Angelyn's Photo Blog

Pathway Orphanage, Chennai, India Part 1

2012-01-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

My daughter Anna had the privilege of volunteering in an Orphanage fir 2 months in India. The organization is called Pathway and they have a main facility in Chennai, India and then they have a working farm with 200 children and mentally disabled people. She taught art there at the farm and other subjects to the children. She was always very busy and she fell in love with India and the children and people at Pathway. She came back a more loving, kind and sensitive person. Oh, that we could all have an experience like she did. It's a very worthy cause to donate too. They always have a lot of needs- http://pathway.org.in/. These are Anna's pictures. She taught some of the girls how to take pictures and so she was able to get in some herself.

This is the girls dormitory on the right and their school ahead

They have beautiful grounds. This is the road that she walked to her quarter. At night they would have a security guard walk with her for cobras and other venomous animals and bugs

Gayatri, Deevya, Sandya, Jaya, Rekabharati, Sundari, Gopika and Presana in their dormitory. They dressed Anna up

Manoj, Naveen, Dhoni, and Kharti

The "Dining Hall"

Dhanalakshmi, Lavanya, Gobika, and Shapana

Amudha, Ezhilarasi, Mercy, Swarnamugi, Sita, and Suganti

The special girls- To the left of Anna is Jhoti and Malani below

She taught the disabled men art and they loved it. They would wait, lined up with their paper for her to come in the classroom- Prabho. He was such a stud Anna said. He would always do the thumbs up sign, grin and do the Indian head wobble

The labor ladies. They were laughing and giggling and asked her to take their picture and as soon as the camera was up this is how they looked

Pown Priya

Deevya and Sathya

The Kindergarten class

Nisha

The Eight Standard or grade

Sisters Sandya and Deepika

The really really special class learning art from Anna

Mary, Sobaprya, Bhavani, Ramya, Aishwarya, and Kosi

Bharathkumar

Rice paddies and the cow shed and the milk cows on the farm

Street corner in the village of Sothupakkam

Morning Prayer

Jessica who came with her husband for a week. They are from Holland

In the girls dormitory

They loved to dress her up

Jayasuriya was 1 1/2

Samanithi- she was about 3

The workers- This time she got one smile. This is how they dressed for everything- even work. After she took their picture, they put flowers in her hair

Anna's work station

View of the farm

When Anna would talk to us on Skype, she would always get a crowd

Anna teaching them "Oh Holy Night"

Deepalakshmi

The empty Dining Hall

Vidhya and Deepalakshmi

Chitibabo who was so sad to see Anna leave. He called her sister and he was one of the special boys

This is a Churidar which was given to her by the Prasad's

Lavanya

Kosi

Mushrooms that appeared one day and where gone the next

Morning prayer and cute, little Dhoni

Radha- she didn't know how old she was

They take care of each other

Deepika and Abi

Drawing by Aravindhan

Sandya

Breakfast

Project Life Ideas for November, December, 2011

2012-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

Playing in the leaves

Going to some place nice?

Flowers to brighten up the fall

Decorating the tree

A new star for the Christmas tree

Family Christmas Picture

Royal Caribbean's 3 Day Bahama's Cruise on "Majesty of the Seas" and Miami, Florida

2011-12-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

We squeezed in a 3 day cruise just before David's SMS Conference in Miami. We actually went in November and it was perfect weather.

This is the most beautiful port I have ever sailed out of

When we come back we stay at the Loews Hotel which has the dome roof

The happening part of Majesty of the Seas

This was as close as we got to the Coco cays since the seas were to rough to ferry people

This was the little opening the ferries had to go through. It must happen often is all I can say. So instead we headed to Nassau for an extra night there

Nassau, Bahamas

I loved the bright colors of the Carribbean

The first night we decide to go see the Atlantis hotel. There were some nice abstract shots inside

Strange things actually

I here there are only three in the world. This one, one in Dubai and Barbados. It looked fabulous

We almost stayed to watch a live concert by Brian Adams that night

My reflection shot. Not a very good one at that. Just different

Beautiful condos across the street

Back on the hotel it was formal night

Ordering dinner had got to be one of my favorite things to do

You can see the Atlantis from our ship

Downtown Nassau

I have heard so many people say there is nothing to do there but we had a great time

Playing the drums

Being an Aztec Queen

The streets were lively and colorful

This was the queen's staircase. From bahamasgo.com I got this info "Nassau's most visited attraction is the Queen's Staircase. Climb the 65 steps, recently renovated, carved out of solid limestone by slaves in the late 18th century, between 1793 and 1794. It is reported that slaves were forced to cut through rocks with axes and other sharp hand tools.This 102 foot staircase was named in honor of the 65 years of Queen's Victoria's reign. Construction of this monument is still regarded as remarkable. For practical purposes, the staircase provides a shorter route to and form Bennet's Hill."

Fort Fincastle had some great views of Nassau

We got to go to an exotic bird reserve. It was so cool!

They had all these little alleyways you could explore to see the different birds

This is an Eclectus Parrot

A Cockatoo

Who kisses the trainer

This parrot preened just for me. Look at that look he gave me. He knew exactly how good looking he is!

There were flamingos everywhere. I guess they don't fly away

And they were pretty friendly and let me get close up

I got pretty close to this leopard though. Good thing there was a mesh fence between us.

They had a flamingo show for us

They called me out to stand with the flamingos

They loved giving kisses to the little girls

But I couldn't get one to give me a kiss for the life of me

I did get a kiss from the Cockatoo though

A typical house in Nassau. Some were nicer and some not so nice

We visited Fort Charlotte as well. We had a nice view of the Cruise Boats

We got to see Fort Charlotte also

It was pretty cool exploring it

We got thirsty and drank some Mystic Blue something. It was pretty good

Lots of tourist shops

I loved this little lighthouse just in view off the beach

She let me take her picture though she doesn't look too happy about it

This guy was happy when he saw me taking pictures though

David bought a hat. He's beginning to get a pretty good collection since he forgets to bring his every time

The earrings seem to be a different style where ever we go

Another view of the light house while leaving the dock

The last meal at our favorite buffet

We stayed at the Loews Hotel on Miami Beach. It was amazing

The had an entire wall aquarium that showed into one of the shops

Other than read and lay by the pool or beach I took a tour of Miami

We stopped at little Havana

I think this guy is a permanent fixture here

Just next door the locals were playing games

A huge wall mural

Part of the tour was a boat ride

I didn't realize it was all about the celebs that live on one of the exclusive islands or I wouldn't have gone since I could care less about that. This one use to be Elizabeth Taylor's home.There were some pretty beautiful homes though

We saw our ship "Majesty of the Seas" anchored while on the boat ride. They were getting ready to take a four day Bahama's cruise

Our hotel was gorgeous

This was our private little path to the ocean

We saw a beautiful rainbow from our hotel window

The Jacuzzi was nice at night

That night we walked to the Art Deco district. They had cafes all along the street but the funny thing is that they all served the same food- Italian.

