China 2.0

Don and I had the opportunity to go back to China in September. He had a tradeshow in Shanghai and I decided to accompany him. Last year when I was in China I only left the eye hospital 3 times so I didn't get to experience too much of China. I felt like this was a great opportunity so I tagged along for the ride.

China is a very interesting place. What I really love are the people. Don's colleague Michael showed us around Shanghai and was an excellent host. The Chinese people I've met are proud of their culture and they are so hospitable.

So we left on Tuesday, which with the 14 hour time difference, put us into Shanghai at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening. We went straight to the hotel and got settled. On Thursday, Michael met Don and they went off to do business stuff. I just stayed at the hotel. China is such a bustling place and the sidewalks are quite crowded so with my tunnel vision I didn't dare venture out. What was most worrisome is that they ride scooters, but the majority of them are electric so not only do I not see them in the periphery, but I can't hear them coming either! This would not be a problem, except they ride them on the sidewalk! It was okay because the hotel was very nice, had a very nice fitness center and great wi-fi so I easily entertained myself while Don was out.

Friday, Don again was out doing his appointments so I hung out again at the hotel. My jet lag caught up with me and I fell sound asleep around 4:30pm. Don got back around 5:00 but yours truly had locked the door from the inside and went into a jet lag coma and didn't hear him knocking, texting, or calling! He had to go to the front desk and have management break him into the room! I felt bad about that because we were on the 33rd floor so it was a trek for him! We went out and walked around near our hotel and checked out some of the places nearby.

On Saturday, Michael took us into a city called Shuzou. We rode the bullet train. It was a cool city. We went to a tourist attraction called the Humble Administrator's Garden. It was like a fun house for the visually impaired. Lots of rock pathways, steps, and strange entries into buildings.

It was quite the place for Chinese tourists - lots of people there, but it was fun to see ancient structures and the pretty surroundings. 

Michael then got us a reservation at an awesome Chinese restaurant so while we waited we went on the coolest boat ride in a canal in the city. It was like going back in time. 

I wish I had gotten a better picture of the oar. It was uniquely shaped and was used to both steer and propel the boat. Our boat driver was an adorable Chinese woman and she even sang to us as she propelled us down the canal. It was a highlight of the trip for me. 

We then went to the restaurant and had authentic and amazing Chinese food. I really like real Chinese. Then we got on the train and headed back to Shanghai. Michael then took us to "the Bund" which is kind of like the happening place in Shanghai. We got this awesome picture of the Shanghai skyline and the photo is not filtered at all! The colors were awesome!

The next day was my last day in China. I came home and Don stayed on an extra 4 days. He was going to be at the trade show and I wanted to get back to the girls. Michael took us to Tianzifang which is an artsy area in Shanghai with tons of little shops, restaurants, and artsy stuff. It was fun to walk around. 

Then Michael took us to a restaurant where they bring you a pot of broth that you boil at your own little hot plate and they bring you meat and vegetables to put in it. Like I said, I really like authentic Chinese, but one thing different is sometimes your dinner smiles back at you!

Then Don and I went back to the hotel so I could pack up my things, grab a taxi, and head to the airport to come back to the girls. It was kind of cool, I flew home on the Delta Spirit. It was the first 777-200LR that Delta took delivery of. I'm an airliner geek so I love this kind of stuff! 

 The Bradley International Terminal at LAX is somewhat of a zoo. Just this year Delta moved to Terminal 2 and 3 at LAX, but I preferred the customs at their old terminal. There are some kinks needing to be worked out. Regardless, I do love the big American flag hanging at the top of the escalators welcoming you back to the good ole USA! I'm so grateful I got the opportunity to go back to China and experience a little more of it. It was delightful to be with Don. He's such a jewel. It was also delightful to come back home to the girls. I have to say - 5 days away from them was much easier than the two weeks I spent away last year! Sure do love this family of mine! 

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.

I titled this post with the quote from John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" because I felt it fit perfectly with the events of the past few weeks. And because Jacie is the most avid Beatles aficionado I hear Beatles quotes on a regular basis.

