meet the ROBINSON FAMILY!

La’Nae and Paul Robinson and their two kids, Alyssa (13) and Paul II (12) have lived in Willowsford since 2017, and they have nothing but wonderful things to say about it. They love the “open spaces and the sense of community” with their neighbors, and they say that it’s been “amazing watching all of the children grow up. It’s truly a village!” The Robinsons are a close-knit family that loves to travel. La’Nae and Paul honeymooned in St. Thomas, where they went parasailing and snorkeling. They recently took a trip to Dunn’s River Falls and have gone scuba diving in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. They’ve also been to the Dominican Republic, where Alyssa and Paul II (“Deuce”) had the opportunity to practice their Spanish speaking skills, something they are both learning at school.

When they’re not at their studies, Alyssa and Deuce both play sports. Alyssa also enjoys rollerblading and drawing. Deuce is interested in math. The Robinsons love their quality time together, especially when eating out on Fridays and watching movies, enjoying Waffle Sundays, and decorating the house during the holidays while listening to Christmas music. La’Nae quips that her family specializes in sarcasm and fun. When Alyssa and Deuce describe their family in three words, Paul Jr. told us that “kind, smart and hardworking” sums his family up nicely. And Alyssa added “competitive, funny, and innovative.” It’s no wonder that Alyssa used the word “innovative.” She comes from a family of engineers. Paul Sr., a Pensacola native and alum of Florida A& M University, is a chief engineer with Booz-Allen-Hamilton and specializes in Cloud and DevOps.

S p e n d 2 0 2 3 a t c h a n t i l l y n a t i o n a l

La’Nae, an alum of Fisk University, is a software engineer. “I got into engineering at a very young age, from participating in STEM programs and my desire to understand how things work,” Paul said. “My excitement with STEM is also why I am passionate about mentoring youth through Booz-Allen and my fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi. With my wife and I both loving engineering, we would be delighted if our kids were to follow in our footsteps.” La’Nae grew up with a tech-savvy mom. “As a child, I loved watching my mother take things apart and put them back together, and I thought she was so cool for working on her computer all day. Later on, in high school, I was inspired by my uncle who was an engineer for NASA.” When asked what she enjoys most about being a software engineer, La’Nae added, “Working as an engineer allows me to be both technical and creative, which allows me to use different parts of my brain to make things come to life.”

In addition to their shared love of engineering, Paul and La’Nae bond over reading, music, and movies. In fact, La’Nae’s love of reading put her on the path to an exciting new entrepreneurial venture, the brainchild of her sister, La’Nesha Frazier. The sisters partnered to launch Bliss Books & Wine, an independent bookstore and wine lounge located in the beautiful and historically significant Hyde Park neighborhood of their hometown, Kansas City, Missouri. The business’s brick-and-mortar location just opened in February. Visitors can look forward to finding a book exactly to their taste while sipping wines and relaxing among the shelves--three things that La’Nae and La’Nesha both love!

(https://www.blissbooksandwine.com.) The store even caught the attention of Oprah Magazine--Bliss Books & Wine was featured in a recent article titled “127 BlackOwned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature.” “The stories [of and by African-Americans] have always been there, and the experiences have always been there, but not everybody was comfortable talking about them,”; La’Nae is quoted as saying in the article. “So I think now that it’s more in the spotlight, it’s creating more conversations, and people are open to having conversations—and they’;re actually holding [the stories] in their hands and educating themselves on topics that they just didn’t think about. The bookstore allows me to share some of the things that I enjoy most with people who are seeking the same.”

Would you like your family to be a Stroll Willowsford feature family? Email Publication Manager Billie Rose at billie.rose@n2co.com to get on our waiting

Robinsons love their quality time together, especially when eating out on Fridays and watching movies, enjoying Waffle Sundays, and decorating the house during the holidays while listening to Christmas music.