welcome to our normal.

waiting for Bus #17 on Xingfu Lu (幸福路)

riding Bus #17, with breeze in our hair

Uyghur man pushing his cart of grapes for sale. 6 kuai per kilo! (50 cents a pound)

precious Uyghur boy wanting to play. love those eyes!

grape vines ready to be plucked

making a birthday banner for family in America (aunt Krissy to be exact!)

eating noodles (mian 面) with chopsticks (kuaizi 筷子)

eating watermelon (xigua 西瓜) on a hot day

orange kitten pretending to be a baby-doll

out for a walk to the veggie market with mom

Uyghur neighbor who always comes over to play with his cousin
Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into LIFE in our corner of the globe. Summer is coming to a close...but we are enjoying every minute!

donkey carts

Sometimes when we are out and about we see donkey carts in the street. They are normal for us, but I just thought you might like to see some of these "normal" things that bring our girls excitement. These donkey's compete with rush hour traffic & huge buses in a city of 4 million +!

The main job of these donkey carts is to pick up and recycle old oil from restaurants. And by 'recycle' I think they dispose of it.... At least I hope they dispose of it. Anyway, they take it somewhere. It's fun to watch the donkey's bumping down the road with their carts & driver. Of course, I would love to pet one of these brave donkey's - but whenever anyone tries to get close, they start to bray, pretty loud! As I stepped closer to take this guy's picture - he gave me this look.

Then we stopped to buy some fruit. Just filling you in on the normal over here. :)

we got a kitten

I love animals. Pretty much all of them. We have tried all kinds of pets: chickens, fish, a rabbit, and even babysat a turtle. But nothing has really lasted THAT long! Apartment-living (in China) doesn't really give you many options for pets.

But this week we noticed that a neighbor of ours (the one who runs the smoky Mahjong spot) had 4 little kittens playing near the door. Of course we went to visit. The kittens were timid - yet so sweet and cuddly. I am not sure what convinced Justin to let us bring one home - but after 2 days of research, we realized it was as good a time as any!

We went back to the neighbor's shop, asked a bunch of questions - and came home with a scrawny orange kitten in my purse, and a small bag of litter & food. The girls picked her out because she "wasn't too frisky." After coming home, the kitten immediately began to explore her new surroundings, a bit nervous around the girls - but still so friendly. She was small & bony, but appeared very healthy overall. In the next few days, kitty had many different names: Fuzz, Sushi, Chinese Fried Dumpling, Carrot Juice, and just plain Cat. Now the girls have settled on "Sushi Lightning McNabb!"

Sushi also got a special Herbal Essence Shampoo bath courtesy of ME, in pink dish-gloves, as well as her nails clipped. Sushi loves to chase strings, sleep in a ball, eat tuna, and jump like a flying squirrel. The girls love to carry her around the house like a baby-doll, and hold her on their laps. They are learning how to play without getting scratched, and how to take care of her too. But like most kittens - she sleeps most of the day, and is very playful when she is awake. We think Sushi was about 8 weeks old when we got her, and this was her first time away from her momma & siblings. She cried a LOT the first week - but now she is ok with her basket & spare bedroom. Maybe when she is bigger we will let her roam free about the apartment at night, but for now - I think she would wake up the girls.

So please welcome our sweet kitten: Sushi Lightning McNabb, born May 27th, 2010. Many more pictures to follow. :)

the momma travels solo!

I got to travel to another city for a few days - a short conference and time with friends! This was a very last minute decision, since I only got my passport back the morning of purchasing my flight.

I'd like to say I was really looking forward to the trip, but I was mostly freaked out to travel alone in China. I was nervous that my Chinese would get jumbled and no one would understand me, or that I would get lost in a strange city, or not know how to order decent dishes when out and about. I have always had Justin to rely upon when we travel. This time, mom was solo!

I traveled light, had tons of peaceful alone time, and was pretty amazed that I conquered the three day journey without too much confusion. It was wonderful to be around friends, be encouraged, and explore another beautiful side of China. A huge THANK YOU to my super-star husband for insisting that I go on this trip, and for holding down the fort so wonderfully while I went. I never need to worry when you are around....and I guess I don't need to worry when you aren't with me either. It's also good to know I can manage a solo-trip in China too!

Highlight: A&W Rootbeer at The GreenHouse! I can't remember the last time I tasted such carbonated goodness.

p.s. Happy birthday to my brother Ian, and my mom too!

they don't know how good they have it.

Having a dad that makes ice cream has its perks.

renewed visas!!

Such a good feeling - one more YEAR stamped into our passports, one year free of visa challenges and paperwork. These girls are happy too! A special virtual pat-on-the-back to my husband who maintains our visas, does all the paperwork, office visits, pleading for signatures and runs our business with such expertise. He works SO hard!!

mountain air

In the last few years of living overseas I have learned so much about myself - thru different cultures, cultural challenges, health issues, language learning, etc - and the biggest thing is: we all need to find a place to recharge! For me, getting outside the city does wonders for this nature gal. Just the fresh mountain air seems to give me new energy to press on.

I think I could even live in one of these Kazakh Yurts.

