Kauai 2016

We recently took a trip to Kauai with Caleb's parents and it was so much fun! Kauai is known as the garden island and it unsurprisingly lived up to its name. The place was very "untouched" and not too developed; probably because the locals want to keep it that way. I loved it. We visited before the rush so it wasn't crowded and we didn't have trouble with parking at all. The weather was in the 80s and rainy some days, depending where you are on the island. The weather was a bit sporadic, but that didn't hinder us from all the things we wanted to do. We did everything we wanted and it worked out perfectly.

We drove up Waimea Canyon and took pictures at different lookout points. We found this cool little waterfall. The red "rock" is actually really red hardened sand.

Madre and Padre's Michigan Trip

May was a very fun and exciting month for Caleb and I. My parents came to visit for ten days, their first trip to Michigan. Ten days sounds long, but we kept busy for sure! We first went to a museum in Belleville called the Yankee Air Museum.

2015 Memories

This past year was a whirlwind. It went by quickly and because I'm a terrible recorder of my life I naturally went to my facebook to see all of my posts. 2015 was truly a great year for me. I'm the kind of person that is always looking to improve and learn. I definitely didn't fulfill my new year's resolutions from last year, but I feel that I started taking steps in the right direction. I have been blessed with so much. I need to complain less. I have grown closer to my family. I am more in love with my spouse. Caleb and I have everything we need to live plus more. Our lives are definitely not perfect, and we have our struggles, but our blessings have always outweighed our challenges and I need to keep remembering that. Here are some of my favorite memories from the year:

Canada Trip

Hello! Well it's been ages. When the spring and summer seasons come, I always get more busy. There's just more stuff to do! We recently got back from a family trip to Vancouver, Canada. It was amazing! I have relatives in Coquitlam which is not too far away from Vancouver, so we were able to do a lot of things in Vancouver proper. Our trip was jam-packed with lots of sightseeing, eating, and shopping. I'm sure there is more to British Columbia (the province) than just Asian food, but all we ate was pretty much Asian. We had noodles, vietnamese, chinese, dim sum, korean bbq, sushi, and hotpot. I thought I was going to explode. There is a large Asian population in the area and there were signs everywhere in English and Chinese. It felt like being in Hong Kong again. And it felt good to use the old Canto with the parents. Caleb had a blast with that. My cousin had to do a double take when he heard Caleb speak Cantonese. He was so surprised!

Here's a day by day rundown of our activities:

Christmas 2014

Hello All! I know this is so late, but better late than never. How was your Christmas? Here are some highlights from ours:

Decorating the Christmas tree!

showering of babes

Hello! So it's been crazy (as it always seems to be during these months) so now I'm finally able to write a little bit about what's been going on. The baby shower I planned was last Tuesday and my friend had her baby last weekend! It's been a really exciting couple of weeks. Caleb and I were able to visit them at the hospital and their baby girl is seriously adorable. For blogging purposes, I will call their daughter Calebella. Guess who thought of that? Caleb was trying really hard to convince them to name her that, so I guess he is getting his wish on our blog. :) Or I might just call her Bella for short. Anyway...I've got photos of the baby shower, but not of her. I'll leave that to the parents.

One really great perk of having a father who makes photography a serious hobby: he gives you his old equipment. My dad recently gave me his old Nikon attachable flash. It makes a huge difference. I've really been wanting to work on my photography skills, so I made an effort to produce quality pictures of the event. We didn't go crazy on decorations, nor did we play any games, but we had great company, great food, and great fun. I am indebted to the other women who helped in making this happen!
  

a sure way into your mother-in-law's heart

This is coming a little late, but I'm still going to post it because I love to run!

I never thought I would say that. haha. 

I've truly come to enjoy running as an activity that is not only good for my health, but also as a way to clear my mind and free myself from the stresses of life. I love to run, but I wouldn't consider myself addicted to running. Well, maybe borderline addicted. It also makes me feel good and well...invincible. There is something about accomplishing a run, or a race, that energizes me, invigorates my mind, and continues to fuel my self-confidence that I can do incredibly hard things. Let's face it, how many people do you know actually like to run? And then how many people do you know who hate running? Yeah, it's pretty imbalanced. Running is a hard sport. I was never one to go with the crowd anyway, so I guess I found my niche.

hitting lots of birds with one stone

So I just got back from another trip. Yeah, I know, I keep going on all these trips. This year has just been an exciting year for people close to me. I went to San Diego for a wedding reception of one of my best friends since 5th grade. It was quite the event. I wasn't planning on going, but then when I found out our other best friend from 5th grade was going, I reconsidered. It has been years since we have been together, so I figured what better reason to get together than a wedding? It will probably be another long while until we are reunited again.

