Hi

Dearest family,

I can't believe how fast the time goes by. We have been enjoying "spring" here, the weather was really beautiful for about a week, all of the fruit trees were in bloom, then we got a big wind that blew all the blossoms off, and it turned chilly again. We have had two days of rain, and today it's not raining but still overcast, so it may still rain. I guess it's OK, as we could use the rain. It is really dry here, and it would help green things up. The weather has been nice for the most part, we even had one day up to 70, but most days are in the upper 40s or 50s. The grass is starting to green and some of the trees are starting to leaf out. Reminds me a lot of Salt Lake City. There are a few flowers starting to come out, but I guess it doesn't really hit until next month. I guess we're heading into the "big wind" season, when they have sandstorms that blow in from the Gobi desert up in Inner Mongolia. We had a couple of minor ones so far, and it coats everything with a thick layer of dirt. It will be interesting to see what the "big" ones are like.

I bought one of those electric bicycles last week, and have been having fun driving it around. It's no fireball, has four batteries in series and runs on 48 volts. Top speed is about 35 kph, (about 22 mph), but that's still faster than you normally ride a bike, and it is totally silent. If I were smaller, I think it would do 25 just fine. I took mom to the market on it the other day and it did fine with both of us. It sure is faster than walking. It has a luggage compartment on the back, another one under that, and a third one under the seat. When we rode it to the market, we were able to put all of our stuff in it and still ride home without having to hold any bags. Kind of nice. Mine doesn't have pedals, I tried one that had them, but my legs are too long and I couldn't bend my knees that far, so I just bought the long-distance batteries. Hopefully they will do what I need. It has a range of about 40 miles on a charge, which is plenty to get around town on. I already put my first "used" brand on it, though. Don Bird and I were riding it to the bank and a guy didn't hear us coming. I couldn't find the horn button quickly enough and he turned into the side of us and broke off my rear-view mirror. It didn't hurt anything else (or anybody), so I am going to make a little metal bracket and fix the mirror and put it back on. I did learn to ride with my thumb on the horn button, because they are totally silent and it's hard for people to know you are there if you come from behind. The people in our apartment building are really nice, when they saw it they told me I could park it inside under the stairs so it wouldn't get stolen. There's even an electrical outlet under there so I can plug it in to charge the batteries without taking them upstairs to our apartment. They're really heavy, so when I brought them up to charge them the first time, I decided I was really glad I didn't have to do it every time! Don has ordered a bike, too, and it is supposed to be in this week. He wanted a white one and they are painting it for him. Mine is silver.

This week is the Foreign Language Festival on campus, and our college of Foreign Languages invited us to sing at the opening ceremony. Of course, we had no idea what to expect, and we get there and find it's a major 3-hour production. We're 4^th on the program, following a presentation by the Beijing Opera. I guess you could say it gave a nice contrast! The opera is really loud, and we were sitting right behind the cymbals and drums, and it was REALLY loud. Beijing Opera is nothing like Western opera, the people screech and of course it's in Chinese, so you can't understand it anyway. But the costumes are very elaborate and amazing, and you can kind of follow the story line by the characters. It would have been really interesting if it hadn't been so loud. When we got up to sing, we couldn't hear a thing! We sang "You are my sunshine" and "This land is your land" and they seemed to like it OK, but it certainly wasn't a professional presentation in any sense. We were glad when it was over. Then they had a bunch more numbers and a play that lasted about a half hour. I thought it was NEVER going to end! But they were really nice, and at the end they had us come get our pictures taken with the rest of the participants, and gave mom a nice vase for letting me participate.

