Unexpected Trip to the USA ~ November 21

My mom found out that she had some cancer in her face and was to have some surgery on November 20.  After much deliberation with my dad, hubby, and sisters, I decided to go back and take care of her after her surgery.  It was easiest to fly into Salt Lake City and then I could have my sister, Lori, pick me up and take me to Orem.  From there I could drive mom and dad back to St. George.  My cousin, Karla Bergeson, had been helping my folks get everything taken care of before the actual surgery.  We really appreciated all her care and support.  I am sure they couldn't have done everything so quickly without her.  I've always professed to have the best family in the world.  Time and time again they remind me how great they are!!  

Also while visiting in November, I got to see my darling granddaughter Blakely.  She is such a cutie and even though I hadn't seen her since October, she wasn't too afraid of me and didn't cry too loudly.  She is such a good little baby.  Then my friend, Vicki Newton drove to St. George and spent the day with Brittany and I.  We had a great visit and she and I headed off to Kneaders for soup and sandwiches while the twins went down for a nap. 

Bottom Left:  Before selfie; Top Right:  After selfie.

Mom recovered quickly from her surgery and she was a hard one to keep down.  She has a lot of energy for a 79-year-old.   Once she was feeling better, we walked and chatted together. It was nice to just spend alone time with her and dad.   

One of my first stops was to see Natalie Stuart.  Even though the Chinese build amazing skyscrapers, they still haven’t figured out the art of adding blonde to hair.  (And as you can see by the pics, I still haven’t figured out the art of selfies.)

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Mom, Dad, Adam, Miles, Karla, and Eric.  I had to do most of the cooking with some supervising from my mom.  Dinner turned out great and we all stuffed ourselves.

November 2013

Okay, well Donn has told me that I need to get our blog up to date, which I might add I totally agree with.  So I will start with November and see how it goes.

As November is the month of Thanksgiving, I would be remiss if I didn't express my gratitude to my family. I am grateful for my sweetheart.  For his tolerance, his love and his support through both the good and bad times.  I have always been his princess and he still makes sure that the last thing he does before he leaves in the morning is to give me a kiss goodbye and the first thing when he comes home is to kiss me hello.  When I listed my perfect man, I listed:  tall, dark and handsome.  I got all three of those, but my special guy also came with a sense of humor and that is what gets us through the hard times.  I don't know what we would do without all of the laughter in our life.  I also strongly rely on his wisdom.  He is my sounding board, and I appreciate that he listens to my constant chatter.  And I especially appreciate his forgiveness. I am also grateful for my wonderful children.  I hated to see them all grow up and leave our home.  But now when I see them with their own children it brings me joy as I know they feel the same way about their own children as I do mine own.

Adam, my firstborn, taught me that I could love children.  (Sadly up until that point I actually didn't believe that I could and I was really scared to have a baby.)  I see in him goodness and love.  He is a great father to Miles and is very hard-working, which I have appreciated so very much.  I knew I could always count on him for gutter cleaning as well as any other odd job he was asked to do.  He was my meal maker and started cooking in kindergarten.  He has always been there to make my life easier except when he learned the "art of massaging my wallet" and then he has made me a little poorer.  Brittany is my bestest girlfriend.  I love that we can talk for hours about everything and nothing all at the same time.  We have laughed together and cried together and have built a wonderful relationship.  She is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.  She makes raising five children look easy when I know it isn't. She is a go-getter and once her mind is made up, she gets things done.  I appreciate her creativity as she has sparked some in me as well.  And of course, who couldn't love Eric.  He is fun-loving and kind and has helped me be a better person through his great example of knowing right from wrong and holding me to a high standard.  He drove me crazy nervous when he was learning to drive, but I love the fact that he let me be a part of his life all throughout high school.  We shared many secrets and through this can still talk about everything.  I appreciate his honesty. 

