Atlanta Temple Cultural Celebration Rehearsal

Haleigh and Caleb have the opportunity

to participate in the

Atlanta Temple Cultural Celebration

Here's a sneak peak!

Girls from three wards in the Sugar Hill Stake

"Singin' in the Rain"

145 Boys from the Sugar Hill Stake

Stomp to "Seize the Day" from Newsies

It's going to be AWESOME!!!

Egg Hunt

Haleigh hid the eggs this year.

With a little help from Chewy.

Happy Easter!

Atlanta Temple Open House

After being closed for 2 years,

for renovation, the 

Atlanta Temple is finished.

We were able to attend the Open House

and see how truly beautiful it is.

Kelsey, Haleigh's best friend,

and her Mom were able to join us.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day!

"Everything in the temple testifies of

Jesus Christ's divinity and sacrifice

and teaches us to follow His example

of love and service."

                                       -open house pamphlet

Georgia - Home SWEET Home!

We are HOME - 

in Georgia -

for three weeks

so the kids can do school testing.

The bonus:  We are here for

all of the Atlanta Temple festivities!

HOME - It feels so good!

Flat Stanley Leaves Hong Kong

It is time for Flat Stanley to head home.

Instead of putting him in the mail

he got to fly with us to Georgia first.

He's ready to go!!

He has his passport and souvenirs

for the class.

Here are a few "everyday" things

he enjoyed about his stay in Hong Kong.

The house.

Attending school on the computer 

with Ammon. . .

Caleb and Haleigh.

Playing in the backyard.

And eating cold cereal.

Say "Good Bye" to Hong Kong Flat Stanley.

Enjoy the plane ride to Georgia!

My Inspiration

This picture hangs on our dining room wall.

It is there to INSPIRE me.

I have titled it 

"Hong Kong - Crossing the Danger

Bridge to Get to the Tree of Life."

Crossing that danger bridge is getting a 

little less scary for me.

A Shopping Trip to Shenzhen, China

We made a trip across the border

from Hong Kong into Mainland China.  

The City of Shenzhen -

 "THE location" for

purchasing name brands for low, LOW prices.

7 stories of CRAZY shopping.

And I DO mean CRAZY.

What you save in dollars you pay for

in lack of peace and quiet.

In front of each shop stands an

employee whom, as you pass, yells

"HELLO! - Hello Missy - Missy,

you buy shirts?  You just looking?

You buy watch?"

If you walk past - they follow you.

"Hello!  Missy you buy handbag from me?"

It is obnoxiously loud! 

You almost HAVE to get rude

in order for them leave you alone.

Our shopping list:

Shoes for all 3 kids

Haleigh got black flats.

(not pictured)

Ammon received special assistance.

Off with the old, on with the new.

Caleb's COOL shoe make-over.

The PEAK

The highest mountain on Hong Kong Island.

It is known for it's
great restaurants
and
spectacular

views of the city.

SO ...

we enjoyed dinner at a GREAT restaurant.

Good food and very quaint.

We enjoyed the views 

by day.

And even BETTER views

by night.

Ammon enjoyed the view close up.

A GREAT evening spent at the PEAK.

DANGER!! ... of the fine print.

I bought a new game today

in Sham Shui Po.

I thought it would be fun

for us to have the 

Kung Fu Panda version

of Monopoly since our lives

have become so emersed in Asian Culture.

Little did I know what we would encounter.

Caleb carefully read through the 

instructions because Monopoly Junior 

is new to us.  We were very curious

when he burst into uncontrolled laughter.

He showed us the instructions 

and then we knew ...

we had found the CRAZIEST Chinese translation 

(or typo) we have seen to date.

Perhaps we should have been more careful

 when removing the instructions from the box. 

Now THIS is MY kind of shopping!!!

One of the things I miss
most about the U.S. 

(besides REALLY GOOD bbq)

are the craft stores.

I have been a little frustrated, 

because the majority of the

supplies I buy have a cute little

sticker that says

"Made in China",

SO - WHY can't I buy them IN China?!

There ARE NO big craft stores here

but OH MY!  Look what I found today!!!

My day began with breakfast

with some of the CUTE friends I have made

here in DB.  Olivia, the cute lady in the

middle, has just moved here from Holland

and we wanted a chance to get to know her.

From Discovery Bay we rode a bus and 

two subways to Sham Shui Po.

There were a HUGE variety of vendors.

Men's Shoes - Pig's Hearts - Fresh Veggies 

ETC.

But my favorite little shops were the following:

(HOLD on to your hats CRAFTERS!!!!)

This was my first view of the store

I have lovingly named

"BEAD HEAVEN".

Bags and bags

Bins and bins

Rows and rows.

Of FUN beads,

of all sizes, shapes and colors.

It really was so much fun for me!

To make a purchase - 

you scoop beads from their bin,

using a chinese soup spoon,

put them into a plastic bag

and take them to be weighed at

the tiny register.

For $13 US Dollars I was able to
create all this!!!

Next shop . . .

Ribbon!!

Shelves and shelves

Rows and rows

of ribbon!  

 A button shop.

One of MANY.
With more buttons then I
have EVER seen!

Feathers

Lace

Pens and school supplies.

Even the buildings spoke

"craft" to me.

SO COOL!