Tonia
We park our bikes on our landing to our apartment. It is nice because we don't have to share it with anyone else. The whole floor is ours. We also have a Rubbermaid like cabinet outside of our door that we have golf clubs and other stuff locked in. I have decided that when I move back condo living is for me. Usually when opposites attract at least one of them enjoys yard work. In our case we both couldn't despise it more. So, I have rather enjoyed not worrying about it. I do know that the older your kids get, the smaller the toys are that they want but the more expensive they are. So someday you will have your garage back:)
Betsy
Noah and Levi were born 4 days after our 5th anniversary. We were going to try and get away this weekend but we have some obligations at Noah and Levi's school on Saturday.
For our anniversary we went to an amazing restaurant for dinner. I think it was the best anniversary dinner we've ever had. We went to Epicure on 45. It is at the top of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Shanghai. It revolves while you are eating so that you get an amazing view of Shanghai. Very cool indeed! It took us two hours to make a complete rotation. It was so nice that Mark was required to wear a suit coat. So yes, it was a good anniversary. My husband has a new favorite store to patronize. He works right across from a huge mall that has a Swarovski store in it. At my current pace I should have a pretty nice collection of Swarovski before I move home. He bought me an awesome vase. So now I need to go buy some pretty flowers from the little street vendor to put in it.
Ok, I've had lots of questions and comments about our driver carrying that huge plant for me. Honestly, these men are at our beckoned call. It is their job which I know to you sounds very snobby. These men actually have what is considered to be an excellent job and they take it very seriously. Hang Lei always carries my groceries for me. He knows that is what Mark expects of him. He also carries stuff for the kids if they need him too. These men are also all good friends. They hang out together in the parking lot when we aren't using them. They play badminton in the parking lot and watch movies in each others cars. Our van is a favorite because it has three DVD screens and so more people can watch at a time. So yes, they all help each other if they need to. These men are very possessive of their families, and we become a little partial to them also. They are at all times very professional though.
Speaking of mosquitoes biting your butt....they are out in full forces around here. They are nasty little buggers with a bite that is far worse than at home. I scratch in places I never imagined scratching (I know visuals) but they just chomp on you!!! I am definitely stocking up on OFF and Cortaid when I get home.
Noah and Levi got retainers on Wednesday on the top and bottom. We now have one more thing to worry about losing along with cell phones. I do think that losing the cell phone the first day has made all of them more responsible and we haven't had any mishaps since.
Life is really rolling along here. It's hard to believe that the kids will be done with school in 3 weeks. No Monday off for our family, which is a little bit weird. It's just an ordinary weekend here. I will miss not seeing a parade. We will be home in one month and four days. It almost seems like I have lived here all year.
Oh yes, my dear sisters were wondering what my plant looks like. It is in a huge greenish colored pot that is probably a foot and a half in diameter. The tree is probably 6 feet tall and the trunk is braided. The top isn't as full as it was when I bought it because it lost 2 branches of leaves in transition. Nancy assured me that it will grow back quickly because she has the same tree. Mom, Hong will water my plants while I am gone. She will probably come in once a week and still clean. None, of you can even imagine how dusty it gets here and that is something that you don't want accumulating. Plus, Mark will be back after two weeks so she will do his laundry. I think I answered as many questions as I remembered, so will blog more later.
Love to all!
Natalie
6 comments:
Natalie & all the Bergs
Nice to talk to you and Mark tonight. We are ready to lay our weary bodies down after cleaning and cleaning after I got home from work tonight.
Noah, Grandpa wants to know how you are whistling these days with a retainer. He said if you can't that when you get home, he'll teach you. And, how about you Levi? Jacob how are the braces going for you?
We love you and miss all of you - looking forward to your visit home the end of June.
Mom/ Grandma R
Hey Bergers!
I love reading your updates!! Dan has been telling me that he is instant messaging with Elise quite a bit lately. He said the other day that she was in band. It seems the 18 person band class may have some free time.
It's 10:30 pm and the 2 dogs just woke up from a nap. (for those that don't know, my dog Lexie and the ex-Berg, now grandma and grandpa Ramseyer dog Chloe are best buddies and we are dog-sitting!) They are now chasing each other around the house and barking. They are too funny together. I often give Chloe a treat for going potty and being the proper lady that she is, she takes it to a rug to eat it and when any piece falls out of her mouth, Lexie (being 1/3 the size of Chloe) swoops in for the steal!!! She is slick. Chloe seems much less annoyed with Lex this round of dog sitting than in the past.
