We taxi over, and head into the mall looking for a new meal experience.\u00a0 The mall sits next to a lake, and there are several restaurants with outdoor seating by the lake.\u00a0 It\u2019s too nice to pass up.\u00a0 We end up having a really good pizza, while we bask in the afternoon sun.<\/span><\/p>\n Basking in the sun!<\/p><\/div>\n More basking!!<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n After lunch, we wander through the mall.\u00a0 My pictures don\u2019t do it justice.\u00a0 It\u2019s fairly new, with interesting architecture.\u00a0 I was beginning to think it wasn\u2019t that big, but we went inside a door, down an escalator, and there were 3 floors underneath that spread out endlessly.\u00a0 We found stores we hadn\u2019t seen since we\u2019ve been in Beijing.\u00a0 This is good, and bad, at the same time.\u00a0 Although I brought plenty of winter clothes to Beijing, even I start shopping sweaters and jackets.\u00a0 There are so many options.\u00a0 We buy a few things, but overall show great restraint.\u00a0 Solana Mall may be a real problem for us.\u00a0 It\u2019s too close, and too unique, and even I enjoy the visit.<\/span><\/p>\n This picture just doesn’t do justice to the interesting design of this mall.<\/p><\/div>\n Back at the apartment, I enjoy catching up on all the marching band activities back in the states.\u00a0 Clovis HS is in Utah\/Nevada at a BOA contest, and made the finals.\u00a0 Former students of mine in Clovis have students in the band.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun to read about their \u201ckids\u201d experiences and successes in Facebook posts.\u00a0 In fact, when I get a chance to check in on Facebook, it\u2019s really interesting to read about former students and their current family experiences.\u00a0 Many of them are doing \u201cband contest\u201d right now, and they\u2019re all over the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Martin HS performed at the BOA Super-Regional in San Antonio.\u00a0 I know how hard that field of competitive bands is, and it\u2019s great to hear they placed 22<\/span>nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 I worked with many of the students in the band, either at Martin, or at Boles JH, so I have more than a passing interest in how they are doing.\u00a0 I know all too well how hard everyone (staff, students, and parents) has been working.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun to hear about their many successes this year.<\/span><\/p>\n On a more personal note:\u00a0 GOOD LUCK FORSAN HS BAND, and my niece Ali.\u00a0 She\u2019s one of the drum-majors for the band.\u00a0 They\u2019re headed to the Texas State Marching Contest in San Antonio this week.\u00a0 The Forsan band is one of the perennial top-runners, and they\u2019ve got a great opportunity to win it all this year.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Well, because their director, Jim Rhodes is a great director, who knows how to prepare his students to be successful, year after year.\u00a0 Oh, did I mention that Ali is one of the drum-majors?\u00a0 GOOD LUCK!\u00a0 ENJOY THE PERFORMANCE ALI!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s 8:30 am, Monday morning.\u00a0 Judy got off to school with ease.\u00a0 I\u2019ve cleaned up the breakfast dishes.\u00a0 The laundry is in the washing machine.\u00a0 I\u2019ve actually done most of my class prep for this week, already.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to … Continue reading ![\"Solana.Gordon\"](\"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Solana.Gordon.jpg\")
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