Tour of Beijing with Kennedy Teachers of China

I am now preparing for finals in my oral English classes. The students are wonderful. I need to take a class picture next week.

The tour of Beijing was cold and exciting. We visited the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, Badaling section of the Great Wall, a Jade factory, a cloisonne factory, Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, the Silk Market, had a Peking Duck Dinner, and saw an acrobat performance. It was an exciting weekend.

We saw the Peking Opera performers applying make-up. The make-up was dramatic.

Bullet train and Temple of Heaven

We have been going everywhere. Last Saturday we along with the Jeppsons took the bullet train from Beijing to Tian Jin, east of us. The train reached a speed of 205 mph. It was comfortable, clean and new. We visited our Kennedy teacher friends the Normans while there. They are best friends with our ward member friends DeVon and Diane Hale. Friday we visited Temple of Heaven. The day was wonderful; sunny, warm and clear. Most of our time here in Beijing has been clear skies.

I'm in China

I haven't been able to write since coming to China on September 29th since blogs have been blocked but a branch member, Effe Simpson told me about VPN and now I can write again. VPN lets you on the Internet as a blind surfer and no one can tell what I am doing. I got VPN so I could blog, see YouTube and Facebook.

We just returned from a week long trip along the silk road. We had many adventures: We flew into Urumqi in the northwestern portion of China. It's population is about 50% Muslim. Most of our lodgings were adequate but one hotel in Turpan was not a pleasant experience since it had stained carpet, poor walls, etc.

I rode a camel in the Gobi Desert. An experience in itself. There was one camel who was a "cry baby", hollering out his discontent.

We rode a donkey cart. There were about five carts with 8 people in each. Our donkey was aggressive and passed all carts ahead that were in his way. He would get out of his rut, pass and then enter the rut in front of the other cart. We loved how he sped up, passed and returned again.

We viewed vineyards and bought dried grapes or raisins. It was a wonderful adventure.

We also visited the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'An and it was magnificent.

China Farewell August 20, 2010

We had a wonderful going away party at our home. All close families were invited to a Chinese potluck held in our back yard. William came from California to visit.

Rebekah's Baptism

Saturday morning early, 9 am., Rebekah Spendlove, Vaughn and Holly's eight year old daughter was baptism by her dad in her Lehi stake building. All the family on both sides were in attendance. She was excited and loved the experiences.

Missionaries to Dinner

Elder Link from Seattle, Washington and Elder Hunt from Bakersfield, California came to dinner. Larry picked them up from their apartment and dropped them off after. Elder Hunt has been on his mission about a year. Before his mission he got a golf scholarship to BYU Hawaii and was there two semesters. He loved the islands; who wouldn't.

Banff National Park and Lake Louise

Banff and Lake Louise were brilliant. The waters of Lake Louise were a milky blue. The surrounding park had wide valleys and tall peaks. I love the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Holiday: Glacier National Park, Alberta and Banff Canada 2010

We drove through Glacier and noted the mass of pines as they created an ungulating wave up the mountains. We noted the classic coach cars for tours in the park. Larry's picture was taken by Lake McDonald. Logan's Pass is spectacular. As we drove over the border into Canada we noted that the pines gave way to grass lands. I could not see trees, billboards or overhead electric lines. It was a beautiful sight. We drove up to Calgary most of the way just noticing grass lands. Near Calgary more buildings that were lower were seen. As we left Calgary and drove to Banff the pines became a carpet again. We are staying at a quaint inn "The Georgetown Inn" in Canmore Canada bordering Banff. Tomorrow we visit Lake Louise.

We were in Jackson Hole, and Teton National Park. The drive past the majestic Tetons was impressive. We stayed in Jackson last night and enjoyed the town: walking, shopping, eating.

We drove into Yellowstone National Park, walked around, read in our books, took pictures and marveled at Old Faithful Geyser. We enjoyed seeing buffalo and deer but were disappointed not seeing a bear.