Dawn befriended me in 5th grade. She was a new girl. And she invited me over all the time. She lived just down the street from me.

I got these old photos from facebook. She somehow found them and posted them years ago. 

It was the beginning of an awesome relationship. Pretty sure this is 5th or 6th grade. I wish I had one of Mariana too, but you'll see her in a second. 

ben and whit 2014

Over the weekend, Caleb and I went to Utah for a much anticipated wedding. Ben and Whitney were married on August 14, 2014 in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony. Everything was perfect. Before the wedding day, we went around visiting friends and relatives. It was a really busy day, and we were very exhausted, but it was worth every minute. I was grateful to see so many old friends. And a big shout out to my friend Allison for being so loving! I love you Lew Lew! I was also glad to see Ben, even if it was for a little bit, he seemed to be pretty calm and relaxed. I know he'll rock this whole marriage thing. :)

The wedding day went perfectly. We rode with Josh, Shannon, and Phoenix and had time to spare before the actual temple ceremony. With our extra time, we went to the temple square visitor center and saw the famous Christus statue. It was so peaceful. I just stood there looking up at the statue for a few silent moments, and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for my knowledge of the Savior and His love for me. I am so grateful for the faith I have in Him. Because of Him, I've had the strength to do hard things and to change for the better. 

Lessons Learned from a Chinese Tiger

So funny story...I was too young to remember this, but from what I gathered this is what happened.

My father was asked to speak at church. When that particular Sunday arrived, he was ready. When it was finally his turn to speak, he started out with an incredible story. He shared his experience of hunting tigers in the jungles of China with his father. I don't know all the details, but I think he accounted one experience in particular and he related all the crucial details of one specific hunt. It was riveting. It was tense. The congregation gave him their undivided attention. After he finished the story, he used it as an analogy for the topic of his message. To be honest, I don't even know what that topic was. After the meeting, friends told him how much they enjoyed that story and thanked him for his spiritual sharing.

This is the funny part...my dad made the whole thing up! Yes, he fabricated a fake experience to fit the needs of his gospel sharing and told it to probably a congregation of at least 100 people. What?! Later on I asked him why he would do that...he just smiled and explained that nobody would question its authenticity. He was right too. At that time we were the only Chinese family in the stake. My dad was the only man from China. He could make up anything he wanted and people would believe it. China was an exotic country that nobody around here really knew about. That might be different now, but back then, China was a mysterious place, and my dad knew it. Clever man.

I imagine my mother rolling her eyes as all of this unfolded. If I could go back in time, I would sit with my patient mother at that meeting while my dad was telling lies to the entire congregation. That would be a priceless experience. I smile just thinking about it. 

Later on my dad did tell people in church that he made up the story. I bet there were some people who were disappointed, but I'm sure they enjoyed the story anyway. Everyone got a good laugh out of it. There were others who still believed the story to be true and my dad had fun with that. It became a mystery whether the story was true or false. And years later, people would still talk to him about his tiger hunting experiences. 

This post is dedicated to my Dad. It was his birthday yesterday and I wanted to do something special for him. He can afford everything he needs and wants and so I figured it would be more valuable to share with him my thoughts and some lessons I have learned from him. Some are funny and silly, but all are meaningful. These lessons aren't in any particular order. If anything, it is chronological. 

Lessons Learned from a Chinese Tiger (the tiger is my Dad...obviously)

Don't be a Picky Eater. When I was maybe four or five, I absolutely refused to finish the veggies on my plate. We had that veggie medley on our plates of peas, carrots, and corn. When I was young, I loathed peas. So naturally, I didn't want to eat them. My father struck me a deal. For every pea I didn't eat, I would have to take a slap on the hand for it. I didn't think that was a bad deal so I immediately accepted and held out my hand for the first slap. To make a long story short, I only lasted two hand slaps and I ate the rest of my peas. I didn't take my dad up on that offer ever again.

Kisses are a form of currency. Growing up, if I needed help from my dad, he would always ask, " What do I get? " When I was really young, I would shrug and then he would immediately suggest, " how about ten kisses on the cheek? " And of course I would give him the kisses, alternating cheeks so that it was even on both sides. As I grew older, I caught on and didn't have to wait for him to suggest. I would offer my price on how many kisses I would give. I started having a running tab of kisses that I owed him and a lot of the time I would whine and be reluctant to give him more kisses. I'm pretty sure I owe him more kisses than I can ever pay back. I know this lesson seems silly, but I think there is something to be learned. This is a great example of parental love to a child. This mirrors the love Heavenly Father has for each one of us. I don't think I will be able to truly understand this kind of love until I have a child of my own. My dad only asks for kisses, and when I am reluctant to pay, he helps me anyway. I am truly grateful to my dad for doing this. It not only lets me know he loves me, but also teaches me of Heavenly Father's love for all of his children. I plan on continuing this practice with my future kids.

