Family Float Trip

I guess I forgot to post this long ago back at the beginning of July when we went.  Oh well, it was still fun!  

Dasha’s first float trip!  I think this was Jack’s 4th :).  This year we had 3 rafts, 8 canoes, and 2 kayaks.  There was about 3 fewer people on the trip.  Everyone stayed in campers (no cabins this year).  We had beautiful weather.  The kids enjoyed hanging out on the river bank to swim and eat lunch.  It was so hot this year we didn’t enjoy campfires like we have in the past, but it was still nice to visit and just relax.  Dashlyn was, as expected, a big hit!

Uncle Dave declared this a kid-free zone but guess who did not get kicked out?!?!?!?

 

Lunch anyone?

Everyone takes turns hanging out with these 2 awesome, precious, fun little ones!  How did we get so lucky to have them in our family?

My amazing view:

M getting ready to jump off a cliff – and I let her!  (Even in a life jacket, look how gorgeous she is!)

And we took our usual family photo – us in our blue shirts!  Someone got a great shot of the WHOLE family – but it wasn’t me :(.  I’ll steal it and post it later!

2 exciting meet-ups

And unfortunately, my pictures are not so great. 

First off, my kiddos and I got to hang out with Braska and her mom, RK and her sister Kinlee.  Not so unusual, right?  But this time the Loraine family was there (including newest member Oksana, home from Ukraine about a year now) and the Stumbo family (with former Ukrainian Nina, home for about a year and a half).  We met at an indoor play place where the kids (and the grown-ups) had lots of fun!  Of course we forgot to line up our little former orphans for a pic, but I do have one from meet-up #2, which you’ll have to wait for!  But here’s what I did get:

Dasha loved the slide :)

 

Jack loved all of it!

And they both loved Nina’s walker!!

The next day we had meet-up #2 with guess who?  Well, besides RK and her girls, the Loraines and Stumbos again, and my awesome friend Adrienne, we caught the Garcia's on their way to their new home in CO from TN.  It was my first time meeting up with the famous Kennedy and family :).  The kids are just as cute in person as they are in cyberspace and Kassidy is just as sweet!  Again, my camera readiness was sadly lacking so not a lot of great pics but I did get a few:

Moms – Renee, Adrienne, Ellen, RK, Erin, and me.

All 4 adopted Ukrainian princesses – Oksana, Kellsey, Dashlyn, and Nina.

And my sweet Jackson (trying to stay out of the girlie pic!).

If I can get pics from some of the other moms I’ll try to post again!

Cutest Thing Ever!

I was sitting on the couch folding laundry this morning.  I try to sort into piles as I go.  Jack decided to help, and pulled shirts out of the basket to “fold” and put on a stack.  Oh, how I LOVE him!  Can you see his pile??  So dang cute!

Awesome, cool, must-see blog post

No, not mine!  (Though it would be cool if it was mine.)  No, this post was written by a new friend, Tammy, whose daughter Joy wrote and sings a beautiful song.  The link was sent to me by another friend, Cindy.  I know Cindy IRL (in real life), and Cindy knows we adopted Dashlyn and how our hearts have changed since we learned about these sweet orphans.  So she sent the link and I went to check it out and was so moved I wrote to Tammy to ask if I could share her daughter’s song with all of you.  She was so generous and said “yes! please do!”.  So here ya go – click HERE to hear the song &/or read the words.  And don’t be surprised if you enjoy the rest of Tammy’s blog as well!

Andrew is 18

I know I’ve had a lot of Andrew posts lately, but that’s what’s going on with us right now.  Maybe you can stand one more?

We threw maybe his last birthday party (do 18 yr old boys have birthday parties?).  He wanted a fire pit in the backyard which sounded easy so we said “great!”.  Then we thought “we have an old swingset that needs to come down….hmmm”.  Guess what happened next?

Getting started:

I mentioned my “extra” kid before right?  This is why I love him!

Does this look like “rushing” the swing set to you?  Yep, that’s what’s happening!

The little kids got to enjoy some cookie cake with the guys before bed.

Happy Birthday to my biggest boy!  We love you, we’re proud of you, and we hope you have an awesome year!!

Paaaaar-taaaay!!

Yesterday was Andrew’s graduation party – finally!!  The party was for Andrew and 5 buddies so it was busy, loud, and FUN!!  Jack and Dasha were a little too busy for this momma while we were setting up so they spent a little time in their car seats (he he). 

A little table surfing is the best way to make sure it’s sturdy, right?

We made up shirts for the guys.  We got Sharpies and let the guys sign each other’s (and some of the rest of us signed them too!).

It isn’t a party without cake!

 

I can’t believe it’s over.  I’m excited for Andrew’s future, but I am gonna miss his high school years, his friends, all the fun.  What an awesome 4 years it has been.  Love you guys, and especially my amazing, intelligent, super fun first-born son.  Your dad and I could not be more proud of you!

My Baby is a High School Graduate!

We haven’t had the party yet.  And I still have to get a good picture taken of him.  But it happened – the graduation ceremony at the high school.

On his way out the door -

He’s in the middle -

And here are a few of the boys -

Our crew that will be partying together -

These 3 are super special – they started kindergarten together, all us moms were friends for awhile, and now they are headed in different directions.  This is quite possibly the last time all 3 will be together.  I’m so proud of them, but my heart hurts at the thought that this time of Andrew’s life is over.

And here are the 2 who’s laughter was completely infectious and who’s jokes and general conversations keep me endlessly entertained.  I will miss the 2 of them together as much as I miss my best friend from high school, who still (thank you God) is my sounding board for all aspects of my life even though we now live 600 miles apart and it’s not the same.  Good luck in everything you do Tony!

We had a little, casual celebration at home, with Andrew opening his cards and everyone eating lots of dessert :)

Congratulations my firstborn.  Your dad and I cannot express how proud we are of you and everything your future holds.  You already have more common sense than many adults we know.  You’re becoming responsible and self-reliant.  And c’mon – a 34 on your ACT?!?!  Who gets that?!  Love you so much!!!!