Home run

(Jack, Caelan and Skyler)
Jack -- ever the negotiator made a deal with EM that if he did well on the State test last May that he would take him to a Dodger game with a couple of his friends. The test results arrived by mail in late August and he rocked it. He scored advanced in language arts AND math-- a sweet academic home run as far as we were concerned. We were very proud of him (and still are.)

The game was especially exciting to Jack because Manny Ramirez plays for the Dodgers now and Jack is really a die hard Red Sox fan. We have no emotional ties to Boston so this is really a mystery or meant to antagonize his father (a die hard Dodger fan). Nevertheless Jack enjoyed a Friday night out with his buddies and suckered EM into purchasing the Manny look -- which I hope will now also double as his Halloween costume. If not, I may have to borrow that wig for my trick-or-treating purposes.

Is-a-fan

Boulder rocks

(Makena and the chalk cow at the Children's Museum of Denver.)
Makena and I just returned from a trip to Denver and Boulder which was a good excuse to visit our friends Olivia, Chloe and their parents. They were one of among sixteen families who traveled with us to China when we adopted Makena. We had several outings and play dates with them and the girls had a blast getting reacquainted. But as their mother, Karen, said:"Trying to get the three to sit still for a shot was like wrangling cats."
(Makena, Chloe and Olivia.)
(The girls at the butterfly museum.)
I hired the daughter of a friend of ours to chauffeur Jack to his activities and help him with his homework while I was away and he hardly missed me at all. Jack's teacher knew of my travels and e-mailed me to let me know that Jack didn't smell in spite of my absence. I was concerned that he may take a break from hygiene but I was wrong. He showered daily and obsessed over his hair. (He is ten going on seventeen and I am in so much trouble.)

As the plane landed at LAX, Makena turned to her doll and said."Baby, we are home." I felt the sme relief and happiness she felt. This was a long haul and I hope to stay put for a while. As soon as we stepped foot in the house, Makena ran to her room and proceeded to inspect every toy, puzzle and book she had hen promptly trashed her space.

Over the next few weeks I'll get her back into her routine and figure out the preschool options and other classes I want to check out with her. Right now I just want to be a vegetable.

I have to say that in spite of all the changes in scenery and lodging over the last three months that our Mei Mei has become an amazing little traveler. Something I was incapable of predicting as far back as last April but something I am incredibly proud of.

Is-happy to be home

Blink

The summer went by in the blink of an eye. It often felt like I was on a class three rapid navigating all the things I did to keep my children busy (and spoiled.) Below are the photograph that capture the time spent over the last ten weeks.
My nephew, Stefan. came for an almost three week visit at the beginning of the summer.
We celebrated Jack's tenth birthday with his friends.
We rented a house with some friends and spent a week in Martha's Vineyard.
We moved on to visit our friends in Worthington, Massachusetts. They live on a blueberry farm and Jack and his friend, Jack, spent an entire day selling blueberries.
Check out the size of these berries!
We drove up to Mont Tremblant, Quebec, and visited with Anouk and her family and spent a few days playing with them and boating on the lake.
I love this picture of Jack. After our stay we drove south to Vermont to drop Jack of at camp where he spent the following two weeks there honing his tennis and soccer skills. My sister picked him up at the end of the session and took him back to Montreal for three days. He flew home as an "unaccompanied minor" (with a connection in Chicago!)
While Jack was at camp, I flew from the East Coast out to San Francisco to spend the weekend celebrating the second anniversary of Makena's adoption with her China cousins an their families. It was great. The girls were all extraordinary, with such different personalities, and a lot of fun to watch and play with.
Jack came home, EM took the week off and we repacked our bags and flew out to Montana to spend the week at a dude ranch. It was great. The sky was big. The air was clean but we spent most days freezing. (The coldest winter I ever spent was my summer in Montana!)
I finally managed to get Makena on a horse and she loved it. I'm psyched because by the end of our stay she was comfortable enough in the saddle that I could envisage taking her out on my horse around the neighborhood. That is, when I finally make it back.

I am presently in Boulder, Colorado with Makena. Jack is at home with his dad and getting used to being a fifth grader. Hopefully, he is also showering.

Is-exhausted.