Family Reunion

We went to Kentucky for a family reunion over the weekend. Lily loves her cousins- here she is with Alex.

Here she is with Wyatt and Alex- they are brothers.

Jamie took this photo with our camera. From the back left- Michael, Jonathan (both my cousins), Pop, Uncle Paul, Tommy (another cousin), with Uncle Tom on the end (Nana Claire's baby brother). His wife, Aunt Sharon is sitting in front of him. Tommy is their son. Aunt Ruth (Nana Claire's sister) is sitting beside Sharon. Then, Aunt Theresa is beside us. She was married to Mom's oldest brother. There were 7 children all together in Mom's family. Every family that had children had boys, except for Mom- she was the only one who had girls. How funny is it that all these years later, the exact same thing has taken place. All of my cousins who have children all have boys- except for me! I think that is interesting. Notice the little photographer on the front row- Lily is taking a picture of Baba!!

Here is Lily with Aunt Sharon. She followed her around most of the time. She loves going to Sharon and Tom's house. She loved spending time with the family- and so did we!

Lily's New Kitchen

Well, that is what she is calling it anyway. Lily is thrilled to have a brand-new kitchen, but not even as thrilled as her parents.

So, here she is showing off her new snack bar where she eats lunch every day, along with her snacks.

She also loves this corner area because the bottom drawers are all hers. She has her silverware, plates, bowls, and cups in her drawers. She loves helping to set the table each night for dinner.

We love having our office area in our kitchen. It makes everything so much easier.

So, now, we are just waiting for our new floor which should be installed next Tuesday. Lily and her Mama have already been getting cooking lessons from Chef Baba. Lily helped me make Spinach con Queso the other night. It is one of her favorite things, so we tried to make it. We had a little difficulty with the roux- it was a little thick- but still delicious.

Next, Lily is going to help me make Lettuce Wraps. I am really looking forward to that! Baba is enjoying having 2 new "Chefs-in-the-making" in his kitchen.

Dollywood

We got to Dollywood bright and early with our friends. Lily had to ride the carousel first!

We were the only people on the ride! So, Lily got to pick the kitty instead of the horse. She was thrilled to get to ride a cat!

Next, we flew on the elephant ride- really high in the air! Lily loved it!

Then, she went on more rides! She loves Disney World rides, but I had no idea that she would love these rides so much. She wasn't scared of anything!

Here I am holding Marah while we are getting ready to ride again. Marah loved to ride everything, too!

Lily rode this ride with Beth. Jamie and I didn't want to ride The Scrambler. But, Lily did. So, Beth said, "I will take you." Without a glance in our direction, Lily reached out and took Beth's hand. Amazing. Lily loves Beth!

Here she is riding the kiddie rides. I had no idea this duck would spin around so much!

Here, she rode with Liana and Marah. Marah was a little upset because she did not get to ride in the front seat. But, isn't that the sweetest upset face you have ever seen!

The girls were excited to steer themselves and push the buttons.

They had so much fun at Dollywood together on these rides. I had no idea they had all of these rides for kids.

She also rode on the train roller coaster and the shooting star ride. But, we didn't get pictures of it.

She even rode on things with strangers. Totally not like our Lily- but we are liking this independence she is displaying!

Jamie had to get into the action at KidsFest. He helped Lily make a tye-dye t-shirt. It is so cute! Of course, it is pink and purple!

After our day at Dollywood, we went back to the cabin, spent a little more time with our friends, then we headed out for dinner at Calhoun's. Then, it was time to head home. Lily and the girls loved spending time in the window of our upstairs bedroom at the cabin.

We had the best weekend! We really miss our friends, and we can't wait to see them again "next week"! We love you - Beth, David, Liana, and Marah! Can't wait to plan another vacation really soon!

ACCA Reunion

We went to the Reunion at the Cirque de Chine on Saturday, July 10th.
We participated in the activities like hopsctoch...

blowing bubbles together...and

the acrobats showed the girls how to hula hoop.

Lily loved the acrobats, and she could not wait to see them perform.

This man helped Lily write her Chinese numbers in Calligraphy.

Lily was excited to write in this special way.

After she was finished, he wrote her name in Chinese for her.

Jamie got to write, too.

Then, Jamie got to show off his exceptional chopsticks skills while picking up marbles.

Lily wanted him to try on the Chinese mask.

Beth, Marah, and Liana were learning the art of paper folding.

We are really enjoying our day at the reunion.

Lily is coloring with the acrobats.

Liana was our photographer. She has always loved to take pictures, even back in our China days.

We ate a delcious Chinese meal, and Lily really enjoyed the noodles.

Sweet Liana with David. See Marah eating her ice cream.

Here are all of the families taking their children on stage for a picture with the acrobats at the end of the show. It was really great!

However, one sleepy little Lily didn't get to go on stage! At least she made it through most of the show!

I will post pictures of Dollywood tomorrow!

China Sisters

We spent a wonderful weekend with our friends from South Carolina. Here is a picture of Marah, Lily, and Liana.

This was a moment when we were privledged to listen to a 3-year-old's conversation between China sisters. It is such a blessing to be able to reunite the girls together. Lily is only 2 weeks older than Marah. They are Wanzai sisters- they were from the same SWI.

Of course, Lily will always love Liana. She has looked up to her and wanted to be just like her. Any moments that Lily could be with Liana were treasured over the weekend.

I will post more pictures of our fun times together tomorrow!

The Yes Dance

Lily has been making up stories, dances, and songs for awhile now. All of sudden she wants me to tape her when she is showing them to us. So, she said, "Mama, I want you to tape me doing the Yes Dance." Then, the above video is what I saw...

I have no idea where she got this! :0)