Try this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ6Eiq2WjWY

I'm hoping that if you click on this link it will take you to the movie that I made of the boys more than a year ago! If this works then I'll attempt Paige's video!

End of summer busyness...

This last weekend was pretty crazy around here. I think we are finally recovered! Friday night Rick and I went on a date whoo-hooo! Can't remember the last time we did that. Saturday morning Rick mowed the lawn and nearly died of heat stroke, then helped our new neighbors/friends move in next door. I spent most of the day back and forth between the two houses and supervising the six kids! It also happened to be the block party on the street behind us so the older kids ran amok over there getting their faces painted, bouncing in the bounce house, playing in the fire hydrant, and eating free snow cones. They didn't all collapse into bed until well after 10:00. Sunday they had fun having friends live next door and Trace was supposed to spend the night. I think the weekend had worn him out too much though and he came home around 9:30. Then yesterday we borrowed a smaller bike for Caden to try and learn on and guess what!? He rode on two wheels all the way around the block! Yeah! Finally! Friday night he also lost his second tooth! It has been loose for months and the extremely crooked adult tooth was breaking through behind it. After I explained that the tooth fairy would leave him money AND his tooth if that was what he wanted his response was, "I like this tooth fairy thing!"
I get to spend today trying to get this house caught up now! Mercifully no one has called to see it in the last couple of days but I know my luck is running out!
One last thing! For those of you reading this who haven't called in a while because you already know what's happening in our life - CALL! I don't know what's happening in YOUR life! I miss everybody...

A few of "my favorite things." (Grapes & Flip Flops!)

Pretty scary guys.

Look who's on TWO wheels!

I am SOOOO excited!!!

On the day we were given Paige we discovered tucked into her rolled up sleeves the tinyest notes with Chinese writing on them. Once we were home we had them translated and sure enough they were the name and address of her foster family! I started assembling a care package and in February I sent it off. Since it was so expensive to send I had no way of tracking it and therefore had no idea if they ever received it. Well in today's mail was an envelope with a handwritten Chinese return address! I started shaking because I knew there wasn't anyone in China who would be hand writing us other than the foster family! Sure enough it is a two page letter (written in Chinese) and several pictures. She included a picture of herself, her husband (?) holding Paige, her daughter (?), her son (?) both grown, and one of Grace and Paige together. WOW! What an amazing connection this will be for Paige. I can not wait to get the letter translated! Hopefully soon!

Coast to Coast in 2007

We arrived home from New Jersey around 2am after DRIVING from Newark airport in a rental van! Our intention was to fly home but there weren't any flights we could get on so we rented the van, loaded everyone up and headed out! It took us 12 hours and really wasn't too bad. It means that we have literally driven from one coast to the other this summer and the kids have been in 12 states! ( WA, OR, ID, UT, WY, NB, IO, IN, OH, Penn, NY, NJ)
We had a wonderful time in Jersey! It was so great to get re-aquainted with Tom and Diana and to meet Emily. Ella has grown and changed since we last saw her in China too! It was fun to get to know her goofy, happy self rather than the somber one we met before. Paige's personality was quite evident as we watched her with another little one her own size. Watch out! She has no problem taking what she wants and then "spitting" raspberries at the poor soul who tries to get it back! She also does not enjoy sharing a stroller with anyone and pinched and scratched poor Ella to show her displeasure! But they were also awfully cute following each other around, giving hugs/kisses, and just being together. We all enjoyed a day at the Jersey Shore with beautiful weather. Trace had one of the best days of his life learning to Boogie-board! He spent hours in the water and got aquainted with the lifeguard when he drifted too close to the jetty and couldn't get away. Paige eventually got used to the water and completely enjoyed the sand too. Each day was pretty packed with swimming, family gatherings, arcades, carnivals/boardwalks, you-name-it! I was worried that Trace would be bored but I don't think he asked me once when we were going home. Caden kept begging us to stay "just one more day"! On Tuesday, Rick and I took the boys into New York City to see Ground Zero. They are well aware of what happened there and we all wanted to see it before it was all built over. Unfortunately it is really just a HUGE construction site right now and the safety fencing is really hard to see through. It also felt like it was 110 degrees and 110% humidity! I'm not sure what it really was but it was REALLY hot. We rode the train in to Penn Station then got on the subway right to Ground Zero. After walking around the site we walked down by the water to see the Statue of Liberty (waaay off in the hazy distance) then headed back to the subway and home. It was a pretty long day and we are all really glad we did it. Someday I'd maybe like to return to New York with out kids but I won't be dissapointed if I never see it again either! Paige was very happy to wake up in her own house this morning. She ran around like a banshee just like when we got home from Vancouver! It is pretty funny. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Now it's time for school to start!!!!

