A lovely trip to Utah for Tamara's mission companion Cari Gates as well as our friend Janet Tanner. The trip was wrapped up with everyone getting the 24 hour stomach flu which we so generously brought back to Colorado with us. Now life is good!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Eily's 1st Birthday!
We had a house full of family to help us celebrate Eily's special day. Highlights of the day where eating her first cup cake, blowing bubbles, and playing with wrapping paper. She must have realized she was something extra special that day!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sleepless in Seattle
First time for all of us to Seattle! We really enjoyed the Pacific Northwest. So beautiful! We stayed with our friends who helped us have a wonderful time there. It was also great to see Ben & Heather in Richland as well as Kristy and Jay in Seattle. Honestly we can say we were sleepless in Seattle because of the headaches working with customs was to get our first shipment of electric bikes from China. All in all it was a great trip. Take a look. Click Here
Well, well, much has happened since our last blog posting. The highlight was having our daughter Eily join the family. We returned to the the U.S. for Sam and Christina's wedding which was awesome! Eily met the family for the first time. Now we are living in Colorado Springs and life is good. Check out some pics if you like!
Click Here:
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hello Everyone! No baby yet, but you still have a few more days to cast your votes for baby names! We are hoping that she will join our family this week. Check out our newest pictures from the last month of our lives!
Click here for the pictures in Gallery Mode
Click here for a full screen slideshow!
We love and appreciate you all!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Ok people, we are trying a new style of blog! Well, it is more of a picture website. Play around with it a little and let us know what you think. There are videos that are also posted on this site. We hope you like our recent pictures and videos of Spring Festival! http://griggsgazette.smugmug.com
Monday, January 26, 2009
Hello all, here is a little look at Chinese New Year!
Chinese New Year Video
Monday, January 5, 2009
Hong Kong, a few of our favorite things:
-Victoria peak park tram ride to get an awesome view of the harbor and Hong Kong.
-Taking the double-decker bus front seat down the windy mountain on the opposite side of the road we are used to.
-Exploring the island, biggest sitting Buddha
-Watching the sunset on the beach together. In a place with so many people we felt like we had the whole world to ourselves.
-Taking the ferry to see the light show on the harbor. Lots of buildings are choreographed with lights and music so everyone can watch the show.
-Attending the temple! Even though we did some temple work in Cantonese we still felt the spirit and were grateful to do service for our brothers and sisters of that land. Being able to do marriage ceilings to commemorate our anniversary was a sweet experience.
Yangshou Memories:
-Cold and overcast weather made us layer up in all of our clothes
-Bike rides through the countryside and mountains
-Being interviewed on the local news during an outdoor Christmas caroling concert
Accompanied by an out of tune brass band
-Western Christmas breakfast on the roof with friends we met on the road
-Bamboo boat ride down the Lijiang River
-Road side Shish kabob Christmas dinner
-Reading Christmas stories from the Ensign really helped us to have the Christmas spirit
-Singing songs from a little caroling book
Dragon Back Rice Terraces:
-One year anniversary!
-Morning hike before the fog rolled in to stay
-Yao village, intrusive locals always trying to sell mass produced handicrafts and have you pay to have them carry your baggage
-Yao village woman have extremely long hair tied up on their hair
-Indulging in our daily rationed special treat of hot chocolate
-Celebrating Hanukkah with new Israeli friends, singing, candle lighting, talking about religion, sharing meal and treats together, and playing games
-Returning to Beijing really felt like going home
Sunday, December 14, 2008
We just thought you all might enjoy this very well written truth. It is by a person who is called Imagethief, the link to his blog is at the end of the article. Also, scroll down for pictures of the Holidays! We will be leaving for Hong Kong on Thursday and will probably not be able to talk to anyone on Christmas so Merry Christmas! We love you all!
E-Z steps to make your own Beijing air at home
Imagethief realizes that he and much of the journalistic and blogging community have been doing a grave disservice to our readers who don't live in Beijing. We beg your forgiveness. Living in Beijing is such an all-consuming experience that we sometimes forget there is a world beyond the fifth ring road. Although we are, of course, tangentially reminded of this world every time we go to our beloved import supermarkets, which thrive on the business of bringing us Doritos, Haagen Dazs and other nibblicious, western treats from beyond the Great Barrier.
The disservice we have perpetrated is to groan on at length about Beijing's shabby, noxious air while never giving you, the reader abroad, the chance to understand for yourself what we really mean. Beijing in August is not best experienced as some kind of abstract mental construct based on the fulminations of bloggers, or the moralizing of the mainstream media. It is a physical experience, and has to be experienced viscerally and immediately. After all, reading about a rock band simply isn't the same as standing in the mosh pit in front of the stacks, with the thump of the bass separating the cartilage from your bones and slow-cooking the fluid in your eyes.
