vacation

So we escaped for a few days this week, 5 to be exact. We used to have this rule about not vacationing anywhere in the country in which we live, but I think that's now changing. (For one thing, it's too expensive to leave the country all the time!) We headed to one of the top tourist destinations in the country, or at least that's what the locals tell us. It was just a few hours away by bus and has been on our list of "things to see" for quite a while. We had a great time.

I have to say, that at times being away from computer and all the world's news is a good thing. Tonight, as I've been catching up on news that we've missed, my heart is so sad to think of all the people around the world who are grieving. From the Steven Curtis Chapman family to the knowledge that the death toll in the earthquake has hit over 55,000, it can get flat overwhelming. Makes my pictures from a little vacation seem very insignificant.


This town, although very "touristy," was quaint. I enjoyed watching this cute old man as he rode around on the water, mainly for photo ops for the tourists. One night, we did go on a boat ride to observe how these cormorant bird go diving in the water to fish.

"Mom, this hat you bought me to keep the sun off is waaaay to big, but I love it!"
Kevin's personal trip highlight was getting to rent a bicycle and go on a long bike ride through the mountains. The mountains actually are called karst formations, made out of limestone. They are only found in our part of the globe.

During the middle of our trip, the country observed a 3-day national mourning period to remember the victims of the earthquake. In our hotel room, every single TV channel (and I do mean EVERY channel) was devoted to media coverage of the earthquake. It's amazing to flip through 30 channels and see the exact same person speaking on the broadcast. Many activities were suspended across the nation for those three days.
I could NOT believe how many foreigners we saw in this town. I mean, not even in Beijing did I see such a conglomeration of white folks. That being said, I did not see another foreign child besides Grace the entire time. So, she still got lots of attention from the local folks because she was an oddity.
We ate at one particular restaurant many times because, besides the great food, we had an amazing view of the mountains and a lake.
One morning we boarded a little bamboo boat for a scenic tour. It did not disappoint!

The scenery is so famous here that they put it on the back of the 20 yuan (local dollar bill). Our tour guide told us this was the exact scene from the back of the bill.

all-you-can-eat, Asian style

In this country, Pizza Hut is a fancy, sit-down restaurant. And the pizza's considered very expensive. The salad bar IS expensive, something like $5 US for one-trip. So, being the frugal people that they are, the locals like to make that one trip COUNT. We've gone to eat at Pizza Hut before, ordered, eaten our food, and left in less time than it takes for some folks to make their salad. But it's a big responsibility, because that one salad will usually feed 5 or 6 adults sitting at the table.

So the other day, we saw a guy doing a great job with his salad. Seeing as how we didn't have our camera again, Kevin asked the waiter to take a picture on his camera phone and e-mail the photo to us. And he did! Not only did he e-mail the picture, but he also included a photo of the biggest, baddest salad I've ever seen to date. (see third picture below!)

The cucumbers make a great "outer wall" so that you can fill the inside of the bowl with other fixin's.

So, are you up for the Pizza Hut salad bar challenge?

metamorphasis

You know you've lived in Asia long enough when you start to crave Asian food. Well, yesterday we went out for Kevin's birthday lunch (he turned 33!) and he decided he wanted Japanese food - sushi none the less! 10 years ago, never in my wildest dreams would I imagine my husband would want to eat sushi on his birthday! I mean, we used to make fun of our Californian friends here for enjoying that kind of stuff. But it was delicious, I have to say. Of course, that night we went out for the obligatory steak meal as well (yes, we have a new steakhouse here). It was no Outback, but ok for steak in Asia. And, to top it all off, Kevin decided to shave his head once again. Something about his birthday seems to get him ready for his "summer look." (Shout out to Josh C, maybe I'll post a picture soon.) Happy Birthday, Kevin! And to my brother, Chad, who turned the big 3-0 this week!

Happy Mother's Day!

We want to wish Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful moms (aka Nana and Granna), and to all you mothers and mothers-in-waiting (JD!) out there as well. Kevin and Grace made this a very special day for me. Among other things, getting to hear Grace say "happy mudder's day" for the first time (Kevin taught her) and going out for a relaxing pedicure were really fun.

I think more than anything, Mother's Day and Father's Day remind us of how He worked a few years ago to answer our prayer for a child. While we were in the midst of dealing with infertility, I dreaded Mother's Day. Couldn't stand the holiday (except that we got to honor our own mothers, of course). Now, for us, it really is a day of celebration. Psalm 113:9 "He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord."

I think we've started a new tradition on Mother's Day. My beloved husband is not a fan of picture-taking, but on Mother's Day, he will play along. So, being the ever-persistent (or annoying) mother who feels the need to document just about everything in photos, we walked over to the park today to take a few.


Last year, on Mother's Day 2007:


And this year, we tried to recreate the same shot. Ha ha, didn't turn out at all! My child is way too big to throw up in the air now!

this and that

I should know by now. ALWAYS keep my camera handy because you never know when you're going to see something funny that you want to post about. I can't tell you how many times I've been walking or riding around and thought, "Oh that's funny/gross/incredible/unbelievable" and wished I had a picture. For the longest time now, I've wanted to get a picture of a slaughtered animal strapped to the back of a motorcycle because we do see that from time to time. On Friday, I saw not one but TWO separate pigs hanging off the back of motorcycles. Since I didn't have my camera, let me give you a few mental pictures: pig slaughtered, cut in half, innards discarded but flesh and legs dangling and flailing in the wind. It's quite a sight. Friday I also had a funny incident with my helper. Some kind friends recently moved and left us with some Clorox Disinfecting Wipes that someone had mailed them from America. I haven't said anything about them to my helper because she doesn't generally work outside of "the box." I mean, brown rice rocks her world. Why would anyone eat something besides white rice? Anyway, the other day Grace came in holding one and was trying to wipe a "boo boo" on her skin. My helper thought they were simply baby wipes and had given her one! I explained to her their true purpose, but really, who can blame her? They sure looked like baby wipes. Happy Monday!

Baby Ava

I'm an aunt again! My sister, Angela and her husband Chris welcomed baby #3 yesterday! Ava Lane Rouse was born at 5:09 pm on Saturday, May 3. She weighed in at 7 lb. 12 oz. I just talked with Angela and everyone sounded so happy! Yesterday, while Angela was in labor, her church was hosting her a shower. Big sister Alayna stood in and opened all the gifts and apparently did a wonderful job! She oohed and ahhed over the gifts and was really gracious. Wish I could have been there. Can't wait to see pictures, and better yet, meet her in a few months!