THE STEPHENSONS

“I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” -Andy Rooney

2010-08-20T04:09:00.000+08:00

A combination of summer, me being stir crazy, and a father without a job for the first time in almost 40 years united for some great mountain hiking opportunities. My father and I went on several hikes around Salt Lake and enjoyed the beautiful nature our part of the world has to offer.
We took my nephew, Carter, with us a couple of times…he did great, and always has some hilarious comments to add to the trip. Some of my favorites were: “Grandpa, I’m doing good at not complaining huh?!” which was followed only minutes later by “Man, why do there have to be so many rocks?” and “I wish I was sitting down and eating pizza”. We can always count on him for quotes worthy of recording.
We also went on one with my mom, Carter, and his sister (my one and only niece) Aniston.
Sawyer did fabulous.
He already has a love for the outdoors and seemed to thoroughly enjoy each of our outings. Good thing!

What the heck is this stuff??

2010-08-10T03:53:00.002+08:00

Sawyer's horizons have expanded! He got his first taste of “solid” food (really just ‘not totally liquid’ food). You can tell he is thrilled about it…or he’s just looking at us and wondering what all of the excitement is about. We had a dinner at my parents’ house and had Rob’s parents and sister come over to meet our friend Sean (from Rob’s MBA school group) and watch this fun event. It was fun to have everyone there and I think Sawyer got enough food!
Is that a look of satisfaction or what!? Mmmm, milk with a little bit of oatmeal! What a life!

The splendor of sporting events

2010-08-03T02:59:00.000+08:00

I was raised to enjoy all that sporting events have to offer. Rob and I are kindred spirits in this regard and we didn’t even have to discuss whether or not we would raise our children in the same manner. So when our friends Brooke, Jared, and their little boy Ryker invited us to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game, we were game.
It was on the 23rd so not only were we able to watch the game, which we regrettably lost, but we got a bonus of a fireworks display at the end.
We were quite impressed! It was a lot longer and grandiose than we had expected, and once again, Sawyer thoroughly enjoyed it all! Thanks McArthur family! We also finally went on a “date”, and brought our son along, on the 31st of July. We got a “groupon” for passes to a Real Salt Lake game.
What else could you want, soccer, a winning team, and a good deal! Needless to say it was a thrilling game that our boys won. We lucked out with our seats too. Not only was it a good view but when the impending rainstorm unleashed we were 5 rows up from getting drenched. We comfortably watched the entire game warm and protected by the “wings” of the stadium. We were treated to a spectacular sunset after the storm as the cherry on the top of it all!

Fireworks and Freedom

2010-07-10T23:46:00.002+08:00

Oh how I love the month of July! Honestly, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I don't know exactly what it is but there's just something about the whole day. Whether it's a heightened pride in this great country, being with family, eating watermelon and barbeque all day long, or the thrill of the fireworks at night, there is just a pleasant, carefree feeling in the air on this day (and pretty much through the whole month in Utah thanks to the 24th celebrations too). I was so excited to introduce Sawyer to this holiday and all of the wonder of it. This year we celebrated on the 3rd, since the 4th was a Sunday. We met up with my brother's Scott, and Mike, and their families at the good ol' Kaysville parade, my parents where having a rough life exploring Europe for three weeks...much to my mother's dismay. Then did a swim and b.b.q. with them at my parents. We parted ways in the evening for fireworks at different events.
We took Sawyer home and did a few sparklers with him, put him down to bed and watched the Layton and Kaysville fireworks from our back porch...we have a sweet backyard. On the actual 4th we got to know some of our neighbors better through explosive pyrotechnics. One neighbor, I won't mention who, got a truck load of fireworks and firecrackers from Evanston a couple of years ago, so we were fortunate enough to be privy to the lighting off of the last of his stash. Sawyer thought we were all nuts but did pretty well with it all and actually seemed to enjoy much of it...even the endless strand of "Chinese" firecrackers that shook the entire neighborhood. Hurray for the dear ol' U.S of A.!

Summertime firsts

2010-06-30T03:55:00.004+08:00

The month of June was spent soaking up, bathing in, and loving the sun...when it wasn't raining. Sawyer had his first experience in Grandma and Grandpa Jeppson's pool; he's definitely going to be a pool shark :)

We also had the privilege of seeing my brother Matt.
He came to Utah from Kansas City to hunt for reptiles, fish (I think), and pick up some furniture from my parents house. Since he and his family live so far away none of them have been able to meet Sawyer, so it was fun to have at least Matt come for a visit, though we wish the whole family could have come. While he was here he was able to find and catch the highly sought after, Utah mountain kingsnake (yes, my family is weird). This allowed Sawyer to have another very important first, holding his first snake.
They bonded right away as Sawyer tried to grab the snake and shove him into his mouth...don't worry, we stopped him and the snake and Sawyer would still be friends to this day if he were still around.
We are so looking forward to introducing Sawyer to all the the summer has to offer!

Fun times at the cabin

2010-06-02T02:44:00.003+08:00

We made it and all is well! We had an enjoyable time at the cabin. Tons of people showed up so it was fun to have Sawyer meet so many of his relatives.
At the last minute we even got our friends, the Adams, to come with us.
It was nice to have them there so Amber, her son Lincoln, and Sawyer and I could go on little walks with them
while the boys were out ridding 4-wheelers or shooting at the shooting range. The 6 of us packed up one morning and headed to Bryce Canyon. What a beautiful place! We did some "sight seeing" and took a short but pleasant 3 mile hike.
Unfortunately, Matt and Lincoln only joined us on the first half mile...Lincoln was super tired and wasn't a fan of hanging out in the backpack. So, Amber, Rob (with Sawyer on front), and I hiked down into Bryce and back out all the while getting some pretty interesting looks and comments.
I'm pretty sure some people thought we were a little polygamist family with Amber and me being "sister wives". Oh, good times. We also got the mixture of looks and comments of "I can't believe those people would take their baby out and do this!" or "Good for you guys for taking your baby our and doing this!". We even got some Chinese people grinning at us and jovially stating "Oh, xiao pengyo!" (meaning "oh, little friend"). It's always humorous to me that people think that your life is over when you have a baby. Guess what?! You CAN take them along and it IS good for them to get out and experience new and different things (always within reason of course)! It IS possible to have a fun family life! Anyway, we had a good time learning how to lasso, hanging out at Panguitch Lake, and just enjoying the outdoors.

P.S. Sawyer HATES long car rides in his car seat...shocker, I know. But other than that all went quite well.

A whole lotta shakin' goin' on!

