resurrecting the camera

I've been horrible about taking pictures lately. And I rarely take my (big) camera out of the house anymore. But this week I've actually pulled out the camera a few times and taken some shots around the house. Last Friday Kevin and I got to celebrate our 14th anniversary! The real date was actually back in July, but Kevin was out of town at the time. PTL for friends who offered to babysit! We had a great evening out together. I'm so thankful for my man and our 14 years together. Grace actually took this picture and felt like big stuff for getting to use mom's camera.

This week some friends said, "Let's have a tea party!" So we did! It was great fun and was Grace's first "real" tea party. You know, with real cups and plates instead of plastic ones. Ha! We had the tea party at our house since Trinity was napping, but my friend brought all the beautiful tableware. It made me realize that while I have actual cups and saucers in storage in America, I've never purchased such items here. Glad my friend had some! We had a great time together. Grace opted for juice instead of tea but told me later that she "held her pinky up" to be fancy. Wish I'd taken note at the time!

I love that my girls love books. And I love that Kevin is such a great daddy!

This morning I went to take some video of the girls and they ended up watching several home movies on my flip phone. They laughed and laughed at themselves.

Nana and Pappaw sent a package with some fun matchy clothes. Thank you so much Nana and Pappaw!

As for the rest of these pictures? Well, no explanation needed. Let me just say once more, we do NOT lack for personality at our house. (Or drama for that matter, but I won't go into detail to protect the privacy of said drama queens.) I love my girls and despite some drama each day, we have so much fun together. We almost always go outside each morning but today we just played with toys and read and had a great time laughing together. I am so blessed to have these babes.

over the mountains and around the cows...

Our friend invited us to her village the other day. We were excited! It's not everyday a person around here invites you to their hometown, so we readily accepted. (And hey, my friend knew we could drive her so that's a bonus considering there's not a very regular bus to her village!) Summer here means it's rainy season, which can also make it tricky navigating mountain roads (due to potential mud slides). So the night before we were set to go it had been POURING rain for hours. And at first we decided not to go. But then our friend got a call from her mama saying it wasn't raining in the village and they were expecting some company (in other words, come TODAY!) So thankfully the rain stopped by then and we were on our way. Once we got off the highway, it was a windy, bumpy road and both my girls said they were getting sick so we took a little breather. I even flew off my seat at one point the roads were so bumpy!!

This picture below of Grace makes me laugh. When I told her it would help her stomach feel better if she watched the road, she proceeded to STARE DOWN the road. I mean, she didn't take her eyes off. She wanted her stomach to feel better!

All concerns about car sickness were gone by the time we got to the village and Grace got to see another Wilbur-looking pig.

and we even got to feed some of them

Can you guess what this is? Yep, they brew their own beer.

Here's a picture of my friend's family home.

And here's the meal they served, which included white beans, chicken, tofu, greens, and the best mushrooms I've ever eaten. They grown them right on their mountain.

This cutie-pie lived right next door and was around Trinity's age.

My friend let me try on her hat worn for special holidays. (My mom bought one like this to take home with her to Lubbock, USA!)

And we found a vest that fit Kevin.

But it all looked much better on our friend and her father!

You know what I love about this picture? Folks are doing business here buying and selling peppers and mushrooms and my Trinity is right in the middle of it all singing the Sound of Music.

After lunch my friend walked us to the "new village" part of the village. The gov..t has given villagers a portion of the money needed to build new homes, and many families are building right now.

My friend's family hopes to be moved in to their new home before the lunar New Year.

Another view of the new village homes

We also walked over to pick some fruit right off the trees. You might ask me, "What fruit?" And I would have no idea what it's called. My friend didn't even know what it's called in the national language. It tasted like a small tart apple but well, wasn't.

None of the ladies from the village (except my friend) could speak the national language. Their cultural identity and language has been kept very well intact.

Trinity ate at least 4 or 5 of these apples/whatever-they-are-called-fruits.

We made some memories today.

and Part 2

After returning home from Dali where we had sunsets like this (a view from our hotel) we had a few days back at home, where we also celebrated July 4. Some friends had planned a small gathering/fireworks show, and Kevin and my dad had a great time setting off fireworks.

