Mount Emei

We spent this past weekend on our annual staff retreat at a nearby Mountain named Emei. It was about a three-hour bus ride from Chengdu. I was looking forward to the retreat, but not the bus ride with a two-year old and three-month old, but both girls did wonderful. I guess they are use to us always being on the go and traveling. Saturday morning, we did a hike in the mountain to an area of monkeys. Aubrey was strapped to my front and Brynn was on Matt's back in a carreir. It was a longer walk than I imagined and my calves are still a little sore.

Family picture at the beginning of our trek. Aubrey slept most of the three hour hike.

Brynn and Daddy with their bamboo walking sticks. Brynn walked a lot of the way up, but was happy for Matt to carry her in the backpack down.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. I loved this red pagoda between the bridges.

There were carving in the mountains all along the way. 

Brynn taking a break on the monkey bench.

Mommy and baby monkey... I could not believe how close we were to the monkeys.

A monkey jumped on a man right in front of me and I was able to snap this picture. The monkeys try to steal things from you, so we were told to keep all of our valuables secure. I kept my valuable, Aubrey, very secure in the carrier and stayed out of the monkeys way. 

I think Matt was the most terrified of the monkeys. He has his stick ready and is running by this one. 

Aubrey woke up in time to head back down the mountain. 

Matt and I are both learning to like Chinese food. We had Chinese for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the trip. The food was good and we got to try some new dishes. However, our first stop when we got home was McDonalds.

This little cutie rolled over for the first time today. 

29 and 3 months

Aubrey and I shared a special day this past Thursday. I  turned 29 and  Aubrey is 3 months old.

Brynn and Aubrey made me a card and Brynn helped Daddy pick out some special snacks for me.

 I spent the day hanging out around the house with my girls.

For my birthday, Matt arranged dinner plans at The Sultan (Turkish cuisine), my favorite restaurant in Chengdu.. The Spata's came with us to help celebrate. After one minor traffic accident we made it to the restaurant and enjoyed a great meal.

 My sweet Aubrey is already 3 months old. She is slowly becoming a good sleeper at night. She is giving me 4 to 5 hour stretches. She continues to be such a pleasant baby, she loves to snuggle and has the sweetest smile.


This is a preview of our weekend staff retreat to Mt. Emei. We took a hike up the mountain and saw some monkeys. This picture makes me laugh, because it describes our visit to the monkeys so well. Matt has a very concerned face, Brynn is waving and saying hello to all the monkeys and the lady behind Matt is holding a stick in case the monkey gets aggressive and she is yelling at Matt to keep moving. I'll try to post some more pictures tomorrow.

Long Time...

It has been a very long time since I have posted a blog. We have finally gotten settled and into a good routine. Things are starting to feel normal. We had a great visit with Matt's parent's. They were a life saver when it came to having two kids with jet-lag (we had some middle of the night play times).

 

Brynn: It took Brynn the longest to get over her jet-lag. We felt so bad for her, because her days and nights were all off. She woke up in the middle of the night several times ready for the day and then would take a nap like it was her night time. Here are a few recent pictures of Brynn. As you can see, she is back to her normal happy self.

 

Playing with her friend Peyton. They both get so excited when they see each other.

 Our apartment has a little room off the dining area. We have made this Brynn's playroom. She loves it! Matt snuck this picture of Brynn while she was playing with all of her dolls. A tutu is a wardrobe stable at our house. After reading the book Mia the Ballerina, Brynn has decided she wants to wear her tutu all the time.

 Tinker-Longstocking: Brynn has become obsessed with Pippy Longstocking. Matt downloaded the movie  and it is now her favorite, besides Dora and Blue Clues. She insisted I give her Pippy hair with her Tinkerbell costume.

 Her nose is okay, just a little marker from an art project earlier in the day!

Brynn has been asking for boy baby, thanks to Dora having a brother and sister that are twins. I told her to ask again when she is four. Now everyday she mentions having baby boy when she is four.

Aubrey: She is the sweetest and easiest baby, except at night. I am not complaining because during the day she is so content and happy to go with the flow. She is becoming more comfortable with her new crib, so we are hoping for a full nights sleep soon.

It

 It is so hard to get a picture of both the girls. Usually one (Brynn) is not in the mood to cooperate.

Look for more blogs in the future, as I finally have a new, fast VPN on my computer!