Spring break

Posted by Micky at Friday, April 15, 2022 Labels: China, Family, Friends

Looking back at all of these pictures, I'm reminded of what a fun spring break we had! We were stuck in Beijing because of the 14 day rule which is that the kids can't go back to school for 14 days if they've been outside of Beijing. So to save the kids from missing school for two weeks, we had to play in Beijing instead of traveling elsewhere. That's how it's been for almost the last two years we've lived here. We had the restrictions, but we're glad to have friends that we could enjoy some fun with. It started with our hike to Lakeside Wall with the Jays (see previous post), and continued with enjoying nice weather, walks to see the spring flowers at Chaoyang Park, a tour at the Forbidden City with the Rowe family from church), we got in-home massages for our first time, went to Happy Valley Amusement park for our first time as a family, went to see The Golden Mask and out for Peking Duck with the Jays and Chus, and watched General Conference. And some nice relaxing at home.

Lots of cuddles with Cocoa

The Forbidden City tour with an English speaking guide

Matt and Kimmy Rowe and their adorable family joined us for the tour.

Parents like to dress their kids up in traditional clothing and take them to important tourist sites. I had to get a few pictures with and of them.

We had to go through three checkpoints where we had to show passports over and over. As foreigners, we have to deal with that everywhere we go while the locals show their local ID once and they're good to go. We feel picked on, and there's nothing we can do!

Massages at home with Sam and Amy! Our first time having them. I think we all fell asleep during the massage! It's nice to live in a place where this sort of thing is cheap!

Happy Valley Amusement park!

We ran into Janna Taylor and her family as we walked in, so we got to hang out! She and I kept each other company, with our motion sensitivities, by chatting while the others were on rides.

We left a little early to go see a show called The Golden Mask Dynasty show that was right next to Happy Valley. We met Charmhee and AJ there with their family, and the Daniel and Katy Chu and their family as well! It was quite the production with amazing costumes and sets, especially with the whole stage turning into a waterfall!

And of course we had to go out for good Chinese food after. We went to a fancier restaurant where we could get Peking Duck and other authentic Chinese food.

These cute little ducks were to hold our chopsticks. So cute, I had to go home and find them on Taobao to order them for ourselves. ;)

Haha, we were given some little shoes from another dog owner, Ray who's Momo's owner. They don't fit Momo anymore, so they passed them on. But Cocoa didn't like them, so this is the one and only time she wore them.

Savannah spent some time sewing over the break, and wanted to try and make a prom dress with this fabric. The beginning stages of her trying to figure it out. Ccoa really liked the fabric whenever she would lay it out on the floor, and wouldn't get off. ;)

We spent some time enjoying the flowers at Chaoyang Park. They really do know how to beautify the grounds with color and variety!

The week ended with us getting to watch General Conference! We love General Conference and I think even more, the kids love the General Conference store. ;) The kids start with a few Conference Bucks that I give them to buy snacks for the first session, and then every session after that, they earn more bucks to spend, by answering two questions after each session. A fun way to help them pay attention and even take notes.

We love hearing from our leaders twice a year! What would we do without their prophetic counsel and guidance to get through the struggles of our day, and having the spirit speak to our souls as to what we should work on for the next six months. I'm so grateful to have the Restored gospel in my life to know I have a Savior who lived and died for me and that through His grace, I can be strengthened every day and made better than I was the day before. The gospel helps me know why I'm here and where I'm going when I die, and through that knowledge, I can help my family know the same and work toward having their own relationship with the Savior and our Heavenly Father.