So, we were in China for a month...(Hong Kong edition)

...as you pretty much all know, and yet still no posts about it? Oops. We've been pretty busy since we've come back...should I give a bunch of excuses or just pictures?

Yeah, I'll do pictures.

The view from the plane. As most of you know, this was our first time flying, so it was pretty exciting. After about 8 hours though, the excitement wore off. But it's okay, we only had 10 more hours to go from that point...(longest plane ride. ever.)

Getting a "good night's sleep" at the Hong Kong airport. Which was actually a really cool one to walk around in, which I (foolishly) did instead of sleep.

Double decker buses...cool! I loved riding on the top level and these are all over Hong Kong.

Our first morning there was an adventure to say the least. We leave the airport and on the way to the hotel we get split up; us four (us + the interpreter) had to tote all 8 50lb suitcases and about 9 bags over the bumpy side walks and roads for over a kilometer in church clothes (high heels for some of us!), in the rain, while we rushed so we wouldn't be late for church! And since I hadn't slept at the airport...yeah, I'm embarrassed to say it, but I did fall asleep at church. Keeping my eyes open that morning was the most intense battle I've ever lost.

Lychee! Oh yum. It was in season while we were in China and it was everywhere.

Tooth paste ice cream. I have no comment.

We thought driving in Hong Kong was scary (small lanes, fast turns etc). But then we went to mainland China and learned what scary driving really meant.

This is pretty much how all of Hong Kong was. Tropical jungle with apartments and sky scrapers built anywhere they would fit. A neat contrast to Tucson. They have a saying in Hong Kong, "An inch of land, an inch of gold." It cost so much to live there.

So that was Hong Kong folks. We also went to this really cool street market but it was too crowded for pictures. A couple days after arriving we bused to Shenzhen (SHEN-jen), which does slightly border Hong Kong but is officially mainland China.

Both cities (Hong Kong and Shenzhen) are very modern and new. Shenzhen was a huge university city (pictures in the next post) but had only been an anonymous little fishing village 50 years ago. But I'll get to Shenzhen in my next post. Or one of us will anyway :).

Eatmeal cookies

Hi everyone.
After another long silence, a new blog post has been written. I couldn't think of a movie/tv quote for the title, so I decided to quote SquiRe, who used to say "eatmeal" instead of "oatmeal".

These oatmeal cookies are so delicious, if you're fan of oatmeal, which I whole-heartedly am. Plus, they're gluten free, so that makes them healthy, right? Right.

Recipe: Alton Brown

16 oz (approx. 2 cups) rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
10 oz (approx. 1 1/4 cup) soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: Chocolate chips/raisins

Spread oats out on a sheet pan and toast in a 375* oven for 20 minutes. Let them cool a couple of minutes, then grind half of them (1 cup) in a food processor until flour consistency. Mix in baking powder, cinnamon and salt, then set aside.

Combine butter and sugar in a stand mixer for about 3 minutes, then add egg and vanilla at low speed. Slowly add the dry mix until just combined, then stir in the remaining oats and chocolate chips.

Scoop the dough in rounded tablespoons onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until they start to brown on the edges. You may need to rotate the pan.
When these first came out, they seemed pretty fragile, soft, and fell apart easily. But once they cooled, they were the perfect consistency. So good!

Now for some pictures, something we haven't posted in a while. These are slightly dated, from December.


Wow, such convincing smiles...



Fiona had her first piano recital last month and did very well.



Poor Oskar. Cleopatra chased him up a tree about three times last month, twice he wouldn't come down without help.



And we went to yet another We Make History event! It was so cold and wet...and fun.



Now sure who this guy is, but I like his style, haha



SquiRe decided he wants to be a black smith when he grows up, thanks to these guys.



The World War 1 booth! My personal favorite.



Vietnam...



And WW2. These three were all very interesting.



This lady was great. She went around hitting people over the head with that Bible, as part of her Salvation Army role.



A Native American. I didn't go to his booth, so that's just an educated guess.



Those southerners sure do like to dance.



Lately Mario Kart Wii has been the big thing at our house, and SquiRe was trying to teach Joe how to play.



Playing Kings.



And finally, we went to a Marty Goetz concert and came back with a DVD, so we watched that the following night. The kids enjoyed pretending to be the orchestra.

In other news, I may or may not have been tagged again for the Leibster award by Ava, so I'll answer those questions here. (Mine being such a common name, I'm never entirely sure when people are referring to me on the Internet, haha)
Anyone who hasn't already been tagged by me and would like to answer some questions can consider themselves tagged and answer these.

