Shanghai

Jake's been home a week now and I'm finally getting his trip posted. Pictures you see in the slide show are of the view from Jake's plush hotel, Jake doing Tai Chi. Shanghai is the New York of America, you'll see the Times Square of China, Old Shanghai (where you see the authentic Chinese architecture), the best dumpling place, the shopping district where you can get everything for cheap, since everything is "made in China" and a friend of the Herway's who used to live in Brussels. This last Monday was the Chinese New Year so Jake barely missed it, but he did get to see the city prepared for it. This year is the year of the Ox.

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Jake brought back some awesome gifts. Rachel loves her Mulan dress and plays with the umbrella and fan everyday.
What a cute little China man!
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Thanks again Grandma...we had a blast!

We did so much while my mom was in town:

Build-a-Bear

The Discovery Place Museum, which has a circus exhibit going on right now

My claim to fame is walking the high wire, doing a double flip on the trapeze...

and being a human pretzel.Last Friday we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch, a place where they let you drive through their farm and feed the animals. There were pigs, ostriches, deer, buffalo, lambs, llamas, zebras, giraffes and other animals I honestly couldn't name.

Here's us feeding the llama

And you're not allowed to feed the zebras but it was so cool to see them so close!

The ostriches were the scariest for me. As soon as they see the car they come running. I fed the first one and screamed the whole time as it's head came zooming into the car to peck at the food, and it went flying all over the place.

We may have had snow just 4 days prior to when this picture was taken, but my mom was able to enjoy some 60 degree weather before she flew home to 8 inches of snow.

So, when do you want to come again mom? :)

CLOSED

This snow was supposed to come on Sunday. The weather man changes his mind daily!! They announced schools would be closed last night before it even started to snow. I don't know if the banks were closed too, but most likely. If Jake were here we could have had a four day weekend together. Bummer! Anyway, we played in the snow for a little bit, but the snow was too powdery to make a snowman. We planned to go to the Discovery Place Museum today. We got there to learn that it was closed too! I should have known better. But we found something even better. We went to a place called Monkey Joes, a place with inflatable everything. I think Rachel didn't stop laughing the entire 2 hours we were there. It was fun to see how she got more and more confident, or daring I should say! It was also fun to see my mom jumping, climbing and sliding down the slides. Go Grandma!!

Jake's in China

Jake left on Tuesday for Shanghai. His first international residency for his MBA started today. He spent the first couple of days with Wachovia for it to classify as a "business" trip. One of his favorite experiences thus far has been the subway during rush hour...

Jake didn't take this video but he says this is really what it's like. Can you imagine? I would never do it in a million years.

Anyway, he'll be gone for about a week and a half. My mom is in town for most of it, which has been my saving grace! Rachel has a couple rough nights with the stomach bug and hives. We've also been able to talk to Daddy every night on the webcam which has been a lot of fun.

A SunBEAM

It's hard for me to believe that I have a sunbeam now. She may not look excited in this picture but she really is excited to be in Primary. I sit behind her because I'm also in Primary now. I teach the 4 year olds, which is known as the class that is hardest to handle. But I really was excited to get the call. She was super cute singing all the songs. I love it!

The Good, Bad and Ugly day

This girl has been so anxious to play in snow and build a snowman. She finally got her wish on our very last day in Brussels (Monday). It was such a treat to see her so excited, to see her and her Daddy play together in the snow, and to enjoy the beauty of the big falling snowflakes. However, it just so happened to be our day to fly home. We ended up sitting on the airplane for two hours before we took off as they de-iced the plane. With that and the extra two hours tagged on because of the head wind, we were on that plane for 10 hours. The seats in front of us were 6 inches in front of our face, no exaggeration. Quite possibly the longest day of my life...or maybe it was yesterday when I was awake and taking care of two kids for 17 hours. Anyway, turns out we were the lucky ones. We still made our connection in Dulles while my brother-in-law and his wife got stuck in Chicago and my other brother-in-law took a train to Paris to catch his flight only to learn that all flights had been cancelled that day. I don't know the end of their stories, but I'm so happy to be home, and am enjoying the nice warm weather, and Rachel is happy to see all her toys again.

Paris

Our last little trip. The pictures really don't do it justice but the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower (or Ratatouille's house as Rachel likes to call it) and the Christmas lights on the Champs Elysees were simply breathtaking. What a great ending to our European Christmas vacation!!The Creche (nativity) in the Notre Dame cathedraland the free merry-go-around at the Hotel Deville

New Year's Eve

We had to fit in as much as we could before the year ended :) To start the day we went to Brugge. A city just an hour away from Brussels and such a neat, quaint, European town. I've actually been here a couple times and I love it just as much every time I go.They had a ice sculpture festival that was absolutely phenomenal! The whole place ice! Walls and everything. I just can't fathom how they do it, the details and everything.
It's a good thing they had princesses. Rachel wasn't too happy about how cold it was in there. It was even colder than it was outside, which I didn't think was possible.I love how the walls are so clear you can see through them.
And that's Grammie coming down the ice castle slide.That evening Jake, Rachel and I went out to eat at Domus, a Herway family tradition.
Rachel has had a bit of a rough time with jet lag, not a single nap (or quiet time) in over two weeks, staying up late...it's made he quite ornery. But she was such a happy, well behaved girl last night and she was soooo excited to have Daddy and Mommy all to herself. As we walked to the restaurant she sang songs, and told stories. The cold didn't seem to bother her. We had a great time! To finish the day off we saw a spectacular firework show in Antwerp
Today Jake and I took a walk and I was saying how amazing it is to look back on all that has happened in 2008 and to think about how much will and can happen in 2009. It's going to be quite a year. Jake goes to Shanghai, India and Brussels (again) for school. A couple trips to Utah, a cruise, our 5 year anniversary. And it'll be interesting to see what happens with Wachovia, I mean Wells Fargo. Will Jake's job stick, and if it does, will his role change, will he like it?? Well, here we go...Happy New Year everyone!

Bowling

To get out of the cold we went bowling on the Air Force Base we stayed at. Rachel's first time, and she really enjoyed it. Although a lot times she would forget to watch it long enough for the ball to hit the pins. She was just happy to get the ball up, push it down the track thing, and then go get her high fives.
Jake hurt his thumb...he takes this game seriously :)

Germany

Bernkastle Kues, along the Moselle River. It's a couple hours away from Brussels and what a treasure! I loved the little square hidden inside the town. The buildings looked like they were going to fall over. It was FREEZING and that's an understatement. We barely survived this little town and didn't make it to the next one. While the rest of the crew went to Triere we sat in the car with colds, fevers, earaches and coughs, plus both kids had fallen asleep. Amazingly enough, just a couple days later we're all healthy again. What a blessing!

Christmas in Brussels

So Rachel now thinks she not only has 2 birthdays but 2 Christmases as well. I guess that's what happens when you live far from family. Santa visited her again here at her Pop and Grammie's house. He knew that she's been "good or for goodness sake" (she skips the "bad" part of that song). We had a great day opening presents, eating cinnamon rolls and orange juice, belgian chocolates, and then we headed to Germany again that afternoon.