We finally chose a place to eat that had a flamenco dancer. She was really good

I ordered a drink. It's a good thing I only ordered one

The food was fabulous

We walked back to the hotel and I took some night shots along the way

Another fantastic trip. I am very spoiled. The more I go the more I want to go

Thanksgiving in Hurricane and Riding the Historic Honeymoon Trail

2011-11-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

It seems like every year is completely different. We try new things and see new places. Here are some of the things I am grateful for and what Thanksgiving means to me:

American Heroes- Tim left last Thanksgiving to go to Afghanistan and he just returned before this Thanksgiving

This badge means he engaged the enemy. He got shrapnel in the face is what happened when his truck was blown up and the driver killed. We love you Tim!

Beautiful Sunsets

The Turkey Bowl. Sheldon is the center. It was kind of fun to watch those big, old married guys take on the littler, single guys

My big dude brothers. Ben on the left is 6'6"

The marrieds won by the way even though the single guys had Goma who plays for the U

The land of plenty that we live in

Big, warm houses

Cousin Love

Joseph was more interested in reading the paper than eating Thanksgiving dinner

Flowers still blooming in Southern Utah

Families

And more football

I went in to rescue my mom and dad from one little loud child and this is what I found. They didn't want to be rescued at all!

Getting together with old friends!

And having new adventures:

Riding the Honeymoon Trail on Four Wheelers

"The Honeymoon Trail had a number of points of origin, but one destination: the St. George Temple. For some, it started at the Mormon settlements in Arizona such as Snowflake and St. Johns. It crossed the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry, went through Pipe Springs and followed the winter leg of the Temple Trail on down the Fort Pierce Wash and into St. George." Utah State History Website. My dad said it took Honeymooners one week to get there and two or three weeks to get back.

But first we stopped at the Hurricane lookout which was very beautiful with all the fall colors

This is my Grandma's house where we had Thanksgiving dinner. I grew up in a house in all the trees. That house is gone and now my aunt lives in a new house there.

We could see three falls from there as well. I used to dive off the first fall all the time. It was about 25 or 30 feet high and then I would climb up the cliff face. It was a lot of fun. Eventually I dove as high as 60 feet at Lake Powell. I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone though

The first vista when we got on the trail was of Warner Valley

It reminded me of the Vermilion Cliffs by Page, AZ

There were some pretty steep and rocky parts for four wheelers. I can't imagine doing it in a wagon

If you look hard enough you can see my parents home as a little white dot. Just follow the road

Project Life Ideas for September and October

2011-11-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

Please also see Picture Fall

Flags for Memorial Day

Sisters

Sunflowers

Cool graffiti

Purple Trees

Got a collection?

Bounty

Mishaps

Giant Flowers

Friends

Barely hanging on

Use Natural light

Picture Fall- 30 Days of Fall Photography Challenge

2011-11-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

I know it's late. I've been taking pictures but with all my travel it's put me way behind. In fact I think I still have one or two pictures to add to Picture Summer. But I am almost there. This class was from Tracey Clark of "Big Picture Classes". I highly recommend the class. I will be also doing Picture Winter and then I will be done with all of the seasons.

The Quintessential Fall

Day 1- Leaves and who says you can't bring them inside

Day 2- Get Comfy- This is my reflection from my fireplace

Day 3- The Beauty Challenge- find some beauty in the spent

Day 4- Morning Light

Day 5- Little reminders

Day 6- Subtleties

Day 7- After the fall

Day 8- Keeping it simple and studying the light. I caught this picture at the right time of day so that the sky would be blue as well as the mountainside lit up

Day 9 What remains

Day 10- In the Kitchen

Day 11- Stripping down- Texture

Day 12 is play- The girls made up their own board game. It was all about who was going to marry what Hollywood star. It was actually quite ingenious

Day 13- Good Day Sunshine- finding something colorful to brighten your day

Day 14- unexpected enchantment

Day 15- Mid Month Message

Day16 is to show contradiction or opposites

Day 17- Bounty- My Grandma's pomegranates that we get a box of every year

Day 18- What's your muse? Mine was the different fall colors

Day 19- Scattered- Joseph is the only one who reads the newspaper at our house

Day 20- Connections between People

Day 21- Serving up Kindness- My daughter volunteering in an orphanage in India for two months- Thanks to Jessica for this picture

Day 22- silhouettes

Day 23- The rhythm of repetition

Day 24 is Family matters- We dressed up Indian style when Anna got home and went out to eat Indian food

Day 25- Fall colors- my Abby

Day 26- Seek out some kind of openness

Day 27- Leafy Love

Day 28- The Great Pumpkin

Day 29- Sweet Relief- This is the candy we give out every year

Day 30 is Fantasy land

Lone Peak vs Fremont, Hurricane vs. Desert Hills

2011-11-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

Never in my life have I won two championships in row, let alone in a single day. My kids go to Lone Peak and I have a 10th grader that plays football there. They took their first State Football Championship ever (the life of the school is only 15 years) and then my High School (Hurricane) won their first championship since 1947. That's a long time. They have been in the state championship for the last four years straight but they couldn't ever beat Juan Diego. Thank you Spanish Fork! So it was like a high school reunion there only nobody really talked since it was snowing and everyone was huddled under the covers.