We forgot our passports which we need to enter Canada in two days. We called Debbie and she is forwarding them overnight mail to Kalispel, Montana.

Rainy Day at "This Is The Place"

Today we took Preston and Katerina to "This Is the Place" Pioneer Park. Jon Huntsman paid with free admission and free ice cream. We rode the train around the park. Visited several buildings but the rain became too much of a hinderance so we left. We did have a nice time.

Hogle Zoo Adventure; Wednesday June 9th, 2010

We went to the Zoo Wednesday and found it delightful. Larry and I took Preston and Katerina. We saw elephants, rhinos, giraffes, rode the train and the carousel. I great day.

Memorial Day 2010

Larry and I spend a wonderful day playing. We visited Thanksgiving Gardens seeing the 55 acres in a golf cart. We ate on the terrace under an umbrella overlooking the Gardens. For dinner we had Texas Ribs in American Fork then went to a movie that night at Gateway in Salt Lake.

Ashley's high school graduation.

Karl G. Maeser Preparatory High School in American Fork,Utah. Ashley looked wonderful. Because of her high academics she wore a gold tassel around her neck. She will enter BYU this year as a freshman.

After the graduations ceremonies we took Vaughn, Holly and Ashley to a nice restaurant near the Alpine Tabernacle where the graduations ceremonies were held.

This is Memorial Day Weekend and Vaughn's family is leaving today for their Bear Lake Retreat.

Snow in May

I awoke to snow and it is May 24th. I rushed out to cover my tender tomato plants and the herbs I have been growing.

My gospel doctrine lesson yesterday was on the Book of Ruth and Chapter one of 1 Samuel regarding Hannah. The people in these chapters are righteous and willing to do all that the Lord requires. Larry talked about Hesed and Paris Sorbonne talked about virtue.

Elementary school is about to end. Preston and Katerina will be enrolled in a summer school, along with swimming lessons at Steiner Aquatics. Preston is taking piano lessons and will take golf lessons for two weeks in June. The children will be busy.

Next week Ashley is graduating from high school and will attend BYU. We are planning to go to her graduation in American Fork. She has done well in academics and received a scholarship.

We have been asked to co-chair a summer Carnival Party for our neighborhood. We have a lot of help from wonderful neighbors.

Larry came home at 11:00 a.m. from his temple assignment with a bad cold. We are scheduled to visit with a very sick brother who Larry met during his temple assignment before our mission. This brother had a heart attack, was driven from his home in Kamas to Heber City then choosing to be driven down the canyon to Salt Lake City by passing a helicopter ride. His condition worsened. The angiogram dye stopped his kidneys and he has been on dialysis since, about 3 years. He was now been diagnosed with a cancer in his abdomen. Larry will take precautions to not infect him when we visit. He will not come near him or touch any surface in his home. He will rub his hands with antibiotic lotion and then not touch his face even though his nose is leaking. Larry really likes this man and wants to visit.

I have completed my Visa application but will wait until June after I have been offically been given an acceptance from the university.

Thursday I attended an emergency preparedness lecture on square foot gardening. Friday I went out and bought 4 tomato plants and some herb plants. My back patio is in full sun and a great place to plant these in pots. We then went and bought a bag of "Mel's Mix" which is a mixture of 1/3 each compost, course vermiculite, and peat moss. This mixture retains water and makes the garden work since the soil is only 6" deep. Carrots and Potatoes need more depth therefore additional 6" boxes need to be added. Only one for carrots and 4+ for the potatoes. Watermelon, Zucchini, Tomatoes, pole beans, cantaloupe need trellis'. The plants are watered as needed.

Today we had the rest of our medical work done for our China teaching experience. These are pictures of the apartment and buildings at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, China. The univeresity has about 1700 students. We live in campus housing. The trip to China, the housing and utilities are paid for and we receive a stipend of 5,000 RBM monthly per person for incidentals. We are excited to go. We will go to BYU for training (100 hours) for two weeks the first part of August and then on August 20, 2010 we fly to Beijing.

A few more pictures of Hawaii