The Perfect Comeback

Ji Ji, the neighbor girl and Jiang Lei were sitting on the couch watching TV. The neighbor girl turns to Jiang Lei and asks, "were you adopted?" He looks at me and I say "yes, he was". She thinks for a minute and then she asks me "were all of your kids adopted?" and I answer "yes, they were." She turns back to watch TV but with a very quizzical look on her face like she is doing deep thinking.

After a few minutes, Ji Ji turns to her and says "did you come out of your Mommy's tummy?" Neighbor girl says, "yes, I did". Ji Ji then turns back to watch TV but with a very quizzical look on her face like she is doing deep thinking.

Jiang Lei's 6th Birthday Party

Jiang Lei is now 6 years old! It was an exciting day, his first birthday party EVER. His school friends came over for a Super Hero party complete with a bouncy castle in the back yard. Dad organized some Super Hero games. After the school party, we had some family and friends over to celebrate the birthday. It was a busy day but also a very special day for our special boy.

It started with a present from Mom & Dad, a Dash costume (from the Incredibles). Mom & Dad tried to get into the spirit of the event with their own Super Hero shirts. And Ji Ji was a Super Hero gymnast in her outfit. The kids got some Super Hero stuff in their goody bags and some hand cuffs which were a real hit for the boys.

4th of July Trip to Atlanta

4th of July weekend we drove to Atlanta to visit our friends Joe, Sheila and Emma. We met them during our reunion trip to China 2 years ago. They hope to be travelling to China in the next few months to pick up their daughter Quinn who is 4 years old.

We spent a day at the Atlanta Aquarium where the kids got to touch lots of sea creatures.



















We watched the fireworks and then spent the weekend hanging out by the pool. It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to having them visit us next time. Also we can't wait to meet Quinn.

Our Stay-Cation

Have you heard of the stay-cation? We did one this week. I took some vacation days from work but we stayed at home. We got lots of stuff done :
- visited the Museum of Science & Industry
- painted the kids bathroom
- saw the movie Kung Fu Panda (family recommended)
- put in a new mailbox
- swam at the local pool
- went on a bike ride to our local park and had a picnic
- expanded my garden in the back by about 2/3
- went to a ceramics studio and each of the kids painted their own treasure which we will pick up in one week. This was fun because they loved the painting. Jiang Lei put about 7 coats on his rocket ship (needed 3 coats) and each coat was a different color because he couldn't make up his mind. It will be interesting to see after it has been fired. Nora was very meticulous with her pink bunny. Ji Ji used many pinks and purples to create designs on her princess crown. And I painted a Christmas candy dish.

It was very relaxing and I really got to enjoy my time everyday! Here are a few photos from our week. I love the last photo which is a home made pizza for 3 kids, each kid chose their own topping.

Ballet Show

The girls have their end of season ballet show this weekend in the theater at our local college, very professional. They have been practicing for months for this big show. Their first performance was Friday night and they will do the show again on Saturday afternoon when our family will attend. They really enjoyed it, though Ji Ji said she was very nervous when she saw all of the people in the audience. We are not allowed to take photos during the show but we can buy the DVD! Here are their professional photos from the event plus some we took of them on their way to the show. Last, Daddy brought them both bouquets after their Friday show.

Having Boys

Boys are different than girls! Our son constantly looks like he has been in a fight with something. His legs are all bruised up and he is always healing from some type of bump on his head. Last night he dove into his bed and hit his head on the headboard. We put ice on it right away but his eye is still all swollen and purple. He was sent to the nurse and we got a call from school asking how it happened. Hmm...

Nora's school production

Nora was a dancer in her 3rd grade show. In this photo is all the way to the right - she was fabulous! Can't wait to see the ballet show next weekend.

Ji Ji's 7th Birthday

Happy Birthday Ji Ji ! She had a High School Musical birthday cake with a kids party at Chuck E Cheese and then a party for the family and friends back at our house.
Here is Ji Ji playing games with her cousins.

Ji Ji loves Chuck E !

Even cousin Zoe had something to eat at the party.