Islands of Adventure

Last week I won tickets to either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure from a local radio station. We decided to go this weekend and we had SUCH an amazing time!  With all the problems with my back & legs, we thought the best way to go was to rent a wheelchair for me.  Tommy was great about pushing me & Rach around...
We all went on many of the rides with her (lucky she is too little for the rough & tumble kind of rides!) But of all the things she went on, her absolute favorite thing was meeting The Cat in the Hat!!!

     

We were only in the park for a few hours, which really was more than enough!  We had a great time, and it gave us a little insight into how she will LOVE whenever we are able to take her to Disney!!
After all the fun of the park, it was time to grab some dinner.  We wandered around the City Walk area, and finally decided to treat Rach to her all-time favorite food...

      SHRIMP!

Bed of Roses

Today was another big day for our little munchkin... we finally took the front rail off her crib and turned it into a daybed!  WOOHOO!!!  She's growing up so fast!  Next step is to turn it into a regular full size bed, but since we will have to buy her a new mattress for that, it will be a while... we are still trying to buy a new mattress for OUR bed! Her first time in the Big-Girl bed went pretty well... she did end up falling out of the bed, but only after she was mostly awake... she took the blanket with her and just laid on the floor for a bit before she started calling out for me... I don't think she realized she could actually get up and walk out of the room without help!
After her nap, we had Margie & Charlie over for dinner & pool time.  Margie made a big fuss over the Big-Girl bed too... so that sure helped!   So, this week she has been telling us at night when she has to go potty, AND she got a Big-Girl Bed!  How cool!

You Know My Name

Today was an incredible day for our family.  We finally had Rachel's naming ceremony at the Temple.  What a great day!  We all filed into the main office of Temple Beth-El to wait for the Rabbi.  Mom made the arrangements last week, so it was relatively short notice.  Still, we managed to have a nice little group there... Tommy & I of course, my parents, our dear friend Margie, and family friends Ruth & Dick.  Not a huge crowd, but just enough and just the right ones! 
Our first "hold your breath" moment came when the Rabbi came out looking rather confused.  Turns out they were not expecting us to actually DO the naming today... they thought we were coming to PLAN the naming!  Luckily, he was VERY nice and said that since we were all there already, he would just go ahead and do the ceremony now!  Thank goodness!  He did a beautiful job, especially considering the short notice!

Just before the ceremony, we presented Rachel with a beautiful gift from her Nana & Papa and Nana's dear old friend Ida.  Ida sent Rach a gorgeous Star of David.  It was hers as a little girl and we were SO honored to have it.  Nana & Papa added the chain, and Rachel wore the beautiful set for the ceremony!

     We also talked to the Rabbi about eventually joining the Temple.  Since they have a pre-school, it looks like we will become members.  Especially seeing how NICE they all were to us!

Rachel really seemed to like Rabbi Barras too!  She shook his hand and said "Thank you, Rabbi" before we left.  She was SO cute!

     After the ceremony, we all headed to Perkins for a little bite to eat.  All in all, it was a really wonderful day!

Happy Family

It's so hard to believe it, but it's true... it was 2 years ago today that we stood in that sticky hot room at the Civil Affairs office in Changsha China... my arms aching to hold the beautiful baby girl that was now and forever to be my daughter...

When we arrived, this was what it looked like as we walked in... all the nannies holding all those beautiful babies by the window... and all us over-anxious parents, trying to figure out which one belonged to whom!

It was our turn to receive our beautiful little Rachel.  She actually held her arms out to me right away and I never cried & laughed so much at the same time in my life... She was perfect!

She looked so different from the pictures we had received 2 months earlier!

Today, she is still gorgeous... growing beyond belief, and so bright it's frightening! LOL... we could not be happier to have this brilliant shining light in our lives...

Her Nana & Papa can't get enough of her either!!!

Cut My Hair

I know, I know... been forever since I posted... I'm actually going to go back and fill in some of the missing bits later, but today was a pretty big day...
Today Rachel had her first PROFESSIONAL haircut!  I'd been trimming her bangs forever (ALWAYS crooked) but we had never EVER cut any of the length... it was a big day, and of course I video taped the whole event.  I've got some editing to do on that and I'll send it out eventually.. lol... but here are some still shots in the meantime!

        Doesnt she look THRILLED?

She didn't cry, she didn't scream, but she was a little
on the pouty side... She cracked a little grin after I gave her a toy or 2 to hold...

Gonna Buy Me a Dog

Time to play with paints!  It's been a long time coming, but I finally broke out the watercolors!  She had a great time and it kept her busy for a good part of the day!

