The Hills got together over the fourth of July at Pacific City to enjoy fireworks and family time. We had two beach houses and one was oceanfront. The weather couldn’t have been better for beautiful sunsets and amazing views of the Milky Way.
My children, rather, my older teen children were so excited to get whole black olives at dinner tonight. They put them on their fingers and pretended some kind of story involving English soldiers bantering with each other and also talking back to the Queen. There was also lots of quoting of funny movie lines from the three of them, and, as always, the ever flowing random songs from Violet the jukebox. The mood is high and happy in our home, seeing as tomorrow is the last day of school. The girls spent all afternoon cutting their doodles out of their school workbooks, and making collages out of them. We’ve gone swimming in our pool once, and have a half flat of fragrant strawberries in the house. Summer is here, and boy are we happy about that!
One of the kids’ favorite games, Stardew Valley, got an update that allowed 8 players to cooperate in one game. Jenni and I joined our kids’ existing farm since they are multimillionaires and toured each of their mansions.
However, when Jenni and I were caught snogging in the game, the kids decided that we needed to get married so that we could be an official in-game couple.
They orchestrated a waterfall location for the proposal, provided the wedding ring, got us a tuxedo and wedding dress, and upgraded my trailer home to a log cabin.
It was fun letting them take care of us while Jenni and I childishly flirted.
Though there were some repeats from past years, there were still plenty of new creations to admire and marvel at. It seemed like more builders are incorporating lights into their builds.
We went to China in 2018. It was a trip of a life time! Of course we took tons of photos and videos. And I’ve made a feature video for each place we stayed, except for the last city. Due to just life and other video projects it took me six years to crack open my back burner list, but I’ve finally finished our Beijing video! Thank you, David, for taking us there, and for all your photos and videos! Thank you, Mama & Baba, for being our guides and sharing your family with us. Thank you to all the relatives who showered us with care, gifts, time, and driving us everywhere! You have a special place in our hearts!
0 mins Day 14 Travel to Beijing
6 mins Day 15 Temple of Heaven, family, park
20 mins Day 16 The Great Wall
38 mins Day 17 The Forbidden City
53 mins Day 18-19 Travel home
55 mins Credits & Photos
Music Artist Attributions
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ambient-boy/the-great-mountain
License code: F3CK0X0KVHVAEEV4
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/heart-of-asia
License code: JN4LMPHSICPPBBB4
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/zac-tiessen/eastern-journey
License code: 0ZC4CT31U5LVIWMO
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kaleidoscope/shanghai-calling
License code: KBWBXX42JPXU3CPW
I’m grateful for my city who puts on a light festival in the darkest of winter. It lights up my creativity and I love seeing the art people crafted with light.
I visited the World Trade Center hub for an hour downtown and was greeted with colorful sea creatures, pulsing interactive displays, and a cheerfully illuminated crowd to celebrate with.