We're now waiting a week or so before Emma gets invited over for a sleepover at Alex's house...stay tuned!
Kids are in bed asleep (games were 7.30pm, 10.30pm and 2.30am our time) and here we are on the couch trying to find an English stream to have commentary for the game.
Alex had new princess rain boots that she could wear in the house as she hadn't yet worn them outside - Sebastien was itching to get his Thomas the Tank engine boots...
At last Grandie and Poppie arrive in Xiamen.
This will be the first of a couple of posts - but Mummy is waiting for Poppie to send her some photos so she can complete them.
But the least you should know is we loved having them visit!
Alex also enjoys helping with new acquisitions - Mummy insists on a number on the back of each piece so that at cleanup time, you know instantly that this piece belongs to puzzle number 3.
Aunty Chelle, look out!! Your puzzles will be raided when we next visit!!
Apparently when you "confess" to breaking the law, you sign your confession with your thumbprint - and in China, red ink is the appropriate colour for all "signatures" - be they chops or thumbprints. In the end he had two interviews - paid a fine that wasn't the maximum - and Alex had a new residency permit. Now he can smile about it...
It helped our cause that hers was the only expired one - and currently all of them (except hers) are being renewed.
When you go to a seafood restaurant in China, they like you to know just how fresh your food is. So it was that Daddy and the two kiddos, along with friend Emma and her parents, ended up at the "basketball restaurant" - a small Chinese restaurant around from the beach that has a basketball court just outside. The kids were entertained for ages just checking out the "aquarium"...
She's still a little short to reach up to the nail on the stool so she had help - but check out that grin! The countdown has begun!
We need some practice with holding the crayon - unlike Alex who always held it the right way from the very beginning. (Not sure why she's bending down so close - eyes have been checked and are fine.) 
But at least he's now having fun with it!
And yes, he's a lefty and she's a righty - interesting times ahead :)
I am seriously considering developing netting that has polkadots of bold colours on it, or squiggles of primary colours, or is just...netting *gasp*.
Currently we've been hitting "Calligraphy Beach" so named because of the stones with Chinese hanzi on them that are embedded in the sand near the road. This is mainly because it is a (relatively) easy half hour cycle from home and is close to where some of our friends live. Here's Alex checking out a street-seller's wares (after playing hopscotch on the stones in the background).
We usually take lots of sand toys to keep everyone amused. 
Polly Pocket is not amused - she didn't sign up for quicksand!
Inevitably on weekends the beach is crowded - with brides and grooms! The Chinese tradition is to have an entire day devoted to photos in various scenes, in many different outfits - particularly because there is no actual "ceremony" to getting married here. An entire industry has grown up around it and it's big business. It's not unusual to see at least five sets of brides and grooms having photos taken on the beach at any time of the weekend. This particular day saw only four a the same time. 
You'll recall that Alex has trouble keeping her clothes on - or wearing long sleeves/pants in winter - as she is such a warm person. She loves nothing more than stripping to her swimsuit so she can prance around in the water's edge. 
We're still trying to find a cleaner beach. It never fails to attract the attention of just about everyone wandering past - many cameras and phones come out to take her photo because everyone else is in long pants and a jumper/sweater usually. One problem with this is that people walk through or on the castles and bridges we're building so as to get close enough to be in a photo with her or Sebastien. Highly annoying as they don't seem to have any care or concern after they've knocked things down. Mummy's working on some not-so-polite sentences for next time.
Sebastien, on the other hand, enjoys tunnels and bridges in the sand. It didn't take long until Alex was converted. 
Not a day passes that Sebastien doesn't play with his trains. Although he is ready for school, I think that (after the language) having no Thomas trains there will be the biggest shock.
Then we jumped onto a bus to get to the performance venue. There was a new shopping mall opening and they were conducting a contest for school children to use recycled materials and to enact a story (I believe most were traditional stories). It looked pretty serious - security was standing behind the judges.
Daddy and Sebastien joined us here. Here are the children getting dressed in the middle of the Mall forecourt. You'll notice that every other child has their (winter) clothes on underneath their costume. Not Alex - who has her own little inbuilt heater!
Here is Alex with her veil over her head - as the new bride.
And on stage performing:
And the obligatory photo with the teachers.
And according to the Kindergarten's website (and translated poorly through Google translate): "Xiamen City Bureau of Education launched the South China Mall special "Family Green Fashion Show" competition, a total of 32 kindergartens participated in the contest... we won second prize."