Lone Peak vs. Fremont

All the championship games were played at Rice-Eccles Stadium

Brody Berry kicking off

Number 51 there is a cute kid. At least Abby and I think so

Trevor Robb kicks a field goal

Brady Schmidt #33 is my next door neighbor

Brody Berry giving his mom a hug. He was so excited he even gave me a hug. Abby was jealous!

Hurricane vs. Desert Hills

My cousin Troy never misses a game. Of course it started snowing the minute the Lone Peak game was over

A lot of these boys are kids of kids I went to high school with

Taylor Cook came with us and we met Krista there

The Hurricane fans were so intense! This guy never sat down

Taylor looking good in our hat we bought in Russia

Now these are serious fans

This picture was the best I could get to let you see that Hurricane had at least 3 times the fans there

Sara Anne and cute baby Brit

Troy and his son Jake

Crystel and Abby

We left at half time and finished watching the game on TV. I was glad we did when I saw what the field looked like. Those poor desert kids

Beijing, China, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, Chinese Markets, The Great Wall, An Overnight Sleeper Train to Xian and the Terracotta Warriors

2011-10-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

This was a whirlwind trip. 8 days is not much time to see anything but we crammed as much into it as possible. David's sister and her family are living in China for only 3 months and so we decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go while they were there. David could squeeze out only that much time in the middle of the semester but we made the most of it. Becky, another of David's sisters came with us and it was one big party.

China was such a different world and I just fell in love with it. I felt safe and I felt that the people were very friendly and hard working. Everything was cheap and we could walk anywhere and do anything. The only difficulty was the language. Not many of the Chinese people speak English, but at Least Dana and Paul had picked up enough to get us around. They were awesome.

You must read my sister in law's letter to China at the end. It is beautifully written and gives you a real taste of what it was like for her living in China.

This is the building where Dana and Paul and their 3 children are living. It's nice and new and there are other Americans that live here. I was quite impressed

We rode Subways, buses and taxi's all the time and it was fun

The entrance to the Forbidden City

David, Dana, Sarah, Ellie, Becky and Daniel

Persimmons Trees

A model of the Emperor and his two concubines

If you rub your hand on these door whatevers it will bring you some kind of luck- I'll find out and get back to you

The Forbidden City is huge. It goes on and on

Sarah is going to a Kung Fu school and she was teaching me some cool moves!

Dana and Daniel- He was quite the show stopper

This is as close to Tiananman Square as I got

We rode the bus for about 30 cents

It was National Week or just after and they had all these beautiful flower displays all over the city

We went to a bunch of different markets and they were oh so much fun! We found everything imaginable

I was almost seduced by the beautiful silk robes but not quite

This is probably the main mode of transportation, though we also went by subway, bus and taxi

The Temple of Heaven- A Taoist Temple

Only the Emperor could walk on this path

For some reason I loved the corners of the buildings

Looking back toward the temple from the circular alter

This is the Circular Mound Alter. Sarah is standing where the Emperor would pray for good weather and harvests. It was built so praying from there would resonate off the guardrail higher and so reach heaven easier

Speaking to natives was the only real issue. Luckily this restaurant had pictures on the menu

There were some awesome dishes like this fish. We left the tail and head but ate the rest

It was delicious food and cheap! This meal probably cost about $6 per person

We took a calligraphy class. It was my husbands idea because he has always wanted to try it. Also he knows a lot of Chinese characters since he went to Korea on his mission

It was a cool class

Typical China at night- we felt very safe there

Paul works for Microsoft and they put them up in an apartment in this new building. It was very nice and cozy

One day we hired a driver for the day and he took us to all the different places we wanted to go. We went to a couple of different markets. This one was called the dirt market because it was laid out on the ground

I met a nice Chinese lady there

Bargaining was the funnest part

We never did figure out what these things were

I couldn't get enough of the different modes of transportation

On the way to the scorpion (as we called it) market we walked by a cathedral where we saw a couple of brides getting wedding pictures. All the foreigners were taking pictures of them and so I did too

Downtown Beijing

These were made out of something rare I think. At least they were expensive

And yes, you could buy big scorpions, little scorpions all still moving and alive on the stick , beetles of various kinds and even starfish. They would fry it up right there for you to eat. Unbeknownst to me, Paul bought a stick of little scorpions and tried them. He even gave one to Daniel. Had I been there I would have tried them too. I think. He said they were crunchy

Looks yummy whatever it is. David bought some of the hot dog looking things which are actually hot pasta type things. He said they ate them in Korea a lot. He'd forgotten that they weren't that good

Hammering some nut and candy confection

I bought one of the top middle ones. It was all kinds of nuts and a little dried fruit in some molasses type syrup that holds it all together. It was so yummy!

After the scorpion market we took a tour in the Hutong district which is a preserved older part of Beijing. Hutongs are alleyways that are surrounded by siheyuan which are homes with inner courtyards. First though we got introduced to a famous Calligrapher and he showed us how he does his work. It was beautiful just watching him

Hutong District

I couldn't get enough of what people were hauling on their bicycles. I should have done a series just on those

The Drum Tower in the Hutong District which we climb later

We got to visit a siheyuan

This is the courtyard

They were growing gourds

The inside of a siheyuan

The tour was taken by pedicab. Ours was great

Real China from China- we stopped at a place to shop. This would have been a little difficult getting home

Bell Tower which we climbed

Hutong rooftops from the Bell tower

We climbed the Drum Tower too

Daniel was so dang cute!

There were pretty sights from the Drum Tower

Inside the Drum Tower- They do musical shows. Both Towers were used for time pieces until 1924

Of course when you are in Beijing you must have "Peking Duck" which we did and was delicious

You mix all this stuff including the duck in a tortilla and eat it

That night we went to a Chinese Acrobat show. It was amazing

The next day was our local day. We walked to a local park area and market. It was cool. You will see groups of older folks sitting playing games

You can also get a haircut and a massage for really cheap!

The market was the most amazing place ever. I wasn't sure what some of the foods for sale there were and neither did Dana

This was Dana's favorite butcher

She was in a long line of butchers

No idea. Some kind of hand maybe?