If you're wondering, I'm the little baby in my dad's arms. :)

Being bald is not the end of the world. My dad started losing his hair in his early twenties. Really young. Imagine what that can do to a young man's self esteem. But if it ever bothered my dad, he never showed it. never. Life goes on, and if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I've only known my dad as a bald man and quite honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I think he looks great. I'm pretty sure my brothers and I have made jokes about his baldness and that never got him down. Plus, he has a lovely collection of hats, and I think he looks so cute when he wears beanies in the winter. 

taken from thewoksoflife.com

The secret ingredient is the green onion. 
So my dad loves to cook. He doesn't like baking so much, but cooking is where it's at for him. For a time there was this one chinese dish he would cook all the time that required green onions.  A picture of this dish is on the right. It's one of my all-time favorites. He went through a phase where he cooked this all the time. And always, without fail, at the dinner table he would say, " the secret is in the green onions." Pretty soon he started saying that for other dishes and it became an inside joke for our family. My dad always enlisted our help to prepare dinner. My father-in-law recently complimented me on how well I chop vegetables. I owe that one to my dad. Because of his insistence that we help him with dinner, I have learned many of my cooking skills and repertoire of asian dishes. I'm also going to put a plug in here for my mom too. She has also taught me a ton about cooking and my childhood is filled with happy memories of her savory dishes. Thanks Mom.  

 Don't mess with Asian Pride. In my senior year of high school, I ran for student body president. The previous two years, I had been class vice president for student government, so it was pretty much expected I would be student body vice president. I could have ran for student body VP and easily taken the position, but oh me...I didn't. Instead I ran for student body president against my good friend who had been president since 6th grade. Why did I do that? Honestly, I think I was just curious to see what would happen. There have been many who have run against her, but she has always been victorious. We both ran a good campaign, and it was close, but I did not win. And I really didn't have any hard feelings. I had a good experience being in student government, and I knew our student government would be in good hands.  But anyway, the lesson I learned was during my campaign. I used slogans with Chinese characters that represented honor, virtue, and truth. I don't remember exactly the sayings on the posters, but throughout the entire process, my father taught me more about our Chinese heritage and it made me realize how proud he was to be Chinese. Ever since I was young, he has been involved in the Chinese community, volunteering his time to organize events and share with others about Chinese culture. He loves learning about Chinese history. His example has taught me to be proud of who I am and the special heritage that I have. I hope I can carry on that Asian pride to my future kids.    

I know that was only five lessons, and there are plenty more and counting, but I think I will stop for now. I know my dad is not perfect and he has his weaknesses, BUT he is still my hero. I am so grateful for his love and patience throughout the years. Happy Birthday Dad! I hope this year is a good one filled with awesome adventures. 

I love you!

Jessica

my awkward years if you can't tell :)

NC...another long post

I must say this year has been an awesome year of trips for me. A couple weeks ago we went to North Carolina for a week to celebrate my brother's graduation from Wake Forest Law (go Cheston!). The graduation festivities were only two days long, and then the rest of the time we rented a beach house on the Outer Banks, which is off the coast. I loved every single minute of it. I kept telling my parents this has got to be one of my top favorite family trips ever. 

one more post for hong kong

Hey there friends. I still had some photos from my Arizona/Hong Kong trip that I wanted to share. So this post will just be a bunch of pictures with some captions with short explanations.  It's long so brace yourselves. Enjoy!

I first flew to Phoenix to meet up with my parents. I found this lovely collection of unfinished baby blankets. My mother is so cute. 

Caleb, Will You Be My Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope your day is going well. Yesterday I made a simple gift for Caleb. Took me forever, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. I've started to pick up calligraphy, so I wrote the only font I know so far, italics. The ink was pretty light though so  I took a pilot pen afterwards to darken the letters. I hid them in his pillowcase last night, and he discovered them this morning. It was a fun morning. 

christmas travels

I thought it was time for me to catch up here. I hope you all had a great holiday. We spent our Christmas break actually in several places. 

First, we drove to Ohio to visit Caleb's parents. It was a very short stay, but we were able to exchange gifts. Caleb and I gave his parents a very...clever gift. I asked Caleb to write a poem to go with it, and this is what he wrote:

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad! What an exciting year we’ve had!

There have been ups and downs, loop-the-loops, and turn-arounds.

