Good Cheap Fun!

Aunt Heather had to pick up some parts for her John Deere mower today (Beth broke it again!). So we made it a group trip to London, Ohio! The kids had a blast at the John Deere dealership!!! They climbed EVERY piece of equipment in the lot. Cullen (who has never understood Alex's and Ian's obsession with JD tractors) had a great time! Now he wants one of everything!


Group shot. Kieren & Ian sitting on the counterweight while Alex & Cullen looked cool in the cab. Kieren and Ian were about 4.5 feet above the ground. This wasn't the biggest tractor by far!

This reminds me of the farmer's version of a clown car.

This will give you an idea of scale.

A size for everyone!

~I am working on a slide show. I will post it when I get a chance!

To Aunt Heather: This adventure makes up for the last one, but you're not off the hook yet!!!

Just Because I'm Feeling Evil...

Aunt Heather - August 2008

MISSING...

...my "GROOVE". If you find my groove, please drop me an email or comment. I can't say that I'm missing it, but that's because it's missing. I think I lost it some time after I lost my mind, but I can't really remember.

PSST! Don't Tell Our Moms...

...But we snuck out to Vancouver for a little fun!!!


It was AWESOME!!!!

I hope Linlee's mom doesn't look too closely at her credit card bill!!!

We had a great little adventure in Vancouver, but we were asked by the government not to share our experience. Something about "unaccompanied minors" being a national embarrassment? Hmmm... Maybe we should take another trip? You never know...
Love,
Kieren, Linlee & Rachel

It's SOOOOOO Quiet Here!

(The photos are from the fireworks display in Enon this year. Cullen cracks me up!!!)

We dumped - I mean took - Cullen to the Columbus airport on Saturday. It wasn't really the airport. We dumped - oops! I really meant took - him to the McDonald's near the Columbus airport. Why? We were meeting up with the Miller Family. They were flying back from a mission trip and picking Cullen up for a week at camp. Crazy people!!! We love them, but they are definitely crazy!

After HOURS of sitting in our car at McDonald's (serious flight delays), Cullen's second family arrived. They were so exhausted! I asked them what time they got up and they said "Friday morning." YIKES!!! So we put the giant bags of Cullen-crap into the back of their van and sat in the restaurant to catch up. Laura and Jeff are amazing parents! They have 4 children. Meg is the oldest (15 or 16, I think), followed by the twins Kyle & Caleb (14, I think) and Hali (3.5, adopted from China). Cullen fits right in. He looks and acts like the boys' brother!!! They treat him like one of their own too!

This is the second year Cullen has gone to camp with the boys. HE.LOVES.IT. He and the boys love to get together, but we live 3 hours apart. We get together a couple times a year (Shopping Adventures!) and we try to find other times and ways (they came for Kieren's birthday party this year). I wish we could get together more!

Cullen called me this afternoon to tell me they were leaving for camp. I won't hear from him again until next Saturday. He and the boys will be having an awesome week and making enough memories to last until they see each other again! Until then, it's sooooooo quiet here!

With The Gift of Speech...

Kieren...

Lauren, Kieren, and Grace at JiangCheng SWI.

Director Wen, Kieren, and a nanny at SWI.


Kieren and I were looking at photos on the computer the other day. When we got to the ones the SWI took on our disposable camera, Kieren climbed off my lap to sit on the desk. She wanted to see her baby pictures. So we looked. She asked me which one she was. She asked me which one was Lauren and which one was Grace. When she saw the one with her and Director Wen, she asked if that was her Mommy. Every picture with the director or a nanny, she asked the same question. I could only honestly answer "No. We don't know who your Mommy in China is or what she looks like." She did okay with that for a bit, but then got really serious and asked where her Daddy is. I told her that Daddy was sitting on the couch. She said no, her Daddy in China. Again I had to be honest and tell her we didn't know where he was or who he was or what he looked like. Then she wanted to know where her Mommy was. I answered that I am her Mommy and I am sitting right in front of her, but we don't know where her China Mommy is. She was pretty quiet for a while, but seemed to accept my answers.


With the gift of speech (slowly seeing progress), come questions that I can't answer.

Family Time

Last week, Andy took a week's vacation. We had a great time just hanging out and getting things done around the house! It was a very busy week, really!

SATURDAY: The official start of Andy's vacation. The boys played Wii.

SATURDAY: Baseball practice.

SUNDAY: Lots of outside stuff to do!

SUNDAY: Cullen's & Kieren's favorite playground!

MONDAY: We watched Ian while Heather was at work. The kids played in the pools and sandbox. Cullen relaxed on the deck (after getting drenched in the pool) with a book.

MONDAY: Another fun playground!

MONDAY: Cullen's team had Round 2 of the baseball tournament. They lost to the #1 team. It wasn't pretty...

TUESDAY: We went shopping then we had a great time at Maddy's house swimming! No, I didn't take photos. New friends, new moms, bathing suits - photos weren't advisable!

WEDNESDAY: We had Kieren's photos taken and wandered around the Dayton Mall.

THURSDAY: We had a great time at the lake with Grandpa Carl & Uncle Jeff! The boat ride was awesome!!! The weather was cold, windy and rainy, but it was great!

FRIDAY: Hamming it up before the fireworks started. Nanny and Pops came for dinner then we headed off to watch the fireworks in Enon. That morning we also went to Panda Cubs Playgroup.

SATURDAY: 4th of July parade - Fairborn. Kieren & her Daddy marched in this one.

SATURDAY: Our second parade of the day - Enon! Kieren was happy to just collect candy and wave for this one. After this parade we went to Nanny & Pops' house for dinner.

SUNDAY: We ended our week together with a bonfire in the back yard!

Kieren - Then & Now

July 4th, 2006
(age: 1.3)

July 4th, 2007
(age: 2.3)

July 4th, 2008
(age: 3.3)

July 4th, 2009
(age: 4.3)

Independence Day

July 4th, 2009...

...Thank you.

Kieren In Today's Parade

Today was the 4th of July Parade in Fairborn (the town next to ours). Kieren's ballet school (Miami Valley Dance Center) is in Fairborn so they marched in that parade. Luckily, it was a mild day and had not started raining yet. Kieren reported to the staging area at 9:30am. The parade was to start at 10am. MVDC didn't leave the staging area until almost 11:30!!! It was a very long slow walk (about 3 miles) for those little legs, but they did it happily! Kieren and her friend Ella were the only little ones to show up. The rest of the girls were from Level III dance and higher. They were definately the "bells of the ball"!


Kieren & Ella (a classmate) posing for photos.

Throwing candy to the crowds.

Miss Lily (Kieren's dance instructor) had a great time walking with the girls. Kieren was THRILLED to see Miss Lily!!!

The girls had lots of fans!

Aren't they adorable?!?!?!

Kieren's Photo Shoot @ Target