A Fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday 2014

Thanksgiving weekend in Shanghai!

Thanksgiving Potluck at Jerry's.

When I asked Brian about who should be on the invite list this year for Thanksgiving, he said he thought we should just go out for dinner and bake some pumpkin pies. I was shocked! (Since I like to invite the whole world, he has a guest number limit to our parties and has to approve the invite list.) We were leaning towards Indian food and just baking some pumpkin pies. It sounded really easy and inexpensive. Those plans were smashed when Jerry asked about his invite to our place for Thanksgiving. When I told him we weren't having it this year he pretty much put us straight. He hosted and we brought a baked turkey, gravy and Gulliver's Creamed Corn. The spread was amazing and it was a wonderful way to celebrate. He reminded us that Thanksgiving is about being with people! Friends and family! Good food! It was epic as always.

I love Thanksgiving. I love the history of this holiday. I love that we dedicate a day to celebrate all the blessings in our lives and just focus on being with family and friends and eating good food. There's no fuss about presents and gift wrapping. It's simple. I'm also proud of my pilgrimage heritage. I am related to 11 people who came across the Mayflower! There were about 100 people who came on that boat and that first winter about half of them died. I have a great appreciation for these people who sacrificed so much. I'm grateful for their strong desire for freedom and freedom of religion and that they were willing to give up everything to come to a new land. The world is blessed by these kind of people who have gone before us and have laid the roots of America. It's in our blood. We respect, honor and fight for freedom. 

Astor Hotel in Shanghai Thanksgiving weekend.

We went with our friends and neighbors, the Daggett's, to Shanghai to play for the weekend. And we stayed at this historical hotel right on the bund. It was so cool! Built in the 1930's, it's had many famous people stay here. The room we stayed in is where Ulysses S. Grant stayed! The architecture was really cool and I enjoyed the history and design.  

The ceiling in the Astor hotel lobby.

We ate good food and shopped at the knock off market on Saturday. And Sunday we went to a Christmas Musical Performance where several choirs in the community performed. It was a good way to really get into the Christmas spirit.  

Wai Tan! The Bund!

Shanghai's view of the Pearl Tower from the Bund.

Making friends! So many people wanted to be in a picture with these kids! I love this guy...

They're just such so darn cute.

While I was taking pics of my family, so were these lovely strangers/new friends. So funny!

Katie Lloyd and I hiking Nine Creeks. And Lisa's taking the picture!

I love Katie! We were so lucky to get her for a week at our place before she flew back to the States. We had a blast and look forward to catching up in Utah in the summers.

He Fang Jie Pedestrian Street with Katie, Lisa and Brad. 

Katie and I noticed this dudes buffness. He's making a peanut-biscuit type bar which requires some serious pounding. They have two guys taking turns hammering it with large mallets while chanting "he ho he" or something like that. They're delicious. I asked him to flex for us so I could take a picture. He wasn't willing to flex and pose for us but I think he was quite flattered. Of course Brian could smash him. :)

The Sweat P's on Wheels!

All four sweet P's on wheels!

We went rollerblading today! Time on task right? They were rollering well. Dash was giving a thumbs up after he fell and shouting, "I'm okay!" This is new. I was trying to teach him that falling means you are getting better and that it's okay to fall. Way to go, Dash! He also rode down the ramp by himself. And Brock learned how to turn today. He was excited about that. Chael wanted to take his off not long after we started. He's a gamer but he doesn't always last long. I talked him out of it and he ended up really enjoying it. (I also didn't bring any shoes for him so there was nothing else for him to wear! And it's cold now.) It felt like it took a year before everyone had all their gear and blades on! We then got in the car and drove to Subway were there's a great area for skating. And then ate there for lunch. :) Brian's in Shanghai today for a training meeting. 

Last night Sophie and Max joined us for movie night. We popped popcorn (homemade of course!) and made smoothies. (That's often dinner for us on Friday nights.) And we watched.... Guardians of the Galaxy! IT WAS AWESOME! The kids LOVED it. I think it's PG-13, however. So we may have been pushing it with the littles but it really was a great family movie. They also put the workout mats on the floor and had some wrestling matches going on with each other before hand. Inspired by Sophie, the sweetest thing ever! She has a big brother and inspired the quick tournament. It was funny. 