Fish section

They were selling these cute little turtles. It just wasn't clear if they were to eat or to keep

Dana found that everything here was much cheaper than the supermarkets

I'm pretty sure I stand out in China

This guy could cut pasta exactly to the milometer without even looking! Very impresive

I just want to hug some of these people

Daniel loaded down with groceries

The kids were very cute too

David and I got massages for at least 1/3 the price in the States. They put us in these cute little get-ups. We loved it so much we went back for another one later. I got some good pictures of David. I'm pretty sure I can use them for bribery later

Taking a break to play cards

The Summer Palace

We got there too late to see everything so we mainly just walked to the marble boat and back. This is Longevity Hill in the distance. It was overcast and hard to see distances but it was a lovely place

They had a beautiful long walkway with pavilions every so often. This is the inside of one of the pavilions

You can take boat rides on Kunming Lake which is entirely man made and the soil used to build up the longevity hill north of the lake

The Marble boat that does not float

We saw some cloisonne vases there and they were beautiful. Thin metal separates the colored enamel to make this piece. It's an ancient art form

We went to the Ming Tombs and The Great Wall on a tour

We walked down the long, sacred path to the Changling Tomb

This artist obviously hadn't been around elephants much

One of the gates

Between all the steps they have these beautiful stone carvings. This is my shadow picture

Beautiful umbrellas for sale

This artist was painting a picture inside the bottle

This is a replica of a gold crown excavated from the Dingling Tomb. It was a disastrous excavation and most everything was destroyed

There was a big pile of money in front of the Buddha inside the mosoleum

Looking at some of the other tombs to be seen in the mountains around

The brick layers left their stamp on their work

I think these are called Asian Pears and they are a cross between a pear and an apple and it was delicious and crunchy

My first view of the Great Wall

We stopped at a restaurant to eat just before the climb. Our companions on the tour were from Norway and Ireland

My reflection picture

Taking a tram up to the wall

I have to say that this was almost a spiritual experience. I've never felt that site seeing before. The Terracotta Warriors was fantastic but nothing I have seen yet has compared with the great wall. It was privilege to be there.

Enjoying the experience

My feet on the Great Wall

I bought a candy bar from this handsome Chinese man just so I could take his picture. Some vendors climb the hill everyday with their wares and sell it on the Great Wall. This is part of the reason why I fell in love with China- just look at that happy face!

We came down from the wall on a luge. It was fun except we had to keep stopping for some scared girl who would only creep along. Everybody in front of us kept yelling at her poor girl

Now I could really believe these guys came from the time of Genghis Khan

We had 45 minutes after the wall to make it all the way across Beijing on the subway to get to the train station. It was an adventure but we made it with 5 minutes to spare

We took an overnight sleeper to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors

I don't usually put bad pictures up on my blog but this was the only one I had. There were 8 of us and we expected to have 2 rooms but instead we had all top bunks in 4 rooms. I guess the lower bunks sell out first. Anyway, we talked this nice guy into trading one bed with us so we had one lower bunk. We took over the room but Sean on the right back was very nice about it. He just fit right in with the family!

In the morning I took some shots of the countryside going into Xian

We hired a tour guide and driver and they were there to pick us up at the train station. The first thing we did was head to McDonald's for breakfast

Then we rode bikes on the old wall that is now inside the city. It was awesome! We got to see a glimpse of how people live in the city. It is actually quite diverse

There were a couple of miles of this wall

This guy saw me taking pictures and waved. The people are so nice here

They even had tandem bikes to rent

Sarah and Ellen tried one out and liked it

We saw Monks there doing their thing. It was pretty cool when one of them pulled out a cell phone right in the middle of it!

David loves these Chinese characters

We climb the temple and then we could see in all four directions. It was fantastic for me since I love vista's

This view was out our nice hotel's window.

People were in groups doing their thing. I loved watching these ladies dance with their swords

We went to a muslim market which was just as cool as all the others but you can still see different things

Pancakes of some kind I think

You can bargain here even if you can't speak Chinese. You just use a calculater!

The Mosque looked Chinese to me

But not the inside

We even found fresh squeezed pomegranite juice. See the cute, little man sitting at the machine. I want one of those!

They love candied crab apples on a stick over there

We ate some street food for breakfast and didn't get sick

We got to learn how they made Terra Cotta Warriors

And you could buy any size you wanted!

That first sight of the Warriors was unbelieveable and astonishing

The warriors had these dividers between them and then the builders put wooden roofs overhead and piled dirt on top of that. It was originally found by some farmer digging.

As you can see they all had different faces

Many of the wooden roofs had already caved in and so saving much of it is not even possible

Here is an unexcavated part of this first building. There are four different buildings

This was some kind of general

This is a picture of a picture of how they looked being excavated. They were not able to save the colors of the warriors once uncovered

Coming out of one building

One of the chariots they saved

They even had an Obamunist there!

It was extremely interesting to sit in Dana and Pauls living room and just watch this intersection. The only rule that seems to apply to driving is "watch out for everybody"

The chefs out getting their morning motivational speech

We went to the LDS Church on Sunday and it was in this building on the fourth floor. It was very large for a branch and I quite enjoyed it. They do read a warning every week about proselyting. This is one branch of three in Beijing. This branch was spending the next Saturday night on the Great Wall and then having church up there on Sunday morning. How cool is that?

This is Dana and Paul's toilet. Even Paul didn't know what all it was capable of

That fascinating intersection again!

On Sunday evening we went to a lovely park there in Beijing. I wish we did our parks like the chinese do!

On the way home we couldn't seem to get a taxi and so we broke up into groups. This guy talked me, Dana and David into riding his little motor bike with the silver metal box in back. I was sitting on David's lap. You wouldn't believe what they can squeeze through! Just one more amazing adventure in China. I love you China!

Mao, Mao and more Mao!

Please read my lovely sister in law's letter to China. It's beautiful!

Dear China,

I'm so sorry; My public school education in America did not teach me enough about how awesome you are. Before we came here, I didn't even know when the Ming dynasty was! I didn't realize there was a whole lot of 'something' going on in China when the western world was miring in the dark ages. I didn't know how good your people are. I'm sorry. But I have changed, I'm learning about you, I now know exactly when the Ming Dynasty was, and I see that your people are courteous, kind and wonderful. You have a lot to be proud of.

