As you probably know, Kristie and I accompanied the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir tour to China and Mongolia. It's impossible to show all of the things we got to see, but here's a glimpse of a trip that we will not likely forget...

Seoul Korea Temple



The choir sings inside the Forbidden City...

Hiking the Great Wall proved to be no small feat, but
still one of our favorite spots on the tour.

Can you get away with this in China?

The choir performs a traditional Hawaiian piece and crowd favorite...

Taking a bicycle ride on top of the City Wall of Xian...

Terra Cotta Warrior Museum...simply awesome.

I'm told this one was the strongest warrior. His
bravery was unmatched and warranted a large concubine.

Orphanage in Xian

Ruins of an ancient city along the Silk Road...

...our hosts were always so generous. Here we are being warmly received by alocal high school in Xinjiang Province.

Probably the best part was meeting new people and enjoying the company of friends...

We were fed like monarchs...

...dined like royalty.

...even in the university cafeteria.

..they just kept bringing out dish, after dish, after dish, after d...

"Really -- I'm good...take that back to the kitchen...please...for the sweet love of all that's holy

...and of course nan -- traditional bread of the Uyger people.

While we were in Northwestern China (Urumqi) we got a taste of the Uyger culture...felt right at home.

That "blonde" bombshell in the middle was a hit with the local Chinese. Kristie got elevated to "Rock-star Status."

One of the earliest forms of irrigation was first established in this part of the world. Grapes are the big crop here along the Silk Road...

More pics of Granpa and Grandma Smith with Kai. Enjoying Waikiki.

We're one step ahead---little league baseball pictures!

Play time at the park. Kai blowing kisses to mom.

And they're off! Mommy gets more exercise than she bargined for. Kai just takes off in the walker and he's gone.

Our neighborhood is full of kids. Kai gets a kick out of them---especially this cute one, Ziggy. He's a handful, but Kai just loves him.

Kai is an active and happy boy.
I think he's checking out the
mechanics of his walker already.

Thanks to Jim and Judy, we were able to go on tour (for Justin's job) with the BYU-H choir to China and Mongolia. Grampa and Grandma Smith flew over and stayed at our house for 2 weeks to tend Kai. It was an amazing experience. Thanks again Jim and Judy. Kai took to them very well. In fact, he prefered them over mommy when see flew home from China.

The Marlers and friends came into town. So we had to hit the beach again---can't get too much of it. We had a great time with them and I'm pretty sure Bart left Hawaii with a perma-grin.

Kai is wearing one of Justin's old outfits (about 8 months or so later than Justin did). What a doll!

Beach time!

My two angels!