A Fun Day With Hallie

A year or so ago, some friends of ours, the Hardins, moved to China to do mission work. I have always admired people who dedicate their lives to such a work, and they are no different - especially with 3 kiddos! Hallie (their oldest) and Kinlee have always been good friends since we lived in Henderson. Hallie's grandparents worship where we do, so even after we moved here, they still continued to see eachother on occasion. Well, since their move to China, obviously, those times have been fewer and far between. The Hardins are in the states for a couple of months, so we couldn't let the opportunity go by!!! SO, last week, we headed to pick up Hallie for a day of friend fun! We first went to the park to play. Then, at lunchtime, we headed to Taco Bell. I laughed as I listened to my kids asking her questions such as:

My kids: Do they have Taco Bells in China?
Hallie: Probably in Shanghai.
My kids: Do you see lots of pandas in China?
Hallie: In a zoo, not just out on the road.
My kids: Do they have computers in China?
Hallie: (rolling eyes): Yes....
My kids: Do they have TVs in China?
Hallie: Yes, but we mostly watch DVDs - we can't understand their TV shows.
Me: Do they have different table manners in China?
Hallie: They think you'll get sick if you eat with your hands. (Of course, right at that moment, she caught me scooping up the last of Parker's nacho cheese with my finger at which she replied - "That.....they wouldn't like") OOPS! ;)
Anyway, she taught us some things about Chinese culture and even taught us a few Chinese words.

After the park and lunch, we headed home for the afternoon. The girls played upstairs for a while, watched a little TV (since it was in English), played a little on the computer (since they don't have those in China :)), and had about 2 hours of fun on the water slide! We ate supper, and then reluctantly, we had to take Hallie back to her grandparent's house. Kinlee did much better with "good-byes" than I thought she would. I was proud of her - it's hard. Thank you, Jen, for letting us borrow her for the day - they had a great time!!! (If I could spell it, I would type that Chinese word for "thank you" that Hallie taught us, but you know what it is.....)