We made it back!

Well, after getting up at 3:15am Beijing time (that is Tuesday, 1:15pm Utah time), we made it back this evening at 8:30pm (well to the airport). Since it is now almost 12:30am, we have been up almost a day and a half (with the exception of a couple of short, unfulfilling naps on the plane).

The kids were up to greet us, which was fun. Well, Hannah and JJ were ... Asher wouldn't leave Grandma Carolyn's lap!! He just did his little "AAUUGGHH!!!" scream (meaning, "go away!"). We will see if he is still mad at us tomorrow.

But it was an AMAZING trip! THANKYOUTHANKYOU THANKYOUTHANKYOU to KSL, our traveling buddies, the guides ... everyone made the trip just outstanding! (If any of them are reading this, we hope you have just as much fun).

I promise we will fill in a little more tomorrow, but wanted to get just a little down. There really was nothing to take photos of today (except braindeadzombietourists), so just look to http://lanceponyexpress.spaces.live.com/photos and
http://cid-d67f51e6a7f11433.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!D67F51E6A7F11433!123/ to see our MSN photo share pages.

Thanks again to everyone, but especially KSL, Dick Nourse and Steve Poulsen!

Photo Share only

Well, sorry if you feel shortchanged, but the flight leaves at 5 in the morning so we have to get up at 3am. So I only uploaded photo's to photo share ... .. you can click http://lanceponyexpress.spaces.live.com/photos and see my MSN photo share page.

Apparently, there is an upload limit to it though. So the Great Wall pictures (and a few others) are at http://cid-d67f51e6a7f11433.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!D67F51E6A7F11433!123/. Enjoy!

Beijing, Saturday

Another very busy day, but a lot of the problem today was it was a work day and traffic was HORRIBLE. We wound up loosing a lot of time because of it. Really, mostly what was sacrificed was shopping (and decent time for dinner), but what the hey .. you can't see Beijing any other way, can you?

So we started out the day at the Temple of Heaven. Really neat, seeing the Chinese people in this huge park like setting, doing their exercises, or dancing, or playing games. We tried to join in occasionally (generally disasterously), but was a lot of fun. This was once the site where the empires would come to worship, but has been since opened up to the people. Sounds like a lot of retirees go there for morning exercises, or just to hang out during the day.



We also went to a silk factory and pearl market today. They showed us all kinds of different things about their products, and let us have free time in their showrooms (ie, shop).



Tiananmen Square was interesting in a weird sort of way ... huge paved area where people conjugate. It was REALLY bad air today (pollution), and end of the day, so we were tired. But people kept stopping out group - vendors, and people wanting to take pictures with the "American Big Noses."

In evening, went to see the Chinese acrobats. One part acrobat, one part contortionist, one part jugglers ... really amazing. Specially since it was all kids!
Talked to the kids just a few mintues via the internet, which was fun. Of course, they wanted to know "what we got them." Hannah was very determined that we understood she really likes "China dolls."

As usual, way more photos taken than posted. I tried to group them for easier viewing this time .. you can click http://lanceponyexpress.spaces.live.com/photos and see my MSN photo share page.

Beijing, Sunday

Went to Church this morning at local Branch (guess they just split it) ... man, it was FULL! As we understand it, all the "internationals" (aka, foreigners) have church in one session, then the nationals that converted abroad can meet later in a separate meeting. Very strict rules on talking to others about religion, but that's okay.

The we went to the Forbidden City. Don't have time to explain fully, but it was huge. Covered acres and acres, where the emperiors lived and regular people couldn't go (hence, "forbidden").

Rather than post all the pictures here (lots), will again point you to the photo share at http://lanceponyexpress.spaces.live.com/photos.

We also toured a Hu Tong District in rickshaws today. That was really cool ... see how a lot of the people live. Now, most live in the high rises today, but this was a more traditional Chinese village area. We actually were "invited into a Hu Tong family's home" and they told us a little more about the area. Probably are closest "cultural experience"


And then ... shopping. Or as we like to put it "combat barginning."

Anyway, so much to tell, but have to run. So I will let it go at that and maybe edit this more later tonight.

