CCAI West Coast Reunion 2006

This Saturday we attended the annual reunion for families that have adopted or will adopt their children through Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI). This is the agency we used for Chloe's adoption. We were the only family from our travel group who could make it, but we made a few new friends and even met some previous acquaintences from a prior gathering in So. Cal. The owners of the company, Joshua and Lily came out from Colorado and it was really nice to meet them in person. Chloe had a blast. She has really figured out that jolly jumper thing and she can run faster than any of the other little girls.

The reunion was held in Irvine Regional Park, the oldest regional park in the state. Right next to our pavilion was a train ride and pony rides. It was absolutely perfect and Chloe loved it all. Even the weather gave us a break with continuous cloud cover and warm, but not sweltering hot, temperatures. The park is beautiful and has lots of grassy lawns, oak trees and rolling hills. I look forward to future reunions with CCAI families. And of course, there were LOTS of little Chinese girls running around all over, each one so different from the other in personality and appearance.

We are hopeful that tomorrow will bring big news. Stay posted!

Chloe in the Jolly Jumper

Backyard Fun

How to keep cool in Summer

We have a new toy!

I have been trying to figure out a way to avoid taking our bulky video camera and accessories with us to China when we pick up Chloe's new sister Pearl. We have found a very affordable solution. It is a video recorder that is the size of a SMALL digital camera. It records up to 30 minutes at a time and runs on 2 AA batteries. Pete has been playing with it for about 4 days and he still hasn't used up the batteries. The amazing thing is that it is under $130 and there is a $20 rebate. It is called the Pure Digital Point and Shoot Video Camcorder - 225. It really is amazing and the quality is better than you would expect for such an inexpensive camera. See the following video. It is the first one we did.

A really hot day at the Lotus Festival

Too hot for smiles! 

We had a great 4th of July weekend!

We spent saturday and sunday with friends Marc and Carmen and their three lovely daughters in Oxnard California. It was a very nice visit and Chloe had a lot of fun with Kamille who is about a year and a quarter older. Unlike their previous meeting, the girls had a lot of fun together and were both good at sharing and playing. Maybe Chloe is ready for a new sister. Sunday we rented an electric boat and toured the Channel Islands Harbor. It was a lot of fun, but quite chilly. Chloe kept trying to climb over the rail so she could get a good close look at the water.

Monday we returned to work and afterwards hosted approximately 50 coworkers and friends and relatives in our front yard to view the fireworks across the street at Shafter High School. They showed up with a trailer, picnic tables and full gear. When the kids got too hot, they jumped in our pool. We had so many kids in the pool, it looked like a public pool. It is very large and very cold.

Shafter celebrates its fireworks show on the 3rd of July so that we don't have to compete with the bigger cities for the better pyrotechnic displays. It was very beautiful although the weather was very humid and hot. After about 2 minutes of fireworks, Chloe became scared (it was really really loud) and I took her into her room to put her to bed. Since it was already an hour and a half past her bedtime, she was very tired, but I had to stay with her until the loud noises stopped. Even though she was scared, she still looked at the fireworks and oo'ed and awe'd at them with a big smile on her face. I am sure that she will be more eager for the show next year.

Next weekend we are planning to attend the Lotus Festival at Echo Park in Los Angeles. Afterwards, we will visit friends David, Denise and their two boys Damien and Ian in Winnetka.

Chloe host friends for big 4th of July celebration

 

Carmen, Kamille, Dad and Chloe ready to go boating

 

Dad & Chloe in Channel Island Harbor