We’ve laughed and we’ve cried, we’ve helloed and we’ve good-byed

Now once again it’s that time of year, when we share with you a cup of cheer

Even though you live down “there”, with evil people lurking everywhere

And we mourn for your sorry State, we still hope your holiday is great

Christmas should be fun for everyone, even those Buckeye sons of guns

And so we send you this, our love: view it as a white peace Dove

For while lost, you stumble and grope, we know always there is hope

While your allegiance makes us sad it’s true, we’re always holding out for you!

Merry Christmas!

Caleb and Jessica

Here is a picture of our special gift:

So when we first moved to Michigan, I was pretty determined to find some Michigan t-shirts for ourselves. Everywhere you look there is always someone wearing the prideful maize and azure. I decided to walk around the shops near campus and lo and behold I found a store that had a humongous selection of all the Michigan apparel you can imagine. And not only was there a huge selection, but they were also for reasonable prices. I saw these t-shirts and thought it would be a great Christmas gift for Caleb's parents. (It was only September, but my brain was already on it) I got one for Caleb that says "Michigan Physics" and of course I got one for myself that says "Michigan Wife." I just couldn't resist.

Needless to say, Caleb's parents loved the shirts. Even though they still bleed red (Ohio State color), they still plan on wearing them with pride come spring and summer. 

After our visit with them, we flew to Phoenix to be with my family. I was stoked. Here's why:

  Isn't he so adorable?! Well, you all know how adorable Caleb is, but in addition to my wonderful husband I'm talking about the little guy he is holding. Deacon is my nephew, my oldest brother's child. I had blogged about him in another post here. Caleb and I had a great time playing with him.

So basically I can't get enough of this kid. Caleb is really good at playing with him. We also did some other fun things. We went to San Diego to visit some of my relatives and also to do some sightseeing. We also went to Universal Studios, which was awesome. I had been there when I was younger, but they've completely redone a lot of the park so it was all new to me. 

Caleb and I had a really great time. We ate lots of good homemade food and it was just so nice being all together again. My mother was just so glad we could all be home. I don't think she really cared what we did as long as we were together. I think I probably felt the same way. We hope you all had a great holiday season with friends and family as well. It's during these times where I am reminded of how grateful I am for my family and the true happiness they give me. I am grateful for the Christmas season where we can celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and remember His life and what He has done for all mankind. It through following His example that really helps us to feel the true spirit of Christmas, of charity, faith, and love.  

What's been going on the last couple of months...

Here is just a sampling:

Caleb got a coat for his birthday. I have a matching one that is hot pink!

Caleb's birthday dinner: Parmesan crusted tilapia, Garlic Green Beans, and Cilantro lime rice

Another Birthday Surprise! Dragon Fruit! I found this randomly at a grocery store.
We both enjoyed this fruit a lot while living in Hong Kong.

I made A LOT of pumpkin cookies

We visited an apple fruit farm called Wasem's in Ypsilanti.
You could pick your own apples.

They also had a pumpkin patch, very convenient. 

I thought these gourds looked really cool

Here's the pumpkin we carved!
The Boogey Man!

We watched "Hocus Pocus" while pumpkin carving with our neighbors

Our neighbor's pumpkin, "Let It Snow" is the title of Jonathan's Christmas album.
And it's actually available for purchase now at jonathankeithmusic.com
You should buy it.

Morgan Valley Marathon

Hi Everyone!

Okay so life has been a little crazy, but hopefully I'll be able to bring you all up to speed here in the next few posts. 

I ran my first MARATHON! 
26.2 miles of amazingness! Well, you'll see in a sec the pictures may reflect something a little different. However, I very much enjoyed my race and I felt incredible throughout the race. 

Unfortunately, Caleb was not able to run with me. He injured his knee, BUT he was allowed to ride his bike alongside me. I want to especially express my gratitude and love for my husband. He was with me training the whole way until he got injured. Even after being unable to run, he was willing to ride his bike with me. I'm sure it was very difficult and disappointing for him, but he still encouraged me to continue. If he was not with me during my race, I would have never done as well as I did. 

Official chip time: 4:01:14.0
Race Pace: 9:12/Mile

I don't know if this is a good time, but I'm pretty satisfied with it. 

We trained for this marathon since January, so about 7 months total of training. We ran a total of about 500 miles. It definitely took a lot of discipline and time, but it was well worth the effort. Would I do it all over again? Yes! I don't know if I will do another one again soon, but we'll see. I've got a lot of projects coming up in the near future. (more to come in future posts)

Here are some pictures from the race. They had professional photographers there. You can tell I look super exhausted at the end, but it was a special experience to have my super hot husband holding hands with me across the finish line. I couldn't be more proud.