China Bound

Day 1

We are China bound! We had an 18 hour layover in Vancouver, so just enough time to rest and grab a bite. It will be nice to break up the trip this way because rest is much needed since we had a very stressful day getting to the airport and were running off of 3-4 hours of sleep. We are already making an unforgettable journey!

The plane ride from Chicago to Vancouver was a bit bumpy at times but the views were incredible. We gazed out the window with amazement. The land below was full of mountains, rivers, and lakes and its so green. I Love seeing the land from this perspective. You realize how small you really are! I could live on top of the clouds and look over the country forever! There's so much to see. 

We did land safely and had a nice dinner on the river behind our hotel while the sun was setting over the water. We had delicious food including a salad that was so fresh it tasted, smelled, and looked like the chef went to a patch of greens in his backyard and pulled a handful of his land up and threw it in a bowl. True Food in Phoenix has a salad that is just as fresh. I would love to learn the art of making salads like this. I'll put that on my bucket list!

There was a little path between the hotel and the restaurant and we wanted to see what we could while the sun was out so we got a few pictures of the views. I totally love the different kinds of evergreen trees. I wonder what kind of trees, and landscapes we will discover in China?!!

Well, we are extremely exhausted and we have a long flight to Beijing from here in the morning. I hope to keep you updated here on my blog while we are exploring the great country of China. The frequency of updates will depend on our internet access. So come back and visit and keep us in your prayers!

snow angel

we had a huge snowfall come our way. buckets and buckets of snow fell the whole day and created a very beautiful white blanket that covered the town. the whole place looked magical! i couldn't help but go out and take pictures of my Angel in it. well, i had nobody else to model for me so i told her i'd treat her to something if she would do a photo shoot with me. i grabbed a few props and we ventured out, but first it took an hour to shovel our car out of the driveway.

 i am not a fan of snow but it does create beautiful scenery and i get inspired by beautiful scenery! i found these pretty pine trees a few blocks away from my house that line up along a church.  i love it when they are sprinkled with snow! my Angel was a good trooper to hang in the snow for a bit while took her picture but don't worry, i kept my heater running so we could pop in and out of the car for warmth!

love summer

my favorite thing to do is spend quality time alone with my family.

during the school year we often get wrapped up in our work 

that we sometimes can go a few days without any time with each other until bedtime.

it depends on what is going on in our lives but sometimes there are days when 

somebody is missing from the family scene.
these kind of getaways ensures that we are all together.
i love it.

on our drive back to Phoenix we went a bit out of the way to
experience Julian, CA.
i had seen in a travel magazine that it was a cute historical place
that was famous for pies.
cute? historic? pies? of course i had to check it out.
after you turn off the the I-8 and head up the Mountains you won't be
disappointed you went 44 mi. out of the way.
Julian, CA is in the Cuyamaca Mountains and the whole way
up there the scenery is fantastic.
we sat and had the best pies and walked up the main thoroughfare.
we had strawberry rhubarb and apple pie, they were
warmed up and topped with a scoop of ice cream. YUM!
the place was extremely charming!

nature preserve exploration

 there are waterfalls in indiana!

about 30 minutes from our home we explored this nature preserve with our friends. 

this was an enchanted place full of beautiful waterfalls, trails of moss

and flowers i had never seen before. the little boys even climbed a waterfall

the most exciting thing was finding a snake and huge frog!

leave it to Angel to wrestle the snake! he was a bit fussy and snappy.

who knew a beautiful fairytale spot was just around the corner!

over the river and through the woods..

off to school they go! Really, it's true. We cross over the Wabash river and pass through a wooded area to get to school. Well, I guess more like drive by a wooded area. Our kids started a new school this year. It's in the country parts of Indiana. Or maybe more like small town Indiana.

We drive down a winding road through hills to get there. We may even sometimes pass

 by a backhoe or two. (I only know the names of these trucks because I have friends who have little boys who tell me all about 'em, otherwise I'd be clueless). There's plenty of cornfields on the way there as well. So you see, it's pretty country-ish.

Both my kids are in high school now and they had been excited and nervous about going. They kept getting up in the middle of the night thinking it was time to get ready for school. My husband and I were just as excited and nervous. We knew they were entering a whole new kind of school and environment.

 Their first couple of days were ok. They didn't come home with beaming grins on their faces or anything like that. I think they were a bit disappointed. Maybe they had certain expectations about how school would be and it didn't turn out the way they had envisioned it. There were other factors involved but I am sure it's going take awhile to get use to. They are going to come home one day with joy and excitement. I have no worries. It just takes time.