Busy summer

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We have been quite busy this summer and can't believe that school starts in about 5 1/2 weeks. Since our last post we have been on two vacations. The first vacation was over the 4th of July and we went to Manistee to enjoy all the activities and the beach. Leah didn't sleep well at all so needless to say it was a fun but exhausting long weekend. We also just returned from a trip to Kentucky where we met up with 6 of the 7 families that traveled to China with us when we adopted Leah. It was so great to see everyone again especially the little girls who are all doing so well. We had a great time relaxing at the pool and just spending time with everyone. Leah loves the water!!! She was jumping off the side into the pool and also going underwater on her own. Mia is a fish in the water. One of the families in our group has a daughter the same age as Mia and they really hit it off so those two were off and swimming by themselves most of the time. Some of the girls really enjoyed playing and "dragging" Mia all over the hotel or pool. We broke up the long drive into two days so we got to spend some time with Aunt Pam, Uncle Brian, Stefan & Hannah in Indy. Mia & Leah loved swimming in their pool too. Mia was all about Stefan and didn't let him out of her site. Leah liked playing in the pool with Hannah and playing with the dog and cat.

Mia has been super busy this summer and she wouldn't have it any other way. She went to Heritage Camp, Zoo camp and Humane Society camp. Heritage Camp is a camp for internationally adopted children. There were about 150 girls that were adopted from China. Mia's second grade class had 28 girls in it. At the end of camp they had a little presentation and at the end I got all choked up. Mia really enjoyed this camp and I felt bad that it was over for her because it was the only place that everyone in her class shared the same story, same hair and same beginning in China. I was so glad that she was able to experience this and I am looking forward to her being able to do it again next year.

Leah is as busy as ever. She loves the outdoors and is the happiest when she is outside playing in the sand or just walking down the sidewalk. As I mentioned before she loves the water and if she sees her swimsuit she wants to put it on. Anytime she sees water she wants to go in it even if it's just a fountain in the park! She is running and starting to get some air when she jumps. She is climbing up anything and everything to get to whatever she wants. During our trip in Kentucky Leah would start crying when any other of her "chinese cousins" started to cry and she wouldn't stop until she gave them a hug. She has a big heart for anyone who is sad or gets hurt. Although she fights with her big sister everyday, she is very protective of Mia too. She is wise beyond her years. How lucky we are to have two very sweet girls!