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3042 North Wolcott Avenue - Chicago

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958 North Wood Street - Chicago

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Billy came all the way from Chicago and visited us this week. Here was the rundown…

We hit the Hong Kong Sevens on Saturday. As always, a good time…

Won some money in Macau…

Hit the Temple Street Night Market from some tasty Prawns and Beers…

Made it up to Shenzhen for some Purse shopping and a massage…

And hit the track on a rainy night…

As a tribute to the movie, “There’s Something About Mary”, Riley put a sticky plate to her head and found herself with a very similar hair style. She also looks a bit concerned that she may be stuck with the look.

Here are some pictures from my work…

This is a Pig Cutting ceremony. They have these when something big happens like a project being completed. Depending on the magnitude of the project, a larger number of pigs are cut. This was a one pigger.

This is me presenting to our team in China.

And this is the team in China.

Today we went to the Repulse Bay Easter Carnival. Grace was in the Kid’s Fashion Show. Riley wasn’t too fond of the Easter Bunny. Check out the video.

In honor of the upcoming Beijing olympics, Grace’s sports day had an olympic theme. She was on the China team. Check out the opening and closing ceremonies. Click here for more Sports Day pics on Flickr

Here is a picture of the Sawin Ladies at the Chinese New Year celebration in our apartment complex. This picture was in the monthly newsletter. I like it.

Last week, the girls went to Chung Hom Kok Beach in Stanley for Finlay’s Birthday party. Grace went as Supergirl. Check out the pics.

The past month and change has been a lot of travel for the Sawin family. We traveled across 3 continents, stayed in 10 cities and had 12 flights hitting 10 different airports. I think we are glad to back home.

Flights and Airports

1. Hong Kong (HKG) - Sydney (SYD)
2. Brisbane (BNE) - Hong Kong (HKG)
3. Hong Kong (HKG) - Shanghai (PVG)
4. Shanghai (PVG) - Hong Kong (HKG)
5. Hong Kong (HKG) - Singapore (SIN)
6. Singapore (SIN) - Hong Kong (HKG)
7. Hong Kong (HKG) - San Francisco (SFO)
8. San Francisco (SFO) - Chicago (ORD)
9. Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
10. Chicago (ORD) - Tokyo (NRT)
11. Tokyo (NRT) - Hong Kong (HKG)
12. New York (JFK) - Hong Kong (HKG)

Continents and Cities Stayed In

1. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
2. Bulahdelah, New South Wales, Australia
3. Yamba, New South Wales, Australia
4. Hope Island, Queensland, Australia
5. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
6. Shanghai, China, Asia
7. Singapore, Asia
8. Chicago, Illinois, North America
9. Edison, New Jersey, North America
10. New York City, New York, North America

Well the Sawin Family had a successful trip down under. Here’s the run down.

On Christmas Night, we took the overnight flight to Sydney. The kids did great. Thank god for the on-demand television and iPods we had on hand. Here is the mandatory tourist shot of the Sydney Opera House.

We took in the Taronga Zoo…

Petted some fish at the Sydney Aquarium…

And learned that Koala Bears were bigger than we thought.

Grace and Riley were saying “Come on Mom and Dad, enough with the photos…”

On New Year’s Eve we found a nice spot to watch the fireworks from.

After a week in Sydney, we rented a Camper Van and drove up the coast.

Along the way we saw a Big Banana…

And a Big Prawn!

When we got to the Gold Coast, we went to Dreamworld and went to Wiggles World…

And petted a Koala Bear…

And even a Kangaroo!

Grace scared the heck out of Mom and Dad riding the swing ride by herself.

Riley had to use a big Abacus to count how much money we were spending.

On a nice day, we made it to Surfer’s Paradise to take in the sun and the waves.

We left the Gold Coast and headed to Brisbane for our last two nights. We were lucky enough to run into Dora and Boots there.

In the end, the whole Sawin Family had a great holiday in Australia!