A Visit From Taiwan

"Would it be OK if the folks visit", Gerald asked me in an e-mail.  He was referring to his in-laws, Frances' parents, from Taiwan.  Of course, we agreed.  We really like the Changs.  A couple of days later, they pulled into the drive-way!  So we spent last week entertaining our Chang family.  The folks Chang don't speak any English so we were dependent upon the kids, Gerald and Frances to translate.  But even without their help, we found a way to sort of communicate.  In a non-verbal sort of way.

We quickly planned some outings and spent last week touring.  We went to Boise City, a mining town that was once booming and is now set up for touring.  The oldest home there was built by Galbreaiths, but with a slightly different spelling.

Here we are in front of the Galbreaith house.  Papa Chang, Layne, Mama Chang, me, Gerald.  The picture was taken by our in-house photographer, Frances.  Here's a cute shot of her by another of the Idaho City houses.

The kids were in school when we took the Changs to Idaho City.  As you may remember, the kids were not very impressed with their experience there.  But this time we happened to meet up with a local lady who served as our tour guide and discussed much of the local history with us.  This became our best trip yet.

Later we took everyone to Walter's Ferry, which I've discussed in this blog before.  It is an interesting property once owned by a doctor and his wife.  When the doctor died, Cleo, his wife, turned the property into a meandering journey filled with all sorts of statues and bird houses.  Many of the statues are religious, with Christ's tomb re-created, as well as a small praying chapel and a rainbow on the hill above.  It is always fun to walk through this place.

Here we are in front of one of the statues of the Savior.  Papa Chang, Layne, me, Gerald and Mama Chang.

Layne and I surround Einstein and give him kisses.

The Chang folks.

We spent lots of time driving around town and taking it easy at home with these lovely people.  How I wish we could talk heart to heart but the language barrier is just that.  Still, we managed to make a generally sweet connection.  I think the folks wanted to check out the arrangement for their grandchildren and make sure it was going well.  I think they were pleased.  But of course I'm not sure of that!

Frances and her mom spent quite a bit of time shopping. That girl loves to shop!  I don't blame her though; prices here are much cheaper than in Taiwan.  She comes home from each shopping trip with bags of purchases.  "These were so cheap," she assures me.  And always, she gets something for me.  This time she bought me a plaid jacket.  I like it!

In addition to shopping for clothes, Frances also shops for Chinese food.  She bought a bunch in California, on their way here, and has filled my pantry with all sorts of Asian snacks.  I'm not sure we will get through them all, but I challenged the kids to try.  The good part of all this food is that Frances and her mom took over the kitchen the whole time they were here.  I did not cook at all!  Frances is a wonderful cook so it was a week's treat to eat her Chinese meals.  

Frances took this picture with our house in the background.  Here are Angelica, Mama Chang, Gerald, Papa Chang and Seth.

In our living room, Frances took this of all of us, except her.  Here are Gerald, Papa Chang, Mama Chang, me, Layne, in front:  Seth and Angelica.

Everyone but Gerald left on Tuesday.  So I'm cooking again.  Chinese.  I've got to since Frances left a collection of left-overs in the fridge.  But tonight Gerald and I made American sweet rolls.  We feasted!