2010-05-24T02:15:00.006+08:00

Whew! It's been like a whirlwind around here lately. On the 11th, Rob and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary with a quiet dinner out; can't believe all that we have been through in 3 short years! We've definitely lived every moment to the fullest: Costa Rican honeymoon, living in Hawaii, spring break on the Big Island, Jeppson family vacation on Maui, life in China with our weekend trips to Hong Kong and Macau, 3 week trip with my mom and Rob's parents all around China, my random India/South Africa job, trips to the Stephenson family cabin, having a BABY, new jobs, and now a new house! And those are just the major highlights! Thanks for an already full married life Robert!

We moved in to OUR house on the 15th, with the 17th being our first night there. Thank everyone who helped us move! With so many willing and able hands it went a lot smoother and faster than I expected! We are incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such a strong support group!
We have a lot of unpacking to do but I was able to get quite a bit done since we didn't have T.V. or internet for the first week (just barely got...boy, have I felt disconnected!)! I've been surprised at how well Sawyer has done with the adjustment, sleeping in his own room all by himself. Now we're packing up for the cabin, Sawyer's first trip away from home! I'm a little nervous!

A place to call our own!

2010-05-12T06:04:00.000+08:00

After searching for almost a year we can finally say that we are HOMEOWNERS!! So exciting! We closed on our little house in February, a couple weeks before Sawyer came along. However, the people we purchased it from were in the process of building their own home. So they rented the house from us until the end of April, when their house was completed. We were hoping to be in our own home when the baby came along but I think it was another one of those hidden blessings…seeing as I was unable to do stairs and definitely needed the extra help. The previous homeowners were wallpaper happy so we spent almost a month scraping, peeling, painting, recarpeting, and making it our own. I have learned a lot of new skills thanks to this "opportunity". We thankfully had a lot of help from my parents and Rob’s parents. Sawyer was incredibly patient with all of the craziness day after day as we went to the house first thing in the morning and stayed there until his bedtime. I’m sure he thought we were nuts as we danced and painted to music to keep him, and ourselves, entertained (don’t worry, he shouldn’t be too affected by paint fumes). It’s SO nice to have it all done…now we just have to pack, move it all, unpack, arrange, organize, decorate……

Some before and during pictures

Sawyer's Baby Blessing and Mother's Day

2010-05-10T07:33:00.001+08:00

What a perfect day to have Sawyer's baby blessing! My first Mother's Day was a great time with friends and family celebrating my son and his life. My husband made oatmeal for me...and I got to eat it in bed! Then after all the "hoopla" we had an enjoyable, quiet evening together. Thanks to everyone who came to Sawyer's blessing and to support us!

Train them up young...skiing!

2010-04-19T05:34:00.001+08:00

I believe in the Proverbs 22:6 scripture that states, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it". In this case, it's skiing. We got Sawyer "on" skis when he was just a month old and have taken every opportunity to get him up in the mountains. On the 10th we went up to Snowbird to watch his aunt Tawnya learn about the thrill of skiing on a sit ski. It was Sawyer's first experience with good, wholesome, mountain snow; he loved it of course! Then on the 17th (6 weeks after the c-section) having been cleared to go skiing...up to the mountains I went. I skied hard all morning then Rob and my mom brought Sawyer up so Rob could ski the afternoon and so I could feed Sawyer. He once again enjoyed being in the mountains, hopefully as much as we did, do, and always have! Oh, it felt AWESOME to be back on the mountain! I didn't want to leave. Here's to at least 20 days on the mountain next season!!

Month old on Easter!

2010-04-05T05:24:00.002+08:00

I can't believe my baby is already a month old! It seems like so much has happened in such a short time and like Sawyer has always been in our lives. We LOVE our little Sawyer!
We spent Easter at my brother's house with his family. We had a great dinner and had a little Easter egg hunt for the kids. Thanks Scott and family!

Sawyer and his sweet cousin, Annie (the one and only girl cousin (out of 10) on the Jeppson side)

Gettin' old

2010-04-01T04:59:00.001+08:00

Happy birthday to me! My little one gave me the first birthday present early in the morning...after cleaning his bum for a diaper change he promptly mustard squirted all over the changing table before I could get his new diaper on...then he puked all over the bed while I was cleaning up the previous mess. Life definitely changes once you're a mother. :)
I just wanted to write a quick note to thank friends and family for the birthday wishes and especially to my husband and son for making my first birthday as a mother an enjoyable, and memorable, one.

First bathtub bath fun

2010-03-25T05:18:00.000+08:00

We gave Sawyer his first bath in his baby bathtub and got some hilarious pictures so I had to share one; don't worry, I'll keep it "G" rated.

Tender Mercies

2010-03-24T03:03:00.000+08:00

After a longer than expected, but greatly appreciated, hiatus from work, Rob has officially started up again. We have been blessed by receiving one tender mercy after another from the Lord. Rob quit work at the CAO Company LED division the day I went in to be induced, but he left with a brighter light at the end of the tunnel. After searching for a more rewarding occupation for six months he received a call, an interview, and eventually a position working for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a project manager in the media department. Ahhh…what a welcomed relief. He walked off to the Church office building on the 22nd with an extra spring in his step . They were more than accommodating with his “paternity leave”, especially since he hadn’t officially started yet. Fortunately for us, and our bank account, they acted as if he had already started for insurance purposes. This was a huge burden of worry taken from our backs. It allowed him to stay home with the baby and me for three weeks! That assistance turned out to be more needed than initially expected since I had to have that blessed c-section. Another unforeseen blessing was that we were still living at my parents home while waiting for our house that we had purchased in February to be available (more on that later), that meant another two hands and a willing heart to help me out after Rob went back to work. Thank you Rob, Mom, and everyone who prayed for us, loves us, and continues to support us. Sawyer and I could not have done this without you!

Hospital Visitors

2010-03-11T02:17:00.001+08:00

We have such amazing support from friends and family so I wanted to give a "shout out" to them and post a few pictures of visitors that came to see us in the hospital...well, let's get real, they all just came to see the star of the show, Sawyer. Including a couple pictures of the closest cousins. Thanks everyone! We love and appreciate you all!

Try, try, and try again...He's HERE!!

2010-03-10T08:07:00.000+08:00

Sawyer Robert Stephenson was born March 4, 2010 at 7:13pm weighing 8 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. He is healthy and beautiful, and that is what we wanted most! We know we are in for it in the future though, he’s a bit stubborn. I was hoping to go natural and have his birth be calm and enjoyable…well, as enjoyable as childbirth can be. But as we all know, things don’t always go as we want them to. After 17 hours of laboring naturally, a failed attempt at a vacuum extraction, and labor finally ending in a C-section
Sawyer Robert Stephenson was born into the world. Turns out he just wanted to look at the stars! Little stinker. That's why I look like I've been hit by a Mac truck in all of the pictures...turns out I practically was. It’s a good thing he’s absolutely adorable or else he would be in serious trouble:). He had to spend quite a few hours under the blue lights to get rid of a slight case of jaundice,
but he is quickly overcoming that. It took him a while to figure out how to eat but he is now catching on real quick to that too!
We came home from the hospital on the 8th and since then have been trying to learn a whole new schedule to life. But, we sure love him and are glad to have him home with us now. Thanks everyone for your phone calls, texts, and prayers. We really appreciate having such great friends and families! We feel supremely blessed!