You do have a few quirks. I'm not sure why people have to spit so much, and you know, don't you, that split pants on babies means that they are doing their business in places where people step, right? Do we really have to stand that close together when we're in line for something? Also, Mao was NOT actually good for your country, you realize that don't you? But for the most part, I see that your quirks make you unique and wonderful. It's awesome how just anyone can set up a stand anywhere and make a business out of it, it makes me want to get my own bike cart and set up shop right next to you and sell something! Cam's taco stand would have thrived here on a corner. And it is really remarkable how cheap you can live here if you put a mind to it, I have had many meals that cost less than a dollar, and I can get to the other end of Beijing on the subway for only 30 cents. That is amazing!

I love your sense of style. Where in the world are you all buying these darling coats? Or is it just darling people wearing regular coats? I don't know, but mix those coats with your leggings and boots with fringe and your awesome scarves, and you are really stylin' fashionistas. It's great. And all of your old chinese women too, way to go on the subtle plaids and tailored jackets, you are SO cute. And thank you for bundling up your children in super warm clothes, it makes us all feel warm and happy.

And speaking of that, thank you for caring that my Daniel is warm enough. I love the way you stop me wherever I am and feel his little hands and make sure he's warm enough. It takes a village to raise a child, I can see that you understand that, and I love it. I do dress him warmer now, thanks for showing me! Thanks for helping us all remember how precious children are.

I love your sense of community. Way to go on getting together at the park for a big sing along or sword dancing or waltzing, this is how people should live in a community; interacting with each other, and being around each other. You do it really well.

We have only five more days in China and I will be sad to say goodbye to your ordered chaos. I will miss walking past the back door of a restaurant and seeing a big bag full of cabbages sitting by the door. We don't have cabbages by the back door in the U.S. I'll miss seeing a horse and cart, mounded high with qumquats, pulling past a tall grey building with sparkly windows. Nobody drives their horse into town where I live (If you happen to write back, China, can you please tell me where that horse sleeps at night?). I'll miss seeing groups of people gathered around a card game, and pedicabs with red velvet seats, and grandparents proudly watching their grandchildren at the park. And you, old man who sits at the subway playing that chinese violin thing (you know who you are!) you rock.

I still haven't figured out why you walk around smacking your body with your hands, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to start doing that, because there must be something to it. We could all benefit from a weekly massage, I'm sure of it, and why is it that barbers aren't set up in parks all across the U.S? It couldn't be more perfect, the hair just all blows away!

I know there is another story going on, one that you don't talk about, and we who come for a short time can only start to guess. I know that there are alot of people who have no way of getting out of what they have been handed by life. I know that neighborhoods are bulldozed for "progress", and that you just have to deal with it, because there is no one to go to and cry 'injustice!'. You are patient, and I hope that things will get better for good people everywhere, because it must be very hard to have no certainty in your future. You are very brave, and you are very hardworking. We will hope and pray for China, that things can get better for everyone together.

Your people are beautiful and kind. I've been lucky to have a little window into your soul as you gaze at Daniel with your adoring smiles. I get a sense of who you are; lovely people with open hearts. I hope you can find God soon, because you can do amazing things with faith.

China, Just wanted to tell you how much we like you, how much we appreciate your hospitality for these three months, and how grateful we feel to have gotten to know you just a little.

Hope to see more of you again,

Dana

Johannesburg, South Africa Part 2- Kruger National Park Safari, Farm life in South Africa and Hiking in the Magaliesberg Mountains

2011-10-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am a little late getting this post finished but I am determined to get it done within the next week. The problem is that I came home from South Africa on a Tuesday and left for China on Friday. So I am way behind.

I am not sure what my favorite part of this trip was. It was just all so different. Staying with locals both in the city and out on a farm was definitely a treat, but I have to say that a Kruger National Park Safari is a must do. It was just amazing!

There are different ways to do a Safari. In my case I booked one online. We stayed at a nice hotel outside the park, but the first day they picked us up in Johannesburg and drove us out to the park (about 4 hours) and then the first thing we did was an afternoon safari drive. The second day was sight seeing and the third day we did an early morning drive in the park and then we checked out of the hotel and they drove us back to Johannesburg.

There are other Safari's where you can actually stay in the park and hike with armed guards or you can get special permits to hunt.

The first thing we saw was an Elephant, there is nothing like seeing it in the wild. I am ruined for Zoo's forever

This big hippo was sunning with some rare bird by it but I can't remember the name

Hippo's and birds

Wildebeast

It was fun to get pictures of two different animals at once. This is an Impala with an Elephant in the background

Giraffes were awe inspiring

An Elephant watering

We got a rare sighting of a leopard. They are nocturnal animals and so most people never see them. Our tour guide who was from Germany got all excited to see this leopard

He walked right in front of the truck and looked right at me. The guide cautioned us not to hang anything outside the truck

Kudu

Do you see Mr. Crocodile?

We saw some beautiful birds. This one is a Glossy Starling

Warthogs

And at the end of that day we were treated to the most beautiful South African Sunset!

We stayed at The Casa Del Sol hotel. It was very nice and gated with armed guards so even though I was on my own I felt quite safe

They had some nice suites

I bought some snacks for the trip. I couldn't resist trying the ostrich jerky which was the toughest I have ever had and the Guava fruit leather. Delicious!

The hotel had it's own built in lawn mower

I met Olga on this tour and we immediately became friends. She is a Dentist from NYC. Her story was quite amazing. She is originally from Romania and when the communists took over she escaped in a car. Her French husband was an engineer and had built an area for her to hide where the gas tank should have been. She divorced her not very nice husband after they emigrated to the U.S. and she got her education and raised her two daughters by herself there in New York. Remarkable Lady!

South Africa has some amazing flowers and plants I have never seen

Enjoying my own little patio

The blossoms from this tree kind of remind me of Valentines Day

On the second day of the Safari our guide picked us up and took us out for a day of sight seeing. Apparently you don't have to be in a game reserve in Africa to see animals.

We passed through an area of Eucalyptus tree harvesting

We stopped at God's Window where you can just about see to the end of the world if its not cloudy and hazy

Most of the roads are two lane but that doesn't stop people from driving fast. Everyone moves over to the shoulder so you can pass. What nice drivers!

