Camping Pics of Zach

Watching the fire and enjoying marshmallows


Checking out the tent!


Enjoying some Root Beer


"I want to fish too!"


Enjoying the Boat Ride

Zachary is a little scared of almost everything, so we were nervous about taking him on the boat, turns out he is NOT scared of boats! He loved it! He is also not scared of tubing--go figure! He loved being "ow-side" all the time!

He didn't quite get the concept of staying in his sleeping bag, so he fell asleep with Mommy and Daddy the first night, and then was so exhausted the second night he fell asleep in Daddy's arms while we were roasting marshmallows. Both boys LOVED waking up in the tent. We were very lucky that they didn't wake up at the crack of dawn. We were all able to sleep until 8 am both mornings--that NEVER happens!

Camping Pics of Paul

Paul enjoys the live bait!


Paul is learning patience


Roasting Marshmallows!


OH NO. It's on FIRE


Checking out the Tent

Paul thought camping outside was really neat! He loved everything we did! He really enjoyed fishing with his cousin, Tyler and Tyler's friend Alexander. We let him go with them a couple of times without us, and he thought he was so big! He was a little disappointed that he didn't catch anything--maybe next time!

As I already mentioned he loved tubing. He fell out several times but didn't care. One time he told us he was scared when he fell out but "Jesus protected him". I love how he relates everything to God and Jesus!

Anyone that knows Paul knows he HATES shoes, so being outside all weekend and trying to keep shoes on his feet was challenging. I scrubbed his feet for 20 minutes when we got home! I have never seen such nasty feet! They were literally stained with that wonderful Georgia red clay!

More to Come

There are LOTS more pics of the camping trip, I will try to post a few more later!

Also, wanted to say THANKS to Kelli and Shafter for inviting us and showing us a WONDERFUL time! We had a BLAST

Adventures in Camping!

We decided to take the boys camping this past weekend. We went with my sister and her family, they have a camper, but we wanted the boys to have the full effect of camping for the first time, so we wanted to "do the tent thing". The boys LOVED it. We enjoyed it as well, but our air mattress deflated on us, and it was quite difficult to get any sleep! I could not be "Man vs Wild"!!!! We did have a GREAT time fishing, tubing, roasting marshmallows, and just relaxing! On Saturday evening Steve and I took the boat out with just the boys. I made the mistake of telling Paul he could tube for as long as he wanted. After probably close to two hours of him on the tube, with one short swimming break, we told him we had to go in. Zach tubed for a short time with Paul as well. he was a little unsure at first, but once we got him going, he LOVED it! Here are a few pics of the trip

Family Time

We took the boys to a friends to go horseback riding today (actually pony riding)! Paul LOVED it. We were just happy that Zach wasn't screaming, and eventually actually touched the horse! Maybe next time he will want to sit on the horse. Zach enjoyed being outside, playing with sticks and climbing the fence! Shelly and the girls came as well, and Samantha rode one of the horses. She loved it as well. We had an absolute blast, and can't wait to go back. It was such an enjoyable and relaxing day. The boys were absolutely filthy when we got home; if dirt is any measure of how much fun they had, then they had more fun then they have had in a long time. I don't know if the dirt will come out of their clothes, but it doesn't really matter. This is what family time is all about. Relaxing, playing and simply being together! Also, the little girl in the picture is the daughter of the friends house we went too, they were her ponies we rode.

This Months Referrals

Well, referrals came in for this month, and everyone who has an LID through November 14, 2005 is seeing pictures of their baby for the first time! How exciting. What is not so exciting is that CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) is still working on November 2005, and it will most likely take atleast 2 more months for them to get through November 2005. So, for regular referrals the wait is going to grow very quickly to 2-3 years. We are hopeful that we will receive a referral for a "Waiting Child" much sooner then that!

Cool Site to learn about China provinces

Just ran across this site and thought it was interesting. It appears to be a really cool site to learn about the different provinces of China. Of course we have no idea what province Molly is or will be in, but I am looking forward to learning about the different provinces and then I will know about the province when we do get our referral.

The site is
http://easia.imb.org/peopleplaces/province.htm

Check it out when you get a chance!

When we travel to China (hopefully next year) we will first travel to Guangzhou, which is in the GuangDong province, and then we will travel to the province that Molly is in (wherever that may be) and then back to Guangzhou to complete paperwork. So, in order to avoid as much travel we would of course hope she is in GuangDong province, or atleast close by. Obviously it doesn't really matter where she is, we just want to bring her home!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July!