Here we go....

Today our overseas items were boxed and shipped. We just made the 1600 lb weight maximum allowed. At noon the concierge from the Westin sent a van to pick up our 14 suitcases. Things are crazy and surreal. Moving is such a big endeavor in the simplest of situations, and this move has an extra layer of UGGH. We are flying out on Sun. It is an estimated 14 hr flight. GOOD NEWS: Emily and Katie have been great troopers, they just ate some spam musubi (packed for them by grandma), and are happy to be in their own room at the Westin. All the arrangements for our dog Buddy have been made and confirmed. He is flying to Shanghai on Tuesday and will be delivered to us on Saturday. BAD NEWS: We still do not have a residence in Shanghai! Our first choice fell through a few days ago after a month of negotiations. Our second choice landlord would not accept dogs. So we are waiting on our third choice, keeping our fingers crossed. People we have talked to that have lived in Shanghai for a while all tell us that this situation is not uncommon, but still stressful. We will be staying at residence apartment Citadine Biyun, in the green city area. Hopefully we will only be there for a short time, but it may be up to a month. The green city area is a hub for expats, but the apartment is not huge. We are all taking a big, deep breath. And diving in.

Leaving Pasadena

The Lamb family is packing up to go!  We leave Pasadena this Sunday, July 29th.  Doing lots of packing right now.

1.  Monster High dolls packed - check!
2.  Buddy travel arrangements made - check!
3.  Cars sold - check!

We are waiting to see if we were able to get our first choice for housing in Shanghai.  We're keeping our fingers crossed.  Our first choice is a townhouse in Seasons Villas - an expat community very close to the Kerrey center where Chris will be working the first year.

Here are some images from Seasons from our look-see trip last November.  The first image is the 3rd floor roof that can be used as a patio/play area.

Today in Shanghai May, 29 2012

Chris and I are in Shanghai today. We have selected our residence here. We've made our choices, and now all we can do is sit back and see which one we get. Tomorrow, we will be able to make our selections for linens, furniture and kitchen ware. The weather here has been warm, and a little humid. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain. The weather in Shanghai is normally on the cold, cloudy side in the winter and fall, and very humid in the summer.

The beginning.....

Hello everyone. I am starting this blog to chronicle our move to Shanghai, China. The Lamb Family (Chris, Lucy, Emily and Katie) will be leaving Pasadena July 2012 and moving to Shanghai for Chris' work. We've been planning this move for about a year, and are finally beginning the process.