A Little of This....A little of That.......

It has been a pretty quiet, but relaxing summer at our house this year.

Last week Lindsi had an appointment with her ENT. He deemed her ears completely healthy at this time & said he did not need to see her for 2 years! Whoo-hoo! We had been visiting him more frequently this past year, because her Ped though she saw the start of an ear tumor. Looks like we dodged the bullet this time on that issue.

After our ENT appt we met up with our good friends K & E. E has been home from China for about 9 months. She has a form of spina bifida & uses a wheelchair. Does not slow her down at all! It was a fun play area / shopping / lunch visit with them. E's command of English is outstanding. I Loved it when she would spy something cute or colorful & say "Look at this one you guys, Look at this"!!!

We just got home from spending 5 days at the beach. AHHHHHH...relaxing. HOT & sunny, but fun to spend quality time swimming & playing with the girls. My niece joined us for the week, which always makes it more special. We LOVE our Sarah.



Jami found a crab


Silly Sarah.....=)

Ballet Anyone?

Pictures from the ballet recital a few weeks ago. Lindsi danced two dances, Ballet & a 50's Jazz tune. She was also in the finale dance of "Thriller"...their tribute to MJ. Jami did a great job with her two dances, Ballet & a Tap song called Raggedy Ann.

Lindsi's declared that her favorite part was "All of it" & Jami said her favorite part was getting flowers at the end.......=)

We are taking a dance break this summer......

Enjoy....

A Little Graduation

I'm getting caught up on my Blog posts......



Jami's Pre K had a full blown graduation. I know we will go through almost an identical program next year, when she graduates from Kindergarten.

So, there was the cap & gown, there were little songs about getting ready to go to school, there was a march across the stage, posing for pictures, a BIG cake. Overall, a fun afternoon where Jami got to be THE CENTER of attention. She was completely in her element.

It is a tad sad to think that in just a few months my baby will be off to kindergarten....until I think about my cousin who is the same age as I am, & HER BABY is off to college in the fall!!



Cousins (& a big sister) are the BEST.......


A Yummy Cake


Jami & Mom

Camping at the River

In an effort to try & do something different & fun each week this summer this week we went with my sister & her family just up the road to Ichnetucknee State park. The High Springs are there.

We tent camped with them (they are an experienced boy scout family with all of the gear). My girls did incredibly well with the camping, considering all their previous camping experiences had been in a rather nice RV. In fact, the girls are all about us getting a tent now too. I'm just not sure how much tent camping I would really do with the girls by myself.

We went tubing down the river. That was so much fun. The water was cool (72 degrees), felt great & was so clear. We saw lots of turtles. Jami said her favorite part was getting OUT of the river. I don't believe her.

After the tubing, we went swimming in the Springs. COLD again. This was better for the big kids, because it was deep & the bottom was large, uneven, moss covered rock. For our new swimmers, a bit difficult to navigate. We hiked over to Blue Springs & my sister & BIL took turns swimming with the kids over the 50-60 ft cave in the water. With their goggles on they could see the fish. They loved that.

Something I would definitely do again. It was less than 2 hrs away.

Lindsi doing her part to set up camp....

Jami doing her part to carry the backpack to the river

All the kids getting ready to "Tube".....

Finally We Meet

Finally, I can post about our most awesome weekend. After our most awesome weekend, I stopped at my sister's house for a visit, showed her our pictures & then left my camera behind......Bummer...but now I have it back, so all is good with my world.

There is something to be said about the online community. You are often brought together by shared & common interest. That's the case with Sandra & I. I can just about pin point the timing that I "met" her online, nearly 6 years ago. I can't remember the exact details though. I am most certain it was because we were living near parallel lives then, as we do today.

Back in 2003, both of us adopted baby girls from China's Non Special Needs program (but, not together). While in China, we both realized that our girls might have a hard time passing the medical exam & neither of us were approved for an SN adoption. Somehow, we both managed to get our babies to the US. Both girls were diagnosed as being deaf. Both girls now have cochlear implants. Both girls have worked hard & can function pretty well within a hearing environment. Both girls are successfully mainstreamed in school & are headed to the 3rd grade. Both girls have younger, hearing sisters adopted from China.

1000 miles away & yet, I cannot tell you how much support has been exchanged between the two of us over the years. It has always been comforting to know there was someone else who could say, I know exactly what you are feeling. Or we've faced that situation too, & here is what we've done. The girls have hit most of their milestones together.

This past weekend we all got to meet for the first time. They had planned a trip to Disney, which is pretty close to us & so we planned to meet at something we knew all the girls' would enjoy....Dinner with Cinderella.

Pre Dinner swimming & Fun......(All Star Movie Resort...WDW)







We had an excellent table, the food was great, the company...fantastic. The girls enjoyed seeing Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Step Sister's & Lady Tremaine. Prince Charming made a return visit & waltzed first with Lindsi, then with Jazzie.

Outside the Grand Floridian Hotel....WDW



Waltz lessons from The Prince himself.....


After dinner, we made our way back to the resort hotel so the girls could swim & we could visit. And, following the swimming, we went back to the room & the girls colored & played games until 11PM......

Beautiful Girls

Reviewing the Waltz

Hot Tub Cuties

Jami cried as we had to say goodbye. We are already scheming a plan to get together again next year..... If the texting between them is any indication, I think by next year all the girls will be old & fast friends.

Headed to Disney

Headed to a fun weekend at Disney.....Hoping to have pictures for Monday....

We are having dinner with these special friends AND Cinderella! Can not wait for our girls to meet.

And we expect to spend a lot of good times at the pool!!!!!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to the sweetest, most wonderfully awesome 8 yr old that I know!

Lindsi was excited about her special day. We lit the candles at church this morning. After church, I had planned to take the girls swimming, but they opted to hang around the house & play with some of Lindsi's new craft kits instead.

Tonight, she chose the local Chinese Buffet for dinner. I think she ate her 5 lbs of shrimp & 3 bowls of mandarin oranges. We stopped at the local ice cream place on the way home for mini sundaes.

Pretty low key birthday this year, but exactly what we needed......

From this (2003).......


To this (2007)......


To this...(2010)...Happy Birthday 8 yr old!