The Steiners

Oh Hi Oh!

2011-05-14T02:02:00.001-07:00

Green space.

Mom and Dad

Kite flying lesson.

Our sweet caravan ride.

Akron Aeros' game.

Tow path walk on Mother's Day.

goodbye to Chengdu

2011-05-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

Lily being so sweet even while she lies in the hospital. Thank God for no surgery and no more problems!

My Monday friends.

Awesome friend rice.

Goodbye fresh market.

Goodbye city bus and Uygur bread

We all love Vicki.

Little friends that we've known our whole time in Chengdu.

Aaron and Stacy. We l-o-v-e hanging out with them.

Big brother Mark.

Thailand 2011

2011-02-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

In the Chengdu airport...Madeleine is excited to be going to Thailand and practicing saying hello.
Waiting for our plane to be refueled and cleaned.
The weekend market in Bangkok. The best strawberry smoothies ever.
Reading break at a bookstore in the weekend market.
All tuckered out.
The courtyard at the guesthouse we always stay at in Bangkok.
Banana roti. Mmmmm.
Hair dryer.

In the hotel room at our first conference of the trip.
Breakfast.
One great thing about Thailand is that there are so many bugs and other cool things to teach the girls about. We dug this ant lion out of the ground and Phil taught them all about ant lions.
At Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai.
This spider had built her web between two trees outside our door at our first conference. It was always nice to see her whenever we left or came back to our room.

In the back of a songthaew, which is a pickup truck outfitted with a cap and bench seats. I'd love to have one in the States.

Swimming in a cold Chiang Mai pool.

Bug at the pool.
I went to one of the Catholic churches in Chiang Mai with my friend John. I think the triumphant crucifix is fantastic.

A pedestrian bridge over the river near the Littletons' house.
Madeleine found a beat up motorbike helmet. There's treasure everywhere.
Lighting paper lanterns. They float away beautifully.

Sparkler time.

And some very loud fireworks to finish off the evening and make enemies of all the Littletons' new neighbors.
A visit to the Night Safari. Madeleine is holding Jeff, and Sam is riding the other pony.
This was Maddie's favorite part of the whole day.
Baby porcupines are very friendly. I had no idea.
Feeding some very nice looking chicken to a lion cub. Living in Asia is great. I don't think you usually get to touch the lions when you go to an American zoo.
Madeleine tormenting some hungry goats.
Steiners and Littletons. We have no idea what Maddie was doing.

The deer at the night safari were as friendly as the porcupines. And I didn't even have any food for it.
Serpents are prominent in so many of the world's religions, including Thai Buddhism.
We fell completely in love with this tree, which is near the river in Chiang Mai. It's a rain tree a.k.a. monkeypod a.k.a. Albizia saman
Julie and Caitlin had high tea at a lovely hotel.
Hiking in the hills above the city.

Saying goodbye to Caitlin at the airport.
Back at the guest house in Bangkok.
In the bus on our way to our forum.
We have to do something for the talent show every year. This year Julie sang a song by Dolly Parton, "Jolene," to our team leader, Jolene.
Dragonfly at breakfast.
Relaxing at forum.
Maddie and her friend Hattie. We have a similar picture from two years ago.
Ready for swimming.

Our vet friend shows the kids a gecko he caught. This is before it took a bite out of his hand.
Kids at forum showing what they learned during the week.
Here we are with two of our favorite people, Dick and Edna Williams.
Lilian and her friend Elijah.
Now to our week of vacation on the beach with Julie's parents and some of our friends. Lilian slept in the big closet.
Madeleine and I made our third annual kayak trip to Monkey Island. This was the first year she did not fall asleep on the way back.

We also took a boat out to the island.

Natasha taught Madeleine to swim!
Maybe even moreso than the beach or the pool, the girls love the swings.
Nearly every shell on the beach has a hermit crab in it.
Playing with the camera while we wait for our supper to be cooked.

Birthday celebration for Clinton, Hudson, Lindsey, and Aidan. Doughnuts instead of cake.
That shack across the road, the one on the right, is our favorite restaurant in this part of Thailand.
Early morning fishing trip.
But I see I didn't actually include pictures of actual fishing. Anyway, here is a nice family photo of 4/5 of the Tompkins family. Maddie is artfully obscured by the mast.
Julie organized a treasure hunt on the beach for the kids.

Our second annual bike trip down the beach.

So many crabs to catch.

Thai tea vendor. The thai tea alone is worth the trip to Thailand.
Family photo at the guest house in Bangkok. It's always so great being able to vacation with Russ and Patsy.

Christmas and New Year and a glimpse of what we do

2011-01-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

Some places have just been abandoned since the earthquake.