Trinity wouldn't go near the sparklers, and she and I stayed at home and listened to the fireworks from afar while the others went. But seriously, my dad and Kevin had a super time. What is it about males (of any age) and fire?!

Right before my mom and dad had to fly home, we set out for the big city (since that's also where the airport happens to be!) A friend had told us to check out the zoo, and we're glad we did. It's called a "safari park" because much of the zoo is seen via a tram that takes you through a path where animals are roaming free and uncaged. These guys below WERE caged, but you could feed them. For a fee, you could feed just about any of the animals at the zoo. They even had bottles to feed the fish. That just didn't seem right!

And really, where except Asia can you pay $1.50 and get to hold a tiger cub? Papa Jim couldn't pass up the opportunity. He asked Trinity if she wanted to hold a tiger and she said, "OK!"

Grace figured that since baby sister could get close, it must be alright.

But when we got to the big cats, we saw some serious warnings. :)

And yet, for a mere $2 you could feed them.

So that's what we did.

They were adept at jumping up to catch that raw meat.

We've seen some bad Chinglish here, but this one is, well, interesting. Somehow the "beasts of prey" exhibit sign got translated into the "Breast of Prayer Animal Region."

More folks feeding the wild "breasts of prayer."

We decided the giant pandas have quite the good life. All they do is sleep and eat! Other highlights from Granna and Papa Jim's trip:

• watching Mom join in the minority dancing outside our apartment one evening
• listening to Trinity say "Papa Jiiiiiiiim"
• Mom and Dad watching the girls so Kevin and I could go out on dates
• Mom, ever the teacher, giving Grace a reading lesson
• riding on a boat in the rain, and enjoying the local amusement park together

Mom and Dad, thank you for coming and blessing us, for lugging all kinds of stuff over from America, and for loving on us so well. We love you!

Granna and Papa Jim's visit, Part 1

My parents made the trek across the Pacific to see us again! Hooray! We had a great visit, and I think my mom and dad enjoyed visiting a new (read: cooler!) part of the mainland. The fun thing was we went to a few places which were new to us, as well. My dad was a trooper; on day 2 after arriving he got to be jostled in a car on dirt/rocky roads for several hours. He said it's the best cure for jet lag! I took so many pictures that I decided I'd break this up into two posts. (Photo overload to follow...you've been warned!) Of course we had to visit Old Town and take them to our favorite restaurant there. where we have also recently discovered bumper boats!

love this pic

A few days later we made our way to Dali, my new favorite place on the mainland. It was gorgeous! Here we are aboard a cable car. Please notice the broken plexi-glass behind my firstborn. "This did not bless my heart" as Kristen would say. But, knowing that our lives are in the Lord's hands (and noticing thankfully that Europeans built this contraption) we boarded the cable car up the mountain. Oohing and aahing ensued.

Mom and Dad loved it. I think Grace and I were the only ones not really comfortable with the heights we soared.

This is called, "fake it till you feel it." I was still a bundle of nerves.

But getting to the top was worth it. This picture below makes me want to sing, "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music..." 1. because of the beauty and 2. because my mother introduced Grace to the Sound of Music on this trip. Grace is completely enthralled with the von Trapps now, so much so that we've had to google them and read all about their lives. It's been enlightening. We thought Aunt Kimberly would be so happy to know Grace loves the movie now!! (And that Kevin hasn't groaned at all about it!)

Kevin found some monster-sized checkers pieces to push around...

The girls wanted to take a little boat ride. It calmed them down a bit from the local paparazzi trying to photograph their every move.

This path would not really fly in the US, what with the lack of safety rails next to the waterfall, but we don't let safety schmafety get in our way here.

My big girl in the mountains...

The next day we boarded some cozy little boats

to watch these cormorant bird go fishing.

Got one!!

Our guide offered to let us hold the birds, so of course we had to give it a try.

They were heavier than they looked!

It is an odd feeling to have a bird on your head.

but we liked it. (Well, all except the girls who wouldn't go near the big scary birds!!)

I thought Grace looked quite the part of the tourist.

Part 2 tomorrow...