This week started out as a pretty normal week - school, work, etc. A few new things have happened, though.
Swimming
Grant has been looking forward to the start of the swimming season at school. He found out that the practices are in the mornings, Monday till Friday, from 5:45 AM till 7:15 at a pool near the school (their school, Concordia, doesn't have its own swimming pool, unfortunately). He had to work things out with the coach to be able to participate, though, because it conflicts with seminary class on some days of the week. Luke has been so busy with the Fall Play at school that we wasn't really in the mood to start a new activity, but I think Grant convinced him. So on Thursday morning they both went to the first practice - they just ride their scooters to the pool a couple of kilometers away, which is fine right now with the weather still in the 60s in the morning (the high during the day has been in the 70s), but we'll see how they feel about when it gets colder or when it rains. They rush home after swim practice, and still have enough time to shower, eat, and change, and ride their bikes to school before it starts at 8 AM. On some days they will go to seminary, then directly to swim practice, then home to shower, eat, etc. They will be busy during the mornings...
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Mallory and I rode past the Shanghai Tesla dealership and charging station, which are about two blocks away from our house.
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The girls made caramel apples.
And a ghost pizza for dinner on Halloween night (looks like a Pacman ghost to me).
Rainy trick or treating
Our compound / neighborhood sent out an email that trick or treating would be on Friday from 5 - 7 PM (as well as on Saturday from 4 - 6 PM, but that is a different story altogether). The weather forecast for Friday was rain all day, then stopping at about 5 PM. Perfect forecast for trick or treating, except that the actual weather was exactly the opposite - pretty clear and nice all day, then it started sprinkling and then raining harder from 5 PM and then for the rest of the evening. Luke was doing the school play, but Grant and James handed out candy at our house while Heidi helped hand out candy at the Larsen's house. I went around the neighborhood with Mallory, both of us with umbrellas in hand. Mallory was enthusiastic for a while, at least until she could feel the water squishing between her toes inside her boots. So we brought her back to the house for a change of shoes and a short rest, then she went out again for a while.
Avoiding the rain on Halloween night.
Cartwheels
Mallory came home from gymnastics this week extremely sore. She was proud of the fact that during her 2 hour gymnastics class, she managed to do 220 cartwheels - most of them just during time when they were in between things and waiting to start a new activity. I can certainly understand why she is sore. I don't know if I could manage to do 220 cartwheels.
Garden tour
Heidi went with some women from church on a visit to a garden near us - I guess still here in Shanghai, about 30 minutes away.
Sights on Heidi's garden tour...
It wouldn't be a Chinese garden if you didn't seem someone doing Tai chi.
Two kids having fun on the standing swings.
Heidi tried to convince this man that it wasn't a real horse...
Fall Play
Luke had his final rehearsals this week for the fall play - Stand By Me. Performances were on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. Luke was happy with his role -- Eyeball Chambers (he wore an eye patch) -- and did a really good job at it.