Oh baby, my baby, when will you come?

2010-03-01T07:29:00.000+08:00

Oh yeah, so I ended up procuring a job as a ski and snowboard technician at a ski shop called Ski n’ See in October. Despite making not much above minimum wage, and having a crazy holiday season due to rentals, it was an enjoyable job. I often ended up working 45 to 50 hour weeks up until a week before my due date, or at least what I thought was supposed to be my due date. That day has come and gone…where are you my baby? My midwife informed me that I can only go a week overdue till I have to be induced. Bleh. I have been planning on going natural but I’ve heard from numerous sources that it’s a WHOLE heap of a lot harder when you’re on pitocin. So, I’ve been walking, and walking, and doing some more walking…still no baby boy! Well, at least that gives me time to post some more baby bump pictures while we wait…when is he going to come??

28 Weeks

30 weeks up skiing with my dad...to the bitter end!

32 Weeks

35 Weeks

2 days to go to 40 weeks!!

The festive holiday season of madness

2010-01-10T07:17:00.000+08:00

The Jeppson clan Christmas and Thanksgiving were pretty wild! We were working a lot, like mad for me(hence the reason I'm not in the picture), and my parents had the whole family in town for Christmas! Riot!! Sad to say we don’t have many pictures from Christmas (as my camera and purse were stolen in August, including a lot of cash and gift cards :( very sad times). But Christmas was great! My parents gave us a fabulous stroller/car seat combo that we are excited to use along with a lot of other useful baby items and post pregnancy clothes for me. Maybe one day I’ll be able to wear them! For New Years Eve we just kicked it at home with the family and watched the ball drop. When did Dick Clark get so old?

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-12T07:03:00.000+08:00

For Halloween we decided to take it easy and pass out candy to the kiddies. While we were hanging out I made Rob give his son his first Halloween costume. Rob dressed up in his lovely Chinese silk pajamas that we got for fun in China, so in the pictures he kind of looks like a crazy Chinese doctor. He did a good job though didn’t he?!

It's a Happy Day!

2009-10-25T06:38:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday!! We celebrated Rob’s 27th birthday at my parent’s house; also where we’ve been camping out while looking for a house since we got back from China. We also used it as a “guess the sex of our baby” party. We made everyone pick a blue or pink cup to use then we went down to watch the ultrasound DVD that we had done a couple of weeks before. What cup would you have picked? (Refer to pictures below to see if you are correct!!)
It's a...!!!!

Our baby!

I thought it was a good time to give Rob a birthday/Christmas present…a set of skis and boots! Hurray, no more rear entry boots for Rob! Side note: Rob and I got engaged shortly before Christmas so for that Christmas I promptly went out and bought him some skis to let him…try out skiing. Some say I wouldn’t have married him if he didn’t take to skiing and that this was the last test. I don’t think I’m THAT shallow, but we’ll just say it’s a good thing he took to it quickly and at least pretended to enjoy it. So all he had were the skis and bindings I bought him, he “made due” with some good ol’ fashioned rear entry boots that didn’t fit him, that’s how dedicated he was! Wasn’t he a good fiancé?! So now he’s a little more “legit”. Both of the parties were good times!
Happy Birthday!

Doesn't he look great in his jeans and boots? All his needs now is a Cowboys jacket and he'll be a Texas skier! :) no offense Texans...

Like a bump on a log

2009-10-12T06:18:00.001+08:00

So, as I’ve was…increasing in size, I got a job as a behavioral therapist working one-on-one in a school with a boy with autism. It’s was an incredibly rewarding job (one that I first got experience at in Hawaii), but a physically and mentally taxing one. Throw in the being pregnant factor and working in a school during the “swine flu pandemic” and that makes for a festive concoction. Well, I lasted three months. I know, I’m a wimp. But mostly just not a fan of putting my life and my unborn child’s life in that type of environment along with the stress of dealing with the boy’s mother who had multiple issues herself. Now it’s time to once again search for a job…as woman with a five month old pregnant belly. Hummm… Here are a couple obligatory baby bump pictures while you wait!
12 Weeks

22 Weeks

Time flies when you are crazy busy! Oh yeah, and...

2009-09-15T06:11:00.008+08:00

When I got home from India and South Africa I spent the whole summer up at school completing my degree. Hurray! I can finally say I have a degree! I graduated with a B.S. in English and a minor in Psychology. With Rob going to and from different lighting retailer shows I was once again on the hunt for a job. In June we got a visit from someone...a “stork” came by to announce that he would be dropping off a package in about nine months! We found out in August that we will be blessed with a bundle of love due Feb. 25, 2010!!

"To be learned is good..."

2009-08-17T05:47:00.000+08:00

Rob has officially graduated! He is an MBA! It took a while to get the actual degree in the mail, but it’s finally here! I’m so proud of him for sticking it all out, through the multiple issues of the good ol’ Shidler College of Business, craziness in China, and good times during his internship. IT’S ALL COMPLETE!! HURRAY!! Congratulations Baby!!

"You did what??"

2009-07-10T02:29:00.006+08:00

What do I have to say for myself? Well, quite a bit actually! I'll go in chronological order so as not to confuse anyone, including myself. To begin with, once we arrived back to America after our stay in China, Robert went directly to an internship with a Chinese LED company called CAO. This was required in order to complete his MBA. He...struggled through it, quickly got a paid position there and actually endured that for quite some time. Meanwhile, I was searching for a job. Then I did some more searching. Then some more. Eventually I received an email from UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association), a company I've worked for in the past, stating that they were looking for qualified and available people for an intriguing job opportunity. Well look at that! I actually WAS qualified, and obviously quite available! So needless to say I applied. What was the position you ask? Well, how much do you know about the game of Cricket? Don't worry, I didn't know anything either. Apparently it's a pretty MAJOR sport outside the U.S. One place it is particularly popular is in India. They have a league that's entitled the IPL (Indian Premier Cricket League). It’s equivalent to our NBA, NFL, and MLB all combined. In that I mean it is a combination of ALL of our major sport organizations. It is THE sport and THE league. Millions of lives revolve around it. It was placed on the shoulders of fifteen girls to popularize the addition of cheerleading and dancing to it. No pressure. So, after many long talks with my husband and several hang-ups circumvented, off to India I went.
We were “on assignment” for one particular team: Royal Challengers Bangalore. We did a few press conferences and filmed a music video while we were there. Then, due to circumstances out of the league’s control, the IPL T20 tournament was moved to South Africa. Time for more adventure!
The majority of the time we spent in South Africa was devoted to cheering at games and trying to convince the crowds that we were what the IPL needed. Thankfully we had some down time; and man did we ever take full advantage of that time. We went on a safari
played with baby lions and tigers (unfortunately no bears)

played in the ocean, went exploring, and overall just soaked up all that South Africa had to offer
. Our team, RCB, ended up making it all the way to finals, barely missing the first place podium by a few runs.
By the end of our two month stay all of us had grown incredibly close. We experienced a lot together, things that for better or worse we will all remember. Not to sound too cliché but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. During this time my sweet, supportive husband stayed at home slaving away working for the man. We spoke via skype whenever our schedules lined up. It was hard being apart but it all ended up alright (unless you ask him… :) ). What an experience!!

