Wrapping it up...

And I don't mean the holidays.  That's for another day.  I've disciplined myself to finish writing about China while it's still in my memory.  There hasn't been time to sit and chat about the trip so my kids are learning via reading the blog:).  Two birds with one stone.

Yes, that's Taylor in the red jersey.

Saturday afternoon (Dec. 7) I tagged along with Taylor and two of his biking buddies to see if Taylor's bike in the shop was ready for pick-up.  It wasn't.  We walked through four or five different bike shops in a row looking at "stuff". Against the wall in the last shop we visited (Trex) was this poster featuring a top rider wearing a Trex jersey.  It didn't take Taylor long to spy his own jersey in second place - riding for Specialized.  When Taylor grabbed the poster so I could snap a picture, the employees of the bike shop took notice and thought it was pretty cool.  I thought they were going to ask Taylor for his autograph:).  Too funny!

This shows a bike shop of another type - actually, it's a general repair shop in "the old neighborhood" of Shanghai.

Brooms in China - not the best quality.  They (outdoor brooms) all look like this .

Attending church (Dec. 8) in China was delightful.  The P's branch meets at 8:30am in an office building within 10 minutes of their apartment.  Very convenient.  The accommodations are lovely.  There is a big conference room where sacrament meeting is held and the various offices work well as classrooms.  The set-up is actually amazing considering the restrictions placed on church members in China.  Jen told me about church in the musty basement of a place a few years ago - it's a much better situation for them now.

Flowers outside the "church" building in December!

 Although there were cold days, the vegetation still looked impressive.  I'm not sure how that's possible.

Will and Taylor riding the escalator to attend church.

 The drivers like to congregate while waiting for "their" families to finish church meetings.  They like driving for the Mormons because they are generally kind and generous people with manners and happy families.

In front of Fuxing Park with June

Chinese calligraphy is a beautiful work of art.

 This man was practicing his calligraphy writing in the park using a paint brush and plastic jug of water.

Common sight - ladies linking arms - wearing face masks.

On the subway - usually more crowded but glad it wasn't.

 On my final Monday evening (Dec. 9) in Shanghai, Jen stayed home with the kids while Taylor showed me around Puxi a bit more.  From his office in Pudong, we took the subway under the river in record time. Slick as a whistle.  Walked a few blocks and came to the upscale Xintiandi (pronounced shin-tee-ann-dee) shopping and eating area where we enjoyed dinner at Element Fresh. Pumpkin soup and Vietnamese noodles for me.  Taylor had something with lamb - kebobs maybe? 

 There were commercial signs of Christmas in the area but it sure didn't have the same feel as walking through Temple Square this time of year.  The play on words above is indicative of what's missing...

 We walked down the famous pedestrian shopping street - Nanjing Road.

 And while the pictures didn't turn out, I was able to witness the random dancing groups of older women I'd heard about.  Several of them had congregated along Nanjing Road - music blaring - performing their synchronized routines together.  Common in their culture but to witness a similar display in the U.S. would seem rather strange.  And of course, there was karaoke all along the road!

Nanjing Road leads to The Bund where the Wall Street of Asia resided prior to World War II.  European influence can be seen in the architecture of the buildings.  Taylor and I talked about how probable it was that G-pa Bill had walked these streets many years ago as a sailor during the war. Although G-pa Bill didn't share much about his time in the service, we know we visited Shanghai and this is the area where he would have come ashore.

Heather & Taylor at the Bund

Pudong is behind us.  The growth on the other side of the river in the past ten years has been absolutely astounding.  Shanghai is under constant construction.

 On my final full day (Dec. 10) in China, Jen, June and I traveled past Hongqiao (pronounced hong-chow) to the water town of Zhujiajiao (jew-jaw-jow).  Apparently, portions of "Mission Impossible" were filmed in the area.  Mostly, there were little shops to explore.

 We finally remembered to get a picture taken with all of us in it!

Heather & June

 There were lots of random things in China - including this parrot just inside the doorway of a shop.

 Tuesday night June and Will played with the neighbors while the Jen, Taylor and I enjoyed an Italian dinner on the 54th floor of a tall financial building (I think).  On ground level looking up into the sky, Jen took this dizzying picture.  The tallest building in Shanghai is under construction (top left corner building) - these are crazy tall skyscrapers!

Taylor & Heather 

The Pearl is the cool building behind me.

 The Pearl is an observatory for tourists to pay lots of money to check out.  We took pictures and called it good.  We already had a view of the city while eating dinner...

 I really enjoyed the landscaping around the city (most of which is found in Pudong - the new part of Shanghai with more open green space).  All of this is done by hand with old-fashioned equipment.  Keeps people working.

We checked out this fairly traditional shopping mall and sampled a little Chinese ice cream.  It was okay but the U.S. holds all the cards in this arena.  Some of the flavors offered were down-right disgusting!

Jen supplied me with running clothes/shoes while in town - perfect.

I sure enjoyed my time with the P's.  Jen and I were able to squeeze in four good runs together along with a few massages.  What's not to love about that?  At last, it was time for my departure.  We packed things pretty tight and Jen sent me home with a few Chinese treats for my kids.  They were a hit!  Good thinking, Jen!

I'll spare you the details of my travels home but let's just say I was really grateful there was a spare seat on the long flight after being sandwiched between two very large men for a few hours.  Wow.

Aaron picked me up from the shuttle and brought me home to find this...

Tanner had the camera to get my reaction.

An early Christmas present underway - designated storage area for winter gear.  This project was inspired by the first major snowfall of the season while I was in China.  Aaron had the pleasure of dealing with the aftermath...snowpants, boots, gloves, hats, etc. for so many kids!  We had talked about lockers in the garage to house such items on occasion but Aaron decided now was the perfect time to get started.  And special thanks to my Dad (and Mom of course) who happened to be in town for the event - much thanks to all the kids for helping out during my absence.  Great thanks to the P's for hosting me and my ultimate thanks goes to an incredible husband for making it all possible!  Love you all...