Forever Family Day celebrations continued-Part 2

Day 3: The hotel we stayed at had a character breakfast for the kids, which included characters from the movie Shrek.  I must admit that I've never seen the movie.  Still, it was a very enjoyable dining experience for everyone.  Havi wouldn't get near Shrek, but she did wave good-bye to him! lol

 After breakfast, we headed outside to let loose a little.  Caleb brought along his camera.  So he and Madeline took turns shooting with it.

 Then the kids played duck-duck-goose.

 We went down to the pool before lunch, then ate our lunch poolside and stayed there till mid afternoon.  Then it was time to wash up and get ready for an early dinner, the Spirit of Aloha at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World.  Our hotel had a beautiful atrium in the center.  So every time we left our rooms, we had to walk past the koi fish. 

 When we arrived to the dinner show, we learned that our seats were in the back.  No problem, I thought.  I would use my new telephoto lens to shoot the performers.  Well, the only problem with that plan was that my lens was back in the hotel room instead of my bag.  Boo!  So I had to use my Fujifilm with its 35mm lens equivalent.  So much for close up shots.

 At one point during the dinner, they had all the kids come down to the front to dance with the performers.

 Then the traditional dances began.

 Caleb was so impressed with the guy who performed with fire.  It reminded me of my summer camp circus days, as one of the counselors could juggle fire.  It's the real deal, people.

 We had such a nice time. The kids ate all of the items off the adult menu.  And Caleb really enjoyed the bread pudding.  Looks like I have another recipe to try.  After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and, in case we weren't stuffed enough, the kids enjoyed some frozen yogurt.

 The next morning was Michele and Lydia's last day.  We swam in the pool one last time and then ventured over to Celebration for some lunch.  Caleb had some salmon with a creamy roasted red pepper sauce. I was so impressed.  I'm happy to see his tastes are maturing.

 After lunch we walked over to the lake and spotted an anhinga just perched on the railing and hanging out.  All the kids gathered around to take photos.  And you would've thought I had learned my lesson from the night before and put my telephoto lens back in my bag.  But nope. That was still back at the hotel.  So needless to say, I didn't get too close to this hissing anhinga with my Fujifilm.

 Havi was a bit grumpy and tired and in no mood to take a photo with anyone.

We were so glad that Michele and Lydia could make the trip, even though it was cut short a day.  We loved spending time with them, and we're looking forward to heading up to Connecticut in October for Lydia's birthday.

Well, I hope you all have a great weekend.  After taking the last few weekends off from tennis tournaments, Caleb will be back on the courts.  Stay cool and have fun out there!

We've moved...and a Forever Family Day weekend celebration- Part 1

That's right!  

We finally have a new home in bloggity-blog land.

I've been meaning to do this for, oh just a year, but I could never find the time or motivation.  Well, the time has finally come.  Havi has been home with us for one year now, which is probably why it's on my mind....and well, this blog does deserve a new name to prove it.  I didn't want to simply change the name to "Life w/ 3 Dumplings".  I was hoping for something different.  I wanted something that would describe what this blog is about, now that we're done going to China to bring home our children.  This blog is primarily a photo journal of our lives.  I capture and share those moments here, no matter how big or small those moments are.  So this is where we'll be hanging out for the foreseeable future.  If you clicked on the old blog address, you should have automatically been redirected.  So make sure you go ahead and bookmark our new URL.

Alrightie....now that I got that out of the way, I thought I would continue by sharing about our most recent adventure.

As I said in my last post, we had some special peeps fly into town to help us celebrate the 4th and Madeline and Havi's Forever Family days. Havi's Family Day was June 17th and Madeline's is July 19th.  Since they are so close to each other, we thought we would do a joint celebration of their lives.  Due to other commitments, the weekend of the 4th was the only one that worked for Michele and Lydia.  So they scooted down our way from Connecticut to help the girls celebrate this past weekend.  Hurricane Arthur and additional severe weather prevented their arrival on Thursday the 3rd.  But we still headed to the hotel in anticipation of their arrival the next day.  We got checked into our room and then went to grab a bite to eat.

The next morning, we hit the pool for a little splashing around while we waited for Michele and Lydia to arrive. Havi snacked on a gigantic muffin while Caleb had fun snapping a few photos with my Fujifilm.

 Michele and Lydia arrived in the afternoon, and we promptly headed right back down to the pool.  The hotel we stayed at has this huge water adventure area for kids, complete with 4 slides and a zero entry pool.  So whenever it wasn't raining, we were at the pool.