P.S. I we never felt the aftershock yesterday ....

Hong Kong & Beijing, Saturday

We got to go through the Hong Kong Temple this morning .. man, was THAT ever COOL! We had a large group, so they did it in English (would have almost been fun to do in Cantonese, but sounds like they probably would have done it in English and made the locals wear headsets anyway).
After the session, I was standing in the lobby for a few minutes waiting for Sara, and an asian gentleman came up and started talking to me. He had VERY good English, and I guess he should have ... it was President Goo, the Hong Kong Temple president. REALLY nice guy ... asking me where we were from, how our trip was going, etc. He mentioned that it was the 12th anniversary to the day of the Hong Kong Temple Dedication, and said there was refreshments in the basement if I was interested. I mentioned waiting for Sara, and he said something about there was often back-ups for lockers ... anyone, just really neat, down to earth kind of guy.

Well, when we finally got through registration (they wanted to do us as a "group" with the passports and visas, and took a long time), the flight in from Hong Kong was smooth and easy (plane wasn't too full, so even though they had set us in middle seats, we were able to fly over). The Beijing airport is HUGE ... really new, nice and modern. Sara said she had her first encounter with "the hole" toilets ... but that they had western style toilets as well so it all worked out okay (insert obnoxious potty humor pun here ... Sara will be mad at me if I do it for you).

Then we drove into our hotel. Really nice place. They say it is a four star, but just waiting for approval for five stars.

We had some confusions ... tried to use the Hong Kong calling card in hotel room (wouldn't work). Tried to hook up computer - internet access, but battery nearly dead so couldn't do much. Kind of a frustrating evening getting settled, but we managed evenutally. Alls well.

Photo share of Hong Kong

If you would like to see a collection of photos from our journey so far (you probably need to get a life). But seriously, you can click http://lanceponyexpress.spaces.live.com/photos and see my MSN photo share page. Don’t worry if you don’t want to check it out now … I am sure we will be willing to bore you with our vacation slides later.

