恭喜发财

恭喜发财( gongxi facai)! which means kind of like hope you have a prosperous year. So this is my last chinese new year in hong kong and it has been a lot of fun. Sunday night we went to the Lai's party and had hot pot. Today for lunch we went over to Discovery Bay and had lunch with the Lewis family. Then for dinner we went to the Seal's party and had traditional chinese foods- like sweat and sour chicken, minced beef and beans, beef, and dumplings. Of course we provided the brownies :) Tomorrow night we are going to watch the fireworks at the Sander's party. Needless to say, we have been busy! But it has been a lot of fun to eat traditional foods for the holiday! I am really going to miss celebrating Chinese New Years in Hong Kong!

language

Today while out with Carol she mentioned she had helped her daughter out with her first child by purchasing her a "prahm" or a "chair pusher." I asked her what the heck that was and we finally figured out together she was meaning a "stroller." I love listening to her speak. She is from Scotland and has lived in South Africa for 17 years before coming to Hong Kong. Sometimes I just have to ask her "what." She also calls the garage a "gair - age" (pronounced phonetically). I love this woman.

Candy

Today I was out and about with Carol Collins. We were in a store and she saw some UK candy. She said I had to try them. One was called a Walnut Whip. This was a beehive looking chocolate about two inches high. On top of the chocolate beehive was a walnut. As you bite into this candy it has a whipped marshmellowy filling. It was delightful. The other candy she had me try was from Cadbury. It was called "Flake." It is flaky layers of chocolate. A bit messy to eat. I ate it over a bowl. It was good but my favorite was the Walnut Whip. There has been so many times that I have tried different candies over hear that I have never heard of before. Some of my favorite have been the flavored M&M's. Mint and Orange. Totally yummy!

Public transportation in Hong Kong is a wonderful thing, unless of course, you miss the bus you were trying to catch. Sometimes it can be up to 30 minutes of a wait time, depending on the bus you are taking, for another one to come along. If it is really hot, you just take any bus going your direction to get into the air-conditioning. Why am I not thinner with all the running I have done to try and catch the bus that is arriving a little bit before I thought it would come? It is a wonder to me.

Last Semester Of High School

I just finished my last set of high school exams. I didn't think i would care because I am a "second semester senior" but I realized it doesn't matter to me where I am in my life, I don't like to fail. In the last year I have become nerdier than ever. I do my homework and try to study, but I still procrastinate a lot. So on one hand I am glad that my exams are over, but on another level I want to go back and do them all over again. I thought I would be okay with failing, because I was already in college. But just because I know my next adventure in life hasn't changed who I am. I am still a nerd. This next semester will be very interesting, and I'm not sure if I will be able to accomplish everything to the extent that I want to. But, I will try. This past semester has taught me that sometimes everybody fails. But that doesn't define who we are. What defines us is what we do after we fail. This next semester my goal is to get As and A-s, but if I don't I will know that I tried my best- and that is all anyone can ever ask for.

Anne

Introductions

Alright!

We're ready to start off our blog with introducing each of our authors. There are six of us wonderful Holyoak girls. We've decided to create a blog together because we all of so much to share and we want to keep in touch. Blogging is such a fun medium for both.

Introducing...

Charisse Holyoak!

She's the mother of the clan. She gave birth to four of us and adopted the fifth through  marriage. She's a great leader for our family and supporter of each of us in our lives. Living in Hong Kong with her husband and youngest daughter, Charisse is having the time of her life, but is ready to move home sometime this fall.

Cami Quinto!

An original Holyoak, Cami became a Quinto when she brought Kemish Quinto into our family 3 years ago. She's a licensed substance abuse counselor at Utah State Hospital and mother to the Adorable Kaiden Quinto. She's expecting little boy Kyler early in April. Want to meet a crafty scrapbooker (that's a word), here you go!

Kaylee Larsen!

Another of the original Holyoaks, Kaylee became a Larsen when she married Derrick Larsen almost 2 years ago. She's a crazy stay at home Mother to the cutest Holyoak granddaughter Kiralee. She loves to write (if you can't tell), play games, and spend time with her family.

Bekah Holyoak!

Our adopted sister! Bekah married Ryan Holyoak, our brother, a little over 4 years ago. They have the smarty pants Bronson as their oldest and are expecting Holyoak baby #2 in August. We are so glad to have the crazy Bekah in our family. She's fun, frugal, competitive and an amazing chef! Be sure to check out her recipes.

Abby Holyoak!

The fourth original Holyoak. Abby is going to school at Utah Valley University and livin' it up! She's prepping for a mission, so in the future her posts will most likely be letters home from the mission field. We couldn't be prouder of her choice and look forward to hearing how mission prep and college life are going for her!

Anne Holyoak!

She may be the last of the original Holyoaks, but in no ways the least. Anne is our international...everything. think of any good thing and Anne has either done it or aspires to do it. Anne lives in Hong Kong with the Holyoak parents and loves the international experience she is having. Her international school challenges her, but she still has time for sports (netball and softball) and several several extracurriculars. She's been accepted to UVU in the fall and is waiting to hear from BYU. We wish you the best Anne!

So, my introductions got longer and longer. Hopefully you'll get even more indepth intros as each person posts their own personal bio in the near future.

For now,

Welcome to our blog!

We are Heroes

We are different.
We have different histories, different names.

We are the same. 
We are Family. We are Holyoaks.

We are six. 
Distinct.
Individual.
Unique.
Exceptional.
Independent.
Holyoaks.

We are Heroes.
Charisse
Cami
Kaylee
Rebekah
Abby
Anne

Says Eleanor Roosevelt:

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes over night. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

These are our stories of becoming heroes; our stories of courage. We hope that you enjoy with us our challenges, triumphs, tears and smiles. We want to share these (the good and the bad) because these make us who we are.


We are Holyoaks.
 
We are Heroes.