Busy Weekend....

Friday both Joshua and Mike began the Ragnar Relay, Josh on team High Milers, made up of 12 male/female high school students, and Mike on team Ultra Edukators, made up of just six middle aged male high school teachers! I'm proud to say that Josh's team took first in the coed high school division, finishing the 200 mile relay in 25.05, and Mike's team took third in their division, finishing in 25.55.   Since I wasn't at the start or finish line, and I volunteered during the 2 am shift, I didn't get a chance to take photos.  There were photos taken at the finish line, so when those get posted on the Ragnar page, I will share them.

My boys didn't get much rest, since we headed to Seattle on Sunday to see our sister-in-law Tonyia. She was in town to send our nephew Morgan to Germany for a month, where he will be playing on a NBC International Travel Basketball Team.  It was a quick trip to Seattle, but we were able to ride the new Seattle Great Wheel ferris wheel that just opened July 1.  The girls were a little disappointed that it wasn't a more exciting ride, but I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful views.

Enclosed cars for the unpredictable Seattle weather. Each car has air conditioning just in case!

View from beneath

We walked just a bit around Pike's Place, as we were trying to be mindful of Mike's sore legs. When you enter through the back way you get  to see the famous "gum wall," which is not for the faint of heart. It is so well known now it even has it's own Wikipedia entry! On a much sweeter note, Mike bought me a bunch of flowers that included my favorite scent, the Starlight Lily.

Josh was excited to find his name already on the wall, so he didn't have to add it!

We wrapped the afternoon up with dinner at The Melting Pot, a delicious fondue restaurant that Kellen has been telling us to go to for quite sometime now. Every course is served as some type of fondue and took us three hours to complete! I think the chocolate fondues were the unanimous favorite, and Jaelyn and Joshua were even caught licking their plates!

After having such a busy summer with us going in different directions, was nice to have at least one day with all of us (well those that live under the same roof) together, even if it was only for a day!

New Beginnings...

This last week was a fun filled week of new beginnings...

Life with the new puppy continued to be very entertaining. I think she is the mellowest puppy I have ever seen! With Mike and Josh at wrestling camp, we took Cocoa to Oregon, and she is a great traveler. We took her to a couple parks and bought her a puppy pool to keep cool in the heat. She is definitely ALL labrador, completely loving the water. In fact, when she is at our house, she thinks the fountain we have out front is her personal bubbler to drink out of.

When we returned on Monday, Mike got to meet her for the first time, and of course, he adores her. Romeo is still not sure what to think of her. Josh comes home from football camp tomorrow and will be surprised to meet her.

While we were in Portland, I got to meet and hold our newest Williamson family member, my Great Nephew Bradyn.  As an extra special bit, he was born on his Great Great Grandfather's birthday, 93 years apart, on June 27. Bradyn is adorable and loved by all. My niece Tiffany and her husband are adjusting well to parenthood.

Lastly, while in Oregon we attended a beautiful outdoor wedding near Mt. Hood to celebrate a new marriage. The wedding was held at the Mt. Hood Bed and Breakfast, where the majestic mountain loomed in the background. My photos do not do the scenery justice, but you get the idea. The girls wore their new dresses I bought in China, and they looked adorable. The wedding was for a childhood friend of mine's son, but the girls were more interested in the horses they found on the grounds!

Welcome Cocoa!

Remember this post last month about a new puppy? Well guess, what, dad is gone, so the girls and I took advantage of the situation couldn't resist this cute puppy! Actually he gave me the go ahead to get a dog while he was gone, but I don't really think he believed we would do it. 

 As I type, she is sleeping between my feet as Romeo is keeping an eye on her just a yard away. The girls were giddy today as we brought her home. She is really sweet and mild mannered. Let's hope she stays this way. We are trying to keep her a surprise from Mike and Josh until they come home next week from wrestling camp then football camp.  Let's hope they don't go online between now and then. We were going to wait to name her until they came home, but we realized we needed something, so we chose the obvious, but very appropriate, Cocoa (or is it Coco?). I'm sure there will be many more cute photos to come. This one was shot before we got her; I haven't got her to sit still this long when awake without Romeo or the girls hovering around!

Then and Now...

I was looking back over my orphanage trip photos from the past six years, and I thought it would be fun to post some "then and now" photos.

2008:

 2012

 2008

 2012

2008

 2012

 2007

 2012

2007

 2012

2007

 2012

2012

2008

 2012

2007

 2012

As you can see, many of the children are better off now; some are not. I leave you with one wonderful update though.  Here is Min Bo in 2008, when our team member Jake took him under his wing...

After receiving a wonderful update on him through the LIGHT physical therapist who works with him in his Chinese foster home, here he is today...

He has been a light to his foster family and a beacon to his community. It is amazing how orphans can be used to touch lives in ways that we cannot even imagine. I was so thrilled to hear this amazing update. It encourages me to continue on...

Fourth Festivities...

Josh and I have been home nearly a week now, and we feel we have come out of our fog. We have had out of town company since Tuesday, so that forced me to get back into the routine sooner than my lazy body probably would have done on its own! We watched the parade, went to the carnival, the park, the beach, and endless time on the trampoline and the front yard.  We are so fortunate the weather turned more cooperative for us to enjoy the outdoors. I hate to complain about the cool weather though, as the rest of the country seems to be burning up right now. I love our own little eco system up here in the PNW!

As we ran into another friend at the carnival, the four girls had a blast together. My favorite comment of the day came from Kaia, as she exclaimed "We are all adopted!" with such enthusiasm as she pointed to her group of friends. I hope she always feels this good about how she came into our family.

 Not a bad photo, just Jaelyn pretending to fall asleep on me. In reality, it was me who could've closed their eyes and rested:)

I loved the teamwork to haul the kelp up the beach! Three determined young ladies, and yes, they did manage to move it up to the rocks.