Our second full day in Hong Kong

We both slept pretty good last night but woke up about 6:30 am and couldn't sleep any more. It was great to call and talk to family a little. We are getting a little more confident in being able to find our way around and deal with the "natives". Today we got ready for the day (by the way it is really hard to try and not get the water in your mouth and eyes while taking a shower) and headed to Micky D's for breakfast - we both opted for the more traditional US breakfast rather than the other option of Twisty Pasta with veggies and chunks of chicken and an egg. Everywhere we go we see people with the latest McDonalds dessert - soft serve ice cream with green tea syrup and red beans. Personally I think this looks gross. After breakfast we got our stuff together and headed down to join the group on a trip to Victoria Peak, the Boat People of Aberdeen and Stanley Market. Our tour guide Ming (AKA Steve) is late so our bus is the last one to leave. As previously mentioned our group is made up of almost exclusively KSL employees (former and current) and KSL advertising clients. As we head up to Victoria Peak Ming gives us lots of interesting facts about China and Hong Kong - the differences and similarities, history, and how Hong Kongers measure wealth by the number of windows you have in your home etc. He is pretty entertaining and you can really tell that he loves his country Hong Kong. We saw a horse race track called Happy Valley and learned why the rich people all live on the south east side of the island - it all has to do with Feng Sui. We were a little sad we couldn't take the tram up Victoria peak but the view was amazing. Thankfully the haze burned off for most of the day so we could see all the way out into the bay. After Victoria Peak we headed for Aberdeen and the Boat people. We rode in a boat in and around all the boats - sometimes it was several boats lashed together but often they were just fishing boats that people live on all the time. They say that a few of the Boat People have never left thier boats for land. After the boat tour we got to really meet Dick Nourse and his wife. Dick and Debbie both said that they were hoping that they could meet us (because we were the ones who won the trip). Lance and I both thought after ward -wow! they wanted to meet us?!?! They were super nice and friendly. Next we headed off for the jewelery factory - it was interesting to see how they make some of the jewelery but we didn't buy anything. Our last official stop of the tour was Stanley Market where Lance and my first order of business was to get lunch. We stopped in the first restaurant we saw and were seated looking out over the bay. It was great to sit in the open air cafe and get the breezes off the water and eat some delicious Shrimp Pahd Thai with three different spices on the side to mix and dip the noodles in. We are coming to realize that in order to get the check at restaurants here you practically have to yell - otherwise you will be sitting there all day. That and they don't bring you drink refills. I am proud to say that I successfully bargined for some purses - one that Missy asked for and one for myself. Missy if you are reading this - I still have money left over so I may find you another one in Bejing! We didn't have much time in the Market - we were running a little late all day. On our way back the bus got stuck on one of the tight hair pin turns on the tiny road we took up and back. The people on the left side of the bus started squealing as the bus scraped up against the mountainside. We held up traffic going both ways as the bus driver tried to figure out how to get the bus moving without scraping up the paint even more - in the end he just had to let it scrape in order to get us out of there. I hope he didn't get in too much trouble. On the way back some of us got dropped off at the Hong Kong Museum and we went through it. It was a great museum - really great displays and really huge but Lance and I were pretty tired at that point and so we went through it a bit like zombies. We had to either walk back to our hotel or catch a taxi. There was a pretty big group of other tour members congregated together as we got out of the museum so we opted to try and walk back with them. It was fun to get to know them a little better but we were totally wiped out when we got back to the hotel. When we got to the room I look in the mirror and see this huge green thing stuck in my front teeth!! Ahhh! I was so embarrassed! I asked Lance why he didn't tell me that it was there and he said that he noticed when I was talking to someone and then forgot to tell me after. Arghhh! All we could do when we got back to the room was rub our feet and lay semi comotose for a while. Finally we mustered the energy to go check out the hotel buffet. It was quite amazing- talk about exotic - all kinds of interesting foods. I was a little more adventurous than I probably should have been - but it almost all tasted so good- time will tell! The dessert buffet was the best. I loved the creme brulee and the chocolate layer cake. Now it is our last evening in Hong Kong and can't believe how much information I have absorbed in the last little while. Hong Kong seems to have a sense of optimism despite the possiblity that in 30 + years everything may change for the worse as the city is integrated back into Peoples Republic of China. This has been an amazing experiance so far.

Tuesday to Thursday, May 20-23

Wow … we made it. The flight over by itself was quite the experience. From Salt Lake to LAX was really bumpy, but it was a short little hop. This was when we first started meeting people from the group Dian Thomas, who used to be on KSL, is our group leader; Dick Nourse and his wife were in economy class like the rest of us, which was kind of funny; several other KSL/Bonneville big wigs and marketing types. The funny thing (to us) is all these people that I am recognizing (and are recognizing me) from the old Kidney Foundation days. The senior Morris from Morris-Murdock travel was one. Anyway, Lance found it interesting.

So, that was when the sleep deprivation kicked in. We left SLC at 9:30 in the evening, and flew to LAX. We then went through the check-in, customs, and all that in LAX. Then “hurry up and wait” until 12:45am. Really BIG plane at that point. We were all the way in the back (row 68 of 69). That was interesting as well. You kind of “folded” into the row … it wasn’t roomy by any stretch of the imagination, but it was pretty comfortable for the most part. Well, for the first six hours. Of course, we were on the plane for 14 hours … yikes! Fortunately, each seat has its own little entertainment unit. Lot’s of movies, old tv shows, video games, etc. I think Sara watched four movies and I watched three. Food was okay … dinner was not long after we left. We didn’t get breakfast until almost the time we landed. Then, because we were so far into the back of the plane, we got whatever was left. “Congee” … guess it is a traditional Asian breakfast, some sort of rice pasty-soup. I didn’t really care for it, but Sara thought it was okay. This flight also had its moments of bumpiness. Sometimes, felt like we were on a serious rollercoaster (which was probably why we didn’t get breakfast until way late into the flight). Other times it was pretty smooth (first part was better, thank goodness, and we got a little sleep). Anyway, let’s just say we were very ready for the plane to set down.



Lance at Hong Kong airport with baggage.