Small groups.
A training.
Lilian's bravery.
The bird guy across the street has a nice new cage.
Thumbprints!
A wall in Madeleine's school. None of this was done by Maddie.
Madeleine on her new quilt, made by the amazing ladies at Lake Alliance
Lilian with hers
Dazed by the bright lights of the mall

Team Christmas party
Team Christmas lunch

Lily doesn't sleep in a crib anymore!
A visit to the aquarium.

IV for the tree
A bridge near our house where the most serious kite flyers do their thing.
Watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Reading the Christmas story on Christmas morning.
The girls made Phil a Tottenham Hotspur Christmas ornament!
Dr. Madeleine opens a gift

Reading Lentil.
Double date with Russ and Patsy at Peter's Tex-Mex.

Maddie's Birthday, Thanksgiving, Stan visits, and a trip to Hong Kong

2010-12-06T18:51:00.001-08:00

Two posts in under a month...must be a new record for us. But a lot has happened since we returned from Australia. First was Madeleine's fifth birthday. She had two parties - one for family on her actual birthday and the second for her friends on Saturday. Here she is finding the clues that led to her presents.

The electricity was off on the morning of her birthday so gifts were opened by candlelight.
We got back from Australia on November 9 and Maddie's birthday is the 10th, so Russ and Patsy stuck around an extra day to help celebrate. The office staff came over for dumplings for lunch.
Maddie's cake was a bunch of cupcakes arranged into an M. She helped ice them herself.

Lilian so rarely falls asleep outside of her bed that this was a photo-worthy occasion.

Putting together a Lego stable.

Maddie and friends all dressed up as princesses.
The kids made their own pizzas for dinner.

The cake was Rice Krispie Treats

Lily fits perfectly in this box. Now we know for those times when she's making us wish we could mail her to another continent.
Madeleine is learning to read and write.
The girls play something...train, maybe?
Our friend Stan came to give lectures on ecotourism to a couple local universities and the department of forestry. It was great to have him visit, and for Thanksgiving too!
An ancient city, Luodai, has been turned into a big tourist trap. But it's fun, and if you want to eat roasted scorpion and centipede you can get them there. The next several pictures are all from our trip to Luodai with Stan.

Stan's eating candied hawthorn (or maybe strawberries or something else entirely) wrapped in rice paper.

Lilian has started sleeping in a big girl bed. She's done very well with it. It's actually our futon.
The apprentice baker helps make pie crust.
The children laborers slave in the kitchen preparing yeast rolls for the Thanksgiving feast.
Salmon cream cheese spread with a smorgasbord of crackers.
Kids put on a Thanksgiving play.
Nearly time to eat. We had about 15 people in the house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Drumstick!
Madeleine and her friend Katelynn had a sleepover on Thanksgiving night.
A Christmas bazaar at one of the international schools in town. Maddie plays the drum.
Packed.
Leftover pumpkin pie!
Getting Christmas decorations out.
Not quite as fun as tramping out to cut your own tree, but Maddie doesn't know the difference.

We drove out to a forest park with Stan. We ate lunch on the way.

We didn't know it when we decided to go, but in August the area experienced a lot of mudslides and rockslides.
Whole first floors of buildings were inundated. They dug out the stairwell of this place and it looks like people are still living in some of the apartments above the ground floor.

Bridges and the road were washed out and covered over.
But we still enjoyed the hike. Destruction of the tourist infrastructure meant that we were alone.
Phil predicted these goats before we ever saw or heard them.
Where the road used to be.

Madeleine LOVES to hike.
Peanut time.
Madeleine the stop sign.
Feeding the squirrels.

The new track and a glimpse of the old road.
The remains of a car.
A view of another valley (not the one we were hiking in) that shows the extent of the mudslides.
Dinner with Stan at our favorite dumpling restaurant.
Our daughter the walrus.
Sillian.
Putting the day's ornament on the Jesse Tree.
Julie and Madeleine took a three-day trip to Hong Kong for a couple meetings.
The hotel had an indoor pool! Swimming cap rental was included with the price of the room.

Star Ferry. One of the most fun, most affordable public transportation experiences in the world.

Back in Chengdu, they're building a new wing on the hospital. It dwarfs the old hospital, which is to the right behind the water tower. It blocks our view of the nice glass and steel building, but it's hard to be annoyed at a new hospital.
The end!

Tenth Anniversary Celebration

2010-11-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago August, Julie and I were married. At the time we got her a simple, affordable wedding band. We said that for our tenth anniversary we would upgrade it to one ringed with diamonds. Last year I asked her if she still wanted a new wedding band or if she'd rather do a trip. She chose the trip, so we went to Australia this November. Her parents took care of Lily and Maddie so it was just the two of us. We're incredibly blessed to have been able to do this and really it's still kind of hard to believe that it was able to take place. We didn't take any of it for granted. It was a good break from work, too, after a busy summer. So here are the pictures from our vacation, starting with Julie waiting in the airport. It's a very different, much more relaxing experience waiting in the airport when there are no kids to take care of.

