Thanksgiving Getaway in Sanya

We had a long weekend for Thanksgiving, so we decided to head to Sanya - China's closest version of Hawaii.  We stayed at the Atlantis Resort which is a replica of the Atlantis in Dubai where there is an outdoor waterpark, aquarium, sea shows, and more all on-site.  There was so much to do, we never even made it to the beach.

After a huge buffet breakfast every morning, we made our way to the waterpark for some thrilling rides.  Our favorites were the 4-person tube toilet bowl, a drop slide where the tunnel goes through the middle of the shark tank, and a small slide that strolls through the middle of the aquarium where we saw large sharks, manta rays, and sea turtles.  Afterward, the girls would stick around at the wave pool while Justin and went back to the room to rest.  Each afternoon, we went to the aquarium to see a different view of the sea life and got to see a mermaid show and beluga whales.

 

In the evenings, we went to one of the great restaurants at the resort, including a Gordon Ramsey restaurant where we had the beef wellington specialty.  One night we saw the C-Show which was similar to a Cirque de Soleil show.  It was great.

The biggest highlight of the weekend, though, was the seal show and beluga experience that we did on the last day.  The girls even got to touch and kiss a beluga whale!

 

 

 

Happy Halloween from China!

 

A Week of Performances

 The girls both had their fall concert this week where their strings classes performed in front of the school community.  Kaelia has been learning the cello this year and enjoys the low sound it makes.  Taelyn is in year two of learning the violin and is able to play with much better fluency and speech this year.

To top off the week, the middle school had a lip-sync competition on Friday where students could form their own groups and volunteer to perform.  Kaelia choreographed a routine for her friends to "Your Welcome" from Moana, and they had a fun time practicing all week.

Taelyn had a vision to perform solo to "Let it Go" from Frozen but wanted a few extras to execute her plan.  Justin agreed to help out as well as her best friend, Ikki.  He is a snowflake in the background with a sign that says "snowflake" and Ikki produces snow at just the right moments.  The final performance was the showstopper and won first place without question!

We are so proud of our kiddos for their hard work and for putting themselves out there in front of all their teachers and peers.  And, of course, the girls and I are proud of Justin for his confidence and determination to be the best snowflake he could be!