First of all, we apologize for being absent bloggers. It's been a long time. Facebook has kind of taken over as our means of communication as it became easier for us to access the last few months in China. However, we know some of you have been faithful followers of our blog for the last three years and are wondering where we have been since the last posting.
Here is a picture of our last known address in China. Now the fun begins as we attempt to find a new one. That's right, if you haven't heard, we are moving back to the Minneapolis area! In fact, as I write this we are actually on US soil in the comfort of Tony and Sylvia's home for the Easter holiday. There is a tremendous amount of work ahead for us - finding a new home, finding a job for me (Sabrina), moving all of our belongings from numerous locations back into one home, and so forth. For the time being we are in a temporary apartment in Plymouth, MN. We are excited, but as you can imagine there were some tears as we closed the door on the China chapter of our life. As for Tony he closes a successful chapter in placing the Polaris "flag" in China and now he will be taking on new challenges at Polaris that will involve other parts of the world. A next assignment?....let's just focus on today...
A couple of weeks before we left, this guy - the "Mountain Chicken" showed up in our yard. You know him as a ring neck pheasant, but the translation was fuzzy as people in Shanghai aren't really familiar with the bird. Ayi wanted to catch it and take it home as a pet for her son. The driver want to catch it and eat it. We're not really sure what happened to him after we left but he kept us entertained and finished off the rest of our oatmeal for us. In any case, all agreed that his appearance meant "good luck" for the Wixo family in our new life in the US as pheasants are native to China and were brought to the US and have thrived there.Another chapter in the twin's life began before we left though. Not really as their birthday is not until April 9th, but their friends at school and ayi wanted to celebrate before we left. It has been quite a transformation since the pictures of their 1st birthday with chocolate cake all over their faces as they sat in high chairs. Four birthdays...where did our babies go?
It doesn't suffice to say we miss all of our friends and "family" members in Shanghai. The memories we made will keep us smiling for the rest of our lives. What an amazing adventure. How do you say goodbye to that? Maybe you just say...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
April 1st - We Are Moving Back To The US
Where in the world are the Wixo's...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Winter in ND

We had one of those Christmas stories and snow storms that you remember from when "we were kids". We spent the front half of the Christmas holiday at the Wixo side of the family in McVille, North Dakota.
More than 2 feet of new snow fell over the course of two days and then on day three the wind strategically piled the snow in "fun" places as the kids were able to dig those tunnels in the snow that I remember as an every year occurrence. Here Brandon is taking a break from his best impression as a gopher.
Having that much snow also requires some shoveling so I put Ava to work.
With that much snow it also makes snowmobiling a lot of fun.



Until next time: memories that last for a life time.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Random Events, Pictures, and a $100 Turkey


The shops, as you can see, are very small and in some cases "hole-in-the-wall" facilities. But the shop owners are typically pretty cheery, friendly, and are proud to share off their wares. The lady above is from Tibet as were most of her items.
In this picture two gentlemen are making a woven rug right in the street.
My mom also likes to take a look at the simple things. Here she and Ava found some hand made brooms in one of the vacant homes in our neighborhood. These are made from weeds and grass wrapped together and bound to a stick of bamboo that serves as the handle.
We also were invited in for dinner to one of my employee's, Jason, homes. Here Jason's mother is making a spicy type of soup that is then mixed with home made noodles.
It was a very good time and a chance for my mom to experience a local food....though she still struggles with the chop sticks. ;)
Thanksgiving has come and gone and yes, we had a turkey at our home in Shanghai. Our tradition over the past years has been to get together with other families in our housing compound. Our turkey was a 20 lb. Butterball. However, turkey is not raised in China so all turkey must be imported....all of this adds cost and the turkey was about $5 a lb. Sabrina cooked the turkey and it looked and tasted as good or better than any turkey I have had. This was a tall task as our oven wasn't cooperating. We did have to inspect it a number of times because our oven broiler kept turning on... Chinese ovens??
Until next time...we are now in the States and hope to talk with you while we are back.





Until next time...we are now in the States and hope to talk with you while we are back.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A stop in Korea - a new blog



Then the big day came and a Saturday at that... Ava was a princess and Caden a cowboy.
The picture above is Ava with a neighborhood friend. She has so many princess outfits and Ava loves to go over and play dress up. 
This is how we went trick or treating - Caden and Ava on the scooters - bag in hand - and mom and dad on the bikes. Mom was dressed in a Packers jersey and I in a Vikings jersey. (I was the better in that one - Go Vikes!) 



Until next time...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thailand & Out

We have been home a week and a half now so we should probably close out our vacation to Thailand. On our last post, I documented a pleasant trip the emergency room. I am a pleased to say everything worked out fine. Anyway, to close out Thailand we visited the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-palace/grand-palace.html). This is the must see site in Bangkok and we saw it. The palace was built in the 1700s and the Buddha dates back to the 14th Century. The whole place was very ornate and lavishly decorated.



Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Pleasant Trip to the Emergency Room - Thailand




Our actual time with the dentist was about a half hour and they took x-rays to make sure that Ava's tooth - root and all - had made a "clean exit" and that her permanent and other baby teeth were not damaged. Everything checked out "OK" and we asked for the x-ray film and headed on our way.

I then stopped at the cashier's desk to pay our bill. Again it was about about 730 Thai Baht or about $28. This included the dentist visit and the x-ray.
So until next time ponder this... I don't profess to understand the costs, quality, efficiencies, or inefficiencies we have in the US with our medical system. I have a mother, a sister, an uncle, an aunt, a sister-in-law, etc. that all work in the medical field... they are all professionals in their careers and the best at what they do. This is not about the care that we as Americans provide nor is it meant to be political in nature. What this is about is that much of the news and the negativity we have in the US is geared towards the inevitable change to this system...the costs, the insurance, the ____, the ____...for 50+ years we have not been able to figure this out. All is I have to say is... perhaps there is something that we can learn if we take a look outside of our "box". Again here in Thailand we were very, very happy with the care we were provided. We were also very happy with the cost...in total we spent about $60...not $600 plus. It is thought provoking, isn't it?

Friday, October 9, 2009









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