Just arrived in unseasonably cold wet Melbourne and waiting for our tram.
Julie in our room.
Vegemite, the Aussie version of Marmite, which is the English version of meconium.
We stayed near Luna Park.
View of Melbourne from St Kilda pier.
Admiring the local architecture.
In the courtyard. Our door is behind the bamboo screens.
Another shot of Luna Park.
Downtown Melbourne.
St Paul's Cathedral. I love old churches.

The Royal Botanical Gardens is one of the nicest parks we've ever been to.

The herb garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens.

A family playing Australian rules football in the park.
Julie fed the cat of the people whose guest house we were staying in.
Krispy Kreme!
The St Kilda pier has about 1,000 resident Little Penguins.
There wasn't enough napping on our vacation, but we did get some in.
In the St Kilda botanical gardens. One day we had someone ask us if we were on our honeymoon.
Australia v. Sri Lanka cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Julie's passion for the game could not be contained.
Pies and cricket! Beef and burgundy pie on the left, cottage pie on the right.
The match lasted eight hours but by the end of it we actually understood cricket, and Julie had turned into a rabid Sri Lanka fan.
These kangaroos hang out at the Anglesea golf course. Some of them have collars with their names on them. They're wild in the sense that they're not in a zoo or kept as pets, but they are very tame.
We took two days and drove the Great Ocean Road, which is a road that runs by the ocean and is pretty great. We stopped a lot because everywhere provided something interesting or beautiful to look at.
Apparently a LOT of tourists drive the Great Ocean Road, and apparently some of them have problems remembering which side of the road to drive on. I did not have problems remembering because Julie made sure to remind me a lot.
Our first koala. It was asleep until I shook the tree. Then it woke up and looked around a bit. Then some other people came by and said how remarkably rare it is to see a koala awake at that time of day.

The road we drove.

Signs warning you to look out for wildlife usually come with a phone number the wildlife can call in case they become injured.

Stripey road.
Cape Otway Lightstation was closed when we got there so we had to be content with a photo from the hill behind it.
More koalas!
Dinner was fish and chips from Frying Nemo, a gas station chippy.
The fish and chips were excellent as was the company.
Kangaroo tracks on the beach.
Early morning walk, waiting for Julie to get ready for the day.

This is called London Bridge, and it used to be connected to the mainland but London Bridge fell down. The surf is relentless.

We went down this unsigned dirt road and came out on top of the cliffs. This guy was there fishing. He lives 40km back in the bush and comes out to fish once every month or so. He's been in Australia for at least 30 years but from his accent he's originally from Eastern Europe. His goal was to catch enough fish for tea (supper). He was a friendly guy and if we didn't have so much to do that day we could've spent a nice couple hours chatting.
He had already caught a salmon.
There was a lot more of him leaning over the cliff than I'd be comfortable with myself.
A little red snapper.
Down on the beach a bit further on.
Tourist shot at the Twelve Apostles. It's called that even though there are only eight.

Don't say they didn't warn you.
Another view of the Apostles. Just so amazing and the weather was absolutely perfect.
Close by there are steps down the cliff face so you can get to the beach.

Returning seaweed to its home in the ocean.
Samson impression
We found an echidna by the trail while walking down to Wreck Beach.

Wreck Beach
What's left of one of the wrecks.

So many different kinds of seaweed. If you are a seaweed enthusiast, I can wholeheartedly recommend a visit to Wreck Beach.
Hopetoun Falls in Great Otway National Park.

We only stopped at the redwood grove because it was right there by the road, but it was one of the best parts of the trip. It was a good illustration of how people can carve out a place in the wilderness, keep it natural but a little different, and create a magnificent space. There is no underbrush here and it's akin to being in a cathedral, with slightly swaying pillars and a gently whooshing roof.
Kangaroo steak.

At the beginning of our day driving around Yarra Valley and the Dandenongs.
There's an animal hospital at Healesville Sanctuary and they were repairing a turtle's shell. They do the surgeries behind plate glass and there are large screen TVs showing the surgery up close.

The only wombat we saw outside of the zoo was dead by the side of the road.
Mount Dandenong offers great views of Melbourne and the surrounding areas. Melbourne is dwarfed by the cloud there in the middle of the picture.

Julie talking to Madeleine and Lilian just before we went into Luna Park to ride one of the oldest roller coasters still in operation. It requires a brakeman to stand between the two cars and operate the brakes manually.
Two bananas for 75 cents...you CAN buy something in Melbourne for under a dollar!

Talking to the girls at sunset on St Kilda Beach.

Waiting for the penguins to make their nightly return to their homes in the rocks from their day out fishing in the bay.
On the way back home to China.

The end.

