Our Trip to Taiwan and China

Mr. D and I saved up most of our vacation for the year so that we could go on a big vacation with my parents to visit Taiwan and China. This trip was especially significant to Mr. D because it meant that he could visit the place where he served his mission about eight years ago. Mr. D acted as our tour guide for the first week in Taiwan and we went with a tour group for the second week in China.

When we got to Taiwan, we took a taxi from the airport to the high speed rail station and journeyed from the north side of the island to the south. We looked like foreign tourists with all our luggage. The first photos of the trip were in front of this 7/11 sign because Mr. D told us that in Taiwan, 7/11 convenience stores were popular like Starbucks is popular in the Seattle area. According to Wikipedia, there are more than 5,000 7/11s in Taiwan.

On the south side of Taiwan (Kaohsiung area), we got to meet many people Mr. D served when he was on his mission and they were all very kind and fun to be around. We got to go to a night market, try mangos from a fruit stand, and visit a member's home.

Another big highlight for us was visiting Taroko Gorge. The scenery was very beautiful and reminded me a bit of the PNW.

After visiting Taiwan, we flew to Beijing. We loved our tour group for China. Each day was packed with visits to famous sites and we got to see places like the Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall, The Terracotta Warriors, The Panda Sanctuary, and The Shanghai Tower. Our meals were family style so we got to try a bit of several local dishes at each restaurant we visited.

We loved our trip!
-Mr. D and Mrs. M

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Neil's friends visit

Our friends from Seattle were in town visiting for a work conference in Park City and they stopped by our home and stayed with us for a day. We loved seeing them and getting to have our boys play together. There was a lot to do at our home-- play with legos, practice baseball, enjoy the chickens, and read together. Hope to have them visit again next time they are here for a work trip or to ski.

Camping

This past weekend our family got to go camping with cousins, and we had a great time. We live in Highland Utah, which is near the American Fork Canyon entrance. We chose to go to the Timpooneke campsites, which is really close to us. We went there a couple times last year. The campsites are really nice. At each campsite is a concrete slab with a fire pit and picnic table, as well as flat ground to place your tent (plus walkable to drinking water, an outhouse, etc.). We went with David's sister's family and the kids loved gathering around the fire, playing games, and exploring together. We even got to take our paddle boards out to Tibble Fork Reservoir. Here are photos from our trip: Campground link: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/231938

Mariana visits!

When we lived in Seattle, Mariana lived with us and helped us take care of our kids (as our au pair). When we moved to Utah she finished her year with our family and returned to Mexico for college. Mariana was kind and visited us a few months later when she was in the US for a vacation and then just this past weekend she visited our family again when she was in the US. We love seeing her! This time we were in for a special treat because she brought her sister to come see us too. David got to play tour guide for a couple days and took them to Temple Square in Salt Lake, BYU campus in Provo, and the snow in Park City. I asked Mariana what her favorite part was and she said skiing and seeing the boys how they’ve grown. We are so grateful she took time to see us and see our kids. While she was here David and my oldest had a soccer tournament in Mesquite that was also a good experience.

Mr. D and Mrs. M

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