Goodbye Midland Part II

We had created a list of things to get done/see before we left Midland. While we may not have accomplished all these things, we did get some of them done. Here is what we actually did on the last week in our hometown:

• Wal-Mart (at least 5 times)


• Restaurants: Chili's, Fuddruckers, Rosa's, Jason's Deli


• Starbucks (at least 2 times)


• No baseball (the Rockhounds were out of town, maybe we'll go before we leave the area.)

So we didn't get a chance to see some of the tourist attractions in our hometown. We know we will be coming back and there is always next year. Next year I guess the list should be called a"Hello Texas" as we will be catching up on all the things we missed while in China.

Goodbye Midland

When we were in China, we were encouraged to say goodbye to our city, students, and friends during the last weeks before we departed. We visited Wal-Mart, Ba Yi Square, the electronics market, the new campus, and other places one last time before we left. So in our last week in Midland, there are several things that we want to see or see again before we leave.

• Midland Rockhounds' Game


• Petroleum Museum


• George W. Bush Childhood home


• One last Life Group gathering


• Commemorative Air Force Museum


• Starbucks or Harvest Caffe


• Restaurants: Sonic, Rosa's, Jorge's Mexican Food


• HEB


• Visit the duck pond


• Walk around our neighborhood

As was the case in China, there may be some things we don't have time to get accomplished, but each time we travel we have a motto that we can always see these things when we come back. And more often then not, we have been able to return and check a few more off the list. We will be home to Midland each summer so we can revisit some of our favorites.

Next up: Boxes, Packing, & Suitcases

Our last day of work was Friday, kind of a bittersweet day. Some days we both would be ready to move on and away from our jobs, but after 2 years, you really start to like the people you worked with. So we said our goodbyes, Kanyon said his goodbyes too at daycare. Now on the what's next.


Current view of our living room

Next up: boxes, packing, and moving. We have 5 days to be out of our apartment and all packed up. the difficult part is that we need to get all our bags for China packed at the same time since we will be living out of the suitcases for the next month in TX and another month in CA at training. We think we have a plan worked out. Get all the things we want to take to China in a giant pile, then pack the rest of the apartment up into boxes, then return to our pile of stuff and see how much of it actually fits in a suitcase. We'll probably have to leave behind about half of the things we would like to take to China for another year. Hopefully soon I will get an updated list of what makes the cut and what is left at home. We hope to have learned something from our last packing for China experience. But either way, six 50 pound suitcases still hold the same amount and weigh the same as they would have two year ago.

12:2 Times July 2008

All-American Summer

As we cruise through our last months in America before departing for China, we are making a point to enjoy some American summer activities.



Six Flags Over Texas. We had a great time on a weekend without the baby. We arrived in the morning and immediately head for the Titan. (The Titan reaches speeds over 85 mph and the first drop is 24 stories, not the mention the extreme G’s on the corkscrews.) After one spin on the Titan, I was out for the day. M’Lynn however continued to ride coaster after coaster. The lines were amazingly short and we finished the park earlier enough to enjoy the next summer item.

Baseball. We walked out of Six Flags, moved our car to the end of the parking lot, and walked to the Ballpark. The game was full of homeruns and the Rangers even won (not that either of us are Rangers fans). Plus, we’ve watched our share of Rockhounds games here too.



Swimming. What’s a summer without some swimming? No summer at all! We took Kanyon swimming for the first time and he kicked his feet and splashed the water in his face with his hands. Not much different than taking a bath, only this time it was in an extra large tub.

Fireworks. We enjoyed some Fourth of July fireworks and BBQ with family for the holiday. While fireworks are common in China, the BBQ is much different.

BBQ and other foods. Last on the summer list is BBQ and other American foods including hamburgers, steaks, chips and hot sauce, Tex-Mex, Starbucks, and many others. All of these are not available in China, or at least not of the same quality.

Family Reunion



Well, not really a reunion, but rather a wedding of my cousin. It felt much like a wedding as all of my aunts and uncles were together again for the first time in years (first time in year that we have been able to be there). We were missing a few cousins, but it was great to get everyone back together for the wedding.

We traveled down to San Antonio, baby in tow, to see all the folks. Most of the time was spent hanging out before and after the wedding. The wedding itself was great too and was a real Texas Cowboy wedding. After the wedding we drove over to the reception. It was in a great old general store that was cleared out and now functions as a hall. We had a blast! Check out the Texas family photo at the left!

August Finish Line

We have entered our last weeks on the job. Our final day working for both of us is July 25, 2008 (also Kanyon’s last day of daycare). We hope to finish strong and provide a smooth transition to our replacements.

Then after a week of packing and moving out of our apartment, we have a month of time with friends and family. For the first two weeks in August, we will be living in Garden City with M’Lynn’s family. Then we will move up to the panhandle and live with Jeremy’s family for the final two weeks before we depart from training in Los Angeles on August 29, 2008.

We are looking forward to spending time with both families and relaxing the last month in the States. We will be available if you would like us to stop by and talk more about China, or simply to catch up.

Newsletter No. 2

One of our favorite parts of teaching in China is to be able to share the stories, adventure, photos, and work with all of you back home. It is such a privilege to share this with each of you.

Many of you probably received our second newsletter about our return to China. If you did not receive this letter, but would like to receive future letters sent from China, please respond with your mailing address. Or if you have a corrected address, are moving, or know others who would be interested, please send us the information and updates.

We will continue to publish the email newsletter (monthly) in addition to the snail mail version (about every 6 weeks). They will be different and unique from each other and would like all of you to receive both. We’ll have plenty of stories, pictures, and updates to provide from our work in China.

Six Flags, More Flags = More Fun

We had a great time in Dallas this past weekend doing all the normal Dallas things. Our first stop was Six Flags Over Texas. Not wanting to be sick like the previous times, I decided to take some Dramamine to ease the motion sickness. For a ride on a boat, that stuff works wonders, but when your first ride in the park is the Titan, Dramamine didn't stand a chance.


The Titan: 24 stories tall & over 85 mph

I did survive the Titan, but that would be the end of the roller coasters for the day for me. I walked through the rest of them. We figured that M could ride the rides and I would not be sick, so we both would be happy. That's the way the rest of the day went.


Watching as M'Lynn Goes Round

The lines were great, we finished all the rides by 6:00 pm and headed out of the park. We were heading to park at the Rangers game, when we realized the Ballpark is just across the street. So we returned to the Six Flags parking lot and parked at the far end to save ourselves from paying for parking twice. The game was filled with homers, and the Rangers won. Too bad if we had to pick we would both be Astros fans.


All Prettied Up for the Reception

The next day we headed out to the reception that was the real occasion for the trip. It was in a cool downtown antique shop/restaurant in Sherman. We had a great time hanging out with the ole GC crowd.

Leaving town on Sunday, we stopped at Cabela's to stock up on more warm weather gear for Harbin. Seems we can never have enough. We walked out of there and Outdoor World with tons of Extreme Cold wool socks, glove liners, and a double fleece face mask. All of this without the baby, who we were glad to see when we returned home.