A week in Jersey...

Every baby needs a "cool" sunglasses photo!

I think we share the same sentiment about the playstation - Boring!

Starved Rock State Park

Rick had the day off today so we decided to take the kids to Starved Rock. Rick went with Trace's class last fall and they have wanted to take the rest of us back ever since. The weather wasn't as hot today so we decided to take advantage of it. It was a beautiful area - something like 2000+ acres of trees, canyons and hiking trails. The picture above is overlooking the Illinois River (which the boys kept calling a stream). And that is a Dam behind them (I think I asked Rick about three times if it was a real Dam). For those of us from the NorthWest that's just a little wall in the middle of a stream, and a really green stream at that! Oh-well it was beautiful by midwest standards and that's all we've got for now! All in all it was a wonderful day and I think we got a few pretty good pictures too.

A smile for Daddy

While Paige spent most of the day in the backpack quite content, she did run around with the boys for a bit - until she started eating the dirt!

French Canyon was the only one of 18, I think, that we made it to. The boys loved it though! We had to follow a narrow trail down then walk up a little creek/waterfall, which Trace is standing in above, to get to the actual canyon itself. It was a relatively small area with a beautiful waterfall and the boys could have thrown rocks all afternoon.

Hiking out of French Canyon

* Notice the boy's matching wet shirts. Rick was laughing that apparently our children aren't too smart. One fell in a certain way and the other was so smart he did the exact same thing! Gotta love 'em though! And they had fun which is all that really matters.

Enjoying an "after hike" snack on the tree stump.

Hiking can exhaust a girl!

Paige and her Flip Flops!

For a long time now Paige has hauled around anyone's flip flops that she could find. So I finally bought her the smallest pair they had at Dollar General (11-12). They will probably fit her in about ten years with her tiny feet! She LOVES them though and carries them around or wears them all the time. Believe it or not she can put them on herself and shuffle around quite well in them!

Vacation

Free to follow your heart and chase all of your dreams...

Home Sweet Home

I guess that means both of our homes! Vancouver was wonderful and we enjoyed every day we had there. It was so nice for me to have some extra help with the kids and to get some time away from them too!! Thank you, thank you Grandma, Nana and Papa! The boys couldn't get enough of Nichole and Coleen and had a great time visiting everyone else too. Paige did incredibly well with all the new places and faces. For a few days it seemed like every time she fell asleep she woke up in a new place! Those who were patient with her though were rewarded with smiles. Rick was able to join us for just over a week which was really fun and a nice break for him. The best part of the trip for me was when my doctor recognized a spot on my face as a type of cyst and told me he could remove it! Now I have had this spot for more than two years and tried everything to get rid of it. It has bothered me, frustrated me and embarrassed me to no end. So I naturally jumped at the idea of having it removed. While he was at it I asked if he could remove the mole I've had near my mouth my entire life. Well, after looking like Frankenstein for a few days with black stitches I look (and feel) like a new person!
We arrived back in Illinois to the heat and humidity of the Mid West. It is great to sleep in my own bed (temper pedic beds ROCK!), and to just be in our own space. Paige was really excited to be home and ran around checking everything out and laughing. Now we just have to decide when and what to plan for the rest of the summer! The boys were extremely excited to find out that friends from Trace's school will be moving in next door in a couple of weeks. After that they won't want to go anywhere!

Quick update - Sorry no pictures!

I didn't bring my camera cord so I can't download any pictures! It has been a while since an update though so I thought I'd just let ya'll know what we've been up to. The kids and I were planning to try and fly (standby) to Washington but were not able to get on a flight. So on our way home from the airport Rick got the great idea of driving his mom's new car out. It just happened to be in Chicago waiting to be shipped to Vancouver! So we picked the car up at 9am and left for the West by 3:00! That was Saturday (June somethingth) and we pulled into the driveway in Vancouver at 6pm Monday! I'd say we made pretty good time. The boys were excellent, they have learned to be good travelers. Paige was another story but I guess she is entitled since she was strapped into the car seat and only a year old! We have been here almost two weeks now and are hoping to get home next Tuesday. Flying standby though who knows!? Rick was out here for a while with us but had to get back to hold down the fort and go to work. The kids are having a blast and have especially loved spending time with their beloved cousins Nichole and Coleen (who are 16 and almost 14!). I'll add more updates once I home and can put pictures up too. There will be a lot of pictures too!