Tea Time

This past birthday & Christmas I got a new camera! I am so excited to learn how to use it. In the past 4 days I have taken almost 700 photos trying to get a good picture. This picture is not going to win any photography awards but I thought it was adorable. We are sitting enjoying a tea party here at Grandma Nainai's house.

Some Observations about the Party Scene

For JK’s birthday I thought I’d take her out on the town. There was a band in town called Immaculate Machine. (I forgot the name, though, and kept telling people we were going to see the Immaculate Conception.) The band was from Canada. What they were doing in China, I have no idea. Their music was quite good. I always wonder what motivation rock bands have to go out on tour. This band didn’t seem to be in it for the party scene, or money, or hookin’ up. They seemed genuinely interested in the music…which is nice. Overall it was a good night. We had a fun time together.

While talking together, we made the following observations:
-Neither one of us have really experienced the party scene before
-Neither one of us particularly like it
-Both of us think it is quite smoky
-We both enjoyed the music
-We’re usually in bed by the time the headline band hits the stage
-I think we’ll do it again, sometime

Immaculate Machine's website:
www.immaculatemachine.com

What I Want for Christmas - An Anna Mae Deluxe...

Things are winding down for us here in Qingdao. In just a couple of weeks we’ll be headed back to the States to spend our first Christmas with the Carman family since we were married. Although we’ve enjoyed the last 5 Christmases in China with our friends, we’re really looking forward to being able to spend it with family this time

Recently we were able to get a remote control car! (Awesomely named, "Land Despot" or "Overlord") But, as with most toys that 3 year-olds get, Anna enjoys playing with the box much more than with the car itself.