Kate when she's bored

Kate is a character. When Kate's bored she finds things to do, sometimes good things, sometimes not so good things. When Kate's been sitting in the car for many hours driving back from Florida, Kate finds things to occupy her time. Here are some things we heard coming from the back of the van on our drive home:

"Mom, Kate is giving me her wet peanuts from her mouth!"
"Mom, Kate is dumping the trash bag all over the van!"
"Mom, Kate said Poopy!"
"Mom, Kate put her gum in my hair!"

Yes, with Kate, life is never boring. Oh, and I heard all this in a span of about 30 minutes.

I still haven't had a chance to look at our vacation pictures. The last few days have been busy with unpacking, laundry, catching up on mail/bills, and trying to keep the kids away from Chad as he recovers from getting his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday.

I'm back.

Come on.
I know you missed me.
You've been checking my blog every day and wondering why I haven't posted.
It's been driving you crazy.
I just know it.
Well, we've been to Florida and back.
That's right, we drove- with our 5 kiddos- 20 hours each way to Naples Florida for an ocean-vacation.
It was hard work, but very fun and very worth it.
The kids did great on the drive and loved the sand (of course).
Once we get unpacked and settled and I have a chance to look over the pictures, I'll post a few of them here.
I know you can't wait.
If you get a chance, check out Rebecca's blog here for pictures from the China playdate that I posted about 2 posts ago. Make sure you check out the first 2 posts; she's a great photographer and captured some great moments.

Love those spring flowers....

China Playgroup Time!

We got together with our playgroup again last Friday. We all brought all our kids (not just our Chinese ones) like we always do, but once again we got our China treasures together for a group shot. Well, sort of. Not all the kids would stay on the bench the whole time. Expect for Owen that is. Owen, adopted just a few short months ago, came to our playgroup for the first time. He sat still and had the most serious expression on his face for these shots. When all the girls finally got off the swing, he stayed there until his mom told him he could get down. Is he just adorable or what? From left, Millie, Owen, Mylee and Ava



















Ava and Mylee













































































































This is my favorite shot of the day. Little Elsa having fun with her mom.



















Here is the edited version. I just love Elsa's expression and how the American flag is in the background. Isn't she beautiful?

A Blessed Little Boy

Okay, first of all, I don't link my readers to other people's blogs that often. I figure you got enough stuff to do, right? Then there is the post that is just too good to not want to share with everyone. This is one of those posts. I've been following some adoption blogs (it's just what you do if you have adopted a child or are in the process). This blog is by a family adopting a little guy from Eastern Europe. What the adoptive mother has to say is so touching in that last paragraph. Click here if you want to read it.

Where I often find Ashton

Don't I clean up nice?