Our Summer Vacation

OK, so we've been back nearly two weeks already and I'm just now posting this. Bad blogger, very bad blogger! We had such a nice, relaxing weekend spent in west Michigan.

We spent our first day on Strawberry Lake in Pinkney, Michigan boating with a friend. The girls had a blast, as you can see...

We rode the dunes in Saugatuck. We also "ran the dunes". Going downhill is a lot of fun. Going uphill is KILLER!! I recommend watching others from the top. ;)

We strolled around beautiful Saugatuck. I love this little town.

This is a public restroom. A pretty public restroom. ;)

And a highlight of our trip was having dinner with my friend, Kimberley, and her precious family. The kids got along great. And dare I say that a certain little charmer had a wee bit of a crush on two older girls.

We spent an afternoon at the beach in Holland. This was Kara's first time to a beach. She loved swimming in the lake.

We went to Michigan Adventure amusement & water park. I didn't want to lug my camera around all day, so no pictures.

We spent another day at the beach - this time Grand Haven Beach.

And then topped off our week with some evening beach photos.

We had a wonderful week away!

I Heart Faces: I Heart My Country

I thought I'd participate in this week's I Heart Faces non-competition theme, considering I still haven't posted any photos from our July 4th weekend on my blog.

As we celebrate America's birthday, we also celebrate Leila's July 4th birthday... this year our birthday girl turned 9.

This was Kara's first July 4th celebration in America. Last year, we spent Independence Day in Beijing. I think Kara thoroughly enjoyed her first July 4th - from watching "America's Biggest Small Town Parade" from the front lawn of her Nana's house in West Virginia and filling her parade candy bag with more than 300 pieces of candy to catching fireflies in the back yard and seeing her first real fireworks. To see all three of my girls holding American flags is something that always warms my heart.

And then there is Mia... my big four-year old who no longer needed constant supervision during this year's parade. She was able to stand alongside her sisters while we sat behind them and watched her fill her bag with candy.

Thanks to all of the brave men and women who allow us to

celebrate our freedoms on July 4 and every day throughout the year!!

Catching Up... Again

What a bad blogger am I? Does anyone else out there feel so overwhelmed and busy that they can't keep up? That's the way I've been feeling lately. If anyone is still reading my badly neglected blog, you can click over here if you want to see what I've been up to. I was really over-scheduling myself in May and June and I'm taking the lessons learned and hoping to put a better family/work balance back in my life. But in the spirit of keeping my blog relatively up-to-date so I can "scrapbook" our life for me to look back later, I wanted to do another catch-up post on what we've been up to in June.

Kara celebrated her 12th birthday on June 3. That evening was just a fun family outing to the batting cage and driving range.

That weekend, she had a small party with two of her closest friends at Sweet & Sassy, followed by a yummy dinner.

Kara had two cakes and this was how she made her wishes. I love it!!

Kara's big gift was a new iTouch. We loaded it with Chinese movies and music. She has been introduced to the joys of iTunes gift cards!

The girls had fun during their last day of school. This was Kara's last day in elementary school, so an extra big day for all of the 5th graders. (sniff, sniff) I made this to decorate Kara's locker.

Leila's teacher threw water balloons at her class. Her teacher was awesome!!!

Of course, Mia wanted to join in on the action.

The outgoing 5th graders paraded around the halls as the school bell rang. Seriously, I am SO not ready for a middle schooler!!

Since school let out, the girls have been golfing nearly every day - either just going to the driving range or going with their daddy to a small golf course. These shots were taken during our family golf outing on Father's Day.

And what's summer without lots of swimming?

And good ol' back yard slip-n-slide fun...

Ahhhhh, it feels so good to get this posted.

I hope you are enjoying your summer!!

I Heart Faces: Play

I took my three girls, my nephews and my niece to the park yesterday afternoon and was able to capture this shot of them on the monkey bars. Ranging in ages from 3 - 12, they all love to play together. And nothing warms my heart more than watching them.

Processed using Florabella Wisteria & Soft Sunshine actions

and Florabella Sugar & Spice texture.

Happy Birthday, Kara!!!

Today, Kara turns 12 - our first birthday celebration together with her as a family. Last year at this time, we were just three weeks away from travel and we missed spending her 11th birthday with her. According to Kara, this will be her first birthday celebration ever. Words such as these are hard for a mom to hear. Although I may never know, I think part of that might be due to her birthday falling so close to Children's Day - a holiday celebrated in China on June 1. I do know that Kara's foster family gave her a cake for Children's Day, as we have a photo of her with it and I incorrectly assumed it was her birthday cake. I am looking forward to making this a special day for her. It will be just us today, but she's having a small party with two of her closest friends on Saturday - one who happens to share her birthday with her. It was her choice to keep it small, so it will be small and special - just like her.

Kara - WE LOVE YOU & can't wait to celebrate your special day with you!!!

Happy Birthday, my soon-to-be sixth grader!!!