KTV

Catch up: This is a pic of Ethan and I at the market. For Christmas he took me on a date. We went to have lunch, a Starbuck's hot cocoa and then shopping. He was a gentleman and paid for everything. One of the best dates I have been on. We had an amazing time!

Jami and Ethan on their after Christmas date! Fun and thoughtful gift, Ethan! 

Ethan loves children and they LOVE him. Whenever I bring him to class he is mauled by the kiddos. They are always asking "where's guh-guh?" Which means "where's brother?".

Ethan rough-housing with the kindergarten kids.

The weather is warming up enough for us to occasionally go out and explore again. We decided to hop on a bus and head to a fun little park. At the park there were several set-up like this. For 1rmb ($.16) we got 10 rings to throw. The boys felt bad for the birds, turtles and fish that were hanging out in the cold so they went for those prizes. We walked away with a pen, a solar flower, a hello kitty piggy bank and golden pig piggy bank. We had a great time!...cheap too!

There always seems to be something fun that we stumble upon!

A highlight of the week. I was trying to figure out how to make these special kind of dumplings that they have here one day. I couldn't figure it out, so we asked Lucia who then asked Sarah. They told us to come over and they'd teach me. We planned the day. When we started cooking I realized we weren't making dumplings so I sat back and watched/helped as they put together a culinary masterpiece. Fish, shrimp, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms. There were at least 7 AMAZING dishes. They REALLY know how to cook! If I could pack them in my suitcase, I would!

Tina (Eric's mom), Sarah (Beth's mom), Lucia (Jack's mom) and me cooking it up in the kitchen. I wish I could capture the smell.

This is Wu. He is married to Lucia. He spends 8 months of the year at sea. In this pic he had just been home for a couple of days. He's the one who speaks English very well. His jobs were to keep the boys company and interpreting for us girls.. 

Ethan, Everest, Wu, Jami and Elijah

After eating the girls wanted to go out. My choices were A) Public Shower OR B) KTV. I chose KTV. I'm not sure I'm ready to take our relationship to the next level and enjoy a few hours in the nude with the mother's of my kindergarten students. I know this is COMPLETELY normal here but I'm gonna take it one date at a time. Jared had to jump through hoops before he gotta see...well you get the picture. 

KTV(Karaoke Television) is HUGE here. They took us to what looked like a VERY high class hotel. It was filled with rooms with high-tech touch screens. We chose our music and it queued up. There were mirrors, tables, benches, microphones. This would be a great party room. Grab a couple of pizzas and friends and have a GREAT time.

Going down the hall and entering one of the many KTV rooms

The thing I loved about it was EVERYONE participated. No alcohol needed to make anyone brave. They do this ALL the time. I mean, they have VIP cards for crying out loud!

Jared and Wu enjoying KTV!

Jared, Jami, Lucia and Wu.


Ev was the shyest of everyone. After a couple of songs he "conveniently " fell asleep. COWARD!::grin:: It's a BIG deal for Ev to get up and sing with us. I was very proud of him. Dang he's cute!

More NEWS....Elijah dyed his hair...BRIGHT this time. I really like it. I love how he can be funny, kind, and  brave without having to rebel. What a great, handsome kid we have! He had blue before but it was hard to see. I'm not sure how many other colors we are going to see but I'm enjoying it so far.