Sea World

We went to Sea World with our cousins yesterday. They are a wonderful family and we really enjoyed our time with them!

 Cassidy, Kayla and Maddie on the spinning star fish.

 Kayla, Maddie and Ava in the bounce house (I was worried about letting Ava in because she's so tiny, but Maddie and Kayla took good care of her).

 Nana and Aunt Janet at the dolphin show.

 The stars of the show.

Maddie, Ava and Kayla getting up close to the dolphins.

Adoption Update: Pre-Approval Paperwork

I e-mailed my LOI to the agency yesterday but still have a lot of paperwork to get through and snail mail on Monday. Today I will have passport-size photos taken as part of the documents that need to be submitted in order to receive pre-approval (PA). I've also chosen the 6 photos to submit. I have to get the girls' passport applications sent in. (Maddie's has expired and Ava needs a US passport). I had their photos taken for this a couple of weeks ago and have all the paperwork gathered for that.

After I receive formal PA from China, I will begin my homestudy. By then I will have chosen between two agencies--the one I used for my first two adoptions and a new agency referred by a friend. I like the agency I've used in the past, but they tend to be a little slow. The new agency says they can get the report done in 3 weeks.

In the next week I will request my birth certificate, which will need to be state certified and then authenticated at the Chinese Consulate in NY, and I will make my Drs.appointment for the physical I'll need.

Our Cousins Come for a Visit

 In downtown San Diego, with Maddie and Aunt Janet.

Maddie and Kayla haven't seen each other since our family reunion in Montana 3 years ago, but they quickly warmed up to each other!

 And enjoyed a little swimming later in the evening.

Today we are going to Sea World and will stay to watch the fire works tonight. We are so grateful for this visit with family. They are very easy crowd to be with:)

Happy Birthday, Uncle Eric!

Give Me a M. . .!

Maddie has been in cheer camp all week--from 9am until 3pm--and today the girls presented a routine for parents and other guests. They were fabulous! Maddie was a flyer, which means she was lifted by the other girls during their routine. I could see she loved that part:) She also got to do a cartwheel and, of course, synchronized moves with the other girls. I was really impressed. I wish I could share pictures, but after taking a few before shots, my camera died :O I was able to film the whole thing with my video camera (but have no clue how to get that on here). So some cute Ava pics as we waited for the show to start:

 She really wanted to go on the trampoline ---

 and loved it so much (as she did at her sister's gymnastics birthday party several weeks

 ago and at the Mommy and me tumbling class we took last year --so afterwards I signed her up for the beginning gymnastics class for 4/5 year olds.

Mommy and Ava under the fans --it was HOT in the gym!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

My big girl turned 9 today! She is amazing in every way, so sweet and smart (and the lightning rod champion of her 3rd grade class this last year) and kind to everyone:) She had a great day, which included opening presents at 6:45 am!!YIKES!! But soon after that she was onto her first day at Cheer Camp--a birthday present she really wanted. That was all day and afterwards we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then home for birthday cake. Some pictures:

Happy 4th of July!!!

Today is July 4th, which means we are one day away from Maddie's birthday! They got into the bag of bows this morning, as you can see:)