We stopped at the Blyde River Canyon Overlook. This is the beginning of the Drakensburg Mountain range and I read in a book that J.R. Tolkien was from South Africa and it is thought that he got his inspiration for the terrain of "Lord of the Rings" from these mountains.

This is a Skink Lizzard

Always shopping at these tourist areas. Love it

This is called a Pom Pom tree and is very rare. And I got to see it in bloom!

We stopped at the Pot Holes and these were cool. There were 3 bridges you could cross over exploring

Then we got to see a Lisbon Waterfalls

And my favorite- a Hippo crossing sign. I asked the driver about it and he said that there was water back in there and that there were often Hippos in it but we couldn't see it for the foliage

After sightseeing, we had a few hours at the pool

We had the place to ourselves since the tourist season is just starting. There was a conference at the hotel but we never saw anyone

Then we saw some Monkeys in the trees by the pool. This was cool because I never got any shots on the safari's

After swimming, I talked Olga into going to the Elephant Sanctuary that was right next door

They had some interesting plants

This is Casper. He is about 25 years old and very big

They made me feel his tongue and he even gave me a kiss. It was more like a suction hose than a kiss

I got to feel his feet and ears etc.

I even got to lead him around by the nostrils but he kept pulling his trunk away to swat flies and flipped stuff all over me!

Then we got to ride the elephants. Olga was not intending to ride but she was very brave and did anyway

The last day we got up early for a Safari drive back into Kruger. It is early spring here and the rains haven't come yet so it's still pretty brown

We saw lots of Giraffes this time. It was awesome

An Impala which is by far the most populated animal in Kruger

This poor Giraffe was old and had arthritis

We stopped at a high point and everywhere we looked we could only see the park. The guide made sure there were no lions around and then let us get out of the truck. I know the pink is a bit much but I forgot my warm sweater for the airplane and this was all they had at the airport

This is Kruger as far as you can see

A Yellow Billed Hornbill

This guy looks tough

Zebras

We saw the Hippos again. We also saw Rhinos but they were so deep in the grass I couldn't get good pictures

The South African Rand has the "Big Five" on it. The only one missing is the Leopard. They are called the Big Five because they are considered the most dangerous animals to hunt.

On the way home we stopped at a memorial to the Boer War

For lunch I had Barbecue Chicken and Banana Pizza. It was delicious!

On the last day I went with my sister and her family to a private 20,000 acre game reserve that had the "Big Five" It was awesome for me because I got good pictures of animals that I didn't get at Kruger. Lions, Crocodiles and Rhinos. We saw Rhino's at Kruger but they were mostly covered by grass. These private reserves are all over South Africa and convenient.

Lion marks

We saw three female lions but no males. It was an amazing experience

She did this just for me!

We saw a full sized Crocodile

And we saw two fantastic Rhinos. I've always had a fascination with Rhinos and so this was quite an experience for me

They have a park with the Big Five in Krugersdorp where we were staying that you could drive through in your own car and see lots of animals but last year they lost their one Rhino. A helicopter came in in the middle of the night, killed it quickly, took the tusk and left. They can't stop that kind of poaching

They have these thorn bushes all over that are awe-inspiring to say the least

Farm Life and Hiking in the Magaliesberg Mountains

We stayed with Oma and Opa out on their farm property about an hour out of Johannesburg. It was a lot of fun. The kids rode horses, I took pictures of birds and we all went hiking

Oma's sister lives just next door

Opa

Norman, Doug's other brother lives with his family near the farm too and his kids love horses. This horse is named Utah

They even do tricks

A typical South African Breakfast

Emily and Lloyd (their English names) are from Malawi and they live and work on the farm as well. They were very nice people

Emily showed us her house

This is the garden they tend

We saw this flower field on the way to some shopping

There is some pretty cool stuff in Africa

My reflection shot

I bought some earrings from this nice lady

Doug had as much fun bargaining as David did in China

I tried on a traditional African outfit

Hiking in the Magaliesberg Mountains

Apparently everyone ignores signs in South Africa even stop signs!

These mountains have the largest population of leopards in Africa. We didn't see any but they have hiked and camped here a lot and they have seen some giraffes and other animals but no leopards

There is evidence of them though. This was a sheep from a farm down below that got dragged up here by a leopard.

On the right is actually a massive British grave from the Anglo Boer War. The Boers knew these mountains pretty well and so even though they lost the war eventually they didn't lose it here in these mountains

My Shadow picture for the day

There were some lovely places to rest

We hiked in some pretty tight places

Norman and his son Joshom both jumped off. It must have been close to 70 feet high

The hike back was fun too. Right Oma?

Johannesburg, South Africa Part 1- Johannesburg, Maputo, Mozambique, The Latter Day Saints of Botswana and a Bush Wedding

2011-10-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

This was one of the most amazing trips I have ever taken. I went with my sister's family to visit her in-laws for 3 weeks and we stuffed our visit as full as possible. The only thing I regret is that we didn't make it to Capetown. Flights are cheap but we were too late booking and it was the weekend that school let out and all the tickets were gone. Well that gives me an excuse to go back again sometime. Capetown is more of a European City and a little safer.

Johannesburg was definitely different than I thought it was going to be. I was surprised at how unsafe it was. You would definitely not want to travel alone although I met a couple of ladies who were. They both expressed to me that they just didn't realize and were a little nervous about it. I was fine. I was always with a big group of people and some of them were in the security business. You do not walk the streets at night or alone.

It is a beautiful country and I recommend visiting. You just have to be careful. I saw some amazing and wonderful things:

A beautiful bottle brush tree. They were in bloom everywhere

Everyone has dogs out of necessity. This breed was the most common I think. He was funny. Everytime I pointed the camera at him he walked away. I had to be quick to get this one.

This was Andriette's kitchen. We went to a little breakfast shower for her. I will be shooting the wedding. She is marrying Gordon who is Doug's (my brother-in-law) brother.

Gordon and Andriette

We stayed with Natanya (who is Doug's sister) and her husband Marius for some of the time. They have the most darling children. The dishwasher and sink were in a little room with the washer and dryer off to the right.

