tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352564722024-09-16T11:19:18.985+08:00A semi-regular catalog of our comings and goings.Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.comBlogger462125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-27282738298828372252018-11-11T22:23:00.000+08:002018-11-13T00:36:48.609+08:00

This week we read about another daddy also in Kabul. His name was Brent Taylor. He was a major in the Utah National Guard and he was serving his 4th deployment in Afghanistan. He was the mayor of a small city in Utah and the father of 7 children. He was killed on Saturday. He was 39. Since the United States went to war in Afghanistan in 2001 there have been more than 4000 American military and

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-15397771847645860882018-11-04T23:08:00.000+08:002018-11-06T02:00:22.437+08:00

Most people would agree you are an unlikely Red Sox fan, Daddy. Born and bred in the Mountain West, never having been to Boston, much less Fenway Park, before entering your third decade, your joining Red Sox nation wasn't exactly predictable. But, college is transformative and your freshman dorm mate can have a lasting impact - as yours did by converting you into a Sox fan nearly 80 years into

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-19491553444329315472018-10-28T16:14:00.000+08:002018-10-28T17:42:39.518+08:00

We've never been grateful for TSA. We know they are there for a reason - to keep us safe. We know they protect crazies and criminals from doing harm. We know that most of them mean well. We know that their job is hard and they are often not treated with respect or kindness or even civility. We know all of this and we appreciate their role in principle. But, truthfully, in practice we get annoyed

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-3360319287843405292016-06-16T19:27:00.001+08:002016-06-16T19:27:47.808+08:00

We asked our favorite photographer to take one last round of family photos of us before we leave Beijing. We wanted to take the pictures somewhere that would remind of us of our life in this city where we have lived for the last 3 and a half years.  So we chose the Dongyue Temple we visited the first month we moved here. We will miss our friend who took these photos and so many other

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-69889389332433354242015-12-31T22:41:00.000+08:002016-01-02T08:40:44.535+08:00

This is my one and only post for 2015. It's been an extraordinary year for our family of five, and letting it end without even an attempt at commemoration seems wrong.  So, in no particular order,  actually, strike that, in chronological order,  here are the highlights: January: Claire's third birthday party A Lego birthday party for Caleb and Isaac After 2.5 years

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-82968297073373346572014-12-08T22:39:00.000+08:002015-04-07T22:27:12.713+08:00

My kids love for me to chaperone their field trips.  And, while I do enjoy spending time with them and seeing parts of Beijing I might not normally visit, field trip chaperone is not my favorite pastime. Despite that, I promised I would accompany each of them on at least one field trip this year and Caleb's was this week.  Unfortunately, it was also to an ice skating. Now, I grew up

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-42844230544733480512014-12-07T21:07:00.000+08:002014-12-08T21:08:01.918+08:00

Today we chanced upon a random display of the Coca-cola Christmas Polar Bears.  We happened to be at a mall in Beijing and saw 30 or so of these larger than life Polar Bears outside the mall and up and down the corridors inside, too.  I'm a big fan of the Coca-Cola Polar Bears commercials, and I am certainly missing them this time of year, but I had no idea this was even a thing.

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-66377124631646587052014-12-06T20:03:00.001+08:002014-12-06T20:07:47.263+08:00

Today we watched a brand new Christmas movie... ...well, brand new to us anyway.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  It didn't make it into our top 5 for Christmas movies, but it's certainly now among the top 10. What are our top 5 you ask?  Well, as long as you're asking... #5  #4 #3 #2 #1 I'm also a huge fan of Love Actually, but that is

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-36456044815361604972014-12-05T13:44:00.000+08:002014-12-05T13:44:37.441+08:00

At the boys' school the students have been collecting donations for a local orphanage.  Shepherd's Field takes in special needs orphans from 15 different orphanages across China.  They do excellent work caring for these children and our school has joined with them in the past for similar collection drives and other fundraising efforts.  The children brought their donations to

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-58741845046083237212014-12-04T09:14:00.001+08:002014-12-04T09:14:31.733+08:00

Stockings are my favorite part about Christmas morning.  I love digging inside to pull out all manner of unexpected trinkets and gifts.  When I was growing up, I looked forward to the contents of my stocking more than opening my gifts, I still do.  My parents put our stockings up right after Thanksgiving and then all month long my siblings and I and Santa's elves (Mom and Dad)

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-83991602356289226692014-12-03T17:50:00.000+08:002014-12-04T08:57:02.852+08:00

As you might be aware, we sort of have a thing for nativity sets.  We like to collect them everywhere we travel, though we're not always successful.  It's been a few years since I posted pictures of our nativity collection and in the intervening time we've added several more.  We've also been to a couple of countries where we couldn't find anything even remotely resembling a

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-71796056188432415142014-12-02T23:24:00.000+08:002014-12-02T23:24:38.952+08:00

One of the children's most favorite things to do at Christmastime is to make gingerbread houses.  Before we left the US for China, Kenny had the genius idea to buy several gingerbread house kits.  I know we could make gingerbread from scratch, but getting molasses is no small feat and what I can find I like to use for making gingerbread cookies -- another holiday tradition.  And,

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-25927082922893423192014-12-01T17:24:00.000+08:002014-12-02T17:27:52.980+08:00

The Chinese love Christmas.  They love Christmas music, they love Santa Claus, they love Christmas lights, and all the trimmings.  If fact, they love it so much, they love it ALL. YEAR. LONG.  Santa is not seasonal in this part of the world, he is with us all the time and often when you least expect him.  If you love Christmas music or are the type who doesn't take down your

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-51648014923659445222014-11-05T16:48:00.000+08:002014-11-05T16:48:47.480+08:00

It's that time of year again.  Actually, it's past that time of year, but I didn't get my act together until now, so let's just pretend this is last month and not the waning days of 2014. We tried a new photographer and I think he did a pretty great job.  Herewith a sampling of our photo shoot in Beijing's Chaoyang Park.  