Part of the reason why Imagethief thinks that first-hand experience is valuable is that it provides perspective when one reads the dissembling of official apologists who are doing their best to insist that the air is not really as bad as it looks, tastes or feels in our eyes. In fairness, it has been much better the last couple of days than it was the past week, thanks to a welcome breeze and a touch of rain. But the mandarins have passed much of the last few days demonstrating that they are either disconnected from reality as the rest of us understand it, or that they have a less than satisfactory understanding of the meaning of the word "good" as it is commonly employed in English.
It is hard to know which of these two situations is correct. Imagethief suspects that faulty dictionaries may be the problem, since the word "moderate" is used in SEPA reports to describe air quality that Imagethief would label "hopelessly toxic", "depressing" or "squalid". Adjectival nuance can be tricky, especially in a language as eccentric and irregular as English.
It may also be that the authorities are simply trying to be "hip with the times", and have noted the tendency of English-speaking youth to use negative adjectives as endorsements, e.g. "sick*" (what we who went to high school in the '80s used to call "cool", "awesome" or, in the most rarefied of circumstances, "radical"). If this is the case, then the fault is ours and when the authorities say "good" they actually mean "screwed". Athletes are overwhelmingly young, so this is perhaps a forgivable error in these Olympic times. If SEPA, or its ministerial successor, refers to one of our rare blue-sky days as "sick", then this theory may gain credence.
The shame of this situation is that Beijing is in many ways a great city. It's interesting and fun enough that many of us live here despite the often crummy air, which is really saying something. And when, every now and then, the air is truly clear, Beijing verges on beautiful. Colors pop out. The hills are visible to the north and west. The gorgeous parks and temples beckon. These clear days cluster in the brief spring and autumn, when temperatures and winds are favorable (although spring also gets dust storms). By any standard, however, they are rare. An enveloping, noxious fug is far more typical.
Which brings me back to the point. I want to help you, the reader abroad, understand exactly what we're talking about when we refer to Beijing's poor air quality. After long experimentation at Imagethief Laboratories SA, I am pleased to report that we have developed a method of simulating Beijing's typical August atmosphere with nothing more than a few easily obtainable ingredients and a common household appliance.
Here is what you will need:
- A serving plate.
- Large bowl that can be used to cover the serving plate.
- A bucket of water.
- A Yorkshire terrier, Pekingese or similar small dog (at a pinch, a dog pelt can be used, but a whole dog is more reliable). Important: If the dog is wearing a metallic collar or tags, remove them.
- A packet of bad cigarettes. Ideally, Chinese Red Pagodas. But at a pinch, Gitanes or Parliaments will do.
- A non-metallic ashtray.
- A turd.
- A microwave oven.
Steps:
- Soak the dog in the bucket until wet to the skin.
- Place the wet dog on the serving plate with the turd and the ashtray.
- Place three lit cigarettes in the ashtray.
- Cover the serving plate and all ingredients with the bowl.
- Microwave on "high" for sixty seconds.
http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2008/07/30/ez-steps-for-making-your-own-beijing-air-at-home.aspx
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays from China! We have been keeping busy and we are doing well. We have a lot to be thankful for and that includes all of you! We were able to have many people over to our home recently to celebrate their first Chinese Thanksgiving. We had lots of food, fun, and good memories. Enjoy the pictures!
In other news the baby is officially a girl! I guess we will really find out when she is born. We are very excited, so make sure you cast your vote for a girl name! The official winner of the Boy name is Tank, way to go Tank! Thanks for your votes, but Tank will just have to wait. She is about 14 inches long and the doctor says she looks very healthy and could be the smartest baby to grace the face of the earth. We didn't make that up, that's just what the doctor said.
We will be going to Hong Kong to take care of some visa issues we are having. Then we will be traveling by train to Guilin and Yangshuo for Christmas after we spend who knows how long in Hong Kong. We are excited to go where it is a little warmer. We think Beijing is officially colder that Utah, Colorado, and maybe Antarctica. The cold here hurts your brain to the very core. The wind doesn't do much good either, but at least it pushes the pollution out!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Daily Life & Happy Halloween
Okay, we are sorry that our last link was only for one picture. Here is the right link!Baby Update:
Baby Thor is very active now a days and has grown to the size of a very large pickle. We had an ultra sound with our new doctor and are happy to hear that baby seems to be developing well. Still don't know if it is a girl or boy.
Tamara's Work:
Lead Teacher of Ivy Academy CaRousel Program for Tots
I love working with my little ones. Once or twice a week they come with their mom or nanny who helps them explore the exciting classroom. More than ten countries are represented. I teach in English and have a wonderful assistant who teaches the songs and rhymes in Chinese. For most of the students English and Chinese are both second languages. We do crafts, explore, sing songs, learns rhymes, and tell stories followed by snack time or course.