Let me update you on Jordan. She was busy making other plans and then life happened. She was enrolled up at the University of Utah and was two weeks in. She was taking a heavy load with classes I would have (and did) avoid like the plague. Calculus, Chemistry, Chemistry Lab, Civil Engineering and a general ed class called LEAP.  She jumped in and started on her way.

Anyone who has been to college knows that the first semester is quite a change from life as one knew it. New school, new classes, new people - which are all great things. But throw in nerves from hoping to keep up, keeping your scholarships, deciding if you really want to be an engineer all while trying to maintain a social life sneak up.

As a previous sufferer of anxiety I am sick that it didn't hit me that Jordan was heading down this path. She was carrying on fairly normally, but having lots of worries and fears. But hey, that's normal for your first two weeks of college right? I had the same experience at the MTC. Even an occasional panic attack is normal, right? Same with me at the MTC. Not being able to eat and sleep is normal, right? Well, then I started to feel a little anxious for her myself. It seemed like things had become too big. We decided to drop her Calculus class and get her into Sociology 1010. I thought that would ease her worries and she could turn it around. Alas, it didn't help one bit.

This poor little thing started into panic mode on Labor Day, which should have been a relaxing and peaceful day off, and battled an anxiety attack deep into the night. I sent her off to school on Tuesday (yesterday) with a pit in my own stomach hoping with all my heart that her new schedule would ease her concerns. When she walked in the door Tuesday afternoon the sight before me literally broke my heart. She was pale, shaking, short of breath, racing heart, and looked like a deer in the headlights. Look up symptoms of a panic attack and she had the majority of them. I was so worried and sad for her. She was the most pathetic little thing you ever saw. I called Instacare (I had been on the phone earlier in the day and our family doctor can't even see her for two weeks) to see if they could deal with panic attacks. They said yes and said to come in right then because the wait wasn't very long. We got her in and they gave her a prescription for anti-anxiety medication. We went straight to the pharmacy to fill it and then she said she didn't want to go home because that made her feel the panic rising up as she thought about all the schoolwork waiting for her. It was then I called Don and we determined she needed to withdraw this semester. I talked to her about it and you can't even believe the relief I saw wash over her. We got her medication in her and talked and prayed about withdrawing. She finally could eat a little something and go to sleep.

This morning she came in and snuggled up by me (which my mother heart just needed, to put my arms around her and keep her safe in my little nest) and was worrying about "quitting." I told her that this is no different than someone with mono or pneumonia. It was physically impossible for her to deal with school at this time. It became more apparent to her that her decision was right when we went up to the U this morning to withdraw her and get the necessary paperwork started to hopefully defer her scholarships. She got that same look of absolute fear on her face and went white as a sheet. I can't even imagine how she could get through classes having that feeling.

I don't know if we can get her scholarships deferred, but at this point, her health and well being became my main priority. I really don't care if she can't. We've been saving for college since she was born so for her to earn scholarships was icing on the cake. I'm hoping they will be because she worked so dang hard for them, but again the world won't end.

What I learned from my own struggles with this invisible monster called anxiety is that you gain a great deal of empathy for people fighting this struggle. We have some dear friends whose son had to come home from his mission fighting it. My heart ached for him because I know first hand how disappointing that is and how hard it is. My heart broke in tiny pieces when Jordan entered the same battle. But I could offer heartfelt sympathy and empathy.

I also learned and she has already seen this is you will find more love and support from your family and friends than you can imagine. You will see how blessed you are to have the people in your life who will take you by the hand and help you through. I have been touched by Jacie's love and concern for Jordan. She has bought her treats, prayed for her, and sent her all kinds of inspiring texts and quotes. Don and I have talked and prayed to know how to help her. Her grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins have included her in their prayers. Her friends have remained true and supportive.

The most important lesson that I knew but was driven home to me during my own struggles and watching Jordan go through this was just how much our Heavenly Father and Savior love us. Our Savior probably experienced anxiety during the Atonement that we can't even fathom. He knows how painful, debilitating, and heart wrenching it is and he will support us. I also appreciated our Heavenly Father's love because he sent His Son to take upon Himself all of our pains and struggles. Our Father even had to withdraw his presence. I can't imagine. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was leave Jordan alone and yet our Father loved us all so much he did just that to make the Atonement complete.

