We are the Hudsons: July 2015.....Happy Independence Day America!!!

Independence Day, more casually knows as July 4th in the good ole' U.S. of A! In China, it was just another day. I fondly remember July 4th as a child, enjoying the foods and fun of summer, some swimming and watermelon, corn on the cob and BBQ dinner! Wearing your red, white and blue proudly, and for my family Rawhide fireworks! This is back when Rawhide was located in northern Scottsdale and you could either go in or park outside along Scottsdale Road and watch the beautiful colors above in the night summer sky! As my parents moved from AZ to NV it became a holiday weekend to get out of town and visit them along with other family members that would join, always my brother, then a mixture of Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc. would come along for the fun! Oh good memories, I can't wait to make those memories with my kids. A few things about not being in the US that you can't recreate here in China includes the holidays, we have our own way of celebrating everything in America, right or wrong, good or bad, it is what i know and love! I dressed my kids in red, white and blue and pretended to celebrate in China.

Proud to be an American

Our vacation....that didn't happen. Many of you know we planned a family trip to Bali for a summer trip....well we had some very bad luck. The week before we left a volcano erupted in Bali and a day before we were to leave the airport was closed due to all the ash. The day we were supposed to leave a typhoon was expected to hit Shanghai which is where our flight was leaving from, so with both airports closed we got a hotel in Shanghai and waited for better news. The next day our flight was rescheduled, we went to the airport for a 9am flight, once we boarded the plane we had high hopes of getting to Bali, but one hour into the flight after being served, literally the worst food i have ever had on a flight, we were told that the airport in Bali has just been closed again and they would have to turn around and go back to Shanghai. So we had to make a decision, wait to see if the airport would reopen and could fly later that day, or we could call it quits and get a refund and try to reschedule the trip. We were traveling with another family, so we had 4 kids under the age of 3, we decided we couldn't just sit waiting not knowing. After going back through customs we were told that it would be about 40 minutes to get a voucher/paper for a refund of the flight and then we could get our bags.....after two hours my friend and I decided that we were better off taking the kids to a hotel and feeding them dinner than waiting any longer at the airport. The husband's stayed behind and after another hour they got to the front of the line to get the papers they needed, then had to wait until the flight actually took off at 7pm for the bags to be available and they made it to the baggage claim around 9pm, they were then able to get a minivan with a driver to bring them to the hotel, they got a deal on the price but had to drop a worker off at home and stop to get gas before arriving at the hotel at 10:30pm. What a day.....we checked and the flight the next day didn't have enough seats so we are all re-booked now for September, try for Bali #2! I have to say the kids were troopers and it could have been a lot worse if they weren't in such good spirits! I can't say enough about American Express, American Express Travel and American Express Travel Insurance for helping us with everything too!

We did family photos back in June but we wanted to wait until we got them to show, so glad we captured some great shots of the kids, especially while Grace was still a baby, we did family photos around the same age with Blake and it is nice to see them as babies.....they grow too fast! Just a few favorites of mine!

So now for my weird photos, things i see and experience while in China section....

This is how i pick up the dry cleaning, just like at home, each shirt is in a plastic bag on a hanger, then when you pick it up they fold it in half and put it in a big for you to carry with you. You can tell that most people walk, take the bus or ride an e-bike and don't just throw it on the hanging thing in the car to take home here in China.

We usually go to Metro for grocery shopping and they have huge carts with no where for baby to sit, this was Grace's first time getting to ride in an actual grocery cart!

Capturing Grace's first two teeth, this was the only time to get a photo of them, don't worry dad was holding her, she was not harmed in the taking of this photo.

Blake and I went on a mommy & son date to a DIY bakery. He chose what we made, butter cookie sticks dipped in chocolate and decorated with sprinkles, that's my boy!

This is a car wash, all that i have seen look like this, you drive a car in and wash it up then drive it back out. Nothing like at home with the Danny's Family car wash and such. No giant waiting room here with TV's, greeting cards and coffee!

Anyone want some corn juice? There is a new stand in the mall, all you want they have here....yummmy :(

At the same mall they have these fun excavators that you can pay to let the kids play on and ride, not sure which kid in the photo is having more fun!

Blake finally got to try this, i kept thinking he was too young but he had a blast. This is just outside the mall, 5 minutes for about $3usd.

Christmas in July at our compound, Brian tried so hard to find me poinsettias for Christmas, apparently they bloom in the summer in China, who knew???