June 2010 trip

2010-06-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Julie's parents took care of the girls while we went on our eight-day trip.
Our bus for the 10 hour journey to Songpan.
A village on the way.
Mountains near Huanglong National Park, still snowy in June.
A traffic jam on the way into Songpan. No flagmen means large trucks all just drive on into the one-lane section of road, then figure out which line of trucks and buses will reverse back out after they meet the trucks coming from the other way.
Dinner at Emma's Cafe in Songpan.
Dusty little SP.

On our way out the next morning. The dust from the roadwork was incredible. It had cleared some by the time we took this picture.

Sheep and yaks.
Unloading a bunch of windows for a village of T. people who've been settled off the grasslands.
In LMS.
A general store.
A view from Gansu into Sichuan.
One of the two monasteries. This is the one on the Gansu side.

A bone. Animal? Or left by the vultures after a sky burial?

LMS has horse trekking for people who weigh 80 kilograms or less. We didn't go but not because of weight (in Julie's case at least).
The Sichuan-side monastery.
Heading up a gorge to start a morning hike.

On top of the mountain ridge.
View over LMS as the rain clouds descend.
And a view along the ridge.
Heading back down.
The lady on the right was herding these calves. She had no dog, no staff, nothing but the rocks she picked off the ground. But she was a great shot and got the cows to go where she wanted them to go by whacking them in the rumps with the stones.
Julie and her hat merchant friend in LMS. Their friendship would be deeper if they spoke a common language, but the lady doesn't know any English or Mandarin.
Prayer wheels at the edge of the large monastery in XH.
A monk painting a statue of a god whose name we didn't think to ask at the time. But the painting you can just see at the top of the picture took him 40 days to paint.
Pilgrims going up and down the stairs of a temple.
This nice old lady invited us to her home for lunch even though it was only 10:30am.
Some teenagers who live or hang out in the same house the lady lives in.
Half of the lady's living quarters. The little table separates places to sleep on either side. She told us that her husband died a while ago so if we wanted we could sleep there. There's a hunk of butter in the middle of the table, and the jar sitting on the bed platform is full of roasted barley kernels for making tsampa.
Offering tea and food to the DL, whose picture is there between the flowers.
Spooning great slabs of butter into bowls. Then boiling water is poured in and you dip bread in the melted butter.
The other half of the room.

Bread and butter.

Building (or rebuilding) in the monastery.
They laid new sewer pipe during the two days we were in XH.
A spirit goat. A lama blesses it and then no one is allowed to harm it. They tie the flag to its coat so everyone knows that it's off limits. You can still hassle it though. Our friend here was trying to rile it up so it would butt him, but the goat was very friendly and didn't rise to the bait.

Julie and people picnicking above the monastery. The one older lady was singing. The rest of the people in the picnic party were all school age.

The part of the kora without prayer wheels.

There were so many different types of wild flowers in bloom on the hills. We'll just put this one in this post.
View up the valley in which XH sits.
Julie descending.

A sky burial site.
Homemade mask.

Doorway with one flower.
Our favorite restaurant in XH - the Nomad.
Afternoon in the monastery, monks just done with prayers.
New construction.
Young monks playing tag.

Stone slabs laid out so the devout can prostrate themselves while doing the kora.
Our bus to Xining left early in the morning. So early that when we got there the bus station hadn't opened yet.
On the way to Xining.

The yellow fields are rape/canola.
Our bus got a flat tire. They had it changed in half an hour.
The male passengers supervise the tire repair.
Julie gets an IV.
Xining from our friends' apartment.
And the other side of Xining from a window on the other side of their place.
Caterpillar fungus is big business in Xining. In the airport, half a pound of it sells for over $11,000. But you can get it cheaper than that.
Julie enjoys some instant noodles while we wait four hours for the mechanics to fix our airplane.
Getting on the airplane again, after our long wait.
But three passengers didn't get back on, no one knew where they were, and the airline wouldn't let us just take off without them. After sitting there for another half hour or so, passengers started getting really angry, yelling, arguing with the stewardesses, and then some of them got their bags and tried to get off the plane. Eventually these guys in the picture showed up and started handing out cash. They gave everyone 200 RMB ($30) and then we took off without the three missing passengers.

The end.

Home sweet home

2010-04-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in Chengdu safely last night. This morning we awoke to a bright sunny day - and we are already missing the sky. Nonetheless, it's nice to be home and get things unpacked. Back to our regularly scheduled life.

America

2010-04-24T09:44:00.001-07:00

We've enjoyed our time in America. We leave on Tuesday, April 27. You'll notice some themes in these pictures, things we have really enjoyed here that we just don't have available to us in China - grassy lawns, clear blue skies, and big clean playgrounds. We've been really glad that our girls have had this past month or so to experience and enjoy these things. We have really appreciated all the little things that make the States such an easy place to live.

