August 13, 2017
How to make lifelong friends:
Travel across the world together.
Go through life-altering family changes together.
Realize that you have never seen them NOT sweaty, and visa versa.
Travel in a "pack".
Order group dinners via Google Translate.
Share Miralax amongst yourselves.
Sweat a lot.
Take pictures with strangers.
Sweat some more.
Get together almost a year later and realize that it seems like yesterday...and that everyone is NOT sweating.
July 22, 2018
Plan to get together again next year. Sweating optional.
10 days ago, we traveled to Dayton, Ohio to get together with the families we traveled with in China. One came from Kentucky, the other from North Carolina.
We stayed at a regular hotel and spent hours and hours at parks, watching our kids play and catching up on the previous year, the year home from China.
Lucy* and Maggie meeting for the first time since we left them at the Detroit airport on August 17th, 2017. We asked them to hug...but Lucy's brother Jack got it instead!
Did the girls remember each other?
Probably not.
BUT.
They were very excited and very comfortable with each other right away. So, maybe they sensed something.
Either way, they were just the cutest together!
The girls taking a break from the ice cold pool.
Jack G. and Colin got to sit on the Birthday saddle since they were both July birthdays.
(Jack F. declined that honor)
Playing with toys while the big kids and dads played some football in the rain.
We hung out in the hotel that evening and Jessica made s'mores!
The bigs played some Uno!
Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and the Gilsdorf's met up with us! Alexis joined in on the fun.
Who knew a luggage cart could be so fun?!?
Alexis graciously shared her sidewalk chalk with the girls.
Colin was the best little helper with all the kids. He helped the girls move around the playgrounds and made sure no one ran off!
Macy and Jack G. were the cutest little friends. Here they are playing in a little "old fashioned" house together.
Two girls, from Beiliu, China, adopted on the same day, playing in a park in Dayton, Oh. It blows my mind.
We all spent most of the day just watching the girls interact.
It was just the best day.
These sweet girls, one year ago, did not have a family. But, oh, what a difference a year makes!
Now all three of these lovely ladies are dearly loved daughters. Forever in a family.
And now we are a great big adopted family.
And I can not wait to see everyone again.
* If you want to follow along with Jessica and her family, you can find her site here.
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