A Few Things

Saturday was Zachary's birthday. Whoop. He's 27 years old this year! And he rocks it. Good bye year 26, hello 27! I am so, so, so very thankful this man was born! I could fill this post with all the reasons why I'm thankful to have him as my partner, husband and best friend, but I'll spare you the mush. Let's just say, I hecka love him and praise God for the man he is! We had a great day celebrating him, which included lots of presents, lots of fun, and ended with mustaches and margaritas. So, as far as birthdays go, I think he can say it was a good one! Can't wait to show you what Zachary looks like in a sombrero and a mustache. Nor can I wait to show you how well a black mustache brings out my "ombre" hair. ;) I will show those to you Readers as soon as I get the pics. Not to worry.

A few things while we've been away. Just some random, useless, goodness, if you will.

 

There are so many great coffee shops in Qingdao. I love all of them for different reasons. Some are cozy, some have great views, great desserts or the best comfy chairs.  So often in China you have an idea of a feel you want in a place that you're going to eat or relax in and it ends up being decorated with stiff chairs, and red and black decor. But one thing the majority of coffee shops in Qingdao do well is the decorations and atmosphere, surprisingly. I loved this antique lamp to help cozy our table at a local coffee shop, Luna Cafe.

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 Speaking of decor, I love this coconut decoration my mom bought for us from Belize. :)

The cube sculpture down the street from our house in front of the Diamond Sports Stadium. Really, I told you, this is just a post of random useless pictures & info. But still fun, ya?

Game night at Starbucks! We took some of our high school students to Starbucks and taugh the BS, Presidents and of course, Catan, which they loved. Students after our own heart. And of course what's a game night at Starbucks without plenty of coffees and cheesecake. :)

Chara's so sweet trying to help us clean up her toys.  She got it close to her toy basket and up off the floor. This little dog and a brown moose are currently her faves.

Church family, minus mwah.(taking the pic) #blessed #thankful

Trent and Angie. New Texas friends! It's always nice to have more people to reminisce about Tex Mex with.

 

The birthday man child, and I. He's obviously the looker of the fam. :)

Fashion shows are all a plenty here in China. Walk through any department store on a weekend and you'll see wedding shows, watch models, car models and more wedding shows.

Qingdao got a Gap! I was super excited about that when I saw the construction sign up. I checked it out after it opened a few weeks ago and had my excitement bubble deflated after seeing the prices. For China, the prices seem ridiculous to me! I'm not a big Gap shopper, so maybe they're always that expensive. Too expensive for this H&M girl. But still. Qingdao got a Gap!

The other day we took a taxi home which was in desperate need of gas. Since the gas station is on the way to our apartment our driver stopped in. In China, when pumping gas, everyone must get out of the car. There is an attendant to pump your gas for you and you must pop your trunk and hood, or as my South African sister would say, you have to pop your boot and bonnet. :) Strange. I still don't understand why they do it this way here.

That's all the randomness I have for you today. We just got back from walking Chara to Starbucks down the street and playing Scrabble on the patio. It was lovely. So thankful for the nice weather & a great night. Love you friends and fam. Muah.