Oh the places you'll go!

2009-02-13T12:05:00.002+08:00

Our journey and travels in China have officially come to a close. What an adventure it was! It was an incredible learning experience that we would not have been able to receive any other way. I learned more in six months than the majority of my life about poverty, Communism, industrialism, and the full capacity of a human soul. On a daily basis I came into contact with people who have or are struggling to triumph over the most grueling perils that society has hurled at them. China is a country on the cusp of reform with its enormous international cities in direct opposition to its meek villages made up of adobe shelters. To their credit they have come a long way from the backward thinking of the Industrial Revolution. However, in order to become the “open society” they consider themselves, they have much further still to go.
We were fortunate enough to go on a three week exploratory trip through much of China, as a capstone to our time there. Robert and I were accompanied by his parents, Tony and Nancy, and my mother, Wendy. We all got to know each other on a much different level, for better or worse, through our trips on cramped train rides, the ever-enjoyable souvenir shopping, and who can forget our many visits to the “squat potties”!
On the whole, it was an extremely memorable time for Robert and me and when all was said and done, our brief life in China is one we would never replace.

These are just a few highlights of the biggest highlights, so as not to inundate you with too many pictures. I'll add more in following weeks.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-01-14T12:49:00.003+08:00

I am trying this blog thing again…on my own. This is meant to be a shout out to my adorable wife for the killer Christmas present that she got me this year.

As our Christmas morning was winding down, Stef pulls a note out of our Christmas tree, addressed to me. After some slight confusion about where the coldest place in our apartment actually was (there are many), I found my gift.

Flashback: Over the past few months I have rediscovered that I enjoy playing chess, even if I am not very adept at it. So, in an attempt to improve “my game” I try to play online against the computer, when I get a chance. I am pretty sure that the “easy” level isn’t what it professes to be though. I have also enjoyed getting annihilated on occasion by a friend and fellow MBA student, Sean White. He is kind enough to keep playing with me, despite my sub-par performance and record.

So, while Stef and I were down in Macau (a small section of land in southern China, previously owned by the Portuguese) I saw a sweet chess set with white and jade colored pieces. I didn’t have much money on me and I told myself that I really didn’t want to pack a chess set back to the United States. So, I walked away convincing myself that this was an “unnecessary” purchase. The joy of Chirstmas is that no gift is deemed "unnecessary" if you are getting it for someone else!

Back to Christmas: Needless to say, when I opened my present, I was quite excited to find an amazing chess set, complete with Chinese looking figures, styled in, you guessed it, white and jade. Props to Stef for going out on her own and procuring this treasure, despite the difficulty in finding and negotiating for the item.

I am still not much of a chess player, but I do have a sweet setup if anyone gets a hankerin’ to play some chess.

Oh to learn Chinese...

2008-12-29T20:00:00.007+08:00

I (Stefanie) recently completed a beginning Chinese language class. It was a very enjoyable experience and I actually have pictures to accompany this post, so I thought I would document it. At times it was frustrating, considering it is still Chinese, but I had a very patient teacher/laoshi (Catherine) who was always willing to help me through my difficulties. We had very interesting dynamics due to the differnt backgrounds of the class members: English, Belgium, Philippians, and American (me), along with our teacher from Shanghai.
I am sad to see it completed, it was a good use of the spare time I've found on my hands and allowed me to feel a little more connected to this mysterious land.
Robert continues to be the Mandarin expert in our family but now at least I have something to contribute.
Catherine and me...with my certificate!
The good old Han Fan class

Slacker!!

2008-12-14T22:51:00.002+08:00

I must explain. I know it's been almost a month since I've posted anything but this time I really have an excuse...and it's valid! Somehow our SD card got a virus on it so we can't upload any pictures, and what's a post without pictures. So, in light of this information, I ask for your forgiveness. We have been enjoying our holidays here despite what you may think with my silence. We had a tasty Thanksgiving dinner with friends and have decorated our apartment with Christmas excitement! We're looking forward to Christmas and have appreciated the spirit that it has brought us here in China.

More Photos

2008-11-19T15:29:00.006+08:00

Here are some more photos from the land of the Chinamen. Enjoy!
Our traveler’s checks in the grip of the Chinese banks ignorance!
The bank that finally let us cash in our dang traveler’s checks…MONEY IN HAND!! And it only took TWO months!
Sun-Yat Sen memorial building
Workin’ it out, Chinese style, with Monika Nordlander. You should have seen the faces we were getting: Priceless!
This is an example of signs found in China. My favorites were #7, 6 and 4. Ohh China.
at the Chen Family compound (a Relief Society outing)

Some serious ivory sculpting
Koi anyone?
Being a domestic diva: making bread with friend Leslie (don’t mind the awful picture, a little Chinese lady who doesn’t know picture etiquette took it.)
More fun with fish!

A very unusually clear day: view from our apartment
Fire drill, Chinese style
Our friends the Nordlander’s adorable son Johnny Owen

Down time in China

2008-11-09T18:53:00.008+08:00

I haven't done too great at keeping up with our random pictures postings, so here are a few of the things we have done with our spare time here in Guangzhou, China. Prepare to be inundated!

This was one of our favorite things we’ve done in Guangzhou. We went for a “hike” up to Baiyuan Shan (White Cloud Mountain- it’s actually just a big hill, but it’s their version of mountains). It offered a great view of all Guangzhou, at least what could be seen through the smog. It was nice excursion out of the city and it was a relief to be surrounded by greenery again.

This is how we spent most of our time when we arrived here…hanging out at police stations for hours on end, and not for the reasons that you are thinking, I’ve been behaving myself. It was all for the seemingly endless race of getting the ever coveted red stamp on various, and I mean VARIOUS, papers in order to get residency. Wheeeee!!!

Eating food in forms we’re not exactly accustomed to.

Rob playing Mahjong (the real Chinese way, not the Americanized version, don’t worry, I didn’t know there was a difference either).

Yeah! There’s an IKEA here too!

Don’t worry; I’m still a dork in China.
Splurging at “The Mexican Restaurant” (yes, that’s really the name of the restaurant, I guess that means there’s not much competition for Mexican food here) with our friends the Nordlanders.

