We went to California to visit Adam's parents for the long weekend. We had a wonderful time and they hosted a lovely party on Sunday for Rylie to meet many more special people.
Pictures from the party...
Rylie dancing (this now involves twirling and hand movements) as she waits for her guests to arrive-
A family picture overlooking the beach-
We discovered that Rylie loves humus and pita- she even dips it!
Sunday was also our 5th anniversary!
During our visit to Ventura, we had a chance to take Rylie for her first trip to the beach. She seemed to love playing in the sand, though it was way too cold to go in the water.
The "I'm about to do something I know I'm not supposed to do" look...
We know that over the years, Rylie will have friends from different aspects of her life. But there is a small group of other children with whom she will forever share a very special bond. As you may recall from our days in Astana, we shared our time there with a few other families as we all journeyed through the unforgettable process of bringing our children home. This weekend, we got to visit with two of these special families. We are so grateful for their friendships, and we hope we will continue to be a part of each other's lives for many years to come.
On Saturday, we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo with Rylie's good buddy Pema and her parents, Kate & Scott. After spending time together in Astana, we last saw them when we landed in Frankfurt after the first leg of our trip home. They sure are not the same two girls we had on that plane ride! We had a wonderful time visiting together and catching up on the past 5 months. We captured some great shots of the two girls- we were just so sad the day went by so quickly!
All smiles!
One of Rylie's all time favorite books is Dear Zoo. Pema seemed to love it too!
Our little monkey!
On Monday, when we got back to Phoenix, we had a very special visit with Rylie's dear friend, Aitugan, and her Mommy & Daddy. After much time spent together in Astana- including our memorable Thanksgiving dinner, it was wonderful to see Kjersten, Steve & Aitugan again! We had a wonderful time at the park and splash fountain and confirmed what we all had suspected- Rylie & Aitugan are very similar indeed. Suffice it to say, I don't believe there will be any tutus or ballet slippers in either of our families! We ended the day with dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant with some great food and some duck feeding. We had a fabulous visit together and were so sad to see them go at the end of the evening. Sadly, we didn't get any fabulous shots of the two girls, but luckily most of you know where to find some better ones!
Adam reading to Rylie & Aitugan.
Water babies!
Aitugan examining the splash fountain.
Two tired girls on the way back from the splash fountain.
So that was our truly wonderful, extra-special weekend.
Otherwise, life is good and Rylie is getting ready for the start of summer camp this week. We are continuing to just enjoy life with our happy, little girl.
Love to everyone...
10 comments:
Wow! What a phenomenal writeup that was! It really does sound like an amazing weekend... And it must be nice to reconnect with people who you have shared such an emotional and exciting time with. Its awesome!
And... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
And... I am so happy that Rylie likes "Dear Zoo". Its a good one!
I hope I get to meet this smiley girl one day!
love, eve:)
Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! I'd bet lots of happy tears were shed to connect again in person with these families. Check out my blog when you get a chance for some photos of a wonderful visit with Gabi and Yulia (Catalina's children) as well as Carolyn Tarpey -- not sure if you have yet connected in the blogosphere. Great weekends for both of us! I'm itching to move forward!
Steph
What a fantastically excellent time you all had! Pema and Aitugan! What a treat to get to visit with both wonderful families!!! It sounds like it was really special - and happy anniversary!!!
Happy anniversary!!! :)
What a cool weekend--Riley is looking exceptionally adorable. And she likes healthy food--go Riley! You guys look stunning snacking on the hummus and pita together.
Love the pics with Aitugan too. What precious girls~!
I'm glad you are enjoying life with Riley.
Sean's last day of school is TOMORROW and it's only a half day. We are headed to Orlando and being traders to Disney by doing Universal Studios for a couple days.
Sean tries a new sports camp on Monday!
All the cool kids go to camp!
Since i don't think we'll be going to Kaz this summer-we made some fun travel plans and I got a new camera for my birthday (June 2nd) so when we finally get to kaz (not Astana though..bummer) I will hopefully take some good pics!
Love to Riley and you guys. :)
Wow, you guys did indeed have a fabulous weekend. All three girls are just beautiful. Astana clearly doesn't make babies without gorgeous cheeks!
Happy Anniversary to you guys. Isn't it kinda neat to hit 5? For some reason it seemed like a milestone to me.
I got a kick out of it when Gigi started dipping her food too. I don't know what it is, but it's so cute.
Is Rylie's hair getting longer and filling in or is it my imagination? The pics between this post and the last post seem very different.
Glad you had so much fun and were able to spend time with people from your journey. You are so lucky to have that!
Hello all!
Thanks for a great visit this past Monday. It was so WONDERFUL to reconnect with all of you. In some ways it's hard to believe that so much time has passed since we all left Astana in December. Riley is doing SO well! It was such a pleasure to spend time with the three of you. Thanks for the stickers for the flight home. We can't wait to see you all again. What an INCREDIBLE bond we will all share for the rest of our lives.
Take care and enjoy the summer
-Kjersten, Steve, Aitugan and ?
P.S. - We especially loved Riley's "monkey imitation". (see you in Kyrg??)
Sara & Adam....what have I been missing as we've been preparing for our upcoming Kaz trip....your wonderful blog that's what!!
Pat & I lived in Port Hueneme before the Navy moved us to D.C. Ventura was our place to go all the time and Santa Barbara as well. We've been to the area beaches, the Santa Barbara Zoo (wine tasting as well) and shopping!!! I'm so jealous. Wait until I show Pat your blog update.
Congrats on your 5th anniversary! It sounds like you had a very nice time.
Rylie is certainly a little lovebug & cute as can be. I loved her little party dress and that she danced.
Eileen
Hey you guys!
I'm still trying to get caught up on everything, but I wanted to stop by to say hello and give you a humongous thank you for your comments and e-mails during our first trip to Kaz. It was impossible to reply, but I'll try to write back in more detail soon.
I love seeing the Astana girls together again. They are such total cutie pies!!!
Sara, thank you for your comment in our blog. Rylie is so pretty and I dont know if somebody told you before, I think she looks very much like you. Your weekend sounds like a lot of fun, we also had a great weekend 2 weeks ago with Stephanie and Carolyn, I know you already saw the pics.
It is nice to see Rylie and Aitugan together :)
That is seriously extra special! That is awesome that you have two of the little girls that Rylie was in Astana with not too far from home! What a blessing!!!
Again, love those cheeks!!
Christy
Post a Comment