So . . . I decided to take a bike ride around Jinji Lake today to enjoy the great fall weather we are experiencing before the monsoon rain start.  I stood waiting for the elevator for over 5 minutes. It appeared to be stuck on Floor 26 (we live on the 19th floor). Decided enough was enough so I ran upstairs and jumped on the elevator. The worker told me in Chinese that it wasn't working (or at least that what I thought he said).  So i jogged back down to my floor and grabbed my bike and hauled it down the 19 floors to the ground level. Then a 9-mile bike ride.  My whole body hurts. Oh I forgot to mention I had already jogged and done an hour worth of gyrokenesis stretches. This all would have been great, but then I ate half a dozen cookies.   Boo on me!!  Love sugar too much.

On Wednesday, my friend Effie Okeson organized a tour through the Eden Chocolate Factory here in Suzhou.  When Donn and Seth Hiatt heard about it, they decided to tag along with the women.

It was so interesting to look at the process that brings us delicious, edible chocolates.  We all scrubbed down and added a lab coat and a hair net to make sure we didn't contaminate the line.  First stop:  a buffet style receiving area when you could try all types of chocolates.  There were so many goods ones, I was sick before I even started the tour.   This was the best tour ever because we sampled all kinds of goods as they come fresh off the line.  Chocolate truly doesn't get any better than freshly made. 

(Front Row:  Kathy Nimmer, Amy Curtis, Linda Reinherz, and Paula Hiatt  Middle Row:  Effie's friends from Golden Lough  Back Row:  Effie Okeson, Seth Hiatt, Donn Nimmer, and Heather Swope)

Once we finished the tour, we did a little shopping in their gift shop.  Chocolate here in China is so expensive, but these prices were great.  We got a little carried away and took home about 20 lbs.  It only cost us 270 RMB ($44 USD)  After we had checked out, they told us they had a big sale on November 11.  I am thinking of running over and doing a little more shopping.  Please stop me someone.  Please!!!  (This is our "before" picture.  Not sure after we eat everything that I should post an "after" picture. 

October 2103

We filled our days full with activities as we enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.  We visited the Lion Grove Forest during Fall Festival.  It was so crowded it was hard to get around.  The rock formations are amazing.

We also enjoyed weekend bike trips around Jinji Hu.  It is about a 9-mile ride.   China has some really fun statutes. These flourscent ants are just a few that we see on a regular basis.

These pics are from our Suzhou Branch Halloween Party.  It has been a long time since I dressed up.  I was right in character with my witch costume.

 (Kathy Nimmer, Kevin & Effie Okeson; Bottom:  Heather & Michael Swope, Donn Nimmer)

October is also my birthday month.  This year, just like every other, Donn totally spoiled me.   For lunch we went to Honeymoon Desserts.  It is a Japanese restaurant that serves delicious desserts.  I always have a hard time choosing between my two favorite, so today I ordered both.  Then Donn took me to the Herborist Spa for a 90-minute oil and hot rock massage.  It was so amazing.  I felt guilty for enjoying myself so much.  Next time Donn is going with me.  My friend Jenni Kong made me a yummy cake.  she is so creative with her fondant.  

And last but not least a trip to my favorite restaurant, Teppanyaki.  We ate delicious pork, beef, chicken, rice and fried bananas.  This has been one of our best finds in Suzhou.

Meanwhile back in the USA, Miles celebrated his 2nd birthday and the kids all enjoyed Halloween.

August - September 2013

For Chinese tax purposes we need to return to the US for a couple of months.  We were so excited to spend so much time back where we could drive and speak English.  Brittany graciously opened her home to us.  I thought 60 days would seem long, but with all the traveling we did, the time passed very quickly.  Our first trip was to visit Donn's family in Provo/Orem and my folks in Star Valley, Wyoming.    Brittany, Donn, and Alyvia took a quick trip to Jackson Hole while I stayed home with the twinners.  Grandpa Stadtmueller had his hands full when he tried to hold the two little guys.  We enjoyed one of my favorite meals ~ scones with butter.

We had also planned a fun trip to New York City with Eric and Eliza.  Two days before we left, Eliza had a biking accidents and broke two of her vertebraes.  The doctor said no traveling, so we quickly got an airline ticket for Brittany and headed off. We enjoyed the following:  Katz Deli, Mad Dog & Beans, and Serendipity,   We toured Time Square, The Rockefeller Center, and Ground Zero.  We got to watch the Yankees play our favorite rivals--the Boston Red Sox. We had a great time hanging out with our children.  The only thing missing was Adam.  Sorry buddy.

