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​Lots of May birthdays...happiest birthday to my sister and twin brothers, aunt Jane and Todd's Poppy! ​

Youth conference:

​ The largest gathering of LDS youth in China to date.  ​

China-wide Youth Conference 2014 from Hey Ho on Vimeo.
BRIG:

​ So Youth Conference was probably one of the most fun things I have ever done. It was an awesome experience. I am so glad I got to go to this trek. This trek was the first ever trek in China and I was apart of it. It was pretty sweet. I think the best part was when we did trust exercises with our families. There where also a couple of dances/hoedowns. Overall this was a very good experience and I am very glad I was able to be apart of it. ​

 
BROOKLYN:

​ Youth conference was so fun! Before we went I kept complaining that I didn't know anyone that was gonna be in my trek family but it ended up being so much better than I thought! I met tons of cool kids. The trek wasn't as intense as the treks in America... I think we only walked 6 miles total (which was totally fine with me)​. We played tons of fun games and there was just so much work put into it! Each family even got a fake baby (which was a sack of rice) that we had to carry around, and then at the end we found out if our baby died or not based on stories that actually happened in pioneer times. My baby BOY named LUCY died:(. Other than that.... It was super fun and went so well especially considering it was the first trek to ever happen inChina!! 

 
CHASE:

​Trek was coooooool. The first night we got there one of our family's tents was flooded so we squeezed 4 boys in a 2 man tent. It was awesome. The handcarts had little poles on them, so when you set the handcart down it doesn't fall over. The problem was that whenever you tried to turn the handcart it would dig into your ankles. Half the young men left trek with minor limps. The food was good. Testimony meeting was great. It was cool to see other members my age going through the same situations. ​

 

Monday

​: ​

 

 ​Xian China, Ascot ​

​Hotel where we are staying, is under construction. Smoking allowed everywhere.  Hard, small beds, a little larger than a twin. Bathroom smells like an outhouse.  It's so interesting traveling inChina and seeing what you get when you check in. Sometimes twin beds are big, sometimes small. A rollaway costs almost as much as the room itself.   B

reakfast at the hotel, you know, the usual, boiled lettuce, fried rice and noodles, salad with mayo for dressing. Steamed mystery dumplings. Hired a big van to take us and the Tovars to the terra cotta warriors. "Sophia" was our guide for the day. Her English was tough to understand. Chase said he already finished school and checked out. Brigham counted 117 times that she said "yes". Little Sophie kept running off. There were three buildings with "pits" inside them. This is where the soldiers were all lined up and they are still actively uncovering them. They have been digging for 38 years. The first pit was long, like a football field or so. Amazed that each one had a different face. Warriors are a three piece work. The feet are solid. The bodies are hollow. The heads are a mix some of them hollow and some were solid. We shopped in the market for a bit afterwards and then went to the nearby village where nearly every house was a restaurant. They took us upstairs for lunch to a private room with a round table. We shut the door and Chase said a prayer that we wouldn't get sick from the food. Ernesto played his Chinese music and we ate and regrouped for the next adventure. The underground palace was a huge disappointment. I do not recommend. It was like a really bad diorama. Heads were falling off, mannequins tipped over, main event was six ladies guarding a tomb. It took about 15 min to see the whole thing. The best part was the hallway leading to it with low ceilings and cave like feel. Back to the hotel for a nap. We then walked via the bell tower to the City Wall. Rented bikes for a couple of hours and rode around the whole thing which was 13.7 bumpy brick km long.Chase and I were on tandem bikes each carrying a little girl. Brooke and Brigham were on mt bikes

 ​. b

y the time we were finishing up, all the lanterns and pagodas were lit up beautifully. Ate pineapple on sticks and watermelon and blackberries 

​that turned our teeth purple, ​

from paper cups. On to Muslim quarter for dinner. One of the craziest, loudest, most colorful markets we have seen. 

​Neon flashing signs everywhere. Crowded. ​

Muslim shops making noodles, beating cracker dough with huge mallets and hot fire woks burning, ready to make your dinner. The shop owners all doing something to get the attention of those passing by...singing, yelling, wildly twirling long strips of dough. We turned down a side street and found a table for ten, ordered 28 skewers of meat for a boy to grill over coals, walked to the shop across the street for some wide Muslim noodles and then ate over 10 bottles of orange soda (only choice besides homemade drinkable yogurt) with little straws. 

​The place was filthy, blood dripped on the floor from the meat preparation area, dirt and vegetable leaves all over.  Sticky tables with leftover spice and chili oil from previous eaters.  Somehow we didn't mind and ate there anyway. Oh, and there were two buckets of chopsticks on the table. I pulled out some that were wet.  Evidently there was a "clean" and "used" bucket. The "clean" bucket happened to all be wet wooden chopsticks also. ​

 Shopped a bit on the way back through the market down a back alley as they were closing down. Took three tuk 

​t​

uks back to our hotel and sat in the lobby and planned out the schedule for Tuesday. Brynn feeling sick with cold and sore throat in addition to her sore bum from the fall down the stairs. Sophie getting tired from the constant go go go. There were spilled drinks and a few tears shed at our 9pm dinner. Missing Todd. 