We'd planned on just spending two weeks here but that turned into more than a month. That meant that we got to see spring bloom in all its glory. When we got here everything was brown and now the daffodils have bloomed and faded, the trees have all leafed out, and the lilacs are blooming.

Just arrived in America after about 21 hours of travel.
Puzzle time with Grandma
The whole reason we came to the US - so Julie could receive treatment for MS at the Cleveland Clinic.
Refilling the bird feeder.
Arby's. Something we don't have in the PRC.
A rest stop on the way to visit Phil's sister and family in Pennsylvania.
Lilian meets her cousin Micah for the first time.
Phil's sister Miriam with her nieces.

We had a gorgeous day to spend in Harrisburg, PA. It's a nice little city.
"Are you sure Canadian geese are safe to turn your back on?"
Downtown Harrisburg.
Enjoying a brisk morning on Doug and Miriam's deck.

Exploring the Pennsylvania woods.
Tracking some deer.

Beautiful emptiness.
Back in Ohio, at the playground closest to Phil's parents' house, where we stayed while we were in the US.
At an orchard.
Puppies for sale outside the Kidron livestock auction.
Calves to be auctioned.

Another great thing about America - drinking fountains!

Lily throws a fit.
Road trip!
On the way to visit Phil's grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins in Indiana.
Lovely day for a drive. The sky here is so unbelievably blue.
Dairy Snack was closed, so second choice for lunch was Mike's Dairy Bar.
Maddie's great grandpa tells her a Three Bears story.
An amazing playground in Ft. Wayne.
Family around the dinner table.
Aunt Joy introduces us to Bill Peet.
Four generations.
Back in Ohio, Maddie teaches Lily how to play the piano with her feet.
Julie loves Cracker Barrell. I (Phil) don't know why, really, but she does.
Oh, the delight.
Brand spankin' new Dover Park.

Lily and the stray cat regarded each other. Lily was fascinated with and terrified of the cat.
Maddie and Carly.
Wes, Jessica, and Carly drove up from North Carolina to visit.
Hanging out in the garage while the children play.
A grilled dinner on the back porch.
The longest line we had to wait in the whole time we were in the States - for ice cream at Softies.

Coloring Easter eggs.
The day before Easter, a rabbit dug a little burrow in the front yard.
Easter egg hunt with some friends.

Easter morning.
Easter.
The Ohio and Erie Canal towpath.

Lily's chocolate bunny (on the left).
Great Amish-style home cooking.
A trip to Amish country.

The Farmerstown auction.
Maddie, ewe, two lambs.
Grandpa puts Madeleine to work.

Lily hones her streaking skills.
America is pricey.

Swings! So rare to ever find a good swing in China.

Grandpa finds more chores for Madeleine to do.
A really friendly horse by RW Leather, a great Amish-owned leather shop near Walnut Creek.
Picking dandelions outside the shop.
The girls love drinking fountains.
Mandy, our former student who now studies in St. Louis, came to visit us!
More swings.

Darryl and Karen Miller generously invited us to come spend some time with their miniature horses. Maddie was a natural around the horses.
The house Phil lived in from when he was two until he was in kindergarten. From here on out the pictures are a bit out of order.
Another lovely day for a drive.
The local library had some chicks in the kids' section.
That same friendly horse at RW Leather.
At the Millers' horse farm.
The white speck down there is Madeleine, who had run after half a dozen deer. She did not catch them.

Milkshakes at Blazin' Burgers.

Enjoying the lawn. Maddie never gets to lie on the ground in China.
Another trip to Blazin' Burgers. Lunch this time.

And that's it. Our next blog entry will be from China again!

Thanksgiving and Ready for Christmas

2009-12-02T22:40:00.000-08:00

The girls helping get the pumpkin pies ready for Thanksgiving Day.

My very first turkey.

Our group for the feast.

Wishbone tug.

The all important job of stringing the lights. The girls supervised.

It's kinda cold in our house.

Decorating at the office.

Merry Christmas!

My pictures from our October trip

2009-11-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is not from the trip but it was on the camera card and so here it is.
Husking corn and setting it out to dry

Building a mosque. There are tons of mosques in the area dominated by the DX minority.

Morning in XH. I won't be using full names of places because I don't care to have people stumble across the blog by searching keywords. If you would like a glossary of abbreviations, email me.

Prayer wheels around L monastery

Artisan workshops across from the monastery

The next shots are all from in and around L monastery

Pilgrims circling.

Russ takes a break.

Newly constructed housing on the right

Frost-covered prayer papers

A view of L monastery

Monks' quarters

In the town of XH

Pilgrim prostrating himself

I walked up and along this ridge

Pilgrims circling a stupa

L monastery was very empty. There were hardly any tourists, as you can see from the parking lot.

The hills are strewn with paper squares

A ruin on the hill above L monastery.

