A Look Back at 2016

Due to a very restricted and unpredictable internet, I have not blogged in quite some time. Living in China comes with many obstacle and the internet is one of them. However, as we move into 2017 I hope to increase my posts to keep you up to date with the last 6 months of our China adventure. I also thought this would be a great time to look back at all that 2016 brought us!

Unfortunately it is taking over 45 minutes to upload just one photo. I'm going to make a quick list of some of the highlights of this year and attempt to upload the photos later.

#1 At the end of last year we were able to go home from Christmas and surprise my family. It was the greatest Christmas gift. We were lucky enough this year to plan another trip home for the holidays and it couldn't have been better!

#2 Chinese New Year brought sun and fun at Hanova; mixed with one day of snow. We  had a breakfast Superbowl party and I introduced some of my friends to Biscuits and Gravy. We also got to do some fun activities at school and went on a trip to Hong Kong

#3 In April I judged the regional NSDA debate tournament and we had sports day at school. We visited Xiao Yan Ta (Small Wild Goose Pagoda) for one of Rachel's friend's birthday party.

#4 We went on a cool trip with our church to a nearby Chinese village and saw some traditional food making and trade crafts.

 #5 I wrote a play about refugees and it turned out pretty good.

#6 I got to celebrate my friends Will and Michelle getting married.

#7 We had an epic summer vacation. I got to meet my nephew Odin Danger Carlson, Tony and I went on a fantastic road trip, Rachel got her hair cut, and I got to attend my baby sister's wedding.

#8 We went to the Xi'an aquarium with some new friends.

#9 Rachel turned 8, we went to some cool museums to see some miniature terracotta soldiers and some cool chocolate sculptures.

#10 We dressed up for Halloween, ate some good food, and said farewell to a good friend.

#11 I drove in China....illegally!

#12 We had an incredible Christmas holiday at home with our loved ones!

That's a wrap on 2016! I feel very blessed and I look forward to 2017. We have 6 months left in China then I hope to get a new job back home in Idaho. Tony has 3 semesters left of Law school and he's doing great. I'm going to be an auntie again this summer and I hope the internet will function properly so I can blog more often about this crazy place!