Celebrating the Mid Autumn Festival by enjoying a moon cake…well, it wasn’t really enjoyable, people just eat them because it’s tradition.

Our cheap meal= a box of 10 jiaozi (dumplings) for a whopping 3 kuai (about 25 cents). Unfortunately we became rather disenchanted with them pretty quick. It’s probably a good thing since the place we would get them at got demolished not too long ago.  Don’t worry, no serious sicknesses for us yet!

America the Beautiful-Isn't democracy a wonderful thing!

2008-11-06T13:35:00.005+08:00

Yesterday Rob and I were able to attend the American Chamber of Commerce in South China 2008 U.S. Presidential election party (wow, that was a mouthful). It was quite an event. Surprisingly enough there was at least 20 Chinese people to every 1 American. We expected it to be much different. We learned several interesting facts during our time there. Apparently AmCham and the U.S. Consulate had invited many Chinese university students. However, once the universities caught word of it, mysteriously there arose a number of mandatory meetings for these students. So, despite those mandates, more students than expected attended. Once you walked in the door many free prizes were given out: buttons for each candidate, American flags, AmCham tote bags, and hats that stated “America Votes” (as viewed below). There was also an option for attendees to enter a voting both enclosed by large American flags and cast their vote and receive an “I Voted!” sticker. Welcome to democracy China! Something I regret not getting a photo of was also what I found to be one of the most interesting, but expected, sights; there was the ubiquitous presence of a Communist officer standing in the middle of the room. I figure he was there as a reminder of directive. That’s one thing I’ve learned about the communist government here. They give off an air of allowing the Chinese people freedom to explore different facets of livelihood while keeping the ever-present regulations and parameters controlled completely by the government.
While I ran off to my Chinese language class to hear about my teacher’s beloved “Chairman Mao”, Rob underwent several interviews about who he voted for, why he made that choice, and what he feels would happen. He spoke to me about one particularly well informed or well prepared young lady. She asked him what he felt about Barrack being “black” and how the American people would react if he was elected President. She also asked him about Alan Greenspan and the economic turmoil. This elicited interesting comments from both sides (Rob’s and the Chinese girl’s). Overall, it was mostly just fascinating to observe what was probably many people’s first analysis of a country run by democracy. It made me grateful to live in such a world that these types of events are possible, but even more to be a citizen of a country that allows us such great freedoms and opportunities.
God Bless America!

Rob posing with "Uncle Sam". He's actually a guy from our branch that works for the American consulate.

This is the freebie hat. I know you are all very jealous at how attractive I look in it :)

A weekend in Hong Kong

2008-10-30T16:27:00.010+08:00

(I'm sorry for all of the writing. I've decided to use this blog as a type of journal since I'm too lazy to actually keep one. So if you want to, feel free to just skip through the gibberish and head for the pictures.)

Rob and I spent this last weekend in the bustling city of Hong Kong. It's something we will have to do every 60 days due to the type of visa I was given. It's kind of a hastle but it gave us a good excuse to check out the previously British ruled, very international, port city. It was nice to hear English again and not get stared at everywhere we went. Our little trip was jam-packed with fun around every corner. Our first day we took the train down to Shenzhen, walked across the border to Hong Kong just made it in time to go to the Hong Kong temple where we saw our Branch President and His wife. We then walked around the shopping district (no shopping for us poor students), watched the ever enjoyable, free, nightly, light show, and, sorry to say, ate dinner at McDonald's. The next day we slept in on our SOFT and unbelievably comfortable bed, did breakfast at McDonald's :( We are such Americans! The little street front shop we wanted to eat at wasn't open yet. I've now officially eaten at McDonald's more here than I have in the last 5 years in America. We then headed off to Hong Kong Island via the legendary Star Ferry. We walked around and checked out the infamous, massive banking and finance buildings...that place is crazy! Then we headed up to "The Peak". What a view!! We went up on a little tram/rail car on a slope that was about 45 degrees, no joke. After enjoying a nature walk and getting lost for a while up there we headed back down into the chaos and found a random carnival going on, and rode on the "world's longest escalator". The next day we checked out of our hotel: the charming YMCA Salisbury (this is not like any YMCA in the U.S., it was actually pretty impressive), and jumped on the MTR all the way out to Tung Chung on Lantau Island. From there we went by cable car up to the village of Ngong Ping where the 'The Big Budda'(an 85 foot statue of Budda) resides along side the Po Lin Monastery. Hordes of people flock there to light incense and take pictures of, and pray to, Budda.
Then we headed back down the mountain and on till daylight...or our arrival back in Guangzhou at 11 p.m.
All in all it was a fabulous trip!

The train ride down to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Temple!

Hong Kong Island skyline

Our Star Ferry ride

Rob and the IFC building (International Finance Center)

Happy Halloween! I've been wanting to carve a pumpkin for so long now...maybe next year. At least I found these little jems!

On the rail car to The Peak

Ridin' along on the cable car to check out Budda!

A fracking HUGE spider we found on our “Inspiration walk”

The house that the spider built a.k.a. the house we found the spider in. We're thinking about turning it into our summer retreat; who wants to come visit us there?!

It’s a big Budda!

Ooommmm…

a wretched 90 minute wait to get on the cable car headed down

Rob chillin’ in “the line”

Our Apartment in Guangzhou!

2008-10-19T20:05:00.003+08:00

Robert here. I'm going to try my hand at this blogging stuff that Stef always takes care of in our family. So bare with me, i'm a first timer.
A few weeks ago I decided that we needed to let you all know how cool our Guangzhou apartment is. So, I made a video and tried to upload it for the longest time to no avail. Yeah, apparently there is a limit to the file sizes, who'd a thunk it. Anyway, I have now broken up the video into two segments in hopes of making it work this time. We live on the 15th floor of a 15 story building. I suppose that this means we are in the ever-desired penthouse. It actually is a pretty cool place and we feel pretty lucky to have it. I think we can also rest assured that my salary will never be able to afford another place with this kind of view so we have to relish it while we got it. Enjoy the quality footage folks!
(Ok, update: Rob tried to upload our videos on blogger but I'm pretty sure that thanks to the lovely Communist government of the People's Republic of China we are unable to view or upload videos on blogger. So I thought we'd try our hand at You Tube thanks to the idea of some of our friends. Hope it works!!)
The downstairs

The upstairs

Robert Taylor Stephenson's 27th Birthday!!