Mike's Work:
Lets just say teaching English at a private Chinese boarding middle school is not the career path Mike has chosen for the rest of his life. He still would prefer to be a ski bum. Instructions from lead teacher of the school were that the most important thing was that the kids like him and that he play basketball with them after class.
Happy Halloween!!!
What a bazar holiday for someone not familiar with our strange ways. We celebrated with a bunch of kids who were experiencing it for the first time at a Halloween party. Decked out as supper heros we helped with trick or treating, dancing, the spook house, and costume parade and of course got our share of candy! We still kids at heart so had a great time.
Daily Life:
Some pictures show you our apartment complex and the modern art museum right on the corner of our complex. We stay very busy with Chinese classes and teaching. Life is good and we are happy! This week marked our 10 month anniversary and it has been a great 10 months! Lots to be grateful for!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Back in China
A new announcement. We are having a baby! March 13th is the due date! Made in China, but a quality product mind you! We are very happy here in China.
Home Sweet Home
After much searching we moved into our spacious 60 square meter apartment on the 6th floor, (which is really the 5th floor due to the fact that the number 4 is unlucky and has been taken from the building). It is a close walk to the subway which is convenient for transportation. It is nice be closer to friends in the city. Most importantly the couch is comfortable, we have a western style toilet, and shower that is closed off apart from the sink and toilet. We feel at home. Now that we have a place you can come visit us any time! You'll know you are on the right floor when you get out of the elevator by the bright florescent green painted walls which really makes a statement. Right click the link and hit "Open link in new window" to see some pictures! (After you are done close that window and continue reading) Apartment!!
Bug Street
Hungry? Take a walk down Wang Fu Jing Street where you can buy your choice of kabobs from scorpion (still alive and squirming on the stick), heart, sea horse, star fish, squid, or fruit dipped in melted sugar. Its a happening place! Right click the link and hit "Open link in new window" to see some pictures! (After you are done close that window and continue reading) Bug Street
Bei Hai Park
Just North West of the Forbidden City is a lovely park where we spent the afternoon one day on our day off since there was a nation holiday. Our favorite past time is people watching. Everyone has a story.
Summer Palace
A beautiful lake surrounded by gardens built for the emperor to spend the summer. We walked around until our legs almost fell off. The place was packed because of the holiday but it really gives you a taste of how many people live in beijing. There really isn't a concept of personal space. This palace has been rebuilt after being destroyed twice by invaders. Right click the link and hit "Open link in new window" to see some pictures! (After you are done close that window and continue reading) Bei Hai Park and the Summer Palace
Great Wall Camp Out
Still getting over jet lag we joined a group of friends from church to go camp out on the great wall. Unfortunately, we ended up falling asleep in the courtyard after hiking and eating with everyone. Since we were still on a different sleeping schedule we woke up with plenty of time to walk around and take pictures before everyone else woke up. Everyone played games and danced around a huge bonfire and lit off fireworks that would have made any pyromaniac happy when the sun went down. Right click the link and hit "Open link in new window" to see some pictures! (After you are done close that window and continue reading) Great Wall Camp Out
Great Wall Meets the Sea
A day excursion with some friends took us several hours from home to the sea where the end of the Great wall is. It was fun to play on the beach. Lots of great sea food. Its a shame we can't read the menu. It's a pretty fun game to point to something on the menu and wait to find out what you have ordered. There a million and one places to explore here in China and we hope to see as many as possible. Click the link to see some pictures! Great Wall Meets the Sea
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
New way to see the pictures!
Hello all! We have made a decision on how we will upload photos to our blog. Because blogspot will only allow us to upload 5 pictures at a time, we have decided to use facebook which allows us to upload 60 at a time, but don't you worry all you non-facebook users, we can still share them with you! Below are the links you can use to take a look! We just want you to know that these pictures do no justice for pretty much everything we have seen, they are all about a thousand times better in real life! If any of you would like to see all 4000+ pictures you are welcome to do so when we return home. We love you all!
China Album 1
China Album 2
China Album 3
China Album 4
There are some repeat pictures in the first 2 albums or so, but the others are all new from our trip to "The Wild West of China" Yes that's right we traveled to the Yunnan Provence which is bordered by Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Tibet, and Sichuan (where the big earthquake was), we were also within about 50 miles of India. We got to see lots of different things in this non-exhaustive list.
Tibetan culture including people, religion, and of course food!
Many Chinese minority groups in all the villages, including the Naxi and Yi people!
We saw the famous Jade Dragon Snow Mountain at 18,044 Feet!
We hiked Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is the worlds deepest Gorge at 12,795 Feet deep!
We saw and hiked to a huge glacier in the shadow of Mt. Kawa Karpo at a staggaring 22,113 Feet!
We also were able to visit the cities of Lijiang, Shang-rila, Deqin, Feilai Si, Kunming, Dali, and rode bikes and drove through countless small villages and rice fields.