Once on the ground, there was a bit of confusion as to how to get everyone together, etc., but we got back to the hotel around 11 in the morning and had the rest of the day to ourselves. We got settled in (and SHOWERED!!), then went and got our first Chinese food. Interesting to sort of try and communicate … our Hong Kong guide (Ming) calls it “Honglish.” Anyway, that was an experience. They had to call over a special guy that spoke Honglish, and convincing him we wanted sodas instead of tea was a little challenge, but we managed. We had shrimp dumplings, a sort of crunchy “spring roll” with a yummy dipping sauce (a little like fry sauce!), and radish cakes in XO sauce. Yeah, sounded kind of weird to us to, but we saw some of our tour group coming out as we were going in, and they suggested it. They were pretty hot (both temp and spicy), but tasty.



Since land is such a premium, everything is built "up." Most high rises are at least 30 stories, and several are over 100.

We walked around a bit after that. We had tried to go to the bank for some money (kept getting conflicting reports of if we needed to exchange currency or not – and yes, we did need to). We decided to get some water so we brush our teeth (have to use bottled), and then fell asleep for a little while in our room.

In the evening, we headed out again (bought a calling card, the one we got in the US doesn’t work – the concierge at the hotel was really nice in helping us try to figure out if it didn’t work or it was just us, and then to get one that would and activate it). In the evening, we walked down to the harbor (about a mile) and watched a laser show. It was really low overcast, so by the end it was getting hard to see it, but it was worth the price (free). We mainly just “sampled the local atmosphere” – walked through the streets, looked at shops and the people.

Some fun things … for instance, all the scaffodling here (and there is quite a bit, looks like the city is in a state of constant repair) is all made out of bamboo.


There are also lot’s of taxis and double-decker buses (watch out! They are FAST and pedestrians do NOT have right of way!). A fair number of people wear masks (you will see two or three as you walk down the street … not everyone, but you don’t go more than 30 seconds or a minute before you will see someone else with one). It is funny – I must look like a slob, because everyone is trying to sell me tailored shirts and suits (sales guys). Also funny, there are more middle easterners (Irac/Iran) than Caucasians (they were the ones mostly trying to sell me shirts/suits). Well, it is currently about 6:30 am here (will be later before this gets posted) and 4:30 pm in Utah (oh, yeah … it is Friday here, Thursday there).


Needless to say we went to bed fairly early (I think it was 9:30).

Tuesday to Thursday, May 20-23

Wow … we made it. The flight over by itself was quite the experience. From Salt Lake to LAX was really bumpy, but it was a short little hop. This was when we first started meeting people from the group Dian Thomas, who used to be on KSL, is our group leader; Dick Nourse and his wife were in economy class like the rest of us, which was kind of funny; several other KSL/Bonneville big wigs and marketing types. The funny thing (to us) is all these people that I am recognizing (and are recognizing me) from the old Kidney Foundation days. The senior Morris from Morris-Murdock travel was one. Anyway, Lance found it interesting.

So, that was when the sleep deprivation kicked in. We left SLC at 9:30 in the evening, and flew to SLC. We then went through the check-in, customs, and all that in LAX. Then “hurry up and wait” until 12:45am. Really BIG plane at that point. We were all the way in the back (row 68 of 69). That was interesting as well. You kind of “folded” into the row … it wasn’t roomy by any stretch of the imagination, but it was pretty comfortable for the most part. Well, for the first six hours. Of course, we were on the plane for 14 hours … yikes! Fortunately, each seat has its own little entertainment unit. Lot’s of movies, old tv shows, video games, etc. I think Sara watched four movies and I watched three. Food was okay … dinner was not long after we left. We didn’t get breakfast until almost the time we landed. Then, because we were so far into the back of the plane, we got whatever was left. “Congee” … guess it is a traditional Asian breakfast, some sort of rice pasty-soup. I didn’t really care for it, but Sara thought it was okay. This flight also had its moments of bumpiness. Sometimes, felt like we were on a serious rollercoaster (which was probably why we didn’t get breakfast until way late into the flight). Other times it was pretty smooth (first part was better, thank goodness, and we got a little sleep). Anyway, let’s just say we were very ready for the plane to set down.