2008-10-16T18:45:00.004+08:00

My hubby's birthday was two days ago (October 14th). Considering that we live in China I had to try and make due with the resources, or lack of, that I had. It was an enjoyable day, at least that's what he told me :). Anyone that knows Rob knows that he is a big breakfast man. So I tried to make something that resembled a good old American breakfast. After that we went to a massage place, nicknamed "Heaven on Earth Massage Parlor"= to be said with a black man accent like Chris Tucker does on 'Rush Hour'. It wasn't exactly "heaven on earth". Those little Chinese women can really inflict pain! We kept telling ourselves that it was doing us good but now, a couple days after, we are starting to not feel as bruised and sore from it. They just thought it was hilarious to watch our faces contort as we groaned in agony...especially once I pulled out the camera. Anyway, after that Rob had to go to class and I had to try and get the Birthday cake I'd had my eye on for a while. Through many failed attempts I conceded and went to another "bakery" named "Best Confect Bakery" and bought a few mini cakes. Notice in the picture Rob is 'acting' blowing out incense as I was unable to find candles. We then went to 37.2, a European restaurant, and had a fabulous dinner of beef tenderloin for Rob and chicken cordon blu-ish thing for me!
Hurray for my Robert and his life! I am so lucky to be able to share that life with him. I Love you Robert!!

THE breakfast (just so you know, it's hard to cook toast in a wok)
Blowing out the incense candle
"Heaven on Earth Massage Parlor"

This lady was Rob's torturer

Tasty Birthday dinner!

The good ol' days of summer- a.k.a. our time before the day of reckoning

2008-10-09T09:59:00.006+08:00

We had so much fun while we were home with our friends and family. Other than our fun little trips we also did a bunch of random stuff. We got our teeth fixed, hair cut, went to some fun plays with my parents, played with my brother Scott and his cute family, swam, barbeques with friends and family, and a lot of packing...oh the endless packing. You would be surprised how hard it is to figure out what to pack in those two little bags when moving to China! So here, again, are some pictures highlighting the major moments!
Rob and I met my mom in Cedar City to head down to St. George. We stopped off to watch Cyrano de Bergerac at the Shakespearean Festival. It was a great play. The actor who played Cyrano was INCREDIBLE!
This is why we went to St. George. We got our teeth checked by my brother in his new dental office. It was quite posh. My poor hubby had to spend 5 hours in the chair under my brothers' capable hands. Luckily he was able to watch Spiderman 3 (there were t.v.'s in the ceiling).
BBQ with some of my best friends from High School. Oh those were good times!
This was the fatefull day, the day of my HAIRCUT!! I had my sister-in-law cut 12 inches off. Thanks again Kimmie!
There is goes! What have I done!?
Showing off our cute new haircuts.
My mom and I put ourselves in charge of a fun weekend for my dad and Rob. We went to a couple plays (South Pacific and A Midsummer Night's Dream) and dinner at the Sundance resort.
This is how we spent one of our last days in America. My brother was trying to train us how to defend ourselves here in China :)
My hardcore husband is a much more capable bow hunter than I am.
Kimmie and Caden waiting for us to be done practicing. Aren't they cute! Good thing Scott found this little lady. Kim, you are so patient, I don't know how you do it!

Stephenson Family Reunion August 2008

2008-10-05T21:41:00.007+08:00

Moving on to Utah. We arrived home and a few days later took off for the Stephenson family reunion at their Mammoth Creek cabin. The cabin always means a guaranteed good time. All of the immediate Tony Stephenson family was able to make it, even Grandma Ila Rae and Bill for a couple days. Part of way through the trip we convinced our good friends Brooke and Jared McArthur to come down and play for a day or two, despite Jared's recent near-death experience. So here's the classic run-down of our activities: ping-pong tournament (set up by Sam so of course he was the winner), shooting at the shooting range, 4-wheel rides in the mountains, rock climbing and repelling, playing the WII, card games, hiking, and Jared blowing out his $200 tire (causing a search and rescue mission to ensue). Oh memories!! We miss those simpler days.
The whole clan
the Stephenson siblings (I love this one, it looks like Tawnya is going for Katy's chest)
Rob and me at Cedar Breaks
The Line Up: Don't mess with the Stephenson family!
good times
Rob the expert
Practicing in case zombies attack (sorry, I just read 'World War Z'- I've got a lot of time on my hands here in China)
Check out the front driver side tire. It was an explosion!
Hanging out waiting for the search and rescue team of Tony and Joe

Jeppson Family reunion July 2008

2008-10-03T12:47:00.009+08:00

The Jeppson clan!

Just before we left Hawaii we met up with my whole fam damily for a vacation in beautiful Kihei, Maui. It was my parents, my three older brothers and their wives and kids (each couple has 3 kids), and Robert and me. It was awesome having everyone there but it also made for some interesting drama :) as expected with that many people in that close of proximity for 10 days. We also got some great looks everywhere we went, yes, we're a Mormon family of 19! Anyway, we did the usual Jeppson things: searched for Jackson Chameleons (of which we found at least 30), ate, hiked, jumped off waterfalls, ate, played at the beach, got rocked in the waves at Makena a.k.a. big beach, ate, watched sunsets, tried to get a million photos (I'm pretty sure we made that goal), enjoyed the scenery and each other, oh and did I mention that we ate a TON!! It was a riot that I'm glad I was a part of.
After the vacation we flew back to Oahu for one more night, the Westras kindly let us hang out at their pad for the night as we had already sold our grass shack. Then we headed to Utah the next morning (July 30) with nothing but a 10 hour layover in the Seattle airport to hold us back. Don't worry, we made it through with all of our luggage/crap and more miracles than we would ever deserve!

all the kids
Freezing our butts off waiting for sunrise on the summit of Haleakala
Rob and a female Jackson Chameleon
A beautiful male Jackson Chameleon
7 sacred pools
Me jumping off a waterfall...and apparently looking like a troll
Wastin' time in the Seattle airport

A Prophet's, and mother-in-law's, challege

2008-09-27T17:06:00.001+08:00

We were fortunate enough to spend three weeks in Utah for our '07 Christmas break. During this time we went to Rob's parent's home for a Stephenson family Christmas celebration. Nancy, a.k.a. "momma Stephenson", gave all of her children and their spouses a copy of the pocket-sized Book of Mormon with a challenge to read a page a day. This goes along with our dear President Hinckley’s invitation to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year. This challenge was given several years ago, but why not extend it to a yearly basis.
Well momma Nancy, we have accepted this challenge and would like you to know we completed it last night (Friday, September 26th)!; which coincidentally is our one month mark in China! It was a great experience for us, one that was oftentimes difficult to accomplish what with our different schedules, we were not perfect in carrying it out...we missed a day here and there, but we are already seeing the blessings that come from listening to a prophet's, and mother-in-law's, voice. Thank you for the challenge and the opportunity to grow closer together and learn more about our Heavenly Father's plan as a family.
I extend this invitation to each of you (I know, I sound so much like a missionary right now :)). If you're not already doing it, read a page a day and see what blessings the Lord has in store for you!

Catch up time = last few days in Hawaii

2008-09-14T17:06:00.005+08:00

Okay, it's going to be catch up time for a little bit, if only for my own sanity.
This is documenting the last week of our life on Oahu. We miss it so much, we had awesome friends, great times, and created unforgettable memories. Isn't funny when you look back on things and recall the past that you're only able to remember all of the enjoyable times?! That's what I've found in my life and this certainly pertains to our time in Hawaii. With that said, here are some pictures documenting such instances.

