Dad's last days.

In Beijing, of course.

I think that this picture actually sums up a lot of things about China...

Well dad only had about 24 hours left in Beijing so we decided that we would spend it at the Beijing Zoo...of all places. :) Was it the best choice, no. Did we still have a good time, yes. The animals are more heartbreaking than anything else - more so than the average zoo - but the best part is the people-watching. We still had a good time and are glad that we went. The Zoo only costs 15 yuan to get in to but tickets to the aquarium & the zoo are quite a bit more, so we figured that the aquarium must be worth seeing - and it was! It was really cool to see the fish and our favorite part was the dolphin show, they are so brilliant.

After the zoo/aquarium we decided to head over to the Silk Market for a shopping experience while we were still all together. Don't worry, this was only the first of three trips to the Silk Market for me and mom...this trip was just us getting our feet wet. :) We had a great time bargaining/arguing/acting with the salesmen there and actually got a couple of great purchases! Mom was bound and determined to take home as many purses as she could without getting stopped at customs - and she definitely did. She ended up taking home 11 purses! It was hilarious really...The girls are the Silk Market are extremely aggressive so it took quite a bit of time to get to the prices we wanted, but it was totally worth it cause she got some great bags.

On Sunday we got up and went to church together - which was really nice. Of course we were all exhausted from the last 3 crazy days, but we managed to stay awake...mostly. We really value our branch here and are grateful for all of the wonderful members of the church we are getting to know. That being said, there are few things I love more than sitting through church with my family, singing harmony with my mom and sisters, and feeling the Spirit testify how important families are. It was beautiful to sit through a meeting with my mom and dad and think about how grateful I am for our wonderful families. So many of the talks from October's General Conference made me think about how blessed we are to have such exemplary parents, loving siblings, and perfect nieces and nephews. It was like a dream to have my parents there at church with us that day. I sit through Sacrament Meeting now and just try to remember and feel the strong feelings that I had that Sunday they were here with us.

(This is the building our branch meets in.)

We were definitely sad to see my dad go, but knew that he had business to attend to. :) I was really lucky to be able to spend time with my dad in China 4 years ago when I was here with ILP. We spent about 24 hours together in Guangzhou, mostly inside the Marriott - which, don't get me wrong, it was wonderful, but this time was much different. It was so cool to trek the city with him and experience Beijing together. We appreciated the feeling he brought to our home and the support he continues to give us while we're here. It was difficult to say goodbye after only 4 short days together, but we are more than grateful for the time we were able to spend.

For my Mom however, the fun had only just begun...