Spencer's Poem

It's been ages since we have been on there, but we were having trouble attaching Spencer's poem to his application for the OHS so we decided to try posting it instead.

 

Slice

Steam rises up from the dimpled surface of cheese,

As succulent sauces conform under the bubbling golden covering,

Flaky yet chewy bread supports this miracle of flavors,

Mixing with the rest and forming the perfect trio of wonder and delight,

The formula to a perfect dish found in a slice of joy.

One bite,

Two bites,

Three bites,

And the epitome of gastronomy is gone.

I'm back!!!

I've been inspired to get back on here and update the world on what the Robinsons are up to these days. I have a good connection right now which isn't always the case. I might have to get up in the middle of the night to get pictuers posted, but I will try from time to time. Don't promise to be consistant, but anything is an improvement at this point. Having a little more free time doesn't hurt either.

Interesting Conversation

Our Family decided to hike up the mountain behind our house today. Saturdays are usually very crowded, and today was no exception. We usually get a lot of looks from people as we go by. They think the kids are cute and aren't used to seeing western kids. The other common fact of life of being here and going out is that many people like to practice their English. Usually they ask a few questions and move on. Today it didn't quite go that way. We were taking a break and a small group of college students started talking to us, well just one of them was willing to give it a try. Everyone one else was looking. He asked if we were American. He asked if we lived in Shenzhen. Then he asked how I liked Shenzhen. This is usually where the conversation ends. After I answered I liked Shenzhen he replied, "When Chinese people ask a question we can tell the truth then work on fixing the problem." I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Shenzhen isn't a particularly beautiful city. The polution is pretty bad, and it has a reputation of being a very greedy city. I didn't really want to tell him that. I told him the people I had met were very good to me and then he changed the subject and asked if I had been to Shanghai. I told him I have. He said "That is a beautiful city." Well now I know where he is from... I said, "Well, I love the mountains, and there aren't mountains in Shanghai." He told me to go to the beautiful island in Shanghai. I let him know I would do that the next time I'm in Shanghai. Then I had to go.

Trip to Hong Kong

I am the Young Women's president right now and I just thought I'd share a good time we had on Saturday. Our Youth went to the Temple in Hong Kong. We left our house at 8:30 and made it there to do baptisms at 11:00. After we went to lunch at a great little Italian restaurant. We made it back across the border and home by about 3:30. I think everyone had a good time. It was the biggest group our branch has ever had to do baptisms and there were even a few people who weren't there.

First Ds

Well, I'm not quite sure what to think. The girls school sends home a report every Friday about how they are doing in school. They don't get straight As, but they usually do pretty well. They both brought home their first Ds last week. I'm actually not to surprised. They got their bad marks for "use of chopsticks." Seeing how well I use chopsticks I doubt they will ever be that good. I think the sadder part is they didn't get As in singing. That one I can help with...well maybe.

Daniel's Birthday

I realize I haven't put the girls birthday pictures on here, but they are downloaded on the other computer, so they will have to wait, not that the girls care. Well, Daniel had a great day on the 11th. We were not going to be able to have a family party that night, because I had to go to Church, so we decided to celebrate for breakfast. We had a delicious coffee cake before school.


Friday after school we invited a few friends over for a Lego party. I have done some theme cakes before, but I'm obviously not a pro. These Lego cakes were good enough for the kids to know what they were.



We played a few games with the Legos. Some of the favorites were building cars to race and making the tallest tower in two minutes. Now I can take a break from the party scene for a while!

CNY

Chinese New Year has come and gone. It was interesting to see it on this side of the border. It lasted a full week. Everything was very quiet. Shenzhen is a migrant city. The New Year Celebration is a family gathering time so everyone goes home. The foreigners usually take advantage of the time off work and take a trip as well. We decided to stick around. It was a good thing because Colin ended up having to work almost everyday. It was bad because we ended up with a trip to Hong Kong with Jared and his broken arm (see below if you want that story). Anyway we heard the fireworks and firecrackers for the whole week.


I'm not sure how they put the prints on the apples and I don't think I want to know, but I thought it was fun. It has to do with the new year, but I actually don't know what it says.






There was a big dragon parade at the school. Each class came up with their own version of the dragon dance which is very traditional for CNY.

Jared's Arm
I was having a very lazy morning. I was planning to reorganize our play room and my closet in the afternoon. I had all the kids home and no car to go anywhere. Finally by 11:00 I got off the couch to get busy. As I went outside to take a load of laundry downstairs I saw Jared on his way up our front stairs. He was very obviously hurt and holding his arm. We had spent the first three days of our time out of school cleaning up scratched up knees and elbows. I first thought Jared had wiped out on his bike, but that he would just need some band-aids. Once I got him inside I had the feeling it would be more than that. I had him sit down and asked him if I could look at his arm. I only needed a quick glance to know it was broken. We went to the clinic in the neighborhood and they told us he would most likely need surgery. Around here if someone needs surgery they go to Hong Kong. We caught a taxi crossed the border. Caught another taxi and went to an orthapedic sergon's office. He looked at Jared's arm and sent us to the hospital. At 7:30 he went into surgery. He is doing pretty well now, but will have to go back in March to have the wire removed from his arm. It will mean another night in the hospital. Wow, that should be fun.