Halloween Party

This weekend was full of Halloween activities. Saturday night was trick or treating and Sunday was a picnic in the park behind our apartment. Hailey was under the weather Saturday so Nate had to collect for his Sister. Nathan was very concerned for his sister, he even shared his candy. By Sunday she was back to normal.


Nathan and Tiger


Waiting for the elevators at each building put a new twist on trick or treating


The weather was so hot that the kids had to change out of there costumes part way thru the picnic


Hailey and her new friend Cannon played together all afternoon


This was the swing that knocked down the piñata


The donut eating contest


Damage from the donut eating contest




The kids splitting the prize

Yuyuan Garden (China)

Yuyuan garden, the Garden of Leisurely Repose, was built in the Ming dynasty. It is the only Ming garden left in the city. The entire compound consists of over 30 halls and is divided into six regions by tall white walls. It was reportedly built in 1559 by the wealthy official Pan Yunduan to please his parents in their old age.




I love the dragon. The ridge of its back ran down the top of the wall all the way around the garden.


Ahgg…It’s got me!!!!!

The tea house in the middle of the garden.




Check out all the coy.

Yuyuan Garden 1 (China)

The main entrance.

Lunch at the Yuyuan Garden (China)

We had lunch on the third floor of a restaurant just outside the gates of the Yuyuan Garden. The food and the view was very good.







The whole crew.

The paper person cut out is Flat Stanley. We agreed to take some pictures of him for another Ford family back in Hiroshima. The pictures are to send back to a school in Kentucky. He still looks a little wet from the race.



This little girl came over to say “Hello”. Her parent wanted some pictures with our kids.

Shanghai Aquarium (China)

The Shanghai Aquarium is in the Pudong new district near the Pear Tower (see post below).

The Aquarium has over 10,000 fish in 300 species. We were impressed that the Aquarium was pushing a very western conservation message. Very rare view from what we saw elsewhere on our trip.


Nathan is making friends with a giant Salamander








Sea turtles!!! It has been a few posts since I had a turtle picture.

Humble Administrator's Garden (China)

The Humble Administrators Garden was very impressive. Around 1513, during the Ming Dynasty, the imperial inspector Wang Xianchen, returned to Suzhou after retiring from public life and built his garden. The name Humble Administrator's Garden was inspired by the essay "To cultivate my garden and sell my vegetable crop is the policy of humble man".

However, I myself failed to find anyone Humble in China????


I really like Bonsai trees. Too bad we can’t take any back with us. Uncle Dale will have to teach us how to make one of these.










We rented a van and driver for the day. Driving in China is best left to the criminally insane.