A few monks walking down the main road there

A couple tossing papers to the wind

Prayer flags

The part of XH where most non-monk T people live

Army troops practicing martial arts

Free car wash

In the T half of XH

Back in the monastery

Using whitewash/chalk to draw on the ground

Dusk in the monastery

If only the hotel we stayed at put as much effort into their bathrooms as they did their ceillings...

Sheep on the hills

Yaks on the hills

Govt provided housing, ready to resettle nomads

LMS

The sky was blue when we arrived and by evening it was grey and snowy

Washing clothes in the stream

Supervising the cattle

Horses at pasture in the valley

Russ is down there at the bend in the road.

Fairly common style of T house. Two doors, glassed in front to catch the heat of the sun, solar cooker...

A little temple on the SC side of LMS.

Looking from the SC side of the river to the GS side. There are two monasteries, one in each province.

A wall

Prayer wheels

Cows and schoolchildren heading home after a long day

SC side of LMS

Very interesting rig to keep the wall from collapsing outward

Not reading T, I can only guess that this says "om mani padme hum."

Having departed T areas and entered Hui areas

Threshing beans

The dusty, dirty town of LT

An old building right next to the church

On our way out to a hillside village, about to cross the Tao on that bridge

The bridge - iron frame laid over with logs and then rocks and dirt

LBS

A friend's house in LBS

On the way from LT to another LT

Traffic jam

Mountain at rest Trying to figure out where the new rattling clunk is coming from

Russ calls me back to the car

The village repair shop Decent scenery while we wait for repairs to be finished

Stoves for sale

At LT

They built a new church in 2006 but salvaged and reassembled the roof from the original building, which was built in the late 1800s.

Big plastic chickens approve of Russ.

Boxes of tea

Russ makes a baby happy.

Russ manfully resists the airport parking lot pear-seller's insistent pitch to buy more pears.

Some of Russ's pictures from our trip

2009-11-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Day 1: yak dumplings, boiled yak, and potatoes. The boiled yak was the best.
Some of Russ's new friends

Making prayer wheels

View from our hotel window.

Some friendly monks at the bus station.

Yak dung drying on the wall. It's fuel for their fire.

Whoops.

Random Chinese guy.

Tobacco seller. If you buy tobacco he also provides newspapers cut up for your rolling papers.

A Plethora

2009-09-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Chengdu Blades soccer match.

Opening a package from our friends in Ohio.

Summer watermelon goodness.

One morning we discovered this glorious park that has a wetlands area and just great places to play and explore. Maddie and Lily got as wet as they wanted.

On August 5th 2009, 9th wedding anniversary, we all went to Swensen's for supper. Swensen's is a San-Fransisco restaurant chain with great icecream.

Enjoying bottomless cups of tea at a tea house in People's Park. We went here for part of our 9th wedding anniversary. It's a beautiful park near our home.

Our bedroom. It's completed glory.

The bench that we got for free simply by asking for it. The old chest we bought in Xi'an.
Trying to get this child to walk! (she is now)

Madeleine's favorite part of a hair cut is the hair washing, but she enjoys all the pampering.

Waiting.
Downtown Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Kowloon Park. Amazingly nice.

Hold on!

Star Ferry

Hong Kong is SO fun.

On our way to Cheung Chau Island via ferry.

Cheung Chau Island.

This is why we love Cheung Chau Island.

Drying fish in the hot HK sun.

Never underestimate what a child can do with fabric and clips.

Heading back on the ferry.

On the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. That's Hong Kong Island with all the skyscrapers.

Our Hong Kong hotel.

One of the many parks on Hong Kong Island. Just resting.

Beijing airport.

We promised Madeleine a bike as a celebration gift once we got our visas. Promise kept.

Thanks, Aunt Jana!

Making a welcome sign for Nana and Gramps visit.

Skyping.

Maddie being Maddie.

Gramps being Gramps.

Mom being Mom.
Bedhead.

Cuddling in Madeleine's bed.
Our babies.

Peter and Natasha visited us over a weekend. They got in late on Friday night and left on Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful seeing them again.

Cobblestone streets in a high-income area of Chengdu. We often eat lunch in this area on Sundays. Lily and Phil are waiting for a taxi.

Madeleine is never lacking in facial expressions.

Airplanes seem to be our second home.

Water poured in to our kitchen from the neighbors house a floor above us on Saturday morning. They had busted a hole in their drainage pipe after trying to get a clog out. It worked because all their mop water went right down - in to our kitchen! Thankfully, this workman got it all repaired and in record time.

Candyland. Maddie kicked Phil's butt.

A month of pictures

2009-04-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Last day of Art School with Maddie's teacher, Summer.

Ya Ya, Mei Lian, A Pu

Sweet Potato Cake

Madeleine is just like Phil. She loves tons of blankets on her. Our heat is off now until the fall and it's a bit chilly in the house.

