Happy Birthday Tessa JiXing!!

We were really hoping that we would be with Tessa JiXing to help her celebrate her 6th birthday. Unfortunately, we will have to make up for lost time later on. Our Article 5 is to be picked up tomorrow in Guangzhou and sent overnight to Beijing. Then we will wait, not so patiently, on our TA. We are so hoping to travel the first part of August.


We ate at a Chinese restaurant tonight. We are so hoping that RaeAnne's fortune comes true VERY soon!!



Happy Birthday Tessa JiXing!! We love you!! Wo ai ni!!

Happy Father's Day!!

It's Father's Day!! Time to celebrate your father, dad, daddy, papa or whatever you call him. The girls were really excited to give their Dad a card this morning and we worked on our annual T-shirt with the kids' handprints all over it. Somehow time slipped away from me this year and I forgot to get this project started sooner! Now we need to wait and have Tessa add her hand prints and I will see if Big Bro wants to add his.

We then let Dad choose where he wanted to eat. Montana Mike's was the choice and we all filled our bellies up full and waddled on home.



Happy Father's Day Sweetie! Your children and wife love you very much!! XOXO!!

Swimming and haircuts

The girls finished their first swimming lessons of the year yesterday. All four girls were in the same class, but with individual attention to each one's need to learn. RaeAnne and ZoraLin both passed 1st level!! Their Dad and I am really amazed at how much they have learned in two weeks! Rae does a very strong stroke, but is still hesitant in the water. Zora does not have the fear of the water, but looses her concentration after she comes up for a breath.





For the next two weeks, Kendalan and Jordis will be in a class together to help them catch up to their big sisters. Last year we didn't get the girls signed up in time to have lessons, but they spent a lot of time at the swimming pool and have really become fish!

Jordis and Kendalan both decided that they wanted their hair cut off short for the summer. Ah, summertime!!

Out with the old....and in with the new

There has been one thing that has held our whole family back from traveling to China. My old van is just short of 145,000 miles. It is a 2002 that we have had for over four years. It has been a very reliable ride, but the last year things have started falling apart on a regular basis. The AC started blowing cool to more warmish air last summer. After a trip to the service department it never did really cool off completely and on those super hot and humid days....well I guess some warm air circulating rather than hot air is an improvement.



Then just before Christmas, I had to pay over $1200. to have a new head put on the motor. Ouch! That took it's toll on Christmas. There have been two other things here of late that have each cost me $250./each. So we decided it was time to roll out with the old....and in with the new. Okay, newer to us!



The new to us ride is a 2007 with only 19,345 miles! It is also a limited, so it has all the bells and whistles, plus a sunroof! It is a prettier blue and has off white seats. That should make it cooler just to look at! Look out road trips....here we come!!