Over all we have to say it was a great trip! 12 days of adventure on overnight buses, hostels, villagers, old Chinese women trying to get us to smoke weed (the people in this area use marijuana seeds as a spice on their food), and about anything else you could imagine! Enjoy the pictures and there are some videos below for your entertainment!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Tamara's 25th Birthday Surprise party!
An alternate habit instead of smoking. We are trying to promote it here in China. They have great sunflower seeds. 
A view of the sunset from our campus.
This is one of our favorite dishes here. They are fried peanuts, with some kind of dark vinegar, cilantro, and garlic. They are amazing.
Michael is a great husband for many reasons. Most recently he has won his wife's heart by planning a surprise party with all of our students. The cake was beautiful.
Date night for celebrating five month anniversary! We have been trying to utilize the nice facilities at the police academy. Such as the bowling alley. Someday Tamara may break 100 points.
Bowling at the Police Academy!
Flying some Chinese Kites.
Some ultimate!
We don't think that a piece of playground equipment such as this would be approved in the states, but we thought that one like it in someones yard would be cool! This is a picture of the Beijing 1st and 3rd Branches at the summer goodbye BBQ. Many of the Expats go back to the states for the summer.
If I wasn't white they might let me be in the real Beijing Police Force.
They will let Tamara in because she makes a dang good looking Police Officer!
Favorite Chinese past time: Karaoke!!! Funny thing is, we are the only two who don’t drink yet we have just as much fun and are just as crazy dancers as they are.
All you can eat pizza buffet exists in China!!!
For a change it was really a treat to eat pizza with our students. Yes, it was different than in the states but we still indulged on every bite of cheese consumed!
Michael is an even happier man now that a friend let us borrow their guitar. He was a big hit in this weeks English talent show for class. Tamara also has enjoyed the wooing by her handsome and very talented husband.
We have been asked to help out in the nursery.
This is our friend Jesse, who we have been staying with on the weekends!
We found these beauties while we were out shopping.
Michael is a great husband for many reasons. Most recently he has won his wife's heart by planning a surprise party with all of our students. The cake was beautiful.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thats right, you are related to us, and don't try to deny it, we now know how to blog and we will not hesitate to create a blog all about our family that would prove the fact that yes, indeed, we are part of your family.
Life's lessons learned in China
Things just take longer in China (with the exception of erecting tall buildings which appear after an incredibly short time of construction). For example, traveling to our church member friends Brock and Ginnie Fox's house for Friday night dinner and games takes about two hours during rush hour (we had brownies, ice cream and great company which made the entire crazy trip worth it). Even Michael, a fairly large man by Chinese standards, suffered casualties after experiencing way too many people being squished into a bus. It was a miracle we could even get off at our stop. Oh, memories of public transportation. Gotta love it!
Party Hopping
Once again we experience the joys of going out to eat with our students who are always extremely surprised that we don't drink. Both classes we teach planned their dinner party on the same evening. Luckily they were both in the same restaurant so we could rush back and forth from one group to the other. We have concluded the the word "delicacy" indicates the need to closely inspect what shows up on the serving platter to identify what it may be (usually we have no idea and someone has to look it up in the dictionary to tell us. Example: tendons and cartilage). Simple common food is preferred and usually more edible to us.
We don't remember the name of this game, but the table is huge!
Sichuan Earthquake
Everyone has greatly felt the loss of the earthquake in the South. This week has been a week of morning for the country and we feel that it has brought the country together as a whole. Every week we show a film. This week we chose "World Trade Center" about 9-11. It was very sobering and thought provoking for the police officers. We had a good discussion about preparedness. Now everyone in our classes knows about 72 hour kits and food storage.
One-on-one Interviews
Each week we have personal interviews with each student. Feedback indicates that they have an appreciation for our teaching style. Our game plan pretty much is just to have fun in order to create an environment where they can open their mouths to speak English and to get them thinking for themselves (FYI, this is NOT the traditional way English is taught at schools in China). Class favorites include: debates or discussion groups on hot topics, CNN video clips, reading articles, English talent show, arm wrestling, leg wrestling, trust falls, musical chairs, wet face, do you love your neighbor?, Two truths and a lie, Mafia, hang man, signs, and even Simon says. It is a rewarding feeling to see how much more confidence our friends leave with than when they arrive and the group unity that is formed after only a few short days.
Ultimate Frisbee introduced into China!
Reports show that a new following has begun of Ultimate Frisbee fans at the Beijing Police Academy of China. After class, a group of our students caught on rather quickly to playing Ultimate.
Here are some pictures from the Great Wall Marathon!
Some of the church members who came to run.
Thats right, after 26 years of preparation and puberty, I can now grow somewhat of a beard. This only took three days to grow and yes I know it's a little scraggly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)