Merry Christmas from Tennessee

Memphis Zoo!

Our apologies for the delay--again--in getting an update out to you!  We moved to TN this summer and are absolutely loving it here.  We are enjoying a bit more room than our last house and are now anxiously awaiting a travel date to China to get Kai.  In case you haven't seen him, he is gorgeous!  Doesn't he look like a total ham in this picture?  He will fit in JUST fine with this crew.

Kai

If you notice on the left, we have also updated our timeline with this adoption.  While the moves have delayed the process this time around, it looks like we may end up in China around the same time of year...go figure.

Anywho, we will try to be better about updating as we draw closer to bringing Kai home, but in the meantime, want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Spring!

We have much to catch up on!
My folks, Geese and Pop, were able to come see us to celebrate Easter and Cael's 7th Birthday!
We had a blast: They arrived on Good Friday and we let them rest for the evening.  On Saturday morning, we took them on a bike ride...a MARATHON bike ride (literally a 20 mile ride!)  You see, we had to ride since my mom had torn the meniscus in her knee and of course my dad with his cancer...but you would NEVER know it.  We saw ALL of DC and then some.  What troopers.  Pictured here at the Washington Harbor Fish Market and the Jefferson Memorial.

Later that day, I was contacted by a buddy offering 4 tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll.  Naturally, we said, YES! (more on that later)  On Sunday, we had a great day of worship followed by a fabulous southern Sunday Dinner: ham, black-eyed peas, cheese grits...and coconut cake.  It was so much fun cooking with my Mom:-)  The rest of the day, we rested our bums from the previous day's exercise...it was awesome!
Monday was Cael's birthday...and of course that meant a visit to the White House.  The family vote was for my mom and I to take the kids.  I think these photos explain themselves.

Kelly Wright from FOX News!

Our try-out for The Avengers

Since we had been up and out the door at 0545 to be at the White House at 0630, we were home and eating a ginormous birthday breakfast at 1000.  Later we took Cael to Red Robin for his favorite burger and fries.  Since Jay had school, Cael opted to wait and cut his cake when Jay could be there the next night.  When I woke him up the next morning, I said good morning, seven year old.  He told me that he was not going to seven until he "blows the candles out"...so I guess this makes it official!

No Way!  SEVEN???!!!

On Tuesday, we took a quick hike to Great Falls National Park.   It was a beautiful day and a great way to end our visit.

Unfortunately, Geese and Pop left us on Wednesday but it was easier knowing that we will be a day closer after the move to the mid-South this summer!  Thanks for a great visit!!

Finally...our paperwork for Kai is DONE!! YES!  The final documents were sent to our agency, today.  I could bore you with the details of the last few days of the paper chase, but it will be SOOOO worth it when we get the little guy home.  Once we receive our letter of acceptance from China, we can ask for updated pictures and I can post the ones I have...he's so cute! All of this happened practically on the anniversary of Cael being home for 2 years! I can't believe how time has flown...and how much he has grown (8 inches and 18 pounds:-)

Hope to see all of you, soon!

Cherry Blossom Ride 2012

WHEW! What a day it was!
Last Friday, I was able to get the day off and we rode our bikes from our home on Bolling AFB to the National Mall for the very peak day of the Cherry Blossoms. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day so we planned to make the most of it.
After leaving the tidal basin where most of the cherry trees are planted, we headed to the old Quigley's Pharmacy...now a restaurant that specializes in...TATER TOTS! We were there for Happy Hour which meant $4.00 baskets of hot tots!
From there we looped around near Arlington Cemetery to the Mount Vernon Trail and Old Town Alexandria, VA. There we stopped for ice cream and a potty break. By this time it was starting to get dark and Jay and I debated on reversing our course or continuing on to the Wilson Bridge and home via the 8th Ward in Anacostia (I challenge any of you to Google Anacostia to see what comes up!) We decided on the adventure and pressed on.
Even though there were some scary moments, we made it home at 9:30 at night...THANK YOU, LORD! So...25 miles, 3 states, and 3000 calories later, we had a GREAT day!