Once on the ground, there was a bit of confusion as to how to get everyone together, etc., but we got back to the hotel around 11 in the morning and had the rest of the day to ourselves. We got settled in (and SHOWERED!!), then went and got our first Chinese food. Interesting to sort of trying and communicate … our Hong Kong guide (Ming) calls it “Honglish.” Anyway, that was an experience. They had to call over a special guy that spoke Honglish, and convincing him we wanted sodas instead of tea was a little challenge, but we managed. We had shrimp dumplings, a sort of crunchy “spring rolls”, and radish cakes in XO sauce. Yeah, sounded kind of weird to us to, but we saw some of our tour group coming out as we were going in, and they suggested it. They were pretty hot (both temp and spicy), but tasty.
We walked around a bit after that. We had tried to go to the bank for some money (kept getting conflicting reports of if we needed to exchange currency or not – and yes, we did need to). We decided to get some water so we brush our teeth (have to use bottled), and then fell asleep for a little while in our room. In the evening, we headed out again (bought a calling card, the one we got in the US doesn’t work – the concierge at the hotel was really nice in helping us try to figure out if it didn’t work or it was just us, and then to get one that would and activate it). In the evening, we walked down to the harbor (about a mile) and watched an laser show. It was really low overcast, so by the end it was getting hard to see it, but it was worth the price (free). We mainly just “sampled the local atmosphere” – walked through the streets, looked at shops and the people.
Some fun things … for instance, all the scaffling here (and there is quite a bit, looks like the city is in a state of constant repair) is all made out of bamboo. There are also lot’s of taxis and double-decker buses (watch out! They are FAST and pedestrians do NOT have right of way!). A fair number of people wear masks (you will see two or three as you walk down the street … not everyone, but you don’t go more than 30 seconds or a minute before you will see someone else with one). It is funny – I must look like a slob, because everyone is trying to sell me tailored shirts and suits (sales guys). Also funny, there are more middle easterners (Irac/Iran) than Caucasians (they were the ones mostly trying to sell me shirts/suits). Well, it is currently about 6:30 am here (will be later before this gets posted) and 4:30 pm in Utah (oh, yeah … it is Friday here, Thursday there).

Needless to say we went to bed fairly early (I think it was 9:30).

Count down!!

After Sentinel Chicken Day Monday morning, then Board of Health (the annual report wasn't quite done), then we had to pack, and I had to write a story for the Pony Express paper ... it has been one long day. Sara is just about ready to go ... wish I could say the same. Well, it is officially Tuesday (12:18am?), so I guess I had better just say I need to get to bed and can get ready "today."

If all goes well, we will have internet access while on our little "trip" and will be able to post pictures and update you on our activities. If we go a couple of days, it might be we are lost in travel/international date lines/jet lag, so hang in there. As always, the email will be working (can Lance SURVIVE without email??!?!), but no phone service. Leave messages with Jake and Carolyn (ie., Grandma and Grandpa, watching the kids).

So long! (I don't know how to say "goodbye" in Chinese yet).

New and improved Digi Scrappin' List!

Ok so I decided to update and repost this list for anyone who is interested!

My Top Ten (in no particular order):

http://www.shabbyprincess.com/default.asp
http://store.scrapgirls.com/category.php?cat=21
http://happyscrapgirl.blogspot.com/
http://www.rackettyscrappety.blogspot.com/
http://www.littledreamerdesigns.com/
http://www.designerdigitals.com/
http://scraporchard.com/
http://ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/
http://raspberryroaddesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.sunshinestudioscraps.com/


Photo Finishing sites:
http://www.snapfish.com/
http://scrapbookpictures.com/
http://www.shutterfly.com/
http://www.costcophotocenter.com/login/t_=0

Tutorials, Quotes, Lyrics etc:
http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/photoshop-friday-index/
http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/
http://www.scrapbook.com/quotes.php
http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/
http://www.lyrics.com/
http://www.inspirationpeak.com/
http://www.digishoptalk.com/index.php
http://www.photoshop101.com/
http://www.ezactions.com/

