We had a wonderful birthday party last Saturday for Sophia. She invited a few of her friends over for lunch, Easter egg hunt, cake+ice cream, and presents. She asked for mac and cheese (which I made with 4 different cheeses), green beans, and fruit salad. She also wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, which I was able to pull off due to my new access to the oven. Everything turned out great and the kids and the adults had lots of fun! She got quite a few presents, her favorites being a number/letter magnet set with chalkboard, a paint set, and a really cool magnet set. She also got several dolls, a new dress, stickers, and treats. Although we were sad that we couldn't share her day with the family and friends back home we have made some really special friendships here and have a supportive community of teachers.

We bought the kids there first 'pets' yesterday at a giant animal/plant market. We got two fish, which we named Ebb and Flow. Ebb is gold and white and Flow is blue and purple. They have a big vase bowl with a real plant inside our window. They had a very traumatic day yesterday. Besides the walk to the subway and ride home, which was bumpy, Sophia had a purposeful accident. She decided that the fish were very hungry and dumped the whole bottle of food into their bowl while I was in the bathroom. I had to dump the whole thing out, remove the poor things with spoons, and put all new water in for them. I was worried they wouldn't make it through the night but today they seem fine. They look happier then yesterday anyways! We might get a bird or two next, but we'll see how the fish do. This market had everything you could think of to have for a pet.....or dinner...All kinds of birds, every size of turtle, rodents including: rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, chipmunks, puppies, kittens, massive crickets, tons of fish! These types of markets are something very cool to see however having my own beliefs about how animals should be kept/cared for, it was a little depressing. The conditions aren't great and many of the animals are kept in very small cages (which for things like puppies and kittens is really sad) and packed in together. Some animals (baby ducks, chicks, bunnies, other rodents, and turtles) are just piled on top of one another in big containers....sort of like produce piled up in a box, ready to be bought and eaten. :( The plant sections of these markets are really nice though. Huge selection, many I've seen and a few I haven't. We forgot the camera last time but since we have to go again (for more fish food and maybe a plant or two) we will take pictures and write a blog on it.

We have started a trend here of doing potlucks at a different persons house every week or every other week. Next week we are doing it at our place. I am a little nervous that we won't have enough space but if the weather cooperates then we should be able to open up the balcony doors and increase the space. The weather goes from rainy and overcast for days to sunny and warm. There will come a point when it is sunny and warm everyday like last summer when we first arrived here. It's crazy that we've almost lived here for a whole year. The time has gone so fast! We have pretty much decided to stay another year, but as the weather gets consistently nice out we will go out and do and see more, thus having more to share on here. We've been bad about blogging this winter b/c it's been cold so we haven't gone out much, but that's about to change. We already have a few family outings planned for nice Saturdays in the next few weeks. So, keep an eye out.

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL! AND LOTS OF LOVE FROM THE JOHNSTONS IN SUZHOU!