Grocery shopping with Monica (my sister) and Natanya. It seemed like shopping in London to me

We drank a lot of juice and it was the best I have ever tasted

First you unlock the gate to drive your car in, then you unlock the gate to the yard. Then the gate to the house. And then there is usually a gate to lock at night that separates the bedrooms from the main part of the house. That's a lot of locking and unlocking all day long!

Then there was the Potjie (Poi-kee). It's kind of like our crockpot only on a gas stove.

Natanya is a great cook. This was the chicken and vege potjie dish served over rice and it was delicious

For their kids to go to school it costs them every month what it costs us in a whole year or more.

Then on top of that they have to pay for uniforms and other expenses. Not to mention 42% Taxes

Mozambique

One of the first things we did was take a few days to go to Mozambique. We went to a resort on the beach just north of Maputo the capital city. Mozambique had a civil war 30 years ago and still haven't recovered. Apparently they still have trouble with buried bombs that go off and kill or maim people. We got to Maputo at night so I couldn't take any pictures but the streets were just teeming with people. They must have been going home from work and shopping for the night or something. It seemed like they were all out on the streets.

We had a series of funny mishaps getting to the resort. First we had to make the last Ferry which was just pulling out as we got there. We flashed our lights and thankfully they came back for us. It was pitch black but I looked out my back window and could see water right by the van. I didn't want to freak anyone out so I didn't say anything. They had pulled the ramp up a little behind us but not much. Then we get dropped off two minutes later not knowing whether we are really suppose to get off or not. We did and the roads were all dirt. At this point, we thought the clutch was going out because it was acting funny. We got lost and then made our way back to the main road. Doug's dad fell into a ditch and got completely soaked. I just watched him step into some weeds and disappear. Then we got stuck in the sand 3 times. Some local black people came out to help us for money and one of them showed us the way to the resort. We had a map but it was totally bad. First they let most of the air out of the tires though so we could make it across the rest of the sandy roads. Once we got there the power was out and we didn't even have candles. I started laughing about the time we got stuck in the sand. There were just too many things for it not to be funny. After that it was all uphill.

Driving on the left side of the road took a bit getting used to

There was some beautiful scenery on the way.

At the border crossing into Mozambique. We had to pay $80 to get a visa but it didn't take too long

They really make good use of their transportation

We stayed at a place called the Cova De Macaneta. Our bamboo cottage slept 10 people and it cost us about $120 per night. I loved it! It was very rustic

The upstairs had all the amenities at least when the power was on

We had to bring all our own food

This was the bathroom. The power went off and on the whole time we were there and we only had hot water in the mornings and after 4pm so we had to time our showers.

Each bed had its own mosquito netting even though it wasn't that time of year yet.

The gorgeous view of the ocean from our balcony

This was the little pathway to the Indian Ocean

This was even my brother-in-law, Doug's first view of the Indian ocean though he grew up in South Africa. He lived mostly in East London which is on the Atlantic side

The beaches were beautiful and empty. Mostly because school was not out yet and it was their spring

A view of our resort from the ocean. Our bungalow is on the right

Dallen my 6'6" nephew

Just us and the cute little puppies that followed us everywhere

Even to the hammocks which is where I spent most of my time

My feet picture- working on my wedding photography skills thanks to Jose Villa

Alexa

Albert showing us his Masala fruit. It has these big pits that you just suck the pulp and juice off of. It tastes kind of like an orange but there is not much to it

These are called donkeys and Sebastian keeps the fires burning. This is how they heat our water and why we only have it after 4 for a few hours

A Mozambique Sunset

Grilling in some beautiful scenery. There were hundreds of whales out there the entire time we stayed. On the last day Doug, Opa and Dallen went deep sea fishing and they were out in the midst of hundreds of them all day long

Oma made Euro for us each night with shortbread called Rusks. It was yummy!

While the boys were out deep sea fishing we did a photo shoot- beautiful McKayla

Gorgeous Alexa

My sister Monica

Oma, Doug's mom

We even had the pool to ourselves. On the last day a honeymooning couple came but that was it

Kayla and the Indian Ocean. Madagascar was in the distance

These cute little puppies just followed us everywhere

And then we saw them go after this poor kid and we knew that they weren't just cute, little puppies. They were very well trained dogs

My beautiful sister and her gorgeous daughters

My sister who braves all this adventure being 6 months pregnant

I got a feet and a reflection shot all in one!

OK so I went a little overboard with the feet shots but I loved the mosquito netting

And I got my own bedroom. It was wonderful. I could hear the ocean crashing through the bamboo walls and when there was a breeze it sounded more like a strong wind but it lulled me to sleep every night. The last night we were there it rained all night. I got awoken with a splash on my face I couldn't figure out where it came from so I just went back to sleep. In the morning both mine and Monica and Doug's beds were wet. Some water had come in under the upstairs door and found two little holes just above us. What an experience!

Getting back to South Africa was just as much an adventure as getting there

This is a local school

We didn't have any trouble with the sand this time but the clay about killed us a couple of times

This is about where Opa fell into the water

This ferry looks way bigger than it is!

Some passengers on the ferry

This is where we filled our tires back up

There are some great artists in Africa and you find it in the oddest places!

It was kind of hard to get good pictures in a moving vehicle, but I did the best that I could

The rain didn't keep many people home

They have got some resourceful roofers there

Beautiful!

This is a rest stop that nobody ever stops at anymore because they are likely to get shot at

Back in South Africa-

We had a nice sunset-

while we changed a flat tire!

The Saints of Botswana- Gabarone

So how lucky am I? I got invited by Marius (Natanya's Husband) who is in the Stake Presidency to go with them to do Stake Conference in Botswana. All of Botswana is in the Johannesburg North Stake, but instead of having them travel so far, the Stake Presidency goes to them. Not for long apparently, Botswana will soon be made it's own Stake.

We left early Saturday morning and also riding with us was Shelly Levy, the Stake Relief Society President and President Mdletene (I think) who is the First Councilor in the Mission Presidency. It was about a 4 hour trip and we had some great conversation along the way.

