Day With The Dinosaurs

On October 6^th we had an opportunity to visit the China Dinosaur Park in Chengzhou which is about 2 hours east of Nanjing.  Some Chinese friends drove us and treated us to an incredible day at the park as well as a delicious hot pot meal for dinner.  Hot pot is similar to a fondue dinner, however they have either spicy or non-spicy water they boil all the meat and vegetables in. 

 Below are some pictures from the park and dinner. 

     Next picture is of Trey and I jousting on two different dinosaurs.  Believe it or not?

Trey and some of his new friends he met at the entrance of the dinosaur park.

Trey and Dad getting mean next to some of the knights who were behind us. 

Mom and Trey going on the park's scariest ride.   Okay, maybe second scariest.

The rest are pictures from the day including lunch with the entire clan and dinner with just Elaine, Yin, and her kids.

We figured it was time for Trey to get his first tatoo.  Plants versus Zombies.  LOL.  

Nothing Like A Home Cooked Meal

  On October 4^th we had Yang Yang and Dai Bo over to our house for a home cooked meal.  Yang Yang and Dai Bo made us scrambled eggs and tomatoes which is a very famous dish in China, teriyaki chicken wings, and chicken and vegetables.  I also made some chicken with green peppers, broccoli, with home- made Teriyaki sauce as well.  Not too bad for a rookie in the kitchen.  Earlier in the day, Dai Bo and I made our first ever banana bread with Sharolyn closely directing and keeping us in line.   As you can see by the second picture; not too much was left over at the end of the meal.

Pool Anyone?

    At the end of September the three old foreign teachers, Chad, Mac, and myself took some students to shoot pool at the campus billiards hall.  Calling it an official hall is a stretch but it did have pool tables next to the gym.   We had a really good time getting to know these students and continuing to dive deeper.   I continue to find no matter how often or infrequent I shoot pool, I always stink at that sport.  I think I personally was a member of 6 losing teams.

Monkey Spotted In Nanjing

     We had one of the most amazing things happen since we've been in Nanjing.  We were eating dinner in our apartment and accidently left our door cracked open.  As we started eating dinner, a monkey slipped through the door and jumped up to our table.  Below is the amazing spectacle caught on camera.

Welcome To Our Home!!!

Hello family and friends.  For those of you who haven't seen our apartment in Nanjing, we wanted to show you some pictures of our little piece of heaven.  In all honestly, we are very fortunate to have this apartment and count our blessings.  We know it could have been a lot worse.

Picture one is from outside the apartment.  The bars on the windows help keep the mosquitoes out in the fall and spring.  They are relentless in the spring.  I also heard they are for protection from those with sticky fingers.

The next picture is our family room as you walk through the front door.

And this is our "one-butt" kitchen.  Anymore than that and things start getting knocked over and spilled.

The next picture is the bathroom.  Yes, that is our washing machine next to the toilet.  Talk about multi-tasking.  Sorry, I probably just gave everyone a mental image they did not want. 

The next two pictures are Trey's and our bedrooms. 

    We hope you enjoyed this quick virtual tour of our home.  Again, we are thankful for what our DAD has provided.  We do have a room for ANY VISITORS WHO MIGHT WANT TO DROP BY.  :0)   Love you all.

Travis, Sharolyn, and Trey Carlson

A Little Mexican Food In China - YUMMMMMY!!!!!

      I know this sounds silly to post on a blog, but I'm so thankful for a little Mexican food in China.  Thank you honey for the soft tacos, home made tortillas, chips, and I kicked in the salsa.  My taste buds sang for days.