an autumn outing.

this semester, our crew got to go on a retreat for some time of bonding and sight-seeing! we travelled only an hour by plane to a city most famous for the terra cotta soldiers! and that was our first stop! 

my favorite thing we did was bike around the ancient city walls! we biked six miles on really rickety bikes, on really uneven bricks...and it was hysterical! 

we ate at...(drum roll, please)...DUNKIN' DONUTS!

and we saw BEAUTIFUL autumn leaves!

it was a really fun weekend! i'm glad we got a chance to get away and spend time together!

maddox turns one!

the littlest member of our family here just turned the BIG o-n-e!!

 and we LOVED fussing over him on his big day!

it was so. much. fun.

 the cake.

the decor.

the birthday boy.

the gift.  

( an IKEA tunnel his aunties gave him. :)

the balloon banner! 

LOVE that boy and soooo thankful for his sweet life!

read more about his party at his mom's blog here!

there's a snake in my boot!

After much deliberation, our crew finally decided that TOY STORY would be our theme for Halloween! We went into the city with our other friends for a fun night with Tex-Mex food!

Will as Woody

Kelsey as Jessie

Hughes as Buzz Lightyear

Anne Marie as Barbie

Chris as Ken

Me as Bo Peep

(Check out my HOOP SKIRT!! 

Me and Kelsey made it from scratch with a hula hoop! Who's proud??)

Chelsey as an Alien

Anna as Mrs. Potato Head

Tyler as Etch A Sketch

Our other friends in the city were the characters from the video game, Mario Kart. 

So hilarious.

My favorite costumes of the night were Barbie and Ken! Chris and Anne Marie rented their outfits from a costume store close to our apartments. 

 I loved Will's pull string, too! So clever!

We had such a fun time making our costumes and spending time with our friends from around the city! Any excuse to be together is fine by us!

a very stupid and dangerous trend.

 "planking is a very stupid and dangerous trend. basically, you lie like a plank in weird places. that’s it. sometimes you get run over. welcome to the internet." (oscar, the office)

‎this summer, my dad left this AJC article about a new fad called "planking" on the stairs for me to read. (the stairs are the typical place to exchange interesting news articles, trinkets, etc. in our family. that kinda sounds strange now that i wrote it out...haha)

after reading the article, i just knew i had to incorporate planking into my life in east asia.

then, one of our first weeks back in country, the office aired an episode featuring, you 

guessed it, PLANKING!! we were so excited.

(here's the clip about planking.)

here are two of the best of our planks thus far.

‎"planking is one of those things where, hey, you either get it or you don't...and i don't, but i am so excited to be a part of it." (erin, the office)

i couldn't have said it better myself, erin.

my country tis of thee.

In October, the university students have a whole week off of school for National Day! Though we still worked during that week, we did have a few days to play! 


We decided to go to a really beautiful part of our province about 2 hours away...it is a valley where you can hike and see beautiful scenery, including waterfalls! Lauren and I had been there before in the Summer of 2009 and loved it!

Kelsey and me

 me, Kelsey, Harrison, and Lauren

For the weekend, we headed to our favorite nearby city. I've mentioned it before in this post.

Of course, one of our first stops was IKEA! And lucky for us, we witnessed this little one literally making herself at home!

We ate lunch at the Sultan Turkish Restaurant! We sat on the floor and everything! Love it.

We visited an "ancient" part of the city -- circa 2004.

We ate pizza DELIVERED to one of our friend's house!! I can't express how BIG of a deal this was! Food. delivered. to your house. What a concept!

And we ended our weekend at the newest music district in the city--a refurbished factory/warehouse! It was really, really cool! I can't wait to go back when more places are open there!

We so much enjoyed our little break to see the sights and experience new things!