First off, Botswana is different than any country in Africa. You can feel it in the air and in the people. I have never had so many friendly faces greet me with open, honest friendliness, and in only two days. They are a more prosperous people from what I saw. They have had a stable government who puts money into the education of their people and so they are more educated than most other African peoples.

It's a safer country. Capital punishment is alive and well and the crime rate is very low. They have taken all sister missionaries out of South Africa but they have them here in Botswana for example.

You can tell a game reserve by the fencing along the road. It's taller than it appears, but there are game reserves all over South Africa.

While the Stake Presidency members were in their meetings, I got to go exploring with my camera. I couldn't go that far since I was walking but it was fun.

A grocery store

A nice guy selling oranges. I didnt' have any Botswana money so I didn't buy anything

Spring was in full bloom

Fences everywhere but no barbed wire and cool signs

President Mdletene and Marius Von Mullendorf

I made some friends while the others were in their meetings. This is Boipelo who is 6 and her little sister Boinelo who is 2.

That night we went to dinner at a nice restaurant- This is Shelley Levy, Marius, President Hall and the second councilor, Pienaar and his wife.

The is the Area President for South Africa. He and his wife were both amazing speakers and I loved listening to them. The only problem is the paper I wrote their names on flew out of my bag on Safari. Oops!

We stayed in a nice hotel called The Peermont Mondior

It was a very nice hotel with great African decor

I shared a room with Shelly which meant I didn't have to pay for the room because there was an extra space. That was really nice of her to share with me and I really enjoyed talking with her. She was close friends with Doug and his family growing up because they were in the same ward

The homes seemed a bit nicer and the streets cleaner but maybe that was just Gabarone

I loved the striped street signs

My shadow picture. I had gotten up a little early and walked around the hotel area before we went to Stake Conference

Some people came early for meetings

Then the missionaries started arriving

I hung out with Boinelo and Boipelo again. Casper their cousin told me that was the correct spelling

I got a tear in my eye seeing these missionaries in their element. I can't see my own son serving in Guatemala right now but this definitely reminded me of him and what is doing right now

Elder Brey third from the left is from Highland! He is not in our stake though- bummer

These people got off a chartered bus it looked like. I wonder how far they had to come

Boinelo

Casper had fun taking pictures with my camera. He did a pretty good job

Another cute little boy who hung out with us before the meeting started

The lady on the left is the Young Women's President. She is also a Lawyer and she gave an excellent talk in Stake Conference

This little girl kept peeking at me in the bathroom. I think she was a little shy

After the meeting I just sat outside and took pictures of people. They all had a smile for me even though they didn't know who I was

In the meeting I sat by Antonia in her beautiful traditional dress and her daughter Agnes

Honestly, I've never seen so many happy people in one place like this ever

Some actually wanted me to take their pictures

The lady on the left made her dress. She is a beautiful seamstress and much more. They call her Sister Motherhood because she takes care of her own seven children and many others besides. Her husband just died this past year and so now she is doing it all alone. She says she spends most of her time going to weddings!

Elder White is from Lehi!

A Bush Wedding

So what exactly is a Bush Wedding? Well, it's out in the Bush meaning away from any cities or Towns and I think from the signs on the road that you can sometimes be joined by a herd of Elephants or maybe a Giraffe or two. There might even be Crocodiles or Hippos in the river. Unfortunately we didn't see any and it rained so we had to move the wedding in doors. Ah well, maybe next time. We did have a lot of fun!

This is the crowd I hung out with the whole time. They were so fun!

This is my favorite picture of the whole night!

Hurricane Peach Days 2011, Gooseberry Mesa and Grafton, Utah

2011-09-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend this was! I got to see Gooseberry Mesa which I just heard is the best place for mountain biking and is right by where I grew up. My husband has just taken up the sport and I can see why he loves it when you get to see such incredible scenery while riding. I went along to see what the fuss was all about and took my book. After he did some biking, we drove down the other side of the mesa into Grafton, UT which is an old ghost town. This is where the filmed some movies including "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

This kind of looks like the same group as last year

Joseph loved the candy!

For some reason he thought he was supposed to pull faces at everyone in the parade

I think I went out with this guy once! Whoa

This was the class just a year older than me. My cousin Troy should be there. He did come down for their 30 year reunion later but I only recognize a few of these guys now. That will be me next year! Ouch

Good ol Polly Stirland. She was in my ward growing up. I think she must be in her 80's now. Uncle John asked her how old she was now and she told him he's not supposed to ask that question!

Wayne Edwards and his wife Marjean were also in my ward growing up. Then he was my Principal in high school He is LaVell Edwards brother. You can see the resemblance. They had a son my age- Jeff. I should have looked him up when I was in San Antonio. They told me he works right where I was. Oh well

Lunch is always a must at the fair

Dad's melons won the sweepstakes

This is inside my Elementary school. What fond memories- well some

Joseph was as hard on Grandma's house as he is on mine. This time he dumped out a bag of cement

Heidi my sister in law, runs the Rodeo for Peach Days which is a big deal. The bleachers were loaded and they keep bringing in more all the time. My brother Stuart helped with the barrels

Heidi won the barrel racing

And my niece Lizzy won it for her age group

Sleeping out is what summer is all about

My brother's bought this for my dad to use since he can't get around to do his chores very well anymore. I don't think he will ever not do chores

Beautiful views from the house. Sand Hollow is just over that rise

The Farm

Going up on top of Gooseberry Mesa

It was a beautiful, cloudy morning. Perfect for taking pictures

Virgin (a little town by the Virgin River) and Zion National Park in the distance

I grew up with these flat top Mesa's all around me

Grafton is very well preserved for a ghost town

On the way back I snagged a shot of the old home my G, G Grandfather- Allen Joseph Stout built many years ago

We also stopped to get a shot of the Virgin River. I used to go to ward parties here as a little girl and play in the water and eat dutch oven chicken and potatoes! I can still remember how yummy it was

Emerald loves to ride Sippy

Cute, dusty little horse riders

Beautiful girls who-

Love to chase chickens!

This turkey thinks he's all that- his name is Obama

Project Life Ideas for July and August

2011-09-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

First day of school- Highschool

Jr. High

Elementary School- yep I have got them all