Last night we went over to the freshman campus at Ying Sui Dao where I teach three of my classes, and mom spoke to one of the English clubs about public speaking. Afterwards we taught them how to play the "Dot Game" (One has no dots, how many dots does 10 have?) and they really liked it. Then we just visited for about another half hour and they asked us questions and talked. They love to speak English with a foreigner, so it gave them a good chance to use their language skills. They asked about getting into US universities, about our family, and just about anything they could think of. It was fun. Tomorrow three girls are coming over for an hour to do some kind of survey assignment for one of their classes. They are from our sister university, Tianjin University, and they have been assigned to talk to a "foreign expert" about America. They were really excited, so I told them we'd do it. Wednesday night they are having a "Dubbing Contest" where they have to take a movie clip of at least 5 minutes and make up alternate dialogue for it in a foreign language (English), and they want me to come judge to see if the words and sentences are correct, and if the dialogue makes sense and fits the movie. Should be an interesting experience. I have to do it next Wednesday night too. They want me to dub something, but I told them I couldn't do it in a foreign language. Heck, I only know English, and I don't know any movies! We'll see. Next Saturday afternoon mom is going to judge a debate contest. It's interesting so see how they are involved. Last Wednesday she spoke to a group about the difference between Parliamentary debate and policy debate, and spar. It turned out they wanted more information on parley, so she told them that wasn't her specialty, but did tell them the kinds of things judges looked at when deciding who wins, and they really appreciated that. Not as many people turned out for it as they had hoped, but those that came enjoyed it.

I can't believe the winter you guys have had in Rexburg! We haven't had a winter like that for years! I think it was a good year to be in China! J We got a letter from Kevin Willmore and he told us that the big yellow shed behind his house collapsed from the snow. He felt really bad, but was glad nothing important was stored in it. I guess they had gotten rid of most of their equipment when they sold the big fields, and so had some stuff stored in it for other people. He said most of it is a loss, but they may be able to use a small section of one end. I'm SO glad that you guys shoveled off the roofs of the shop and the house! Warren, did the furnace quit smelling after you shoveled out around the exhaust? We need to figure out how to fix that this summer so it doesn't keep doing that. We need to try to think of a way we could extend that exhaust without having a big pipe running up the front of the house, or just dumping under the porch which would cause the ice to build up even worse. Maybe we could run a pipe up the space behind the water heater through the roof and dump it above the garage. We'll have to see.

Julie, thanks so much for sending the pictures! I can't believe how much the kids have grown and changed. It will be fun to see everybody this summer. I'm glad you're liking school, and I'll bet you're ready for a break. It's hard to believe that the semester is almost over for you. I'm proud of you for getting such good grades and working so hard. Isn't it interesting how our attitude towards learning changes as we get older and begin to see the real benefits that come from a good education! When I went back for my master's degree, I loved the learning, and really didn't care about the grades. Because of that, the grades were really good, too.

Ed, your surround sound system sounds awesome! It will be fun to hear it. I could just picture you up in the attic crawling around in that insulation again. I'll bet it brought back fond memories! Maybe you'll want to get some more and blow it in just for old time's sake! It was fun to hear about you getting some chickens, it will be interesting to see how long they last. When we tried it we found that we suddenly became really popular with the neighbors dogs, the skunks, the raccoons and the foxes that live along the river. You'd better build a pretty secure chicken coop! How much are eggs there now? Julie said they had really gone up. I'd imagine most things have, with the price of diesel over $4/gal. I hope they give you a pretty good raise on your contract next year! I'm sure we're sure going to feel the squeeze trying to live on our social security that doesn't go up. And with wheat over $15/bushel I'd imagine bread has gone up too. We've seen prices here in China climbing steadily too, though most things are still less than they are there unless they're imported from there. You can't buy cold cereal here that's made in China, so we buy it at the import store for $5/box. It's what we usually eat for breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Russ, how are you surviving with the price of diesel? I'll bet it costs $100 just to fill your tank each time. You'd better find something cheap to drive! I hope you got the electrical problems on the van fixed. I feel bad that you ended up having problems with it. If I'd known it had those kinds of problems I'd probably just have sold it in the thrifty nickel. I hope it's working good for you now. It is a nice car to drive, and I'll bet Billie was glad to have the 4-wheel drive this winter. Did you ever get the new tires for it?

Billie, I'm glad you got a job with the doctors there in Rigby. I'll bet you haven't missed driving up to Rexburg every day. I hope they are treating you better and that you are enjoying your work. How are you feeling? I hope your health is improving and you are doing well. How are the kids doing? It's hard to believe that Zach is almost 15 and will be driving soon. How are Christian and Bleak doing in school?

