This time of the year is always interesting because Andy leaves for big chunks of time to go hire new teachers.  This year, he literally was in Shanghai for 12 hours and then got back on plane to Bangkok.  Thank goodness for Skype… we LOVE talking to him on the computer as the girls and I miss him much.  It was actually tougher for him to be in the same-ish time zone in Bangkok because he was always busy when we were home.

His next major trip was to Boston.  Oddly enough, it was easier to connect on Skype because right before we went to bed, we called him on Skype to give him his wake up call!

Tracking Dad's Flight....

The important thing though is that dad is back! The day he flew out the girls and I tracked him on Google Earth as he flew over Alaska toward Shanghai…. way cool!

We did something special this year.  Maddie and Amelia both had a New Year’s dress made and they looked adorable!  Amelia especially felt like a princess because she looked just like her sister.  We are hoping to have Gang of One family pictures taken before summer and we’ll definitely use these dresses for some of our shots.  I have to giggle a bit though because Amelia REFUSED to get measured at the fabric market… even after watching her sister get measured.  They just looked at Amelia and guestimated…  the dress was a bit long but Meelie held it up like a princess! 

The New Year assembly was cute.  The kids sang the alphabet highlighting their favorite Chinese things.  Maddie showed off her knowledge of the Abacus and Olympics…. she did great!

When Andy is gone and it’s just me and the girls over the weekend I have one goal in mind.  Exhaust them! 

What a perfect way to spend a couple of hours on a cold, rainy Shanghai day.  I took the girls to Playland over at a mall and it was awesome from the beginning.  One: as soon as we walked through the gates, they checked both of the girls temperatures AND gave them hand sanitizer.  Two: Amelia tried to escape and they refused to let her out.  Three:  Every surface was padded and adults were everywhere making sure kids were safe. 

I just followed them around for a couple of hours.  I could’ve sat down but I was having fun too!   Hey… to be a kid again!