Mount Rushmore

On our driving trip from Kentucky to California, we took a 300 mile detour to see Mt Rushmore.  It was great to have something fun to do in the middle of that four day journey.  None of us had ever been there before and it was really something to see.

 Rachael at Mt Rushmore

They have flags from all 50 states on either side of the walkway 

Family picture 

We stayed for the lighting ceremony.  This picture doesn't really do it justice; it looks spectacular lit up at night.  

Peace Roses

I planted a peace rose when we moved to Kentucky.  I love them because they remind me of my Grandpa Page.  It has produced three or four good blooms a year, until this year, when it has bloomed like gangbusters, one lovely bloom after another.  I'll miss this beautiful plant!

Second Grade

Rachael's second grade portraits.  Because I knew we would be moving and I wasn't sure we would get a school picture this year, I made sure to get quite a few.  I love the giraffe print dress - giraffe is her favorite animal. We took these in our usual fashion: a few of my poses, a few of hers.  These are all my poses that I liked.

(This totally looks like a fake background to me.  But it's really the fence between our house and the neighbors.) 

(Same picture as above, cropped) 

Can you tell she's done for the day?

Hong Kong Day 3 (and then home)

We slept through breakfast (some of us don't do well on transcontinental trips) so we went for an early lunch at Yorkshire Pudding.

The menu.  I have no idea what any of the prices translate to.  It's kind of like play money.

Then we rode a double decker bus to Stanley Market.  It was more scary than any thrill ride I have ever been on.  Winding, narrow roads, large busses, yeah.

Stanley Market.  It's a gigantic flea market.

And at the end there is a beach!

We went back to the city and rode the ferry over to Kowloon.  These monks rode on the ferry with us.

Our fancy anniversary dinner!

The view of Hong Kong at the beginning of our meal.

And at the end.

Happy 18th Anniversary to us!

The next day we went to the Hong Kong airport for the 15 hour flight home.  We stopped in the Disney store in the airport, mostly for fun.

Each of the seats on the plane is kind of it's own cubicle, but we got two where our heads were kind of close together.

Rachael was glad to see us! (But not happy to hear we would be going home the next day.) A huge thank you to Lesley and Chad for keeping her for us for the week.

Hong Kong Day 2

We stopped for a healthy breakfast.  We both had egg McMuffins, but fish sandwiches and pasta with chicken were choices. For breakfast.

And then we took the train to Disneyland! Isn't it cool? Disney built their own MTR line. Even the handles inside are Mickey Mouse shaped.

The castle at Disneyland Hong Kong.

Us on main street.  Having a great time!

The newest attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland.  (See the train on the hill?) It was so fun - we went on it at least a half dozen times.

The moving trash can.  The man in the hat on the right is actually a Disney employee with the remote, and he walked a few feet from the can.  Those little girls were mesmerized! (No one does magic better than Disney).

Mickey's Philharmagic. It was positively claustrophobic waiting in line - people in Hong Kong have no personal space.  (I hear this is true in Tokyo too).  However, the show was awesome.  I've never seen so many people try to reach out and grab 3D items.  And they were a great crowd - totally into the show.

We met these girls while waiting in line for a ride.  They would say "hello" in English, so I would say hello, and they would giggle like crazy.  So fun.

We had a great day!

Hong Kong Day 1

We went shopping at a mall by the train station.   

Then we took a gondola up to Ngong Ping, a tourist area with one of the largest Buddha statues in the world.  Apparently this is a really gorgeous ride over the hills - we mostly saw the fog.  It was still a nice ride.  

We found Darth Maul! 

We climbed those stairs.  All of them.  

I loved these hats on the cleaning staff.  

Cows.  In the grass.  In the village.  Sacred maybe?

Afer Ngong Ping we took the midlevel escalators and found a restaurant for lunch.  The midlevel escalators are outdoor escalators that go uphill for a long ways.  Ryan took them all the way to the top one time with some coworkers, and just found apartments at the top.  

We saw this cool boat white we were on the ferry on our way back to our hotel.  I think it's in an ad for an investment company or something. 

Business Class

I got to fly business class to Hong Kong. It was amazing. It's a long flight, but when you have a lay-flat seat all to yourself, with a TV and Bose headphones, it's a pretty good deal.

This was an appetizer served partway through the flight. It's cold duck and it was delicious - especially for airplane food.

No Smiling

While we were visiting my parents, I took some pictures of the kids so my mom could put up a current picture of my nephew Nicholas. Here he is standing under the "no smiling" tree!

And one together!

I had some prints done at the WalMart in Brigham City. When we went to pick them up, I had to sign a release saying I was the original photographer and had the rights to have them printed. How flattering!

Cumberland Falls

I never get tired of this beautiful waterfall.

Raindrops

Just luck that I happened to catch that drop as it landed!

Blackberries

A sweet friend gave me some blackberries and they were absolutely delicious! We ate them with everything, made some jam, and to finish them up we had blackberry milkshakes.  Yum!

Father's Day

Our treat for the fathers in our ward this year.  (You can probably guess that's it's Hershey's Kisses and Hugs in the bags.) Easy to make and easy to eat.  

I had the opportunity to give a talk on Father's Day this year too.  Good times all around.

Dance

This was the day of the dance recital - she was so excited!

Blooming

One of my peace roses at 7 am

The same flower, approximately 4 pm