So while Jordan was making other plans, life threw her a roadblock. But I have faith and trust in our Heavenly Father that, "all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good." (D&C 122:7)  I have every confidence that she will come through this wiser and better than before. So while this is a very disappointing turn of events for our family, Jordan has never disappointed me.

Europe!

We had the most wonderful opportunity to travel to Europe over Spring Break. Don had a trade show in Stuttgart, Germany. He told me I could come with and when we got to looking at the dates, we realized it was during Spring Break. We decided to not let an opportunity like that pass us up so we took the girls.

We left on March 30 on a nonstop SLC CDG flight. (My airline employee days come back - that is Salt Lake to Paris.) We arrived in Paris on Friday the 31st around 11:15am. We collected our bags and headed right for the train station at the airport and got on board the train and headed through the "Chunnel" to London. We stored our bags at a place at the train station and went to the Sherlock Holmes museum for Jacie. She is a huge fan and she was in all her glory. We then went over to Abbey Road where the Beatles walked across the crosswalk for their album of the same name. It was under construction so we didn't recreate the photo, but Jace was still thrilled to see it. Probably the most famous crosswalk in the world!

After seeing these sights we went over to the King's Cross area at the train station and saw the Harry Potter area where it looks like the cart is going through the wall. It's from the movie and I'm sure everyone who has seen Harry Potter knows what I'm talking about. I didn't get a picture. After that, we collected our bags and headed out to our hotel which was about a 45 minute train ride because we stayed out by the Gatwick airport.

The next day was April Fool's day. No fooling, London was cool! We left that morning on the train to Victoria Station and got out to see all the cool sights around there.

 Tower Bridge

 Westminster Abbey

 Big Ben

 London Eye

 

Buckingham Palace

Jacie loved London so much, she has determined that she is going to live there. It was so fun to be able to see the fun sights of London. We spent the day checking out the cool places and then went back to our hotel. The next morning we headed to the train station to get back on the train and head back to Paris. 

We arrived in Paris and checked into the Hilton Charles DeGaulle. What a nice hotel! The best part was our room faced the airport approach so yours truly was loving it! Saw a couple of A380's come in. I told Don I could spend two days just in the room watching the planes come and go. 

The view from our room.

We then got train tickets and headed into Paris. We got off at the Notre Dame stop which put us on a short walk to Notre Dame. 

It was hard to believe how old and intricate these structures were. It really was neat to be able to see them. After going in and checking it out, we took a walk along the Seine River. That was so awesome. We were lucky to have beautiful weather that day. 

We stopped at a cute little sidewalk place to grab some dinner before we continued our trek to the Eiffel Tower.  Here is one happy American in Paris. They had Coke Zero there!

We then headed to the Eiffel Tower. Poor Jacie's feet stole up and she developed "cankles." By the time we got there her dogs were not just barking, they were howling. We rested for awhile in the grassy area and took some pictures. 

We then grabbed a cab and went back to grab the train back to the hotel. We only had the afternoon in Paris. It sure was a wonderful afternoon!

On Monday morning we headed back out to the train station to grab our train to Stuttgart. Stuttgart is a very industrial city. Don was working the whole time so the girls and I checked out some of the things Stuttgart has to offer. We were about a block away from the Mercedes Benz Museum. That was cool. It was the history of Mercedes Benz. They had some cool models and the building itself was neat. 

 The Museum

The factory

I felt bad going there without Don. He is such a car lover. It was quite interesting and they talked about important events in history and how the automobile evolved. 

The next day the girls and I attempted to find the LDS Family History Center. We gave the taxi driver the address which is Dieselstraße 17. Well, somehow I got messed up and we went to that address in Stuttgart only to find there is no LDS building there. When I rechecked the map, I realized we needed to go to Dieselstraße 17 in Baden- Wurtenberg! Oops wrong city! So I was a little disappointed that we were so off course and a taxi ride out there would have been about 90 Euros round trip. I'm not positive they could have helped us in our German family history quest anyway, because our ancestors are from up near Berlin so I think that's where I would need to go to find more information. We were in the middle of nowhere and Jordan was a little worried about how we were even going to be able to find a taxi. Lucky for us there was a bed and breakfast right on the corner of the street so we went in there and they called a taxi for us. 

