Calf Creek Falls

We went on an adventure two weekends ago. We ventured to a part of Utah we had never ventured to before.

The campground we wanted to stay at was full so we followed signs to another one. We were lost. Not even our trusty GPS knew where we were.

After over 2 hours of driving around the area and being rejected by 3 full campgrounds we found this pleasant site. And it only cost us $4. It was perfect.

Phil built a fire which kept us warm as we viewed the beautiful starry sky

I just like this picture of the tent

The next morning we went on a hike. The cacti were in bloom.

Me on the sandy trail.

This spectacular fall was at the end of the hike! The water was freezing but felt so good after the hike.
I love being married to someone who is so adventurous!

blanket update

Remember this blanket? I have stitched the vertical columns. Now I just need to sew them together!

One of these rows is not like the other (and this picture is upside down). I need to completely redo that row. buh.

I don't like it when my friends move away

These are my friends. They are really fun. The one on the right is moving to Wisconsin. And I miss her already.

We like to grill

This grill came with our rental house. And so did our backyard which is one of my favorite parts of the house.

This was a great meal. At 12 we have homemade strawberry lemonade, at 3 this tandoori chicken, at 6 rice that was a little crunchy because I never know how to make rice, and at 9 a yummy salad.

Cooking Inspiration

I love this website

It makes me want to cook

Yum

Hong Kong

After saying goodbye to the orchestra at the Hong Kong airport (they were headed home) I took a shuttle to the hotel where my dad and I would stay in Hong Kong. My time here began with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. It was a phenomenal concert!

Me and my friend Apple. Last time I saw Apple we were 4. My dad knew her parents from his mission in Hong Kong and they came to the US 20 years ago to visit.

Dinner. Delicious. I did like the food in Hong Kong better than in mainland China.

Typical Hong Kong street

Hong Kong skyline

One morning we went to the temple

from Victoria Peak, the tallest mountain around

another attempt at being asian

fish market

Parts of the island looked so tropical

they are pros at squatting

cool taxi we rode at Aberdeen

the last sunset of my 3 week trip to China. farewell!

Song of the week/ month/ maybe summer

Wednesdays are long.
Here is a song that adds a little pep to my work day.
Can't wait for this concert in July!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjFaenf1T-Y

China: the second half of tour

There was some pollution in China. This was taken from outside our hotel window in Beijing. Yum.

After Beijing we traveled to Tianjin. At the conservatory they performed a concert on traditional instruments. It was so beautiful to experience their culture through music.

We had a taste of home late one night at Starbucks. We were pretty hyper due to our lack of sleep.

The beautiful building behind me is where we performed our second concert in Tianjin. A lot of the architecture in Tianjin was European influenced. I loved it.

The double reeds after our Tianjin concert. I miss you guys so much!

This signed cracked me up. Maybe it will do the same to you.

Fancy staircase in our only fancy hotel. We were so sad when we had to leave.

If you are from eastern Washington you will think this is funny.

Cool bridge in Shanghai

Ok this one requires some explanation. In China people asked to take pictures with us a lot. We were on a boat ride and got together for a group photo. Then, all of these people gathered to take pictures of us. And then I took a picture of them.

Me and Mandy in Shanghai

This guy was strolling around with his garden at midnight.

I love love love circle doors!

The beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou

China Philharmonic performing in Hangzhou. It was a great concert but the etiquette is SO different. We all enjoyed ourselves and had some laughs when the contra bassoonist played "if you're happy and you know it." Good times.

East tower in Guangzhou

Traditional Chinese instrument concert in Guangzhou. I want to learn all of these instruments.

We thought we stuck out too much so we bought some fake glasses.

Our concert was organized by communism.

Me, Kory, and Natasha after our final concert. This was also my last concert playing with Natasha since she is off to Indiana for grad school :( I know she will do great things but I already miss her so much. This tour was an incredible experience. Amazing country, wonderful people, and powerful music. It doesn't get much better than that.

TGIIATW (thank goodness it is almost the weekend)

Road trip to CA
Listening to Lord of the Rings and summery fun music
Laughing
Stopping to see the newly wed Rabes in LV
4 days in beautiful Yosemite
4 nights sleeping in fresh air with the stars
Family time in San Francisco
Meeting my niece
Seeing my little brother
Ocean air
Finally being on vacation with Phil

BYU Chamber Orchestra Tour part 1

Beijing, China!

The pictures in this post are all from Beijing. We spent seven days there and saw a lot of sights. The above picture shows our beautiful matching lands end sweaters that all the girls in the orchestra had to wear while on tour. It also shows my friend Amanda Moreton, Mandy Moore for short.

Amanda, Allison, me, and Andy at the summer palace. That lake behind us was man made.

This man was working on his calligraphy skills at the summer palace.

Beautiful rose gardens

The stone boat built with money given to China to build a navy. Good purchase.

Me at the happy dumpling restaurant. Some of the only normal food we had.

One of our performance venues.

At the entrance of the forbidden city. There were so many people there!

This is where China was dedicated for missionary work.

Inside the forbidden city with Erica. This was my favorite sight in China. It was ridiculously massive and beautiful.

Forbidden City rooftops

So many cute dogs in China. And I don't even like dogs.

Me and Amanda making Mao faces

One of our crazy rehearsals with the Beijing Dance Academy.

The Temple of Heaven. Blue roofs signify holiness in Chinese culture. Only a few buildings have blue roofs. Including the Taiwan LDS temple :)

We went to a Kung Fu show one night. This little boy did flips on his head. It was insane.

And now the GREAT WALL OF CHINA! It was so fun to get out of the city and see this beautiful sight. It was really steep where we climbed it!

This lady was there too.

China is so beautiful!

Finding our inner Tai Chi on the Great Wall

Chinese food. oh yummy.

This was a cool cathedral. It was very out of place in China, but made me feel like I was in Europe which is always a good feeling.

And now for the bug market!

Me eating a scorpion. I still can't believe I did that.

Loading the bus to leave Beijing. It was a great city!