Warming up to a lioness.

Art School Puppy

Good friends visited for a couple days.

Daniel and Josiah took turns reading to Madeleine. They got pretty tired of it because Maddie could read all night and Phil and I loved the free babysitting.

Lilian totally chill.

Tent of old foam. This is out on our enclosed balcony. Madeleine created this herself.

Playing on the playground.

The backyard of a tenant in our complex. A rooster and hen are in the pen.

This is significant because Madeleine is slowly learning not to suck her thumb. Reading and watching a movie are the hardest times for her.

Buying beans.

Fresh ground red chili pepper.

Friday morning, waiting for the bus to school.

Easiest way to wash a baby.

McDonald's. Can you buy cups of corn in the States?

First trans-fat laden french fry.

Madeleine pretending to wait for school to start with all her school stuff.

Taking the road less traveled to the toys.

A rare event of blissful, child free travel. We were at the airport on our way to Chengdu.

Bookshelf bought at the used furniture market.

Madeleine painting the shelves.

This was a fun project for Phil and Madeleine. The finished product looks great but for some reason we didn't take a picture of it.

Lilian's favorite toy. An activity center that plays really, really out of tune Christmas carols.

Always a favorite spot.

Lily's hair is starting to lay down but we still like it best spiked. She has 6 teeth now - 4 on top and 2 on bottom.

Over the last couple of months Madeleine has really gotten in to clothes and picking our her own outfits. This get-up is one of her normal looks.

Child labor is still the best.

The best alternative to getting a puppy.

In February we had a snow day. Mariah and Madeleine had a blast for about 20 minutes.

Button-eyed snowman.

Maddie was very concerned about leaving these buttons outside. I (Julie) assured her it would be fine. When we came back later he was gone and so were his eyes.

Water conservation.

Afternoon at home with Papa.

Bye Bye.

All Thailand

2009-02-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

Airsickness bag chef's hat.

We're in Bangkok, Thailand!

"Cow!!!!"

Phil and Madeleine went exploring near our resort in Chiang Mai.

They found cows.

Lilian became a crawler the day after we arrived in Thailand.

She celebrated by getting a mohawk.

Always good food to be had.

Lilian showing off her pulling up skills.

Our resort at Springfield Resort in Hua Hin. We got the suite this year.

The hair.

Awesome bus taking Phil and Julie to Hua Hin town.

Dedicating Lilian Pearl.

One of the restaurants sits down in the pool at Springfield Resort.

Maddie takes a dip after lunch. This pic is taken from our table.

Lilian absolutely loved Thai living.

Last year Natasha and I had our picture taken in this spot pregnant.

Here's the result a year later.

Gramps on vacation.

Dolphin Bay

We were watching one of the staff at our resort cut coconuts out of the trees on the property. Pretty soon he brought one cut open with a straw for Madeleine.

Our bungalows.

Steiners on one side and Taylors on the other.

Evening meals were our big meal of the day. They were almost always at these little beach side restaurants. Cheap and delicious Thai.

Phil and Madeleine heading to Monkey Island.

This little guy was especially friendly.

He was about to give Madeleine a special tooth filled greeting.

She's convinced he was saying, "Hi!"

View down Dolphin Bay

Depending on who you ask,

we spent our afternoons collecting starfish, prawns, hermit crabs or eating sand.

Lilian's favorite way to ride around.

Madeleine and Phil setting out one morning in their rented kyack.

Fishing boat off the coast.

In Bangkok at a guest house, Madeleine displays her mom's shopping spree. 2 new dresses, flip flops and a bracelet.

Lilian's favorite part of Bangkok. The wardrobe.

Bangkok Zoo.

Madeleine Diane and Lilian Pearl

This is one of the only pictures where you can see where Maddie got a black eye. She was at the perfect height for a good hit from the door knob when her friend rushed in the bathroom.

Second best thing to the beach.

A really fun vacation. We can't wait to do it again next year!

Merry Christmas

2009-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Steiners and Taylors.

Qiao Qiao's family.

Best friends.

We had a wonderful Christmas party with friends at a beautiful coffee shop. Our friends are starting a Cultural Exchange Center and we met in their new building.

Julie assists in a magic show.

Natasha and Hudson.

Aunt Sheila got Madeleine a doctor's kit.

Reading with Gramps.

Reading with Aunt Crissy.

Christmas morning we had several friends over for a delicious brunch.

Teacher Ma. She's the head teacher of our language school.

Brunch Gang.

Santa.

So Madeleine.

Our Jesse Tree.

We started making the ornaments last year and finally finished this year!

We opened Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve. A scarf for Mom.

A very special gift from Julie's cousin, Deborah, sent from GA for Madeleine.

Lilian lived up to her reputation as a 6 month old and chewed everything in sight.

Chinese textbook for Dad.

