Shorty, you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel...

I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to my parents, Nathaniel's mom, and Nathaniel's brother. Because of you guys, we were able to get so much done. I know that the kids have had a great time with all of you. And, while I missed the kids tremendously, Nathaniel and I had a great time too! It is amazing how much more energy I have when I don't have to keep up with Max and Isabel.

Speaking of Max and Izzy, I got there acceptance letter for school. I am so glad to have this done. Now we just have to light a fire under the people working on Nathaniel's visa so we can start our expat life. Nathaniel is in the process of getting our plane tickets booked. I have started packing our suitcases and I sure hope I get the right stuff in there because we will get to China a couple of weeks before the rest of the stuff we ship gets there.

On a completely different note, I got to meet on of Nathaniel's Chinese coworkers, George. He is in town for a meeting and last night we took him out to dinner. I really enjoyed meeting him. I can tell that he and Nathaniel will work well together.

The best part about meeting George was seeing how excited Nathaniel got talking about what they will be taking on in China. While Nathaniel's career as an accountant has provided very well for our family, I have always wondered how someone like Nathaniel, who is such a people person, could stand to sit at desk all day and look at numbers. Listening to Nathaniel and George talk about all the changes the plan to make in all areas of the Chinese plant, I saw a twinkle in Nathaniel's eyes that I have never seen while talking about work! I am so excited for him. I am proud of him too. This has been his goal since before he graduated from school, and in just over8 years he was able to make it happen.

One last note about meeting George.... He is like 6 inches taller than Nathaniel! Don't assume that everyone in China is small....

Catch Up

I intended to do a much better job at updating this blog. It has been so long since I posted something that I don't really know where to begin! We have started saying goodbye to our friends both in Bloomington and Charlotte. Once I get all of the pictures up on Flickr, I will share those with you.

Our timeline has changed a little, and we won't get to Hangzhou until about August 15. Unfortunately, the kids will miss a few days of school, but there isn't much we can do about it. Nathaniel went to China this week to get some work done and speed up the visa process a little bit. He had quite a few interesting experiences and I am hoping to get him to share them himself.

The kids are staying in Charlotte this week with my parents while I am here in Bloomington getting ready for the move. The movers will be here July 29.

Now that the dates are set and I am really excited.

Nathaniel's New Digs!

We got to see a picture of Nathaniel's office in China today...

Bullet Points

• We officially have an apartment. The lease was signed this week (I think) by the company
• We are definitely selling our house :( If anybody knows someone in Bloomington, IN that wants a rad house, it will be priced to sell FAST!
• After a month, we finally got the pool ready to use. I almost thought it was a mistake to get a pool, but the past few days more than proved me wrong.
• Max had his last swim meet for probably 2 years. He only swam on Sunday and came home with 1st place in 50m breaststroke, 1st place 50m Freestyle, and 2nd place in 100m backstroke. He came in 2nd place for total points scored in 8&u...shouldn't have skipped Saturday I guess. I just love watching him swim, and I hope that he really means it when he says he wants to swim with me. Maybe that will really motivate me to swim.
• I have begun communications with Max and Izzy's school. I talked (typed) with the k/1 teacher and the headmaster. I am really excited about their school.
• Max and Isabel are starting to get really excited about the move and the school year next year.
• I got some of my immunizations today. My arms are a little bit sore.
• For our Charlotte friends...We will be in Charlotte by July 20 (not as soon as I hoped) and we will leave for China no sooner that July 28.
• We are considering staying until the Watauga lake Triathlon, but I will not be able to bike because my bike will be on a slow boat to China

our future apartment...

here are the photos of our apartment... and some more...

A large post coming soon.

Quick update

Not much to report, but I thought I would just check in.

• We are still waiting for our passports to get here. Then, we can get our Visas.
• Great Grandmommy and Papa got to come down for a week. It was a really nice visit for everyone, and I ate way too much!
• Nathaniel's mom, Granny, will be here in about 2 weeks for a week long visit.
• We are going to the beach with Nathaniel's dad, Gpa for a week.
• We are still hoping to be packed up by July 1 or so.
• Our weekends are way to busy. I am having a hard time finding a balance of keeping the kids happy and busy and getting done I need to get done.
• We are planning a visit to Syracuse, Boone, and Charlotte before we head out.
• I want a girls weekend with my friends, but don't know how that will happen. This makes me sad.

House Hunting continued...

Well, Nathaniel got to look at our housing options in Hangzhou. Overall, I think that he was pleased. There are a few things that will take some getting used to, but I think we can handle it. Nathaniel took some pretty good pictures, and I will share those as well.

One of the things we love about Bloomington is our neighborhood. Max and Isabels' school is less than 1/2 a mile away, which means we often walk (except for recently, stupid rain). Also, there are so many great fami

lies in the neighborhood. The kids are never at a loss for someone to play with. We decided that these are 2 important things to try and keep intact in China. For those reasons, we have decided to focus our home search around the school area. I believe that we will be moving into an apartment complex across the street from Hangzhou International School. I am very excited about this. I get anxious wh

en I think of the kids at school 40 minutes away from me in a place where I can't get to them without a lot of help. What if they needed me, and I couldn't tell the taxi driver how to get there?

This picture was taken from one the apartments that Nathaniel looked at. The school is the group of buildings in the middle of the picture.

The big draw back is that Nathaniel will have at least an hour commute each way. Here in Bloomington it is approx. 5 minutes. So, we will be seeing less of him. All is not bad, however! Nathaniel will have a driver, which means he can work in the car. This is probably the biggest hurdle, and it will be a challenge for all of us to see Nathaniel less, but at least he will be in town, unlike now.

Another drawback is that there is not a large grocery store near us in this part of town, but I don't picture myself do

ing the shopping alone during the week. I expect that we will go as a family on the weekends. What a great way to learn Chinese!

Finally, the things that I wanted in the apartment:

Oven - nope No ovens in any of the apartments. We will have to ask the landlord to purchase one that will fit on the counter.

Dishwasher- nope The apartments to have dish dryers which uses heat to sanitize them, but I (Max) will have to wash them first.

Dryer- nope We

will be hanging our wash to dry, or taking them to the cleaners...

Gym - Yes! The specific complex we are looking for has a pool and a gym with at spin room and group exercise rooms. It also has treadmills and weight machines. This make me happy!

Playground- Yes! The kids will have a place to play outside and ride their bikes.

Pictures:

←Kitchen There is a balcony at the far end.

←View of one of the apartment buildings

←I can do my

laundry and you know...