IIIIIIIII'm Baaaaack!

Prepare yourselves for a torrent of posts. They're coming. But not today. Or tomorrow. They'll probably start showing up Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. We'll see. Until then I'll be a little busy. We're taking Trent to the MTC on Wednesday, so I'm trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with him before Wednesday.

But, just to whet your appetite, here are some things I've been up to:

*Climbed about in cool tombs from the last Chinese dynasty.
*Purchased two bamboo flutes.
*Got a mission call.(To Phoenix Arizona, Spanish speaking for those who may not have heard yet. I leave September 15th and couldn't be more excited).
*Learned to read the Chinese music notation system while trying not to pull my hair out. It was more than a little humbling after playing music for nearly 2/3 of my life now to not be able to quickly read and play simple pieces.
*Attempted to begin to understand the Chinese ornamentation system. If my reading skills made it to being an 8 after three weeks then my ornamentation understanding tipped the scales at a 3 out of 10. This stuff makes baroque ornamentation look like child's play.
*Learned to play said bamboo flutes. Or at least to make a good show of playing them. For three weeks I don't think I sounded too shabby.
*Ran around Tianjin.
*Took a weekend trip down to Hong Kong.
*Played more on my flutes.
*Explored a little of Beijing
*Came back to America.
*Chopped off my hair. (It's way short and I love it. Aaaand contrary to what everyone thinks, I didn't do it for my mission. I did it for me. I wasn't thinking at all about getting a "missionary hair cut" I wanted a Nicole sanity hair cut, aka short and easy. I don't leave for three more months people, puh-leese missionary hair cut. Not a chance.)
*Came up to Idaho.
*Cheered for the little brother while he finished a half marathon.
*Visited America's first Nuclear reactor.

Over the next few days we'll be visiting some more family so Trent can say good byes, going to Manti for the day, and dropping Trent off at the MTC. Should be lots of fun, and I'll have plenty for you after that. Till then, adieu.