Madeleine's gift to Nana. A fan. She got Papa and Gramps instant noodles.

The train from Grandpa and Grandma. Sent all the way from Ohio.

Oh! Candyland!

A very Merry Christmas and aparantly a tiring one, too.

Downtown.

All bundled up on a cold morning in Xi'an.

This book has been well-chewed. First by Madeleine and now Lilian.

Madeleine wanted to help Lilian stop crying so she kept putting more and more toys in her crib.

Phil makes gingerbeer.

Date night for Phil and Madeleine that included rides, Subway and a bus ride.

Madeleine's "I just drank Sprite" face.

Phil climbed to the top of one of the highest buildings in our complex to capture Xi'an on a clear day.

The closest buildings are all in our complex. The dirt area will be a new complex. The rest of the buildings are all new buildings that make up the district we live in. It's literally called Tall New.

Home after a morning at Art School. Our cat.

Madeleine's first time to help feed Lilian.

Christmas tree time

2008-12-10T04:12:00.001-08:00

Lazy man's tree.

"Decorating all by myself, me."

Lilian's contribution to the xmas cheer.

Vintage ornaments.

The manager scene when a 3 year old is in charge.

Our friend found an article about a lost treasure of Xi'an. It's an altar of sorts that was used by the Emperor for making sacrifices to ensure a good harvest for the year. It was supposedly still located in a very busy part of the city but unheard of by most residents. This Saturday morning we set out to find it. It was a very cold morning.

Phil used Google maps to locate the altar and our hunt took us down this particular street that is very close to our language school. Three wheeled bikes, like this man is driving, are very common for transporting goods.

Another common way to carry stuff.

The path that led us to the Altar.

Xi'an's Altar of Heaven constructed in 1420 and unearthed in 1999.

The only way to get in.

View from the top.

Peter, Madeleine and Clinton.

Winter static.

Aunt Sheila and a very sweet Lilian.

One of the first things we hear every morning is, "Can I hold Wiwian?"

Seriously sitting up all by herself.

Papa's idea of fun.

The girls.

Madeleine made a "cage" for Lilian. They played for a long time together this morning.

View from our study window seat over to Madeleine's window seat.

The view from the kitchen at night.

fall fun

2008-11-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Autumn!

I'm scooting!

The face of a 3 year old.

The Birthday Gift. "My Barn!"

Birthday party spread.

Hanging out in her bedroom with Aunt Jenna.

Qiao Qiao's family.

The always greatly anticipated opening of gifts.

Pink cupcake cake.

Lick off that icing! Why even bother with the cake?

Cutie pie Tabitha.

Infamous Qiao Qiao

Lilian was asleep and missed the family shot. Maddie couldn't stop stuffing her face for even a second.

Grandpa and Grandma Steiner's gift.

Opened the day before the party which was the day before the actual birth.

Picnic lunch with the Tompkins.

Great gift, Grandpa and Grandma!

Making Thanksgiving cookies with Christmas cookie cutters.

We took every opportunity to celebrate Madeleine's birthday this weekend.

Hudson's idea of fun.

Second most fun thing to do.

Finished product.

The kids cut and decorated the cookies. What a floury, fun mess we had.

Happy Halloween!

Old Chinese man, Baby Einstein, Princess.

Smokin' hot old Chinese woman with her princess.

Pirate Clinton.

Spiderman Peter.

The bounty.

Football match.

We are the ones with the big fat one by our name.

Final Score.

Fires are always fun to start after a game.

The foreigners in the stands.

smiles, paint and wounds

2008-10-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

About a month ago Madeleine got her arm stuck between the treadmill belt and a ball that got sucked under the treadmill. This is what it did to her arm. Her arm is almost completely healed now and looks like it will have very little scarring. A huge praise. Thank you to all who prayed for her and us.

About an hour after the trauma. Clear fluid is dripping off the wounds.

Displaying her "special blanket" that helped keep the dressing in place. It's 2 of Phil's socks with the feet cut out.

A night or two after the incident. Still pretty wet.

Brave face

Peppermint tea. Madeleine's latest craze.

Here we are Papa!

Phil found this Ohio State blanket for sale in a shop here.

Hey, big blue eyes.

See my foot?

"Mom, Wiwian is the same as my blanket. Both orange! Get the camera!"

Art school. Saving on paper.

Nana came and we took the bus!

Nana and her youngest girls.

Nana and her baby girl.

Where Lilian is, there is Maddie.

A Friday surprise was bringing Peter home with me (Julie) after my class that afternoon. Maddie had no idea and was so happy to see Peter with me. We made pizza and played outside after dark.

Art Stencil.

Phil's great idea for wall art and he made it with Maddie's help.

She smiles!

Our nightly routine of reading books redesigned by Maddie to include both of us in our pajamas, lying on the couch, under our own blankets with a stack of books.