Aloha Oe! This was on our last Sunday. Our ward sang "Aloha Oe" and gave us lei. I cried, Rob did a little too even if he's not willing to admit it.

Our last Sunday game night with the posse

Mario Carting it up on the WII

We had more food left over in our freezer, this tasty Salmon was one of them. So I made my first attempt at making Salmon and invited the Westras over for a sort of farewell dinner. They all told me it was tasty...we're they being truthful?

This is the one and only picture we have with our pimp mobile after we cleaned her up and sold her :( We bought her for only $1300 and sold her for $2000 (after putting about $600 in for repairs) She served us well!

More "Catch up" pictures-Goodbye Oahu!

2008-09-14T17:05:00.002+08:00

Rob was walking with me to my last Hula class and we spotted this winner of a picture in our dear old Manoa!

Rob came to my last hula class and took some pics. As you can tell, I'm far from being a professional but I loved doing it and miss it so bad.

This is my beautiful pregnant Kumu (teacher) Hiwa. She was very patient with this crazy white girl who wanted so badly to learn about the Hawaiian culture through dance.

Co-worker and hula sister Hoku. I worked with her at J.Crew and expressed my desire to learn hula so she brought me to Halau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine to learn from the best!

My cute hubby playing indoor soccer with Drew O. and Co. They were skins :) Thanks for inviting him Drew!

Rob made these tasty nachos as one of our last suppers, consisting of Costco tortilla chips (Danielle's favorite) Costco peach and mango salsa, black beans, and of course...what are nachos without CHEESE! It was definitely tasty.

The Oesterle's set up a goodbye bbq with many of our great Manoa Ward friends the night before we left. Thanks again guys!

Ni Hao!!

2008-09-12T10:19:00.003+08:00

Okay, so I know I've been THE quintessential slacker, but come on, we've had a lot going on. Please cut me some slack?! :) Well, as most of you know, we are now living in CHINA!! We've been here a little over two weeks. I sent an email out to a few friends and family regarding our first few days here, so rather than describe it again...I'm going to take the slacker route and copy it on here. Sorry to those of you who may have already received this information. I promise there will be more/new information to come!

Well, we made it to the land of plenty. The flights went well...long, but well. Our 15 hour flight to Guangzhou was a lot of watching whatever movies they had in English and trying to sleep as well as one can with 5 inches of leg room. Rob was thrilled because they had National Treasure 2, I was particularly excited for Kung Fu Panda...I watched it twice :) So, after watching 4 movies and sleeping a few hours, we stepped off of the plan two days later at 6 AM to some serious heat and humidity, Hawaii has nothing on Guangzhou. My first toilet experience in China was on a "squat toilet" in the airport (a.k.a. a hole in the ground). One has to be a good aim, especially after 15 hour airplane knees. As we were waiting for our luggage to come out I made the, what I thought at the time comical, remark: "I'm going to laugh when our bags don't come out". Well...I'm sure you can guess what happened next. So off to the "baggage inquiry" counter we went. It was an hour after the plane landed that we made it through customs, which by that time our "buddy" that was assigned to pick us up, assuming he was there before, had gone. A taxi was 50 dollars so we thought we'd go for the adventure factor and try to figure out the bus system. That went quite well. We were able to see a lot of the city on our way through and it was only 20 RMB (about 3 dollars) per person! What a deal!! They dropped us off in the center of the city and said it would be wise to get a taxi to take us to our hotel. Rob used his mandarin skills and purchased a map through which we found out it should only take us 30 minutes to walk to our hotel. Seeing as we were in the adventure mode and that we only had our carry on bags and backpacks, off we went. An hour and a great spectacle for the Chinese later we slumped down on a corner in sweat and dispare. I asked Rob to try his skills again so he asked a guy pulling a rickshaw if he knew where our hotel was...he pointed up the street and in delight we followed his directions up the road to our hotel! After walking in and finding some of the guys in Rob's program we dropped our bags off and headed out to check out their new apartments and went on a search for our own for the rest of the day. By the end of the day I was more tired than I've ever been in my whole life and my knee was ready to explode it was so swollen. Needless to say we slept like literal rocks that night. Yesterday (Wednesday) we walked as a group to the university so everyone could register and get get things figured out. The school, and most everywhere else we've been, is great at making you jump through as many hoops as you could fathom and then dreaming up some more for you to try and wriggle your way through. (Side note, on the way to the school my one shirt I had to my name got pooped on :) ) We looked at another 20 or so apartments and found a couple that we liked but couldn't quite make up our minds, or our finances (they cost more than we were hoping and budgeting for). Today we started out going to the different agencies again to see if there was anything closer to our price range. In the end it was between a place with an absolutely, disgustingly, amazing view on the river with a dishwasher and a stove (those are unheard of accommodations here) for 4000 RMB (680 dollars after everything was included) or a place with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a good view and a normal shower, the other was lacking that for a jacuzzi (yeah, it was pretty random) for 3600 RMB + utilities (about 600). We opted for the latter for reasons of functionality. We just got back from meeting with the agent and land lady to sign the contract and paying a 3 month deposit! We now own a place in China, briefly. As I said, it is a two bed/ 2 bath place so if anyone wants to come visit us between now and February we have ample accommodations for you! Another great note, as I was writing this email our luggage arrived!! After wearing this outfit for four days I am ready to burn it. Our poor friends that had to smell us! Luckily we had a few pairs of clean underwear in our carry on luggage.
So after that long note you are updated on where we stand here in China! Can you believe we're in China! We still can't. I think it'll take a while for it all to set in.

Sunday Dinner

2008-07-08T15:47:00.000+08:00

We were finally able to get the true feel of an American 4th of July last Sunday. Rob has a guy in his MBA program that is a member and working for the Coast Guard. His name is Steve Detton. He has a beautiful family and a house that looks like it belongs on the mainland. His wife, Shelly, is a great cook and artist, and their kids, Hyrum, Eliza, and Hazel, are cute and have a lot of energy. They've invited us over to their home a few times for dinner and it's always been a great occasion. On Sunday we had a good old fashioned barbeque, complete with hotdogs, hamburgers, watermelon, and brownies with ice cream. It was a tasty memory that made us feel like we were back in Utah.

Video of the 4th of July Luau

2008-07-08T15:30:00.000+08:00

I am still trying to figure out this whole blog thing. This video goes with the previous post. It is of the luau to let you check out the "tasty" food...I hope it works :) P.S. please ignore and forgive my obnoxious sounding voice.

Hurray for the random 4th of July in Hawaii!!