Five YSA's are spending the night tonight. Three girls and two boys. Brian should be home after 8pm!

Our life is legos. They are always playing with legos and "free building." They build and build and build. Chael destroys. They love Lego guys. I find knock-off ones for less than a dollar here and never has my money gone farther. We like the real ones too. Last year for Christmas I had Brian (have a factory) make lego-board trays. They have been very well used! I love their creations.

No tears when dropped off at school now!

Big news. I believe it took two months. My sweet Dash would whimper everyday when I dropped him off at school. Before that he would cry a little bit while walking there and then cry a lot more when we got there. It was so sad and so hard. I just hoped I was doing the right thing. On occasion they were both crying! No fun. It was hard some mornings. So as of just a couple of weeks ago there has been no crying at all when going to school! I have two happy boys happily going to school now! I'm so glad. They seem to be learning Mandarin at a slow rate and happy. They have time to play at home until I take them around 9am. 

Going to church on race day.

The Hangzhou Marathon was on Sunday, Nov. 2nd and the course went down JiangNan Da Dao and across the no. 1 bridge-- which is right by our house. All the roads near our church house were closed or unaccessible by car that morning. We crossed just in time! Unfortunately the Poons weren't so lucky.

Brock dresses himself for church. I think he does alright. :)

Lachy giving Chael a ride home from church!

Halloween in Hangzhou

We ended up having a super heros theme-- plus a mummy. The boys tell me that Cat Woman is not a super hero. But I kind of think Batman has a thing for her and somehow I talked Brian into being Batman! So... I had to be cat woman. Callie wanted to me a mummy! Brian brought home some linen and we made strips, used a hot glue gun and viola! We thought it turned out great. 

Costume parade at H.I.S. Most of Callie's class! And some bogies. 

These 5th-Graders won the costume competition. I heard the judges appreciated their "gangnam" dance. Callie also won the scary story competition and that was announced at the assembly that morning. She was so excited. It's a great story and she was really proud of her work. 

Callie doing the "Mummy Dance".

Halloween party at the church! Thanks to Anton and Colby Osborne for pulling together a sweet Halloween party. Games, trick or treating, pizza and best of all... a DISCO party! 

Batman and Po Po have moves!

Soda cozies? Made these out of felt to cover soda bottles for our ring toss game! Even saving them for next year. 

Aww. Family pic. Brock and Dash didn't last in their costumes. haha.

Bribery.

Brian's brother called some of the pictures of Brian in his Batman costume bribery pictures! I'm just so proud of him! I thought it would be pretty awesome for him to dress up as Batman. I bought it off of taobao. I can't believe I got away with this one and he went along with it! Go Batman! And our awesome super heroes. My boys still insist I'm not on the Avengers team! Next year. Maybe I should have been Penny and Brian- Iron Man? 

Ideas for next year: Vegetables. Callie- cauliflower, Brock- broccoli, Dash- Radash, Chael- Kael, Sarah- aSaragus, Brian- ? the farmer?. We could be the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles, April Oneill and the camera man. Or we could be G.I. Joe guys. Other ideas welcome!

He wears this everyday!

Temple Trip to Taiwan!

Yeehaw! Me and the Mr. on route to Taipei!

We had a branch temple trip on October 17th in Taipei, Taiwan. It's been 20 years since Brian was serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in Taiwan, Taibei. We ate food that Brian described as "tastes like the mission!" So good! Pictures of the best breakfast food below. 

Another perk of going to Taipei is that they have a Costco! We loaded up there before going to the temple our first night. The following day we worked out and ate amazing breakfast food before meeting up with the Saylors. Lizzy flew in from BYU-Hawaii and opened up her mission call with her parents and us while Skyping with others. Sydney North, Australia! Woowoo! It was really cool going through the temple with her for her first time. I miss her super much. And I'm so excited for her!

Subway to the temple.

Taipei, Taiwan temple.

Lizzy, David and Mary Jane Saylor and me.

Zhuabins! Awesome street food outside of the temple. And the best Mango snowflake ice too. 

Our favorite breakfast shop! Three sisters and their mother work here. They remembered us from three years ago. We had 10 children with us so... 

The Shaobin with fresh soy milk. Amazing!

