A much needed update...

Well hello.It has been quite some time since our last update, and I have been inspired by Michelle to give a much needed update.

By now you are probably aware of the many adventures we have had in the past months. We have completed our first semester in China, and we went on vacation (it was amazing), and now we have started the 2nd semester of this year.

First. Last semester was good, we have meet some really amazing people here and we finally got to the place where we could venture out on our own and actually go to restaurants and order food without a Chinese speaking person- but we wont really dwell on the part when we point at pictures and ordering that way.

Vacation! Well we went to the Philippines 1st, it was great. We got to see and meet so much of Vernon's family, they just kept coming and coming. It was nice. I gained a new appreciation for Mom James and the culture of the Filipino people. We were treated like royalty there, and we could not have asked for better people to stay with.

Malaysia- It was beautiful, and the people there were so diverse. We went to Penang and Kuala Lumpur. We did not have much time in Malaysia, but we enjoyed the time we were there.

Thailand- Oh Thailand, how I wish I could return to your beautiful beaches and fruit shakes. I loved Thailand! When in Krabi and Ko Phi Phi island we visited amazing beaches and saw a fire show and drunk foreigners trying to prove themselves in muay thai boxing for a bucket of alcohol. In Bangkok, each day was an adventure. We emerged ourselves in the "real" Thai experience and took public transportation everywhere we went. It was soo fun, and cheap. I really want to go back to Thailand. Oh and how could I forget, this is also where we rode an elephant and went bamboo rafting down a river (scary).

This semester is going great. The time is going by pretty quickly, and we are trying to keep up with family more. We are so very excited about the addition of another niece or nephew in late August. It will be very nice to see everyone and share stories of all that we have experience and all that we have missed while being in China. Only 13-14 weeks left :)