Troy, I'm dang jealous about you and Ed going to Alaska. It would have been fun to go, but it sounds like you have a big group going up. Does your friend have room for all of them? Have you got any fishing trips set up yet? I would have loved to go, but am concerned about how much time we will have at home and how much we need to do in the time we'll have. Now, if the chance comes up again another year…..? I don't know what our schedule is yet as far as visiting Texas. If you guys are coming up in July so Emma can teach in Malad, I'm not sure we'll make the trip unless Emma would like help with the new baby. Have you found out if it will be a boy or a girl yet? When you sent us pictures of the ultrasound you said they weren't sure yet.

Teresa, how are things in Arizona? I'll bet you're enjoying the spring there! The Olsens that we teach with said their son who lives there e-mailed them and said it got up to 90 the other day. Isn't that a little early for that high of temperature even in Arizona? Could be a warm summer! How are the kids doing? It was really fun to see and talk to you on Skype last week! That's the first time that you've talked to ME in a long time! You look really good! Have you found us a place to park our motor home for the winters after we come home? J It's going to be fun to see you and play with you this summer.

Brent, how is your schooling going? I guess you're almost half-way through now, aren't' you! It was so good to get a copy of your blog from Teresa. Blogs are blocked here in China, so we couldn't read it. It sounds like both Kiley and Kaedyn had a really rough time! Of course we had no idea, and don't know what we could have done if we had. I just feel SO bad that Mom wasn't there to come back and help during such a hard time. Kiley, I hope you are feeling better, and that you know how much we love you. The pictures are precious! Kaedyn is such a precious little girl! I'll bet she is really growing, and I hope you are enjoying her more every day. Isn't it awesome how fast they learn, and how special each little accomplishment is! I can hardly wait to see her this summer!

Amber, how are you doing? I sure wish you had a skype camera so we could call and talk to you like mom does Teresa. I know you hate talking on the phone, but it would be fun to see you and keep up with what's going on in your life more. Tyler, are you ready for school to be done? I'll bet you are. Have you had any job leads yet? Amber mentioned that you have been applying all over. Do you know where you'd like to settle yet? Are you guys going to be passing through Rexburg this summer? Do you have any family reunions or anything you're planning to come to? It would sure be fun to see you. When is school over for you? Is graduation in May or June? If it's not until July we will come to it! J

Shaun, how is work going? Have they put you on full-time yet? How do you like being back with Lithia? Is it different working in a smaller dealership than it was with Lithia Ford? Is where you are working closer to where you live than the Ford dealership? Is it warm enough to ride your motorcycle yet? I'd imagine it gets better mileage than the pickup. Ed said the price of gas is about $3.25/gal now and going up. Bummer. I hope the little pickup is still running ok. Kelli, how are you doing? I'll bet you're getting to the point where it's pretty uncomfortable to stand or do much at a time. The pictures you sent of Addie are darling. Her birthday was so fun! I can't believe how big she's getting. The age she is now is my favorite age for our kids. They are so cute and so smart! And the things they do and say are so funny! Be sure to keep a good journal of them, as you forget them if you don't. I wish we'd done better with our kids. How are you liking work? I'm glad it's not full-time, anyway. It is nice to have a little extra income, though, I'm sure.

Warren, how is school going? I'll bet you're busy getting ready for the end of the year. It was interesting to hear that you are going to Colorado to work for the summer, what kind of work would you be doing? Have you heard back from any of your internship places yet? You might check out at the site again and see if anything opens up there. You might even check with Craig Porter and see if he knows of anything. He knows a lot of people out there and might be able to steer you towards something. I was hoping you could get something closer to home so we could see you more this summer. I have really missed you. Have you done anything more on your Mustang? Have you gotten the engine for it yet? I haven't heard anything for quite a while.

Well, I guess you're probably all tired of this, so I'd better go get ready for church. This is about the only time of week that I have time to sit down for this long and write. I hope you are all feeling well, and that you know how much we love you and miss you. We love to hear from you and be included in what is going on in your lives. It may seem pretty dull and routine to you, but to us it's news! Have a good week, and hug all of those you love, and remember that we are doing the same in spirit!

Love, Dad and Mom.