Summer break #1

Our summer break started off with Sophia's birthday. School ended on the 19th (of June) so for us summer officially began on the 20th. Just happened to be her birthday. Happy 6th!

Then we had an eventful plane trip back to the states. I flew back with the kids (one adult and 3 little ones). We boarded the plane in Chengdu on the run way about to take off and then the nest thing I knew we were back at the gate. We had to get off the plane and wait for weather clearance from Shanghai. I was delayed long enough to miss my connecting flight in Shanghai. We waited in lines for 6 hours to finally be helped. (Customer service in China is horrid and lines don't exist...it is fend for your self or out of luck) I had to some how get all of my luggage and kids onto a Chinese shuttle bus in the middle of the night to take us to a hotel, settle the kids down. Squeeze the 4 of us onto 2 twin beds. We got a phone call at 7:30am saying the shuttle back to the airport will leave at 8am. I dragged the luggage and sleeping children back down onto the bus just to wait in more lines to barely make another flight out of there. I was so happy be land in San Francisco. What could go wrong now? What are the odds that I showed up at that airport just a few minutes before the plane from Korea crashed...yes...it was my lucky day. The airport shut down and I was stuck again. By divine inspiration...my mother flew into San Fran that morning to meet me. If it wasn't for her I don't know what I would have done. We ended up renting a car and driving to Vegas. Pheww...I finally made it home!

Only to drive straight to the mountains and spend the week camping with my siblings...nothing like getting over jet lag in the fresh air (and hot tents :-)) 

My siblings and I spent our last day of our reunion at funeral for my grandfather. It was sad to see my grandpa go...however grateful to know life doesn't end at death.