2008-07-08T15:01:00.000+08:00

Last week Rob, two of his classmates, and I went kayaking out in Kaneohe Bay for about 5 hours. We made a 10 mile round trip out to an island called Monkey island, rode waves, and got a great workout. It was a very nostalgic moment that made us not look forward to leaving this beautiful island. Unfortunately we didn't want to take our camera with us, other than our cheap underwater one, so we don't have any pictures to share. After that we had another tennis match against the Westras. We still got spanked, but not as hard as the last time.
Anyway, we do have pictures of our 4th of July festivities. I had to spend the morning at work before I picked Rob up. Then we went to the Manoa Ward Luau. It was a good time but it doesn't really feel like the 4th when you are eating green squid goo and pig (you have to read the signup list=not quite what you think of for the 4th is it!?). After that Rob and I went on a beautiful ride to find a lookout spot for the fireworks (there's no place to park downtown on normal occasions). It was another one of those nostalgic moments. We then met up with the Westras and the Hastings to watch the fireworks. After, went to the Hastings' home and gorged ourselves with hotdogs, pizza, mango pie, and cookies...yes it was a gorge-fest. Thanks for the good times friends!!

Rob's last day of class in Hawaii!!

2008-07-06T16:32:00.000+08:00

Look at me trying to document important occasions. I need to practice before we have offspring so I can be good like so many of you.
So here is my handsome husband heading out for his last day of class in Hawaii. I thought it would be fun if I paired it with the walk to his first day of grad school(He and Derek walked together...aren't they adorable! Who knew we would become such good friends with the Westras after this day) Side note: The orange shirt was the first day.

Saturday fun with the Westras

2008-06-23T15:29:00.000+08:00

So almost every Saturday we go and do something enjoyable with our good friends the Westras; We used to play with the Osterles too until Baby Kai popped out, now we don't see them as often, unfortunately. Anyway, we've done everything from going to the beach to body board or snorkel(something we do most often), go to the North Shore to get Matsumoto's shave ice, go the Temple and snorkel with Turtles (until the poor Westra's bag got stolen:( ), go to the Honolulu Zoo, play at Waikiki, Waimanalo, or Makapu'u, or just hang out. This Saturday we tried something new and went to play tennis.

2008-06-23T15:08:00.000+08:00

That's me pretending to act tough, mind you this is before I got my butt handed to me.

2008-06-23T15:00:00.000+08:00

Just one preface is needed here; Derek was a hard core tennis player in High School and has since taught his wife to do the same...Rob and me, not so much. Rob has played about 5 times and I've played twice, now. So I'm betting you can guess the outcome. We got SPANKED!! (sorry, we don't have a picture of Danielle handin' it to me, D & D took the pictures and they didn't send us one, blame them :))

2008-06-23T14:11:00.000+08:00

(By the way, this is supposed to be one nice flowing post but I'm obviously not too proficient at blogging yet) Derek and Danielle had some pretty nice rackets they found at Savers, Rob had a fancy one he brought with us, as for me, well, I played with the "Jr. Pro" that we bought at the Punahou Carnival for 50 cents. I'm attributing that to part of the reason I was so awful, I'm not ready to assume full responsibility for sucking it all up just yet. Yes folks, I have a pride issue that I need to work with and yesterday was a great humbling experience, thank you Westras. In the end though it was all good times as Derek threw tennis balls at a tall mango tree so we could acquire the bounty that this island has to offer. We ended up with a pretty good stash!
This Saturday ended as most do, with a trip to the $1 theater to catch the hilarious thriller, "What happens in Vegas".
Wahoo!

Fireworks On Waikiki

2008-06-09T14:33:00.000+08:00

Some Japanese cosmetic company decided to put on a $500,000 firework show on Waikiki so we thought we would capitalize on it. It was a good time. It cost $30,000 a minute!

Kamehameha Parade!

2008-06-08T15:00:00.000+08:00

Okay, I'm trying to do better about posting things since I got rebuked. I hope this makes you happy Danielle :))
Further good (and free) times were had at the Kamehameha parade. It's a celebration of who other than dear old King Kamehameha I. There was some tough Hawaiian brothers playing the parts. We saw the princesses from Lanai, Molokai, and Ni'ihau. After, we played at the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful day in Kapiolani Park (with Diamond Head in the background) Life is good!

Surprise!! We're Utah bound!!

2008-06-04T04:22:00.001+08:00

For our anniversary Rob surprised me with tickets home to Utah so we can see our friends and family before we ship off to China. Our time in Hawaii is coming to a close. We are headed to Maui for the Jeppson family reunion July 19-29. Rob and I will then come back to Oahu for one night before we jump on the plane to Utah the next day. We will be in Utah for three and a half weeks before we say bon voyage to the great US of A! Life is one big adventure and I love it that way!! See most of you in Utah in 2 months!

Memorial Day Lantern Festival 2008

2008-06-02T15:54:00.000+08:00

This is us down at Ala Moana Beach Park on the evening of Memorial Day 2008. We were able to watch the Lantern Festival and enjoy watching the sunset and a cool display of boats dropping lanterns into the harbor to commorate the lives of those who have sacrificed to bless our lives. Hawaii is full of fun cultural events that you will probably find no where else. Good times.

1 Year Anniversary Dinner

2008-05-21T16:23:00.000+08:00

Always tasty times at the Cheesecake Factory!

Our One Year Anniversary!!

2008-05-21T00:30:00.000+08:00

Can you believe it's been a year already!? We can't! We have been through so much since last year. Life has changed dramatically and will continue to. Married life is great, we love it. We can't wait for everything in our future! We are all about adventures.
Our actual anniversary day (May 11) was on Sunday so we had dinner with some friends (the dear old Westras) and some other friends in our ward, the Boltons. We did the actual celebration on Monday, May 12. I was able to get off of work and we drove our ghetto car up the whole west coast of Oahu, to the most north-western tip that you can drive, and played on the beaches along the way. We had a back flip contest on the beach, Rob won of course...that boy's got hops, wrote anniversary notes in the sand for the gift I gave Rob, yeah, I've turned into a cheeseball, then had a delicious dinner at The Cheesecake Factory on Waikiki (thanks mom and dad Jeppson for the gift certificate for Christmas). It was a good time. Not a bad way to spend our first anniversary!!

Spring Break 2008- The Big Island

2008-04-28T16:43:00.001+08:00

Spring Break 2008 took us to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was absolutely amazing! We got to see whales jumping, lava flowing, and water falling on the Hilo side and manta rays, sharks, and turtles on the Kona side. On top of all this loomed Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world as measured from the sea floor. This is Stef and me at Akaka Falls.

Chinese New Year 2008 in Hawaii

2008-04-07T15:33:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year...in Hawaii!! It was pretty fun to get a taste of Chinese New Year here in Hawaii. It got us pretty excited to see the real thing next year...in China!! Life in Hawaii is a blast and we are certainly enjoying it while we have it.