Putting up the tree!

Luckily our tree and all the decorations came before Christmas.  And Ellen's sun glasses.  I mean, who doesn't decorate the Christmas tree with their shades on.....and no pants!  It must be because I already had the lights on the tree and she thought they were too bright for her!

Our shipment finally arrived!

It was exactly 90 days from the day they packed our stuff to the day we received it!  So I ask myself....if I lived without it for 3 months, did I really need it?  Ugh...a little late now.  As you can see though, a big portion of the items were Ellen's!  Luckily after three long days, I have gone through everything and found it a home!

A beautiful park!

After the Safari, we stopped at this park that was located just off the highway.  This park, as well as the safari are located in Yongchuan.  It was one of the prettiest little towns I have seen in China so far.  It wasn't overcrowded and the air was fresh.  The architecture of the buildings you see were beautiful and the water was full of goldfish.  Ellen and Jacky had a blast running around chasing each other.  It was a great day and we made a lot of good memories that will last a lifetime!  Thanks again mom for coming to visit us!  It meant the world to us!

Wild Safari

On Nani's last day here in Chongqing, we took an hour and a half drive outside the city to a Wild Safari park.  Casey took the day off of work so he could join us.  At this particular safari you stay in your car and drive through the park.  So these are photos I took from the front seat of the car.  We had to keep the windows up at all times.  We followed another vehicle in front of us, that had a tour guide that only spoke Chinese.  We had Jacky to translate for us, so that was good.  In between the animals we could stop for a moment.  We also got to stop because you could buy different things to throw out your window to feed to the animals.  For instance, you could buy apples to feed to the bears....which we did.  Carrots to feed to the deer, elk, camels, etc.....which we did.  And chickens to feed to the lions and tigers.  Well, I really wanted to do this, but Casey and even Jacky wouldn't let me!  Actually we would have just bought the chicken and a worker would have thrown it out.  I wanted  to do it when we went through the lions......but then when we got to the tigers, they threw one out anyways!  I was so excited....everyone else...not so much!  Two tigers actually just fought over it and then the one that got it quietly walked away and ate it, so it wasn't too bad.  The tiger you see staring at us scared Jacky and he was afraid he was going to attack us and scratch the car.  So instead of quietly driving by, he peeled out and went flying past him.  The whole experience was very exciting and hilarious!

Hot Pot

 After our big lunch, we continued by eating more that day!  We met up with our friends Steve and Kathy and one of their sons Carson for Hot Pot.  This was my first time having Hot Pot in China.  The only other time I have ate it was at Steve and Kathy's house back in Ann Arbor, MI.  It was very good though!  Some places only bring one pot out for everyone to dip their food in, but at this restaurant we each had our own individual pots.  I just had a mushroom broth, but Steve and Casey had something different and of course a little spicy.  The food on the table is all raw and you take what you want and put it in your Hot Pot and let it cook.  We had all also made our own personal dipping sauce to dip our food in once it was cooked.  It was very fun....oh and yes, if you look closely....that is the fish with his head pointing up to the left of my pot.  Only in China!

All you can eat...and drink!

Still frazzled by our Old Chaotinman experience, I asked Jacky to take us to a restaurant near our apartment so we could have lunch.  It is all you can eat and as we found out...drink too!  And boy were we ready for a drink!  The best part was it was a very good lunch!  They call it buffet style because you pay one price, but they make everything fresh for you!  And it is so nice having a driver in China!  :). Thanks mom, that was fun!

Thank goodness for chocolate...and Nani!

As soon as we got in the car after Old Chaotinman, Nani came to the rescue.....chocolate!

Old Chaotinman

Let's just say, I will not be taking anyone else to visit Old Chaotinman.  It was not a fun experience.  Especially with a cute little American girl.  Old Chaotinman is a very busy local market area where the two rivers meet in downtown Chongqing.  It is full of locals!  All I wanted was some new decorations for the Holidays!  Instead, we hade people gawking at us and wanting to touch Ellen like crazy.  The tree that mom is holding I did purchase and mom was also ready to beat people off with it.  Needless to say, we are lucky the tree made it home!  The best part was that I was done shopping within 20 minutes and called jacky to come get us.  He of course got hit by someone and was dealing with that issue so we just had to stand on the sidewalk and wait for him.  I kept calling him and he said he needed to make sure the car was safe.....it only had a scratch!!!!  I was not happy!