So one of my better "investments" was a roll of plastic "table cover" that they use in restaurants... it was perfect for covering up her little play table.  She didn't actually need it, because (altho she does NOT paint within the lines) she kept the paints only on the paper!

After playing arts & crafts for a while, it was time for a much needed break... time to play with Penny!

     She loves to spend time cuddling with her puppy... they are SO attached to each other

Clam Caravan

What a fantastic Sunday... first, we had an amazing yummy breakfast of bacon and blueberry pancakes!  Marla made them with the blueberries we all helped pick!  How cool... and according to Rachel, it was "DEEEE-licious!"

After we finished breakfast, it was off to the beach to try our hand at clamming!  So here is the funny part... Daniel couldn't find the clamming license (yes, you actually need to get a license to collect clams from the beach).  He insisted it was no problem because nobody ever stops him.  Marla kept telling him to stop saying that or he'd jinx himself... well, sure as could be, we weren't there 15 minutes when the "Clam Police" came over to ask for our license! LOL...  Here is Uncle Daniel talking to the officer!


We only stayed for about an hour... in that time, Marla found a few clams, Daniel found LOTS of clams, and Rachel and I?  Well, we had a fun time digging in the sand!
It wasn't the white powdery sand we have down in Florida, but it was fun to dig in!

We had some of the smaller clams for dinner, and the rest are destined for chowder... 

It was a nice day at the beach

Blueberry Hill

We found our thrills, on Blueberry Hills... it was like being in the middle of an ocean of blue... SO awesome!  We drove up to Maine especially for berry picking!  First we stopped to pick up Bethany, and then we headed further north to Palermo, Maine.  We tried to find some place to buy berries, but weren't having much luck.  Then we spotted the field and saw just how blue it was... PERFECT!  So we stopped on the side of the road, and all got out to pick wild blueberries!
First let me say... Tye Dye is the BEST choice for blueberry picking!  Especially when Rach decided to sneak up on me and tried to hop on my back while I was trying to keep my balance!  Needless to say, I wish my SHORTS were tye dyed!! LOL...
It was really a wonderful day.  I think Rachel's favorite part was seeing Bethany... she loves her for sure!
So here are just a few more pictures from the day...

  

  

     Maine is just beautiful... and those were the best blueberries I've ever eaten...

Independence Day

It's America's Birthday, so we are going to celebrate in style!  There is a terrific parade scheduled, and it goes right in front of Beth's house!  VERY convenient!  And then of course, there is the mandatory

BBQ to follow! 

What a nice day... VERY hot out, but the chairs were in the shade.  I felt bad for some of the marchers in the parade because they were in full uniforms!  UGH... But it was really great fun to see all the neat antique cars and the bagpipers, etc...

I'm pretty sure Rachel's favorite part was when the people in the cars were throwing candy out to all the kids watching the festivities!  She was very good about it and didn't run EVERY time, but she ended up with a nice little handful of Tootsie Rolls & Lollipops.  She was a happy camper!
And of course, she was THRILLED to see all the fire trucks from the various townships! After her firehouse trip last week, this was an added bonus!

After watching all the fun, it was time for a quick refreshing drink, and then off to play with Deb, the clown!  Oh BOY did she have fun with her!!!  Especially when she brought out her friend, the Sheepdog puppy puppet! (I have to admit, I can't remember the puppet puppy's name... bad me... )

The best part for me was getting to see some great friends that I hadn't seen in a very long time... "Aunt ZeeZee" came with her parents, and Kathleen & Rich brought the girls!  That was a REAL eye opener!  Kathy's middle child was my FLOWER GIRL!  But she's practically all grown up now! And the are BOTH gorgeous!  Well, Rach had a fun filled day, and when it was all said and done, it was time for a nice relaxing nap on the hammock... Thanks to Uncle Rich, who was MORE than happy to accomodate!

Tiny Fish For Japan

So we had an amazing night out tonight with the whole crew!  Everyone came in for a visit and we all went to a Japanese Steak house for dinner!  It was Kate's first time too, so she & Rach sat next to each other, both staring in awe at the "artist" working our table!  It was really fun, especially just being all together!  Rachel LOVED her egg drop soup (of course!) and even had some of mommy's Sushi! (I created a monster... she now loves the spider roll!)

We had a mix of hibachi & sushi & a good time was had by all! 
We took video, and I've tried 3 times to upload it here, but it wont work, so I give up!  LOL... I'll post it on YouTube instead... lol...