25 Random Things about the Simmons Family

We were asked to do a little spotlight for ourselves for our branch newsletter. We decided to do the facebook 25 Random things format. So here are 25 Random Things about the Simmons Family.

1. Matt, Carol, and Sam Simmons came to Beijing two and a half years ago.
2. They thought they would stay in Beijing for 6 months to a year but are still here and have no clear exit strategy.
3. They view this as a good thing. Most of the time.
4. Matt is an ecologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
5. Carol is a mom and does editing and teaching part time.
6. Sam is 8 years old.
7. Carol doesn’t want to tell her age.
8. Sam’s Chinese is pretty good and he sometimes acts as an interpreter for his parents whose Chinese is pretty bad.
9. Sam does a good job at translating except when his teacher at school tells his mom that he needs to do more homework. Then his response is “ting bu dong.”
10. Matt and Carol met at BYU.
11. They have been married for 11 or so years. (Who’s counting?)
12. They recently took a family vacation to Thailand and loved it so much that they want to go back again. Soon.
13. Matt’s calling is in the Elder’s Quorum
14. Carol’s calling is in the Primary.
15. Sam’s calling is to give Sister Ricks hugs.
16. They live in the most beautiful spot in all of Beijing.
17. They can see the Beijing Botanical Garden out of their kitchen window.
18. They often have dinners in the botanical garden or just take walks in the cool evenings.
19. They like to read books out loud together as a family.
20. Carol’s favorite pastime is making pies.
21. Matt’s favorite pastime is fishing.
22. Sam’s favorite pastimes are playing Wii and reading.
23. Their family has a fantasy (American) football league which they won two years ago and took second place last year.
24. They don't watch football.
25. They love the Beijing branch and can't think of more wonderful people to be with.