The 3 Mile Bike Ride!

I can't believe the kids rode their bikes all the way to Dairy Queen!

We are very fortunate to live in a subdivision that connects directly to a bike trail. As a result, we can ride on the trail the entire distance to Dairy Queen, minus the last 2 blocks which require sidewalk travel along a town road.

Maya made the entire journey on 2 wheels (no training wheels) and mastered her starting and stopping skills. Kai powered his Lightning McQueen bike the whole time. I was secretly prepared to call somebody to come and pick us up after our ice cream treat at DQ, but the kids were excited to complete the return trip home.

Of course, there were a few interesting moments along the way which included Kai nearly falling into a pool size puddle, Maya stopping her bike suddenly to point out a dead chipmunk literally inches in front of Kai's front wheel, and a near collision while passing through the skate park at the end of the bike trail. Fortunately, we made it back to our neck of the woods unscathed.

As we entered our subdivision on the way home, the kids were pleasantly surprised by the completion of our new neighborhood park (literally finished 30 minutes before we arrived). Maya and Kai parked their bikes and played on all of the new equipment with their friends. Oh how I wish I could bottle up some of their energy.

Household Harmony!

Our dogs and cat are now living in harmony. It only took five months of living on separate floors. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are friends, but I think it's safe to assume that they are tolerable aquaintances.

Yesterday was a day full of true harmony. The kids had a great day together and the dogs and cat tolerated each other wonderfully.

The Car Wash!

Today Dominic was washing his car in the driveway. The kids thought it would be a great idea to join him and wash their car also. They filled their buckets with soap and water and got the hose ready.

I never thought Maya would spray the car with the hose while Kai was still sitting in the car. The funny thing is that he didn't even seemed phased by the large amounts of water hitting his back and head.

Billy Boy's Blueberry Barn!

Blueberry picking season just started yesterday!

Considering the temp. was only going to reach a high of 70 degrees today, we thought we'd move our annual blueberry picking date up a bit and head to Billy Boy's.

As we were in route to the blueberry farm, I remembered our last year's experience. I had looked into everyone's buckets at the end of our picking, and noticed that Maya's bucket contained a beautiful rainbow of blueberries (green ones, light purple ones, and an occasional ripe blue one). Kai's bucket was full of leaves that he had picked from the bushes...and most of the blueberries had gone straight to his mouth.

So I decided to begin our adventure this year with a quick "picking" lesson. I showed the kids the different shades of berries and encouraged picking the blue ones.

Maya was very serious about her picking today. When I asked if she was ready to go, she said no, not until her bucket was filled to the top. Kai was a bit more laid back. He split his time between picking the berries and eating them.

I was shocked when they showed me their buckets today. They were filled with plump, ripe, blue blueberries. Maya's was almost to the top and Kai's was at least 1/3 filled. By the time we were done, we had picked almost seven pounds of blueberries between the three of us.

On the way home, Maya said "I only like the blueberries we pick...not the grocery store ones." I have to admit, I completely agree. There's nothing better than a bowl of hand-picked blueberries.

We enjoyed our fresh picked blueberries over dairy queen soft serve ice cream for dessert tonight. Tomorrow it's blueberry pancakes!

Maya's On Two Wheels!

The training wheels are gone!

It all started last week on the way back from the park. I noticed that one of Maya's training wheels was completely bent out of place. She decided to leave the bent wheel "as is" to work on balancing her bike with only one training wheel in place.

Today, I slightly heightened the "good" training wheel, and within no time, Maya was riding around the block barely touching either training wheel.

After dinner tonight, I talked her into taking the bent trainer off. Withing 15 minutes, she also agreed to take the other training wheel off.

Out girl is a bicycle machine. By bedtime she was already starting the bike on her own, turning around in the driveway, cutting corners through grass, and stopping without falling. She can't wait to wake up tomorrow for a full day on "two wheels".

Just before going to sleep tonight, she said "I'm so tired. I'm just crashed after all that bike riding!"

Congrats to our favorite girl...we're so proud of you!

Happy Forever Family Day Maya!

Four years ago today, we met our beautiful "Na Na" and became a forever family. I'll never forget the joy that I felt the moment our sleeping daughter was placed in my arms. She continues to shower us with her amazing personality everyday.

This year we got to celebrate our forever family day at Chinapalooza 2009. How special to be reunited with many of the families that stood in that hot and humid conference room in Guangzhou, China on July 11, 2005, all anxiously waiting to meet our daughters for the first time.

Here are a couple of pics of Maya and her "China sisters". More Chinapalooza pics to come.

To Maya, who brings us more joy than we could have ever imagined. We love you to the moon and back!

Happy 4th of July!

Our 4th of July:

1. visit the European Market

2. watch the parade

3. the town celebration/ jump and slide all afternoon

4. cook-out with friends

5. fireworks with the neighbors

6. kids in bed - 10:30p.m.

7. kids asleep as soon as heads hit the pillows

8. a great 4th of July...even if it did rain all day.

More 4th of July Fun!