strawberry fields for...the weekend.

last weekend, april and i had the chance to go to a friend's hometown for the may day holiday! ivy lives out in the countryside, where her family grows strawberry fields, peach trees, and other fruits and vegetables. this time of year, the strawberries are ripe for the picking! so on saturday, we headed out to her uncle's strawberry fields. it. was. awesome. we had so much fun picking strawberries--there were sooooo many. we washed them in the well water and ate them right after picking them! so yummy.

on sunday, ivy's cousin was getting married! so, we got to attend a chinese wedding!! how lucky were we?! it was so much fun. there were tons of people there...and of course, april and i stood out like sore thumbs. haha. sunday morning, we went over to ivy's aunt and uncle's house where we would have wedding day lunch with the family and wait for the bride and groom to get there. all of the sudden, we heard cars honking their horns and a saw a caravan of the "wedding cars" with the chinese 'double happiness' character on the windshields and ribbon on the side-view mirrors. the lead car was covered in a floral arrangement on the hood, and the bride and groom were in the back seat. fire crackers were lit along the side of the road, and the couple could not come out of the car until the firecrackers had ended.

the bride and groom ran into the house, as the teenagers sprayed them with silly string, and they had a small ceremony right there in the foyer of their house! after the ceremony, everyone got to greet the couple and wish them a happy marriage. april and i even participated in this, and congratulated them in chinese! it was a riot!

for the rest of the weekend, we explored the countryside around ivy's home. we went to all of her favorite spots, including the river about a 30 minute walk away. sunday ended with another wedding dinner and fireworks set off from the front porch!

the next morning, we went out to pick one last batch of strawberries to take home. it was raining, so we had to do so quickly! it was sad to leave ivy's family. they were so hospitable and kind -- i especially loved her grandmother and aunt! it was a wonderful weekend, and i am so thankful i had the opportunity to visit my friend's hometown!

"let me take you down, 'cause i'm going to strawberry fields.

nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

strawberry fields forever."

{the beatles}

easter.

on easter sunday, we went over to the musgrove's for a little brunch and devotional time. it was sweet time (literally--anne marie made delicious cinnamon rolls from scratch & figuratively--our last "big" holiday celebration with our china fam). after brunch, we (of course) had a big easter sunday photo shoot, which the boys loved...not. hahaha. they were troopers though. ;)

then, it was off to the usual sunday fun day activities. we played a little tennis! and then started cooking/grilling! it was a great day. again, so thankful to celebrate the Risen King with these people.

sunday fun day!

the weather has been so nice here, we are enjoying a lot of time outside on the weekends! climbing mountains, playing tennis, hanging out in the NEW park...i can't tell you how much it lifts our spirits to be able to be outside in the sunshine.

since sunday have now been renamed "sunday fun day"--where we have our little sunday gathering, go out to lunch, and then play outside. at night, we have been cooking and the guys have been grilling us yummy food! it's so much fun. a great way to unwind and get ready for the week ahead.

sara beth comes to visit!

for one week, i got to have sara beth here with me! it was just the best. i loved showing her around the city and introducing her to all my friends. i am so glad she got to experience "my world" for a little while. it meant sooooo much to me!

see my mom's post on our reunion here. she's the sweetest. i wish she and dad could have come, too!

the mountains belong to him.

after vacation, we had the opportunity to go visit a village up in the mountains about 300 miles away from our city. it was an incredible experience. here are a few pictures from our week.

the riviera of the orient.

our next and final stop of vacation was hong kong! it was a great way to transition back into the chinese culture...though hong kong isn't too "chinese" because of its british influence. hong kong reminded me lots of london -- just with an asian flair!

i really enjoyed seeing the city. my favorite part of hong kong is the soho area on the island. it was super cute and had LOTS of yummy food.

we also loved having high tea at the peninsula hotel on saturday. a string quartet played while we drank our tea and ate delicious sandwiches and cakes. it was so fun.

we also took the cable cars up to victoria's peak right before sunset to see the city view both in the day and at night. we ate at bubba gump's at the top, which was delish. such a fun little excursion.

one night, we walked along the harbor and got to watch the light show!

yay for a successful and fun trip to the riveria of the orient!

an island in the sun.

though we were super sad to leave chiang mai, we were excited to be hitting the beach! our next stop was koh lanta--an island commonly called, "little sweden" because of all the sweeds that flock there during the winter months.

we loved our time there--hanging out on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and going on adventures around the island.

out snorkeling in maya bay.

five course meal at "time for lime."

my favorite day of vacation was when six of us explored the island together all day. me, miller, and haviland hopped on the back of owen, matt, and phillip's scooters and just cruised around the island! it was so much fun! because of all the dirt roads we rode on, we were all covered in dirt by the end of the day. it was hilarious. we ended our day, eating together at one of our favorite restaurants on the island called "slow down" and splitting a cookies and cream dessert among the six of us. so thankful to get to experience such a beautiful place with such fun friends.