More Dragon Boat Race Pics!

Dragon Boat Race!

Today we headed for Chinatown for Chicago's 8th annual Dragon Boat Race for Literacy. We had a perfect, hot, sunny day. The park in Chinatown is just beautiful. It sits adjacent to the river and has a great children's park. There were many vendors, yummy chinese cuisine, chinese acrobats, lion dances, and much more.

A couple of families that we traveled with to adopt Maya belong to the Oak Park FCC (families with children from China). This group registered to compete and needed a couple of extra rowers. Dominic decided to step up to the plate and volunteer. At the time, I don't think he quite understood that there would be 20 people in each boat, time trials, and multiple races. He ended up having a great time and actually enjoyed the rowing.

The team did a fantastic job. They won their first 2 races and shed seconds off their first time. They lost in the third race against a very fast and highly ranked team. We were all proud of our rowers. The kids especially loved cheering for their mommies and daddies as the boat neared the finish point each race.

Maya enjoyed playing with her "china sisters" and Kai seemed to enjoy the festivities and company as well.

The second image is a pic of the dads and mom of the kids in Maya's travel group. The following pic is of the entire Oak Park FCC team.

By the end of a 10 minute stroller ride to the parking lot, both kids were fast asleep. This is always a good sign that great fun was had by all.

Even More Fun at the Park!

The Rock Climbing Queen!

Just a Fun Afternoon!

Since we had to make another boring journey to the Dr's office for yet another cast, I decided that Maya and Kai needed an afternoon of just play (no errands, no phone calls, no doctors....just pure old fun).

That's exactly what we had. We decided to check out the South Bend Zoo which was just perfect for young children. The kids rode the train, spent a long time under the misters, and looked at the animals. I think they had more fun at the new park across the street that had just opened up that day (what timing!).

Maya was a star on the rock climbing wall and independently climbed to the top.

Overall it was just a great day!

Cast Off, Cast On, Cast Off, Cast On!

On Tuesday, Kai was due to get his cast removed. Unfortunately, the x-rays showed that his arm wasn't quite completely healed. As a result, the cast had to go back on for an additional 2 weeks.

The cast that was put on looked really tight, and even though I questioned the fit,I was assured by the doctor's staff that it would be OK. Well after 2 days in the new cast, Kai had a blister and some skin break down on the base of his index finger. He was also waking in the middle of the night which is so unusual for him. When I contacted the doctor's office, I demanded that his cast be changed. The orthopedic doctor actually called me at home and apologized for the ill fitting cast.

Unfortunately, the doctor is over an hour away from our home (the only doctor under our insurance plan who works with water proof casting material). Fortunately, the same nurse who fit his original cast put his new one on. What a difference. He is using his right arm again and seems to be so much more comfortable. I guess it's good to be a pain in a doctor's side sometimes.

It's the Doodlebops...Live!

Believe it or not, the Doodlebops decided to make an appearance at our county fair. Maya LOVED this group through most of her "2's", so when I read that they would be coming to our fair, I asked if she might like to go. I was rather surprised by her responce as I really thought she wouldn't be that interested. Instead, she said, "The Doodlebops!!! Did you hear that Shao Shao...we're going to see the Doodlebops oh yes we are...Yeeeeeeeey!".

The concert date was the same day as our family reunion, so all the young kids and their Moms decided it might be fun to go to the fair for a couple of hours and see the Doodlebops.

The concert was not crowded at all (probably due to the weather) which gave us room to spread out, dance, jump, and just have a great time. Although the kids were tired and hungry, they all seemed to enjoy the music and the entertainment.