1.If you could decorate your room two colors what would they be? Our old room was yellow and forest green, I liked that. But I would let someone else choose the colors, because I'm hopeless when it comes to color coordination.
2.What's one word you would use to describe your style? Non-existant. Haha, or probably: comfortable.
3.What's your favorite bible character(s)? That's a really hard one. Hm...well...I don't know that they're my favorite, but I've always really liked Ehud and Jael.
4.If you were an animal what would you be? I've been told by my family either a sloth, a fox or a snake. I'm so flattered.
5.If you could go to France, Germany or England where would you go for vacation? France, but I'm not picky. I'd go anywhere.
6.What's a song that makes you want to dance? David Danced (Salvador), Daring Daylight Escape (Caedmon's Call) and a lot of MercyMe songs. Oh, and Chattanooga Choo Choo. Go Glen Miller!
7.What is your dream job? (besides being a stay-at-home mom) Exotic mammal verternarian or freelance artist. Both would be cool, but I doubt either will happen ;).
8. What are the three main quality's you want in your husband? IF I get married, I'd like a man who is devoted to God, loyal, and responsible.
9. If you could change your name what would it be? Socorro. That was actually an option for me before I was born, but my parents decided that no one would be able to pronounce or spell it right. But that would be half the fun ;).
10.What bible verse is seemed to be written for you? Another hard one! There are so many verses and chapters that never fail to encourage me....for just one, I guess I'd have to say Joshua 1:9.

If you made it this far, congratulations! That was a long one. Should hold everyone over for another month or so, right? Comment if you think Mari or Risa should post next! ;)

"Now I know how Washington felt when Napoleon beat him at Pearl Harbor."

We had a great time at the Revolutionary War re-enactment and learned a lot more than the quote-title suggests! Most of the costumed volunteers/re-enactors were very helpful and informative.

I tried getting pictures of all our friends in costume, but we missed a couple. : {

I'll commentate as we go along, per usuality.

General Washington (far right) and some of his men

This guy was so nice and helpful!

The man on the left is a former dance teacher.

The men in white uniforms got it lucky! It was really hot outside, and all the soldiers in those thick, dark, layered uniforms were sweating profusely. Poor guys XD.

Two of our 7 or 8 friends who re-enacted that day!

The British/loyalist soldiers listened very considerately to General Washington's inspiring speech XD. 2 more friends featured here.

Not sure what happened to this picture...guess it uploaded wrong. A friend from church.

At one point they let the children charge the British soldiers, and everyone had a great time...

...well, everyone but the soldiers who had to play dead. Some of those kids were brutal, ha-ha!

Another friend from church in there somewhere.

 

Overall, it was a very educational and fun experience, and we look forward to attending the BIG re-enactment in a neighboring city next month (that one will be mostly Civil War) where we'll be seeing a lot of these same friends re-enact!

 

And here's one just for fun from around the house.

 

Sam

Camp "You know what camping is, right?"

 

I feel like a kid in second grade writing a, "What I Did at Camp" report :D.

So, we had less kids than expected -- ten. Still, enough to keep our hands full. A couple of people who were gonna come up and help had to pull out, so it was just me and my friend Riah. Here we all are:

 
 

They were all about 12, but David (in back) was so much older looking than them all

These kids came here from China knowing only basic English to gain the "American experience". Really though, it's a big witnessing opportunity for my grandpa. =] They've gone to Disneyland, the Grand Canyon, a horse ranch, and are attending a Christian school.

 

 

 

Lisa, Hettie and Carolyn

 

 

"Bob", Rainer and William

 

The kids all certainly had interesting tastes. They all had, in addition to our American foods, noodles at every meal. One "interesting" breakfast food we saw: Toast with American cheese and peanut butter. Also, in the above picture, was a soup of drinking water, a few noodles, fruit chunks and strawberry tops. Yup.

 

The girls beating the boys to the basketballs =]

 We were definitely kept very busy with all the cooking, cleaning and activities. But it was nice to go back to my childhood church camp, and the weather was beautiful.

 

 

 

 

The fuse ball and carpet ball tables were huge hits

 

 

 

The horny toad comes with an interesting story. Papa, Gully and  I were all on a hike, and Papa spotted a horny toad. Gully was extremely excited to catch it; they had been looking for one all week and had, apparently, never seen them before.

Papa: How are you going to carry it back to camp?

Gully: Oh...hmm...I know! *digs into pockets* Yes! *removes one single dirty sock* I don't know why this sock is in my pocket, but we can use it.

He proceeded to laugh about finding the solitary sock the rest of the way to camp. The things boys keep in their pockets...

 

 

 

One conversation Papa had with Gully was funny enough to report. (Background: Gully's mother is a very devoted Buddhist, and the kids have been learning about Christianity their whole stay here)

Papa: So, Gully, what is the biggest difference you can see between Buddhism and Christianity?

Gully: Christians...can eat meat.

Me: Do you like meat?

Gully: Yes!

So, it seems we have a convert, however insincere. ;-]

 

Seriously speaking though, this trip has had a big impact on these kids and their moms. Two moms and three children have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Praise God. Please pray that they would continue in the faith and that they would all become saved.

 

In Christ,

Sam

 

 

(this quote title thing is starting to get difficult...)