Celebrating Ellen's 3rd Birthday with Nani!

Please note, this cake was baked in a toaster oven.  And is decorated with M&M's spelling out Happy Birthday!  It wasn't the same as Nani's traditional homemade chocolate cake, but it was still pretty good.  The best part was that we were all together to celebrate!

Celebrating our first Hannukah in China!

Of course, at this time we still didn't have our sea shipment which had my menorah in it, but thanks to mom, some candles from Metro and Ellen's playdoh, she made one herself!   So, since we had the Ball on the first night of Hannukah, we officially started on the second night!  Here is Ellen (naked) opening her presents from Nani, Casey and I!

The Charity Ball!

Here we are getting ready to leave for the Charity Ball!

Karen and I in the car on the way there!

A relaxing morning at the Spa!

We spent the morning of the Ball getting foot massages and full body massages.  The foot massage was amazing!  The full body massage was good, but they really worked out some kinks.  We were more sore after the massage!  It was still a nice way to spend the morning!

Lunch at Peking Duck!

Mom, Ellen and I went out to lunch with a group of ladies here in Chongqing.  It was at Peking Duck!  Where I promise to take everyone that visits!  (Please note, I have yet to take Casey, but he did get leftovers from this meal!)  Since there was a large group of us, we got our own private room and our meal was served on a turn table.  Before lunch we did some shopping in the caves, so mom could see some traditional Chinese shops.  This is where I bought chopsticks, fans and other traditional Chinese gifts.  This was also the day before the Charity Ball, so some where picking up their finishing touches for their gowns or their actual gowns!

Potty, I mean squatty potty anyone?

Mom and I went out to do a little shopping one night.  Not that there is good shopping here, because it is anything but good.  Expensive...yes!  While out shopping we had to go to the bathroom.  We were at the west outlets which is pretty new, so you would think they would have western toilets, but nope.  They were complete with squatty pottys and of course, no toilet paper.  And if it did have paper, you would have to grab it before you go in, hence it would be more like paper towel....ouch!  So for those of you planning on coming to China, pack your purse with toilet paper!  Mom informed me though she did not mind the squatty pottys since she always squats over the toilet anyways.  Thanks mom, I am so glad to know you were comfortable with it!  But in case you need a reminder of what it was like, I captured you exiting one!  :)

Nani's first lunch in China

We were pretty hungry after visiting Foreigner St.  I wanted to take mom to get broccoli and green beans, which are my favorite here.  Of course, we could not find anyone that sold them both.  We finally found this restaurant in Paradise Walk.  They didn't have green beans, but they did have broccoli....with numbing peppers!  I had heard they put it on food here, but had never experienced it before.  It was rather different but not bad.  I guess when you can't feel your mouth, it really doesn't matter how it tastes!  At least mom got a chance to test out some chopsticks...and take some for the road! This was the first of two sets of chopsticks we took with us!  Sally is obviously not aware of how they deal with criminals in China!

More fun on Foreigner St.

It doesn't cost anything to get into Foreigner St., but you have to pay for all the rides and the pictures they take of you on the rides.  Of course we had to ride rides and buy the pictures.  They were too cute to pass up.  Here are a few we captured!

Stinker!

Self-portrait!

Nani comes to China

Nani came all the way to China to see where we live.  After 24 hours of traveling, we stayed in the first day and relaxed.  But on the second day she was here we went to a place called Foreigner St.  When we first pulled up there was a little petting zoo and you could pay to ride, feed and even get your pictures taken with the animals.  Ellen loves animals so of course we had to do it all.  She had fun and we had even more fun watching her!  

How precious is this picture!

A fall day in China

It is not the same as Michigan, but at least we found some leaves to play in!

Ayi-Chen Ya Lan

Ellen and I would like to introduce you to our Ayi, Chen Ya Lan.  She comes to our house two times a week to help clean the house and she absolutely adores Ellen.  Ellen really likes her too....which is very nice!  Ellen was sick in this picture and the Ayi was so concerned for her.  But I think she is always concerned for her since Ellen is usually naked when she is here.  I think she thinks I am crazy, but I can not keep clothes on the girl.  Trust me I try!