About your plant...Beth and I were sure that since your thumb was injured, you were concerned about having a relapse. We figured you maybe took on the supervisory role to ensure the plant was delivered, moved and placed properly. It's a very important role and someone has to do it!
Sounds like you had a fun anniversary. You two are trying to be like the Kents by have a 2 hour dinner!!! Where are you going for your getaway? Be careful and take the proper precautions. Keep in mind...your next one will be Chinese!! :)~
Better run now.
Love ya'll
Wendy
PS HEY MRS. KENT!!! I am offended that you are calling me your slave driver. Remember our new motto: It's time to stop trying and start succeeding!
Russ and I are going ??? for our anniversary tomorrow(Our actual anniversary is on Tues.) Three of our friends are keeping the kids overnight. (We have such lovely friends.) I'd don't think it will have a view of Shanghii, but maybe a view of Lake Michigan. I know that we're headed that way. I'm all in favor of the two hour dinner. I like it better than dinner and a movie actually. The last time Russ and I went out I told the waitress that we would be awhile so to just plan on it :-) She was real sweet and didn't come back for the check for ages and ages. It turned out quite nice.
Thanks for giving me a little glimmer of hope on the chaos in my garage. Any hope for the chaos in the house. It's a mess today, but I can't even really bring myself to pick up (I'm actually stalling by che checking your blog...) because I know as soon as Russ, JD and Rachel get back from the beach it will just be a disaster again. Oh, there they are on the phone now.....
Happy Birthday to you!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! Happy Birthday Dear Noah and Levi!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! I wanted to wish you guys a wonderful birthday before it ends in China, but it is just starting here. We are off to the Memorial Day Parade so I gotta run, but you'll get your presents when you come home in another month. Sound good??
Ok then. Love you all a huge bunch.
Aunt Beth for all the Kents
Hi Noah and Levi,
How are you? I hope you had a wonderful birthday! It's only 9 in the morning here so it seems like your birthday is just beginning, but I know it's actually almost over. I need to get this timing thing down better. Aunt Laurie and I did send you cards. If you haven't gotten them yet, you should soon. I hope you did something fun today. I know that while we're enjoying a day off of work, you actually had school.
Uncle Scott and I went camping this weekend with Grandpa and Grandma. It was super windy the entire weekend (in fact, Grandpa almost lost his boat Thursday night!) but of course today when it's time to go home it's perfectly calm and beautiful outside. Go figure. Still, it could have been worse. Last Mem Day weekend it thunderstormed and Maddie spent the majority of the night lying on Aunt Laurie and panting in her face. She was already sharing the teeny couch bed with Uncle Mike and Max the Cow so she was quite unhappy. A year later she still gets wound up about it! There were a few firecrackers last night, but thankfully Maddie was too tired to hear them. Anyway, despite the weather we still had a really good time. Uncle Scott was happy because he found a game website where he could play Monopoly. I won't play with him so he was happy to find people that would!
Happy Birthday!
Love, Uncle Scott & Aunt Angie
Hi Noah & Levi,
Just writing to wish you a happy birthday! Hope you enjoyed your day and did something special. We are up at the trailer and I don't have your phone #. I need to put that in my address book in my purse for future use.
Maybe the two of you could write on the blog again and let us know how you spent your day... We will celebrate soon. I can't believe that in a month you will be home. I can't wait.
We love our new trailer. It is larger and a lot more comfortable. It was kinda windy and cool this weekend. You might know that today when we need to go home the wind has died down and it is suppose to be in the low 70's. I sure hope we have good weather when you come.
When we got up here on Friday a man came over and told us that one of the ropes on the boat had broken because the wind was so high. It fixed it for us temporarily. Now Grandpa put in another post and bought new marine rope so hopefully that won't happen again. We had white caps on the water Friday night.
Hope the two of you are not having a lot of problems with your retainers. Boy, when you come home you will all have hardware on your teeth.
Well I should go now and continue with my cleaning so we can leave. We want to stop in Baldwin and see Uncle Carl & Aunt Bonnie on our way home. They also just bought a pontoon boat so if you happen to go to their cottage this summer you will have another lake you can explore.
Talk to you later! Again, sorry we didn't get a call to you.
Love Grandma & Grandma
Post a Comment