Thanks to Becca and Bryan Mortensen for watching our children while we were away. And thanks to Wilf Lieber for letting us stay in his IDFL flat while in town. Thanks to Lizzy for flying from Hawaii to meet us in Taiwan.  It was a blessing for us to be able to go. I'm always reminded of how important families are and how important the work that we do in the temple is when I'm there. Nothing else seems very significant. When storm clouds gather around us, never lose sight of the eternal perspective. 

Bouffants and Fauxhawks

Dash and Chael's first professional hair cut. The hair dresser gave them some sweet Chinese-dude hair styles. Rockin' it.  Go bouffants.  (Brock put an end to his as soon as we got home!)

Ice skating with the family and friends on Chinese National Day, Oct. 1st. 

I think it's good for midgoids to do this every once in a while so they can someday be adults who can handle themselves on the ice! Dash and Chael did it too but didn't last as long. Callie and Brock were tearing it up.

Date night with friends ended up at this awesome place. Mango and mango sauce over sweetened shaved ice. Taiwanese style. YUM!

More Than Aware, Breast Cancer Charity Group outing in Hangzhou

September!

Tennis game in the mall!

September! We had a weekend in Shanghai for District Conference and stayed with the Price family! We left early Friday morning since Brian needed to meet up with clients during the furniture show going on there. Brian dropped us off at the Kerry Center and we entertained ourselves by eating lunch at Whole and Pure (a vegan restaurant), shopping at H&M, drinking fresh-juice drinks, playing tennis games in the mall and running around outside. On Saturday Jen and I had an awesome half-marathon run and then prepped for Sunday's dinner. Brian spoke in the Saturday evening session of conference on "Branch Councils". I was in charge of babysitting but was able to come in to hear his talk. I may be biased but it was an excellent talk. Callie and Brock helped me babysit and they all had a great time playing with Will and June. 

?? Crazies.

Brock came home from school wanting to make a sock puppet. Inspiration came from his music teacher. Everyone joined in on the fun. It turned out to be a fantastic Family Home Evening activity! Dash and Chael made bean bags out of felt and a glue gun. Sweet mustaches boys! 

Callie's 5th-Grade class at soccer day in Shanghai. 

Soccer day! I volunteered to go with all of the 5th graders to Shanghai for soccer day. They played four 20-minute games against other international schools. Mr. Chever's class did great! And Callie scored a goal in the first game! It was a beautiful shot. Go Dragons! 

Jerry, Natalie Foxwell, Natalie Manning, Yanti, Barbara, Marta and Marcus. 

 Yanti's fabulous Indonesian lunch!!! It's SOOOO good. Fortunately for me, Yanti counts me as a friend. And I bring the American cookies. :)

Indonesian cuisine that doesn't get any better. 

Dandiya Night!

We were invited to join friends for Dandiya Night at an Indian restaurant close by. 

From wikipedia: The Dandiya Raas dance originated as devotional Garba dances, which were performed in Goddess Durga’s honor. This dance form is actually the staging of a mock-fight between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura, the mighty demon-king. This dance is also nicknamed ‘The Sword Dance’. The sticks of the dance represent the sword of Goddess Durga.

The origin of these dances can be traced back to the life of Lord Krishna.^[1] Today, Raas is not only an important part of Navaratri in Gujarat but extends itself to other festivals related to harvest and crops as well.

Callie and Brock are with friends Ayush, Lakshaya, Anvi and Naina. They had a great time learning the "sword dance." Such cute kids! 

Granola Group Granola Bars

These are fantastic! Some friends came over and made granola bars with me. We added our favorite things and came up with this super fab recipe. So delicious and so healthy. I wanted to make these for healthy snacks to send to school with the children. We all love them. 

Granola Group Granola Bars

2 cup rolled oats (I do half regular or instant oats so the bars sticked together.)

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flaxseed 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)

1/4 teaspoon allspice (optional)

1 cup wheat flour (or all purpose)

3/4 cup raisins or craisins

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup coconut oil (Can substitute oil for 1/4 cup organic crunchy peanut butter and 1/4 mashed banana or 1 cup applesauce or other oil.) 

2 tsp vanilla extract (or half almond extract)

I also add: 1/4 cup chia seeds, 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped almonds and other nuts, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup dried apricots, etc. Whatever I have on hand. 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. 
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.