First Day of School!

Once again the first day of school is here. It seriously feels like I just did this last year. The familiar lump in my throat the whole week before as summer winds to an end and I think about not getting to be with the girls all day. I love the carefree schedule of summer, going to the pool everyday, and doing stuff with all four kids (most of the time). I just love being with our kiddos and really do miss them when they are gone. But I know it is important for them to grow up and establish Independence away from our home. We also want them exposed to lots of different kids and lifestyles to prepare them for life. And of course they learn so much at school too....even though I was a teacher I just don't have it in me to try and teach them at home!!

The girls were very excited though for school. Karis got Mrs. Aguiar (First Grade) this year....she was Hailey's amazing first grade teacher.....so we were all thrilled. Hailey is in Mrs. Moyle's (Third Grade)class and we have heard wonderful things about her! I am so excited for the girls to make new friends and learn lost of new things this year. I am also hoping to be more involved this year as I feel like things on the home front are much more manageable than they were a year ago! It's going to be a great year!

Good Bye Summer!

I think this is one of the cutest sights ever! I loved getting to look at this girl in her swimming suit every single day! We still have a few days left of swimming but not much! Sniff....sniff....

The Zoo!

We got to the giraffe feeding station quickly so we could feed the giraffes!

We went to the zoo last week.

We also saw the butterflies. Poor Karis was terrified when one landed on her. Thankfully their friend Kristen was there to offer comfort since Mommy was busy snapping pictures.

Goat feeding was another highlight!

Of course Avery found a lizard to sit on!!

A New Dog and A New Tent

This is Alex's new dog. He was a stray and we got him at the shelter. He needs a lot of love and a lot of food and his hair that we had to shave to grow back. But other than that he is perfect. He actually fits right in and isn't at all disturbed by the 4 kids, 60 pound Boxer, cat, or lizard. So it's a good fit! He named him Tucker after the dog I once had. We tried to convince him of many other names but it was either that or Sevilla...Rach's dog. So Tucker it is!

And Grandma Ruby gave Avery and Alex an early Birthday present. A tent! They are loving playing in it, the perfect outside toy for them. As you can see they aren't the only ones enjoying it! Thanks Grandma Ruby!!

Yakima

The kids all had a great time in Yakima. Lots of pool time, water slide time, and playing with cousins! They also enjoyed being with Papa and Grandma and of course Grandma Ruby!

Alex Sees Wilde!

When Scott and I travelled to Haiti to meet Alex, we met another couple there who were visiting their son to also sign paperwork. The bond between us was instantaneous. We spent a lot of time with Jeff and Melinda and our boys in the visiting room. In the evening we would talk about our other kids, adoption, parenting, and fun stuff. We also endured the horrible good-bye early in the morning. In fact, just thinking about that morning is still hard for me. We rode to the airport with them, all of us sobbing, thinking it would be at least a year until we brought our precious boys home.

Fast forward two months to the earthquake and we were constantly emailing each other. In fact I went back and reread them and watched as we went from devastated, to hopeful, to fearful, to hopeful, to overjoyed. We have kept in contact ever since but since they are from Canada and we the US and neither of our boys had the right papers, we were unable to leave our countries. (We still don't have citizenship, but they now do! So they came and met us!)

I really wondered how it would go. Alex has talked some about Haiti but mostly imaginary things. Like when the ice cream truck came to Haiti all the kids got ice cream, the Chuckie Cheese was clean there and they were allowed to go, they each had American Girl dolls, and such. When we told him we were finally going to see Wilde he was so excited. However he kept asking things like "Will we go back to Boise though?" and "Wilde will go back with his parents right? They have one dark skinned kid and so do you so that we are special right?" We kept assuring him everything would be the same afterwards. A couple hours before we saw Wilde he goes, "Actually when I lived in Haiti we never went anywhere." I think he thought he was about to be found out and that we were going to start quizzing Wilde to see if all the Haiti stories he'd been telling were true.

Our visit with them went great! It was so fun and much too quick. Scott has been so busy travelling this summer that we just didn't have much time. In between my family and his and all the cousins, aunts, and uncles, it just has to be so rushed it feels like! Hopefully next summer we can see them a little longer. The boys had a wonderful time. No shyness at all. Instant hugging and laughing and playing and wrestling and even eating off each other's spoons. It was so cute and made me teary eyed. I love that they still have a bond like this! I hope that we can keep the boys in touch throughout the years!