I hope they call me on a mission

I can't believe I haven't share this completely awesome, wonderful picture we took when we were in Korea (as part of our China trip). It was so wonderful to see these fellows and they were so excited to see us. Only one of the elders was Korean, the rest were Americans.

Hot Fun in the summertime (almost)

As I dropped Michael off at the airport this morning, I recounted the many fun activities we enjoyed during his 10+ days visit. For instance, we visited Grandpa twice (not so exciting but definitely rewarding), savored local strawberries (an absolutely heavenly treat), ate lunch at the Ram (they were out of Diet Coke!!), played Pirates Dice (Jenny is the champ--what a bluffer), saw West Side Story at the 5th Ave ("tonight, tonight"--after which Michael couldn't stop singing tiny bits of the songs--I know what I'm going to get him for Christmas), hung out with Jamie, Noah, Adam, and Kitty at Wal-Mart (what would we do without that store), went to Seattle and toured the Market (unfortunately the line for the little donuts was a mile long so we had to pass), went to the Center and ate Seattle Fudge (yum-yum), went to the EMP (we totally were rock stars playing the drums and guitar together), and the Science Fiction Museum (wow, lots of Star Wars stuff--Jason would be in heaven), babysat the Pace kids and played Mario Party & Mario Cart on the Wii with Adam and Noah, then watched Noah play Donkey Kong (it was loads of fun--three little angels under one roof), met Michelle at Bellevue Square (shop til you drop), ate together at Cheesecake Factory (didn't leave room for cheesecake), went bowling (I bowled an amazing 109), played racquetball (just Mike and Dad, but Michael feigned an injury when Dad put the hurt on him), and that just touches the surface. I didn't even mention all the small things that really make spending time together so wonderful. You know my motto--it's not what you're doing but who you're with that matters!!

Loveable Laurels

In YW last Sunday the attention getter had to do with blogs leading to favorites leading to choices leading to Alma 37:37 (my most recent scripture posting) leading to counseling with the Lord. Unfortunately only two of my six Laurels were there but they are so darn cute I just had to post their picture. Ahhhh to be young again and full of possibilities.

On the road to China and other Asian adventures

The only thing worse than a returned missionary with hundreds of photos is a near senior citizen who travels and has a blog. Yes, I am using this blog to send you all some "stories and stuff" about our recent travels. Of course I will intersperse my epic Asian adventures with the mundane day to day, so don't despair. How many Asian blogs/pictures could I have? Only time will tell. Click on the picture, the English translation is cute!

Did I mention.....

Dad had no problem with the restroom situation and, as always, he was a happy and contented traveler!

Things aren't always what they seem....

Sure it looks like a beautiful, peaceful setting but this location--Xiamen, China--is where I first laid eyes on an "eastern" toliet. What's an eastern toliet you ask? Let me just say Kohler needs to make some inroads here as the only porcelain to be found is surrounding a hole in the ground. I hear all that squatting really builds the leg muscles but there must be an easier way. At this point in the trip I said "no thanks" however later the call of nature was not to be denied. To my credit I adopted the "when in Rome" philosophy while most American women opted to wait in huge, long lines for the one handicap "western" toliet. Wimps. Oh and that stylish hat only cost me 50 cents and it's completely disposable. Ask Noah and Adam!

Where do souvenirs come from? China, of course.

Our recent Asian cruise began in Hong Kong and so did our quest for the best souvenirs for family and friends. We were only in Hong Kong the first day of our trip but it turned out to be the place for primo stuff at cheap prices -- Stanley Market by name. This is where most of your presents came from including those beautiful silk robes, which I'm sure you are all wearing, right? In Hong Kong Chris purchased a tailor-made suit. When it arrived it fit perfectly and had a special label stating "Hand Tailored for Chris Stevens". This is the way to buy clothes. Good-bye JC Penney.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, or can you?

People are willing to study all kinds of crazy things, but how about teaching an old dog new tricks? Well it's been done and the study revealed this long held notion concerning old dogs is false. Old dogs can be taught new tricks! Who'd have thunk it? But what does that have to do with me and this blogspot? You guessed it. If old dogs can do it, perhaps I can learn new tricks too and this blogspot proves it, complete with pictures. Stay tuned for exciting "stories and stuff" coming your way soon....