Tuesday. 9 am breakfast call. Made it there just before 10 between laundry loads. Smoothie king for the ones who can't stomach noodles for breakfast. Even the cold cereal was served with warm milk in a coffee pitcher. We went shopping and to the drum tower and the bell tower. There was a drum show (quick, just 3 sets). A little more walking around the Muslim quarter market where we met artist professor Ding. Nice, talented man. He kept pointing at pieces saying "my work". I love the vendors that sell their own talent or provide a service. There were a string of ladies near the bus stop that were mending clothes, some while they were still worn by the customer. One guy had a cigarette burn in his sweats and a lady was sewing them up right then and there. The girls bought some ceramic earrings that the seller hand painted and fired. I'm a fan of the paper cutting art also. We headed back to the hotel and took our van to the Xian airport. Pizza Hut there before our flight to Chengdu. Shane will meet us there at the airport. Our group will be up to 11, and  then twelve when Todd arrives tomorrow afternoon.

Wednesday: 

​Giant P​

anda 

​B​

reeding 

​B​

ase preserve was our first stop after breakfast. Three taxis to get us there. The red pandas, which look like raccoons, were up sleeping in trees, walking right over our feet and enjoying their brunch. Giant pandas were also feasting on bamboo, peeling them to eat and putting their trash in a nice pile. Brigham found "icy mint" sprite so we had to try that out. Back into the city, all in one minivan and to Burger King/mcdonalds/KFC for lunch. Shopping in Chengdu at the square and Korean market. Sophie got her ears pierced and was so giggly about it. 

​

Back to the hotel via crazy Tuk tu

​ks​

 to rest and wait for Todd's arrival. Dinner at a 

​Sichuan​

​

 ​

 Chinese place. I never knew the difference between Cantonese, Taiwanese, 

​S

 ichuan​

 etc. but now I'm learning. 

​Si

 ​

​

chuan is basically

 ​ spicy and​

a bunch of meat parts you wouldn't ever want to eat. We had one dish, chicken with bitter asparagus. I took a breaded piece of chicken. When I bit down all I could hear was crunching. It was a bunch of bones. Just had one bite of that! Next we went to a famous street, 

​J​

inli, where upscale artists and clothing boutiques were lit by red lanterns. The kids shot cross bows and the girls a

 ​t​

e cotton candy shaped like hearts and flowers. Back to the hotel to pack up for tomorrow's adventure.

 ​ Chase finally asked someone to prom also...with the help of some friends.  ​

Up early to check out by 730 and be on the bus by 800. We were heading out of the parking lot by 805 when Sophie realized she left her iPod in the room. 20 min later we were on our way. Leshan was our destination. Here we hiked with many, many other Chinese to see the giant Buddha carved into the mountainside.  

 ​(71 meters tall, 28 meters wide) ​

  The line to the bottom was hours long so we stayed up by the head, had some ice cream bars and went back down. It was pretty amazing, I was shocked when I first saw it and how huge it was. Favorite part was the weeds growing in the humongous ears. We couldn't find any lunch in Leshan so we headed to Emeishan, checked into the hotel and ate at the hotel restaurant. More Chinese food. No other choice.  Our standby is fried rice and green beans. We went to the hotel lobby and they opened up a private room for us. We played games for hours and had a good time.

 ​ Parents let a little boy pee in the hotel fountain pool.  Hotel is lacking...wallpaper peeling, mosquitos, towels feel damp, hard beds, smaller than a double and only two pillows for four of us. Phone doesn't work, heater doesn't work.  Walked to the Paradise hot springs...there were lots of pools...purple water, two with red water, yellow, green, brown and the normal blue.  Naked Chinese babies. Men taking naps in the shallow water.  Interesting!​

Black taxis to the entrance of the mountain. Beautiful hike to two different temples up in the mountain. Back down to the bus station, lunch at the witty monkey hotel, noodles, rice, beans, Kung pao chicken. A bus ride up the mountain and back down. Walked through the city hoping to find something besides rice but no luck. Back to the hotel. Snacked and chatted, a few card tricks and then to hotel restaurant for 

​more fried ​

rice. 

​We are all SO OVER RICE AND NOODLES.  ​

 Jamba Juice and Tia rosa sound really good right now.

In hired cars now for the 2.5 hour drive to 

​C​

hengdu airport. Our choice

​s: ​

 car no 1 

 smoky

. Car number 2 gasoline fumes. We will all be feeling sick when we get to the airport. The drive, however, is beautiful. They farm nearly every piece of available land including on/off freeway ramps and bases of billboard signs.  Houses dot the hillsides. Many, many shades of green and tree varieties. Terraced mountainsides. Bundled stocks of grain, tall corn.Chinese farmers with straw hats and baskets on their backs working their land, mountain tunnels, greenhouses. Patches of mist. Red dirt hills. Abandoned buildings with windows knocked out. New buildings with cranes on top of them. Smoke stacks.

​So nice to be home and sleep in our own (soft) beds. A special thanks to Ernesto Tovar for putting this itinerary together. It's not easy and he did a great job and things went very smoothly.  

​An uneventful flight back to Shenzhen and a good day at church today.  A big week planned.  Mother's Day, Chase farewell, Sophie baptism, ​Ally Skype for Mother's Day....and preparing to come back to AZ and UT for a much anticipated visit.  We can't wait to see everyone.  It will be great to get a recharge from being around all of you.  You are great examples to us.  --Todd

We will be back to our home country in 10 days! Getting excited around here.  Last week of seminary, a temple day in Hong Kong, cleaning and packing, getting ready for the farewell and baptism and thinking of all the great mothers in our lives.  Have a great week everyone!

Love from China, 

Jane and Family