There are lots of mountains surrounding our massive city - about 1-4 hours away, depending which valley you prefer (or how long your kids can handle the non-AC drive). This specific valley is called Shui Xi Gou (水西沟) and its only about 1 hour away. The drive is very dusty & bleak until you reach the mountains - then everything is green! We live in one of the worlds' largest deserts, so you can imagine the brown dusty roads....turning green when we reach nature. There is a small creek coming down the mountain, which is actually glacial melt from higher up. The creek is so fun!

These valleys are home to many Kazakh's living in this province. They live a very simple life, raising horses, sheep & goats, and entertaining tourists! The villages are very inviting - since they are the closest piece of nature all around. Many Kazakh families will rent out their yurts for the day, roast an entire sheep for you, or take you riding into the mountains on their personal horses. They are so friendly & kind, though you need to know fair prices - or you might get taken advantage of.

On this particular visit - Asia & daddy played soccer with some local kids, and I took Eden & Sydney up the mountain on a horse. We rented a horse from this guy for 30 kuai - which is about $4.50! I wanted an old horse that wouldn't jump or be nervous with two kids on back. Yes, all three of us, on one bony horse. The girls LOVE it! Every time we ride a horse, they make sure to give it a name. Today, our horse was named Chocolate Kiss....and this is how we fit on CK:

After our horse ride, we hiked up the creek a bit and put our feet in the cold water to cool off. We also made a small friend.

More friends:

Riding back down the mountain, one on front, one on back:












Justin's preferred mode of transportation:

We also had fun picking flowers, finding bugs and enjoying the outdoors. Here's a few more picts just because.

starting a business in China

For anyone who just loves "businessy stuff" I found a nifty article called "10 Steps to Starting a Business in China" on www.inc.com - and it gives a very thorough tour of the many steps we have taken to open our Ice Cream Shop here in Urumqi, Xinjiang China! We can attest to each of those steps - as it took us well over 16 months to get our Shop up-and-running as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE)! The whole process has been an adventure to learn, but we hope it was a smart investment!!

dating experience

I think its very important that our girls get some quality dating experience under their belts before they are eligible. We are undecided as to when that will be, but until then - Daddy Dates are highly encouraged! He can keep their standards high!

We had a free Sunday (the entire day!) so we planned for Daddy to take each daughter out for some special daddy-daughter time, and a special meal at their restaurant of choice. To get ready for their date, everyone had a shower (or bath), pedicure, and wore their favorite attire. It was so fun to get them each ready for their "date" and they were each giddy just thinking about it. Asia (7yrs) went out for breakfast (at the only breakfast place we know of) and had waffles!

Eden (5yrs) had the lunchtime date - and she chose The Vine where she enjoyed rice, french fries and a smoothie. Yeah, there wasn't much on the menu to her liking. She also got to show daddy her incredible handwriting skills.

Sydney (3.5yrs) was so patient as she waited for her dinner-date with Dad! She chose a fancy place that serves amazing pizza! She got an entire pizza, since daddy doesn't like cheese (she brought the rest home to share!).

I got to hear the girls' stories of their dates when they came home, and I was so encouraged as I saw them light up with JOY as they explained their funny conversations, the questions daddy would ask, and the silly games he would play. I know they were each encouraged, built up, given greater security, self-image and confidence in who they are - as unique & gifted little women!! They know they are loved and cherished by their Father! ...they were glowing as they told me about daddy's undivided attention. So sweet.

p.s. As the momma, I also got some mellow time too! Having only 2 kids at home at a time is so QUIET!

braid girl

Today Asia asked me to braid her hair. She rarely asks me to do anything with her hair, so I think I might have gotten a bit over-excited. Not just one braid, but an entire head full of little braids (biànzi 辫子). So we started with a few....and that became twenty-five!! It took about 2-3 hours - with breaks! I love this new look, and it was wonderful for the hot weather! Have I mentioned that we have HOT weather here? About 90-100 degrees everyday!

She kept it in for about a week - and when we took it out she had kinky locks for another day! I just love her, head to toe!

a Uyghur meal with friends

Our three IMC employees treated our two families for dinner at a wonderful Uyghur restaurant that I never knew existed! It was down a random street, tucked behind some huge buildings downtown - where there were trees and shade, and a Uyghur Kang where we eat. So fun!!

A Kang is basically a raised platform, with a small table in the center. Some Kang's are actually king-sized bed frames - intricately carved, and laden with beautiful rugs. You can find these in many Uyghur homes, and are used for meals, as well as a place to sleep. We all gathered onto this metal Kang, and sat cross-legged while we ate. Of course we remove our shoes! It feels very intimate, and we share each plate of food.

We ate Polo with mutton, Da Pan Ji, Spicy fish, pulled noodles with mushrooms, plain yogurt and black tea! Oh, and I can't forget the kebabs (kawap in Uyghur)!! Our girls' favorite!

Eating Kawap off the skewer - a special skill in Xinjiang!!

happy birthday aunt Essie!

This is one of our favorite people! She has become like family to us, and the girls adore Essie so much! I wish you could all meet her too! We treated her for lunch @ a favorite restaurant across town - which has thee best chocolate cake.

Also, Sydney is wearing the same dress that I (Ali) wore when I was little. It has lasted thru all three girls, and is almost 29 years old!! Whoa - thanks Aunt Nancy!! ...and thanks mom for saving it! I think Sydney and I might look a little bit alike too. Crazy!!