Our final meal in the States included a trip to Lucille's BBQ.  It was so nice to have ribs and my smoked brisket salad was amazing.  While in the US we enjoyed frequent trips to Rita's Frozen Custard and Cafe Rio.  Two of our favorite treats that aren't available in China.

May 2013

We returned to the US with the kids to attend K2 Energy Solutions' Grand Opening of their new office building in Henderson.  It was a very quick trip, but we managed to eat some pizza and Mexican food.  We also celebrated Carter and Crew's first birthday. 

Once we returned to Suzhou we toured a place called Master of the Nets.  It is so scenic.  That is one thing we really enjoy in China--all the amazing gardens that are so well kept and preserved. 

The Kid's China Visit, April 2013

We planned for months to bring our children and their spouses to visit us in China.  As it worked out only Adam, Shannara, Brittany, and Tom were able to come.  Donn had planned every last detail to almost the second.  We all had an amazing time and were able to show them our life here in China.  One of our first stops was The South Bund.  Adam order six suits, two coats, 23 shirts, and that is just what I remember.  Brittany discovered her first squat pot as well as the beautiful scarfs.  Her first purchase was a darling coat and some cute scarfs. We also found a fun treat:  warm taro root yogurt in a baby's bottle. 

The kids really enjoyed having their pictures taken in from of the Bird's Nest in Beijing.  This was the stadium in the 2008 Olympics. 

Another stop was the Wild Animal Park in Shanghai.  Tom and Brittany had recently visited the zoo in San Diego and they couldn't believe the difference.  They were totally up close and personal with the animals here.  We all had an opportunity to ride an elephant.  Brittany, Shannara, and Adam also fed the giraffes. 

Another fun stop was the restaurant aptly named 'More Than Toilets'.  The food was okay, but the dishes were hilarious.  We ate from toilets and urinals. 

We visited Xi'an to walk through the Terracotta Soldier Tombs.  Several days were also spend in our hometown, Suzhou.  There we enjoyed massages, biking on the green bikes, and strolling down Ping Jiang Lu.  We also spent one morning playing our favorite Chinese sport:  badminton.

January-February 2013

Congratulations to Eric and Eliza.  They welcomed a baby girl which they named Blakely to their home on January 8.  She is a beautiful little baby and makes number seven for us.  Grandchildren are the best and I really love each one of mine.

Poor Donn had to miss his 60^th birthday this year because we were flying and by the time we got back to China his day was over.  Flight details:  Our flight back was cancelled 20 minutes before departure.  We were told that the next available flight would be the next day.  After a lot of “discussion” they got us onboard an American Airlines flight that left an hour later.  We were first in line and probably the only ones to get out of Vegas that day.  However we paid the piper and arrived without luggage.  Saturday we were finally reunited with our luggage which appeared to have been dropped from the plane as they passed over Suzhou ~ one was ripped and the other had lost a wheel.  It will give me a cause and keep me busy for a while as I fight with the airlines about all the items that were missing from our suitcases.

January 25, 2013, K2 Christmas Party at the InterContinental Hotel.  K2 had scheduled a fun Christmas Party at my favorite buffet.  It is one of the first places that we went to with Lim and actually found food that we could eat.  Up to that point last summer, we thought we might starve.  They gave away lots of prizes, but Donn and I were very unlucky and didn’t win anything.

CNY:  Chinese New Year is a solid month of celebrating.  There are fireworks going off all day and all night.  Everything shuts down and most of the Chinese Nationals leave and go on holiday.   We enjoyed several walks around Times Square to enjoy all the lighted displays.

Donn and I decided last minute that we were going to go to leave town as well.  Our destination:  Brisbane, Australia. We wanted to enjoy some ocean water and warm weather.   We had an amazing trip.   We went to a Koala Preserve and I actually got to hold a Koala.  We also got to pet and feed kangaroo.  We enjoyed several days of snorkeling and wave jumping.  Australia is a beautiful part of the world.  I would love to visit again one day.