Other lovely sites:
http://vivianefreebies.blogspot.com/
http://www.weedsandwildflowersdesign.com/
http://www.scraphead.com/
http://www.myscrapbookart.com/
http://tracimurphydesigns.com/
http://www.the-lilypad.com/index.php
http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/
http://www.simplysarahdesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrapmatters.com/cms/
http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/xcart/home.php
http://scrapbook-elements.com
http://scrapbook-bytes.com/
http://www.scrapartist.com/
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/
http://bestscrapfreebies.itopsites.com/
http://mistycatodesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.memorymakersmag.com/
http://www.jenwilsondesigns.com/
http://www.hodgepodgeart.typepad.com/
http://happyscrapgirldesigns.blogspot.com/
http://www.ginamillerdesigns.com/shoppe/
http://fishinmom.blogspot.com/
http://www.digitalscrapbookpages.com/
http://www.digitalfreebies.com/freebies.php
http://www.digitaldivasdesigns.com/
http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/
http://digifree.blogspot.com/
http://www.cottagearts.net/
http://www.catscrap.com/
http://bitsoscrap.blogspot.com/
http://www.atomiccupcake.com/
http://www.scrapgoo.lliella.com/
http://pineappleplantation.blogspot.com/
http://angeltown.typepad.com/
http://imaginebyfran.blogspot.com/
http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/blog/?p=33
http://lifebeginswithlove.blogspot.com/
http://scrapandrea.blogspot.com/
http://amandaheimanndesigns.com/blog/
http://sugarsnapscraps.blogspot.com/
http://www.funkyplaygrounddesigns.com/store/home.php
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/

Our latest comings and goings

With Mother's day and our trip fast approaching we have been trying to get everything planned out and ready. We attended our trip meeting on Tuesday at Morris Murdock Travel. We were a little late (got a bit lost) but got to hear most of the meeting. Sounds like this trip isn't going to be as daunting as we may have thought. The travel rep told us we can use mainly the US dollar and our credit cards - with very little need to change dollars into the local currency. He said that most people we will encounter will speak some English. I am thrilled that we will be able to attend a session in the Hong Kong Temple and go to church on Sunday in Bejing. He recommended that we spend every waking hour that we aren't on specific tours at a particular market in Bejjing because the deals are amazing. Designer jeans for $4?!?!? Not that I could fit into them anyway! Our hotel is brand new and sits on an ancient moat! We are also going to be able to see the older part of the city via a rickshaw ride and meet a family and see how they live! It should be awesome.

The kids have had a fun week! Hannah has been the "Dinomite kid" this week, something she has been looking forward to all year. She was spotlighted and we got to do a special activity with her class. We strung jellybeans on thread to make bracelets! I read a couple of books to the kids - the favorite by a long shot was the book "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!" (thanks to Aunt Ruth for introducing us to this hilarious book) The kids were rolling on the floor laughing! JJ has waited all year for the kindergartners to have thier turn at "Dads and Donuts". Lance went with JJ to school yesterday and got to have treats and read books in the school library. Asher is suddenly saying more words! Everyday he says something new and is starting to put two word sentences together. The boys got thier hair cut too! I coped out and took them to Great Clips instead of doing it myself as I usually do.

The kids and I went with Jamie and Jonah to the Gardens. The tulips were just about on thier way out but still pretty. I still don't think I have seen a third of those gardens and we have been there several times! We also attended Farm Country as a family recently!

Kindergarten report

JJ had to do a report for Kindergarten this week. He was assigned an animal – polar bears – and had to "write" and report (yes, he actually wrote it - see below), and create a diorama or poster for it. He chose the former.

Of course, Mom helped a lot. Sara knows all sorts of interesting facts about polar bears now (just ask!). She also helped with the diorama. I think they got the "fur" from Grandma Jeppson, but JJ cut it out and glued it a printed picture of a bear, and glued the eye on. After Sara made the salt dough, JJ constructed the cave. We were a little worried because it was kind of soft and saggy for a while ... it eventually harden up nice though.

Here are a couple of other pictures. Yes, I know. Sad that the blog entry highlights something like this, but I guess it just goes to show the important things in our lives.