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-89555757902218359822014-10-16T10:47:00.000+08:002014-10-16T10:54:29.450+08:00

Last month, for the second time since moving to China, I got a call from the kids' school informing me that Caleb had hit his head and probably needed a trip to the emergency room.  The first time they called he had hit a header on a soccer ball too close to a chain link fence and collided with the fence.  He bled and bled, it was a head wound after all, and needed a staple to close

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-49669882572845726942014-10-14T16:25:00.000+08:002014-10-14T16:25:53.925+08:00

One of the things I have wanted since before arriving in China is a picture of the 5 of us on the Great Wall.  The first time I visited the Great Wall, I was bowled over.  It is beyond impressive.  It is immense and imposing and incredible.  It is a sight to behold.  My first visit was on a nasty day, one of the only days it snowed last winter.  It was cold and gray

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-57305024875509418842014-09-22T23:32:00.001+08:002014-09-22T23:32:50.342+08:00

Caleb participated in his first Pinewood Derby last fall.  Watching Caleb (and, truth be told, Kenny) agonize over the design and weight and aerodynamics of his car was fun.  Caleb enjoyed every step of the process from getting his block of wood, to looking up all the zillions of possible designs and secrets to speed available on the world wide web.  He ecstatically chose paint

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-7874823024069057842014-09-20T08:00:00.000+08:002014-09-20T09:16:56.489+08:00

Last fall we took a trip to Australia. Our first stop was Manly Beach where we stayed for three days and enjoyed a little slice of beach life. Having grown up on the North Shore of Oahu, this is a lifestyle with which I am very familiar. People walking around barefoot wearing all manner of beach attire. Buggy boards and surfboards strapped to car roofs, bicycles, motorcycles, and backs.

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-17515660555485934492014-09-19T08:30:00.000+08:002014-09-19T11:57:17.713+08:00

We arrived in China on January 28, 2013 (Caleb's birthday).  The day after we arrived, our new friends* took us out to dinner at a local dumpling place.  I don't have any pictures from that night but I remember a few highlights. 1.  It was freezing.  Freezing. And, we were walking outside for what seemed like forever.  It wasn't, but it was cold and we had no idea

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-15248634064932528082014-09-18T07:00:00.000+08:002014-09-18T08:02:32.570+08:00

Getting all three of the kids to look at the camera at the same time with decent expressions is nearly impossible.  Thank goodness for digital cameras.  We take shot after shot in the hopes that one will be a keeper.  Holiday pictures generally tend to be the worst, probably because I really want them to come out great and usually there are carefully selected outfits involved. &

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-52280670854515763782014-09-17T08:55:00.002+08:002014-09-17T08:55:20.991+08:00

Most of my posts focus on travel or the kids.  Caleb and Isaac have a lot more going on than Claire so their presence on the blog is disproportionately larger than hers.  To even things up a bit, the following is a series of photos of Claire, month by month since she was born. Day 1, January 9, 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-71894258943358010052014-09-16T11:06:00.000+08:002014-09-16T11:06:56.140+08:00

A favorite winter pastime in China is chair skating. And it is exactly what you are envisioning, chairs on skates. New Year's Day, we gathered with friends at a nearby lake and joined in the fun.   We actually opted for the bicycle chair contraptions because the boys thought bikes on ice would be awesome.  But, our friends rented the traditional chairs, so we each had a

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-14610666442504271362014-09-15T16:30:00.000+08:002014-09-15T16:30:01.545+08:00

In the LDS church, children are baptized at the age of 8. Caleb turned 8 earlier this year and made the choice to be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Practicing our religion in China is a unique experience for us. China permits freedom of religious belief, but it requires all religious activities in China comply with relevant laws and

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-24035697493061055242014-09-15T06:05:00.000+08:002014-09-15T21:16:07.885+08:00

For the past year, Caleb and Isaac have been taking piano lessons. Unfortunately neither Kenny nor I play as well as we should despite having taken lessons ourselves many moons ago, thus, though we know it might be a battle, we are determined the boys will play. At least well enough to accompany the hymns in church on Sundays. Something I have needed to do all too often of late, with less than

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35256472.post-90521797411352976052014-09-13T21:57:00.000+08:002014-09-13T21:57:00.417+08:00

If you know me, you know my favorite pastime is going to the theater. When we live in the US, we always have season tickets somewhere, or even several somewheres. My very favorite theater performances are those of the musical persuasion. I love musicals. Love. Them. I can't help it, and I can't help but inspire (read force) my children to love them, too. And, so far, we seem to have been

Linseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11049165218693918465noreply@blogger.com0