When In America

When in America, there are lots of things to do.

When in America, there are lots of people to see.

When in America, there are lots of reasons not to blog.

Oops.  Sorry bout that.  In my defense, my Rebel went to visit the Big Camera Man in the sky and it wasn't until today that that my camera woes were fixed.  (Welcome to my life, upgrade 50d!)

To make up for my inconsistencies, I'll just do a photo dump of all the highlights we've had over the past six weeks.  You'll have to excuse all the peace signs I'm apparently unable to withhold in pictures.  You can take the girl out of Asia but you can't take the Asia out of the girl!

We spent three weeks in Louisville, KY living with Kevin's twin Chris & his lovely bride.  Way too many late nights and inside jokes.  And the fact that Micah called Chris "more daddy" on a daily basis.   Amazing.

Lots of cousin time...

The boys got lots of gentleness practice with baby Nora (or "Baby Sarah" as Micah typically called her).  Micah seemed pretty smitten with the little lady.  Let's hope the same favor carries over to our little one on the way.

Celebrated Cousin Jonathan's 2nd birthday.

 Snow day in March.

This is how Sam & I spent the snowy morning.

He probably would have rather played in the snow but lobbing snow balls at the window kept him happy enough. 

And then a few weeks later, finger painting outside in the buff. 

 Which, of course, required a thorough cleaning with the hose.

 Fun times had by all.

A morning at the zoo

Lots of smiles...

And lots of tiredness from all the aforementioned smiley fun...

Pregnant...

Pregnant...

And more pregnant...

If misery loves company, then pregnancy loves company even more.  Not that my pregnancy has been miserable.  Quite the opposite actually.  But I do love the company of my fellow prego friend, Rach.

Reconnecting with friends...

 This fabulous family has three Ethiopian kiddos, as well as their two bio daughters.  This was the first time since we've had the boys home that they've gotten to play with other kids "like them."  But you know, it was pretty much the same as when they play with kids that aren't "like them."  I guess there's just more important things to little people than skin color, like who gets to push the toy lawn mower next. 

We also had a reunion with two of the families with whom we spent the past two and a half years in China.  What a sweet night with friends who really understand.

 Lots of time in the car.  We drove the 15 hours trek from Kentucky to Texas and back again with the little dudes in tow.  They did surprisingly well, probably due to the fact that my rockstar husband drove through the night while they slept.

Now we're back in Texas, enjoying lots of grandparent time.  And lots of outdoor time.

And did I mention that Sam has decided to try his hand (or should I say feet?) at walking?  I think I'm supposed to be all weepy as a mother that my little dude is getting big, but instead I'm daydreaming of not having to carry him through the airport when we head back to China in August.  That sure does sound nice...

So that's life around here.  Now that I've joined forces with my dreamy new camera, hopefully I'll do a bit better job with this here blog.  I can't make any extreme promises though.  Let's all remember that I'm growing a human and am quite fond of my daily two hour afternoon naps.  But here's to trying!