students who are driving in a place where they believe that anything goes. Passing on the left going uphill and into oncoming traffic. Passing on the right everywhere... That's the reality of driving here. And, I'm actually getting used to it. You've gotta see it to believe it...

The weather was pretty mild, but there was plenty of fog/smog, which is also a common reality here.

We arrived at the Ranch around noon. Everyone arrived without incident, and we did not get lost once. Waiting for us was a golf cart and a small wagon that was hitched to a donkey. We loaded our camping gear onto these and walked about a quarter mile in to our campsite. On our way in, we walked by the houses of the person who either owns or leases the property. Unbelievable places that are nestled in the valley and on the banks of a peaceful reservior.

We made camp and quickly began to explore the surrounding area. Just up from camp was a road that ran between two ponds that are strategically landscaped to drain from to another. We later learned that this reservior water is the drinking water supply for the locals. The engineering behind this whole system is very interesting and must have taken a ton of sweat equity to make possible.

Anyway, where the water ran over the road between the two ponds turned into a playground for the kids... This water is really cold and clear. Definately spring water from the mountains. And water this clear and cool definately needs to be visited. A few of us ended up jumping in and freezing our tails off. Quite invigorating!!!

We later decided to take a short hike and find some of the animals that they had out here. The first ones Kieran and I found were the ostriches. One in particular seemed to be agressive and not really shy. In fact, it kept doing this dance in which it would sway its head back and forth as it dropped down on its knees. We speculated that this may have been the male protecting two females in the pen.

We walked up and also saw horses, chickens, cats, ducks, geese, and peacocks... The kids really liked this.

Upon return to camp, we hung out and played until dinner. Dinner was across one of the ponds on a beautiful outdoor patio that was huge. The view here is spectacular: mountains surrounding us, the sound of running water, and a beautiful pond dotted with lilly pads. However, to get there, you had to walk across a bunch of logs that are tied together over a flooded out bridge. To my amazement, not one of the thirty plus people fell in...

Dinner was a buffet of authentic Chinese food. This was the first time that I've ever eaten from a buffet while camping... But, it was a great time for fellowship with the staff members who were present. Plus, the group was full of children, who bonded really well. So, we were an active lot, full of laughing, chasing, and all the other noises that children having fun share.

The sun set quickly and the darkness settled in. We were told not to have a fire... But, how can you camp without a fire??? To me, that's like going to the fair and not getting cheese curds.. We ended up having a fire in on of the campers' little grill. Everyone gathered around and the talking began.

By the time it was all said n' done, the last of us who was awake turned in at about midnight. Laurie and I didn't really sleep soundly since each time we rolled over, we had to pull Kieran and Kellan back under the covers. They have this thing with wanting to kick all covers off themselves at night. Also note that Kellan probably puts in nearly a mile of exercise with his rolling, crawling, kicking, and swinging that he does on a nightly basis... But, we made it through.

I woke up at about 6:15 and set out for the hike that I had been thinking about since I'd heard about the old guard towers that connected pieces of The Wall. The weather was crystal clear and there was not even a hint of the haze that we had yesterday.

A teacher at ISB by the name of Jeff has brought groups of his students to the Ranch to do some studys for his Science class. They had a guide take them up and around, so he shared with me some things that only fueled my fire to get up there and explore... Things such as a small village that the government moved people out of in the mid 80's after an earthquake shook the area. Jeff also shared with me that there was one gorge that was basically the only place that the traders would pass through in the past...

So, I ended up stumbling onto the abandoned village by accident in my haste to climb to one of the guard towers that dotted the mountains. I didn't spend much time there as I really wanted to get up to a tower. But, if I go there again, I would love to do some exploring. Crumbling buildings and walls of bricks and stone now served as some sort of orchard of what looked like crab apples.

I continued up a trail that I believed would take me to what I was looking for. It ended up taking me through a mountain pass where I crossed paths with a local man who was out collecting nuts in the forest. I heard him walking and stopped cold in my tracks. I didn't know what was causing the noise, so it was a bit scary for a while. He ended up emerging and showing himself. I waited until he was turned away from me and quietly scooted back from which I came... I believe that he had no idea that I was even there...

Back on the trail again for me... I went further into the mountains and ended up finding a small trail that I figured was my last chance to get to one of these towers... I took it and soon had my heart pounding harder that I remember it pounding in recent memory. The trail up the mountainside zig zagged up the mountain. As I climbed, I began to make out remanants of The Great Wall on a mountain just across the gorge. I had no idea what this trail lead to, but had a hunch that it was going to be worth it... And worth it it was. However, I had to work to get there...

As I neared the top, I ran into The Wall. My first thought was " How could they have done this?" I cannot imagine how tough the effort was in building this... And, the fact that this part is still standing with original worksmanship is amazing!

Shortly after running into The Wall, I saw my prize... I needed this as I felt as if I was running out of gas... About 10 minutes of hustle and I was there... What an amazing feeling to walk into something like this.. I wish that the walls could talk. Can you imagine the stories that they could tell? And, what was life like for those who stood watch up here??? I sat up there, looking out of the windows and imagining myself one of these soldiers for some time. I also tried to gather myself for the trip down the mountain, which had me nervous. It's work climbing, but takes skill, patience, and good ankles to get down...

As I left, I definately felt that all the work that it took to get up to this was sure worth it. I was on The Great Wall, away from tourists, in the middle of nowhere, on a beautiful day... Amazing..

The trip back down the mountain was easier than I thought it would be. I made it to camp in good time, helped break camp, and load up. Our journey home went well. The kids were tuckered out and slept some, and we were back at our house by early afternoon... A great trip for the boys, for Laurie, and myself... Can't wait to do something like this again...

We have a few more days to regroup before we head back to school. Life is good, my legs, knees, and ankles are sore, and I'm heading to bed...

We hope all is well for you. Please drop us a line and tell us how things are...

All of our love,

The DuBois Clan