Great Falls National Park

What a fabulous day! Have you ever been here? You must visit this area next time you are in DC. It is only 18 miles from our Nation's Capitol...who knew? Well, actually, I knew...we just never committed to getting out here! Great hiking and dog friendly, too:-)

Spring-time Running

Spring has sprung on the East Coast...not that we really had much winter in these parts. Part of the enjoyment of living in DC during this season is the Cherry Blossoms. This year commemorates the 100th celebration of the gift of these beautiful trees from Japan during President Taft's term (don't worry...no quiz at the end).
Yesterday, my running buddy from work and I ran the inaugural Rock and Roll USA 1/2 marathon. It was a gorgeous day (although warmer than most folks expected) and I ran it much faster than I had planned (finish time was 1:57 and am paying for it today!)
Above is a picture of my fellow running divas at the finish line.
Today, I took Rhett out for a walk and we noticed that the cherry blossoms on the Potomac literally popped out over night.
Finally, last month, I had to attend a conference in Philadelphia and the weather there was also unseasonably warm (tho still cold to this Texan:-). I had some great runs around this very historic city. On my second to last day, I rose before the sun to run along the Schuylkill River trail. It just happens to run past the art museum (you know, the one from Rocky where he bounds up the steps). I don't know if I could classify it as "bounding", but I did run up the steps in time to catch the sun rise. It was beautiful! The last day, my conference ended at noon, so I took a drive up to Valley Forge. I had always wanted to see it and was too close to pass it up. It just so happens that there is a 5 mile trail loop that hits the major historical points and it was SOOOO worth the trip. Getting that run in before the drive home was just what the doctor ordered. The above shots are a few of the scenes!
Come see us soon, if you're gonna...we transfer to Millington, TN in June...WOOT WOOT!!

Happy Birthday Kai!

Today is Kai's 2nd Birthday!
Boy! We sure thought we would have hime home, by now to celebrate in person:-(
But we ask that you all continue to pray for his health and safety and that the time will pass quickly!
We FINALLY received our FBI fingerprints so that our home-study can be completed. We sent off our i800 paperwork the very next morning. For those of you who have never adopted internationally, this is the paperwork that must be approved by our government that says we can bring our son home from China...takes about 30-45 days to complete. After that we will get one more set of fingerprints...blah blah blah....you'd think that our fingerprints would be all over the State Department by now...ugh!
Anyway, it will all be worth it when we get him home.
So until then, Happy Birthday Kai...can't wait to celebrate in person!
Love,
Mama, Baba, GeGe 1 and Ge Ge2!

Christmas in Washington DC

Today (December 29th) we took in the sights of our Nation's Capitol in what we hope will be our last Christmas here!
There are really so many things to see and do that are "FREE" so we decided we better make the rounds.
We thought we would miss much of the crowd, post-Christmas, and on a VERY cold and blustery day...but boy were we wrong. The mall was packed! Despite that, it was a great day.
We started at the National Botanic Garden where there is a phenomenal train exhibit. The tree were featured in totally natural surrounding. Most of the exhibits were made of wood...especially pine cones. In fact, it was like the Rose Bowl for Evergreens!! After the train exhibit we wound our way through an exhibit of Presidential homes made of wood and pine cones...totally cool!

Our next adventure was to the Air and Space Museum, followed by the Natural History Museum.  Most of the Smithsonian's have beautiful Christmas trees, the real purpose of
our visit, but we did manage to make a quick spin through a good portion of the museum, as well.

While there was a bit of whining toward the end of this 5 mile trek, the boys were real troopers.
Wish you could have all been here to join us!!

Love,
Kim and the Gang

New Year's Day

So after sleeping in until 0800 (it was glorious!) we ate a huge breakfast and decided to stay in our jammies all day. The boys started to play "spy" and I could not help notice that someone was taking a REALLY long time in the bathroom. When I finally snuck open the door, here is what I discovered...the secret bathroom lair!! (please note the roll of spy paper behind Cam) Cael had sent his RC spy car under the kitchen table and Cam was listening in...too funny.The bottom picture represents an early night with the dog who is NOT allowed on the bed:-) Happy New Year to All! Love, Kim and the Gang