Hunting Eggs with 14 Two and Three Year Olds - Does that sound fun?

Today Caroline had her Easter party at school and today may be the first day she was actually excited about going to school! She set off in her Easter dress holding her bucket with treats for all of her friends and she couldn't have been happier! I really don't know how her teacher kept them calm all day because they didn't hunt eggs until after naptime - who can actually sleep with the anticipation of finding plastic eggs? So here are some pictures of the hunt and she left school hyped up on sugar with a basket full of sugar to take home!

Georgia on our Minds

This weekend we went to Atlanta to try to finally sort out Caroline's citizenship paperwork and see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the High Museum. We also worked in a trip to the zoo (after sitting in traffic for 2 hours!), visiting with family, eating at the Varsity, and shopping until the vehicle was full!

Saturday we ventured down to the zoo and Caroline loved all the "aminals" and the beautiful sunshine. We got to the see the panda exhibit which was not open the last time we were there and it was worth the trip. As a funny side note, when Caroline saw the tigers she said "Look, Mommy, it's Mike the Tiger!" I guess she did learn something watching football all those Saturdays with her daddy. It was so nice outside and we really enjoyed the zoo.

Watching the flamingos intently.

Outside the gorilla feeding.

Outside the panda exhibit.

In the newly opened parakeet house.

At the petting zoo.

But back to the main reason for the trip - since we returned from China in May of 2007, we have been working on Caroline's citizenship. When she landed in America she automatically became a citizen and we should have received a Certificate of Citizenship within 90 days of returning from China. Nearly two years later and we have received nothing (oh, we did receive a notice that they did have a file for her and did we know where the file is?) After exchanging letters, emails, and phone calls for 18 months and getting no response, we decided to schedule an appointment and actually talk to someone face-to-face and see if we could get anywhere with a live person. We didn't get anywhere and we are now moving backwards in the efforts to receive a certificate. They really do not have any paperwork on Caroline and we will have to apply for a green card for her and then apply for citizenship. This doesn't mean she isn't a citizen, but we have not been able to readopt her in the state of Alabama or get her a social security card. Hopefully this will work out quickly and we can move on to something else!

After getting nowhere at immigration, we met our friends at the High Museum to see the Terracotta Warriors. It was really an interesting exhibit, but it was very crowded and Caroline was very grumpy. It was also very cold outside and the wind was blowing so hard I thought it was going to pick Caroline up and take her away! So we showed her a little piece of China and told her a little history and then moved on to lunch at the Varsity. Everyone should see the Terracotta Warriors and everyone should eat a hot dog at the Varsity. A good time with great friends!

The Boardwalk

What to do on a cool, cloudy, sometimes rainy day? Nana and I decided to take the girls to the Boardwalk for a little shopping, a trolley ride, a carousel ride, and some ice cream. Sounds like a perfectly wonderful afternoon, doesn't it? First stop was the fountain where the girls threw all of the pennies (and nickels!) I had in my wallet into the fountain. Who exactly started this tradition of throwing money into fountains? Probably the inventor of the fountain! (I am going to look this up and get back to you on it.) I know that over the course of my lifetime I could have bought myself something really nice with all the change I have given small children to throw in a fountain!

So after throwing 42 cents of Caroline's college tuition into the fountain, we rode the trolley to the carousel. We had to walk around the entire carousel to find just the perfect animals to ride. Emma chose a pink horse and Caroline chose a fish. I am still amazed at how much children love a carousel. I just don't understand the excitement of moving up and down and going round and round (at a snail's pace!) but every kid I know loves it!

After the carousel ride, we had ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. I asked Caroline what flavor she wanted and she said "pink". I tried to explain to her that pink was not a flavor but she just didn't get it! She wanted pink no matter what flavor pink turned out to be.

We finished off the afternoon with a nap. The perfect cool, cloudy, sometimes rainy day!

Dress-Up

Since Caroline started in her new class at school in January, she has been very interested in dress-up. They have some dress-up clothes at school and lots of times when I pick her up she is in a princess dress. She also has been very interested in wearing her tutu around the house (and to Wal-Mart and to dinner and to the post office . . .) and has asked me several times for a ballerina suit. I finally found one small enough to fit her and she would wear it every day if I would let her. Her outfit of choice for most days would be her ballerina suit, a tutu, and ballerina shoes. I let her wear it around the house as much as possible and I must admit she looks pretty cute in it! Emma came over to play today and Caroline and Emma wanted to play dress-up. I searched (which actually means Bob searched) the basement storage for some dress-up clothes and found some for Emma, but Caroline wanted her usual get-up. When they came back upstairs they announced the princesses were coming - and here they are!
Emma kept trying to get closer to Caroline for the pictures (her mom taught her how to take a picture!) but Caroline kept bending away! So cute!

Daddy's New Golfing Buddy

Today Bob decided to take advantage of that golf membership, a beautiful spring day, and a girl who wanted to spend time with her daddy. Caroline was so excited to go golfing and had a great time. I bet he can't wait until she is old enough to carry his clubs! Here are some pictures he took on the golf course.
In the cart where she spent the first part of the afternoon.

Later she decided to get out of the cart and help Daddy.

Then she decided to get in on the action and putted a few.

And when all else fails, play defense!

"Dog-gone" happy to see you!

One of the couples that we met when we traveled to China have become great friends. I really wish we lived closer so that we could see each other more often (they might not wish the same thing!). They have 4 children (one of which came from the same orphanage as Caroline) and we just love their family. We have been to visit them a couple of times and this weekend they came to visit us. We always tell people if you want to get away from it all that is exactly where we live so come visit. We don't really have a lot to offer as far as a vacation destination (OK, we don't have anything to offer!) but they decided to come anyway. We had such a fun weekend, laughing, talking, watching the kids play together, enjoying the sunshine, and eating. I also discovered why Caroline keeps getting that note home from school that says she was "screaming at her friends". Whenever one of the other kids walked near her, touched something by her, or looked her direction, she screamed at them - she really needs a sibling! For the most part, the kids got along great (sorry about Caroline!) and everyone had a great weekend. So if you are looking to get away from it all - call us!






Here is the reason for the title of the post. I saw these puppy cookies and have been waiting for an excuse to make them. Caroline was so excited to make puppy cookies and she had so much fun helping! We made a basket of cookies with the tag to welcome our guests. I know I have way too much time on my hands!

LUCKY!

For St. Patrick's Day today, I made treats for Caroline's class and was so happy to do it. Somehow making shamrock shaped rice krispy treats, Magic Leprechaun Dust, and Shamrock halos brings me great joy! I know that this is not normal! When I started getting Caroline dressed for school this morning in her absolutely adorable St. Patrick's Day outfit, she quickly informed me that she didn't want to wear the green clothes because pink is her favorite color. I told her next week we would celebrate pink day and she could wear all the pink she wanted to, but today she was wearing green - she cried the whole time she was getting dressed! By the time we got to school she decided the green wasn't so bad after all because the skirt was twirly and she twirled the whole way down the hall. I love the pictures we took after school!

Today I am feeling especially lucky - I guess all the shamrocks, green, and leprechauns have helped! I know that I am lucky in so many ways. I know that lots of people are not as blessed as I am. I know that some people never win a raffle or door prize or contest and other people seem to always win. I know that life sometimes doesn't seem fair and it seems like other people are always getting all the breaks. I also know that I waited over 14 years for the greatest blessing in my life and I will never forget how LUCKY I really am. Sometimes the blessings just take a little longer for some people and I have learned that they are always worth the wait. So I really do know how lucky I am!