Our hotel was between the Mercedes Benz Arena where the Stuttgart soccer (I guess I should say football) team plays and the Porsche Arena. 

The next day was our last day in Stuttgart as we were leaving Friday morning. The girls and I did a hop on/hop off bus tour. (We never got off!) It was funny, we went to catch the bus at the Mercedes Museum and the driver said we couldn't pay with a card, only cash. So we checked the times when the bus came back and headed to the hotel and bought tickets at the front desk. We then walked back to the museum only to see the bus driving off.  I looked at the wrong time. I checked the summer times instead of the spring times. So we then walked about a mile up the road to the next stop to catch the bus which was the Swine Museum. (As in pigs, I'm not kidding!) We had to kill about 30 minutes so we went in and I paid 15 Euro to go in to this place! It was so weird! We then went back out to catch the bus, but couldn't find the stop until that bus had already left! UGH! So we walked BACK to the Mercedes Museum and finally caught a bus! After all of our efforts to catch the bus, this is how the girls enjoyed the bus tour:

I must include some pictures of the Swine Museum. It was the weirdest little place. It was in an old slaughterhouse and I guess there was a little old lady that loved pigs so she collected pig items from all over the world. They had even heard of Kewanee, Illinois! Kewanee was a city I served in on my mission that was known as the Hog Capital of the World. That was funny! Here are some interesting things we saw at the Swine Museum.

 Each of these cupboards had some kind of pig item in them and every wall in that room floor to ceiling had a cupboard! 

It was a fantastic trip. I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to go and be together as a family. It is so fun to see new places, but also to be reminded of how great it is to be an American. So blessed! I still maintain that my favorite place is together. No matter where I am, if I am with my family, it is my favorite. 

Been Awhile

It's been awhile since I have updated. It seems I do a little better, then I get distracted and don't post for long periods. I thought I'd do a quick year in review.

It is now 2017. What a wonderful, wacky, wild year 2016 was. Just like all years, it had good and bad, but it was eventful and I learned a lot. Don and I celebrated 20 wonderful years of being married. He's a good little soul to have endured me that long. I lucked out when I snagged him. He is such a good guy and tries so hard to always do the right thing. I sure admire that about him. Count my blessings every day that he came along! We went to Aruba in honor of 20 years. I loved it! It is hot with white sand beaches and turquoise water. We had such a blast. It was very relaxing and enjoyable and if I get another chance, Aruba is definitely a place I'd visit again. We left the girls home by themselves and they proved themselves to be most trustworthy. I'm so thankful for them.

Some of the other events, I've already blogged about: Trek and our China trip. I did not mention that after 8 years of being boat owners, we sold our boat. How I loved the boat and the fun memories it brought us! It just became too expensive and we got too busy to justify the cost we were putting out without using it as much as we liked. We sold it to a wonderful family in Farmington and hope it brings them as many happy memories as it did us.

In October, Don had a trade show in Chicago. I went with him just for the day, spent the night and left the next day at 1pm. It was so much fun. We visited the Willis (used to be called the Sears) Tower. I spent my mission in central Illinois and have been to Chicago a few times, but never went in the Willis Tower so Don and I went. It was a clear day so we had great views. 

Jordan got accepted and offered a scholarship to the University of Utah! Does a Ute Mom's heart proud! She also applied to Utah State and BYU Hawaii. She is planning on going to the U but said if she gets in to BYUH she's going to have a difficult decision. Of course, money might talk on that one!

Speaking of Hawaii, we went over the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend. It was wonderful. I love Hawaii, especially when I am there with my favorite people! We had such a relaxing trip with beautiful weather and made new and happy memories. I am all about memories. Hence, the reason I really need to do a better job keeping this blog up to date!