We eventually dried off, washed up for dinner, and headed over to Downtown Disney for a little Italian cuisine.  There was a band playing outside the restaurant.  So Patrick convinced Havi to dance a little.

We had such a fun-filled day, even though we didn't watch any fireworks on the 4th.  Madeline enjoyed sleeping over in Lydia's room, and Caleb enjoyed a little extra space in the bed that night.  It's safe to say that everyone was enjoying this little weekend getaway.

How we celebrated 6 years with our precious Caleb

Back when we first bought our travel trailer, we thought it would be great fun to take Caleb camping to celebrate his Forever Family Day.  Well, the actual day fell on a Tuesday, but we still thought it would be great fun to go camping the weekend before.  My sister Deb came with her family Friday night.  We grilled steaks and ate s'mores by the campfire.  Then Andy whipped out his guitar for some campfire songs.  Well, maybe we sang preschool songs like Wheels on the Bus and such.  But we had a great time and lots of laughs nonetheless.

Saturday morning Caleb was supposed to have a tennis tournament, but the rain delayed it until Sunday.  Unfortunately we spent all Saturday morning in a holding pattern until the tournament was finally called for the day.  So we eventually went back to the campsite and hung out until the rain stopped.

When it finally let up, we went for a walk around the campsite.  I loved all the tall pine trees.  Our site felt so secluded.

We thought we'd take a look at all the wild flowers and shrubs.

And Caleb chatted a little with one of the boys he met.

Then it was time to head back and get dinner started.

We had fun roasting marshmallows....two nights in a row...woot woot!

Sunday was the tennis tournament.  Caleb played well, though he didn't win.  We're so proud of him for continuing to get out there and play kids who are much older than him and with a lot more experience.  He continues to improve each week.  After the tournament, we went back to the campsite to pack up the trailer and head home.

Well, fast forward to Tuesday, Caleb's Forever Family Day.  We took him and his sisters to the Magic Kingdom.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  Overcast skies gave way to partly cloudy, with a breeze and highs around 80.  Can we say awesome?!

After grabbing lunch, we headed to Tomorrow Land.  First, we picked up our Buzz Lightyear Fastpasses and then hit all the other rides in close proximity until it was time to head back to Buzz.  First up was the People Mover.

Then the Carousel of Progress, one of my faves.

Somebody was starting to get a wee bit sleepy.

We also did the Raceway.  Caleb was about 1 inch too short to ride alone.  He was a bit bummed but glad to know that next time he rides, he could very well be riding alone.

Then we headed over to Fantasy Land.  Patrick picked up Winnie-the-Pooh Fastpasses for us while we headed over to Dumbo.  Oh, I forgot to mention that I came down with a cold when we started camping and lost my voice.  So that was really fun....for about 5 days.  NOT!  Havi decided to throw a fit because she was so tired, and I had no voice to speak to her and no husband because he was getting Fastpasses.  So waiting in line for Dumbo was like a real winning moment that day.  Oh so much fun.

Anyway, after Dumbo, which Caleb got to ride alone, Patrick took Madeline on the Barnstormer because, as soon as we got off Dumbo and I put Havi in the stroller, she passed out.  The Barnstormer is Madeline's favorite ride.  She had a blast and raised her hands like everyone else, so she said.  Then Patrick watched Havi while I took the big dumplings on Winnie-the-Pooh.

I also took them on a quick spin on the Merry-Go-Round while Havi continued to nap.

And after a few quick snaps of the special boy with his mama and baba on his special day, it was time to head to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney for dinner.  While the atmosphere was cute, the food was subpar and overpriced.  What a winning combination.  Even the kids weren't thrilled with their food.  That's saying something.  At least they enjoyed looking at the animals.  We later ventured over to the Lego store and let Caleb pick out a new Lego set for his special day.  He chose a Coast Guard ship.

It's hard to believe that it's been six years since we first scooped this precious boy up and held him in our arms.  That first day together is still so fresh in my mind.  He was such a little toddler, with his chubby face and eager smile and his sweet little Cantonese babble.  He has been such a joy to parent all these years.  He's got a heart of gold.  He's so compassionate and caring and tender hearted.  And he's also so dedicated and determined.  And an athlete he is, to the nth degree.  And so smart as well, a joy to homeschool.

Well, we love you like crazycakes, Caleb Tian. 

Happy Forever Family Day!!!!