Lost in translation?

I emailed Tessa's orphanage a photo of Tessa and her sisters. I simply said, "Here is Long Ji Xing and her sisters." "We love them very much!" And the reply I received was "Thank you for providing pictures from the photo we see the dragon had a very happy Kyrgyzstan Fortunately, we are very pleased"

????????????? I was hoping for more photos of her....guess I will have to be more to the point next time! Can't believe that it is almost one year since Tessa joined our family. She is such a hoot!!

Back to normal?

Vacation is over, we are back to the same old, same old.....or are we?

Saturday morning three of the girls got all dolled up and did a cheer for us. Zora and Tessa even applied their own makeup!



Then tonight after work I found these kids hanging out on the bathroom floor. Seems that is where their "Mom's" left them after giving them bottles.



Yep, that's our kind of normal.

Reunion of LongGang kiddos

I know....behind as usual! Recovering from travel lag!

One of the girls asked me how long it was going to take to get back home from Wisconsin. Since I just happened to be sitting at the computer I showed her the route home on Map Quest. While looking at the map...I realized that we could actually take a different route home AND meet one of Tessa's "sisters"! I replied to a comment that Amy had left me on our blog. She then sent me a message on FB and the trip home was planned! Amy then let me know that there are two other LongGang kids who live in her area. How wonderful!! I showed Tessa Shaling's photo and asked her, "Do you want to see your sister?" She got a big smile on her face, giggled and said, "Yes!"



We arrived in Springfield and while checking into our hotel one of the most scariest things happened. Our rooms were on the 5th floor. We were getting things out of our vehicle and there were a few more items to get. I told the girls to stay in the room while Dad and I went back for the stuff. It all seems like a blur now, but three of the girls did NOT listen and came downstairs. Somehow Tessa was separated from her sisters and us. We arrived up to the rooms and Tessa was not there!!! My heart dropped!! I immediately picked up the hotel phone in the hallway to call the front desk while Dad went downstairs to look for her. The front desk clerk said to continue to look for her. And I told him..."You have security cameras in the hallway...GET ON THEM NOW AND FIND HER!!" I had just hung up the phone when Dad and Tessa stepped off the elevator. She had went back outside to our car and was standing out there when Dad found her. The other scary part...there was a guy in a car that had just pulled up to her when Dad walked outside!! Amy, Preston and Shaling arrived just a few minutes later. I don't think I was myself for a while...I was still shaking inside thinking of Tessa missing!!

Of course, at first Tessa and Shaling were shy around each other, but in no time at all they were visiting like old friends! They both spent time in the whirlpool together.




Lynne and her two boys soon arrived and the kids all enjoyed swimming while the adults quickly became acquainted. It was great to see the kids playing together! Amazingly the kids tired out very soon. Amy and her husband, Brock, suggested that we all go out to eat and they recommended that we try a "horseshoe" which is a local dish. Amy found a great little place not far from our hotel and we filled our tummies with good food. Mark tried the horseshoe and found it was far too much food for him to handle!! But he gave it a two thumbs up! The kids had a great time in the game room and Kendalan won herself a bear out of the crane machine.



All the kids minus Preston who was checking out the broken escalator!!
For some reason my photos inside the Top Cat were very dark :(



All the girls!

All too soon it was time for us to hit the hay. We are so excited to have found new friends and it is really not too far for us to drive for a long weekend so the kids can spend more time together. Thanks Amy, Brock and Lynne for the fantasic time! Hope to see you all again soon!!

Last day in cheese country

I am NOT ready for our vacation to be over!! We have had such fun filled, but hectic days! It has been so much fun seeing the Fabulous Foursome back together again! Of course, it has reminded us that our girls are growing up WAY too fast!!


Here they are as babies



And here they are today



Even though we meet up with these families only every other year, we always seem to start back up where we left off. Our families bonded from the start. Our girls were together for less than one year, but our families will be bonded for life.



One of the families had to leave today after the photo session. Every time we say goodbye it brings me to tears. It seems like we just don't have the time to catch up in a few days and the girls just start to remember each other and it is time to go.

The remaining Mom's took the girls to Bay Beach after the photo shoot. What a fun place to go....just wish it had been cooler and/or more of a breeze! As usual, I roasted like a beet!





All too soon it was time to go. We are already planning a reunion in two years. It can't be soon enough.

Busy!!

Snow cones, bubbles, water balloons oh my!

Started the morning off with more swimming....again!! This time Mom actually put her swim suit on and showed the girls that she really does know how to swim!!

In the afternoon the last family arrived from Michigan!! The Fab Four is finally back together again!! And WOW have these girls grown up!!






Then the fun began! Water balloons and popsicles for the kids and conversation by the adults.

ZoraLin and Brenna enjoy popsicles!

Christen and RaeAnne enjoy snow cones!

Then the water balloon blast began!

Things became more wet as the girls got the hang of filling the balloons with water. And the parents were kept busy tying the balloons for the kiddos. When the water hose started to be sprayed on everyone...we decided it was time to eat!

The kids went through the wonderful spread of food first. Jean and her family out did themselves with food!






Then it was time to come back to the hotel...this mom was exhausted! Four of the girls swam for another hour or so with their friends...but no photos as I went to bed!!

Swimming anyone?

I woke up at 8 am this morning and told the girls we better get a move on or we would miss breakfast. Three heads popped up out of bed and said "I'm hungry Mommy!" We met up with our friends and decided that we would make a trip to a grocery store to get snacks. After that we spent almost 4 hours at the Splash park. The girls had a wonderful time! Just watching them run around exhausted me in no time!

The girls had the most fun going down the slide. The girls were not very good at reading the signs. One said that you were not supposed to form chains to come down the slide...but the girls had such a great time doing just that!!





After swimming so long...of course, the girls were hungry. So we went to Jimmy John's. Then it was time for us to go to Mark's sisters house for a BBQ. On the way there all three girls in the far back seat were out like a light!!




Tonight we met up with another of our families. Now can't wait until tomorrow because the last family will be here!! Let the Reunion begin!!!