Sophie, Katie and I were so happy to celebrate the anniversary of Sophie's referral with over 40 other Ethiopian adoptive families in Hermosa Beach, California last weekend. I cannot explain how amazing it was to meet these families and see these beautiful children together with their families. John and I had actually met several of the kids in Ethiopia when we went to pick Sophie up. Having "met" so many of these families via email and blogs it was so nice to actually meet them in person and be able to spend some time with them and watch all of the kids interact.
I am so grateful to
Drew & Carey for organizing and hosting this enormous crew. Not only were they so generous by spending days of their lives organizing such an amazing weekend, they were able to set up photographers to capture the fun. I have a short slideshow of the weekend below, but you can visit their blog for all of the pictures that their photographers took. Finally, they also gave me some extra adult time by lending me one of their babysitters so that I could put my poor, exhausted East Coast girls to bed early and rejoin the adults after dinner both nights. Thank you guys - your rock star status has elevated even higher in my eyes after meeting you!
It's so hard for me to believe that we saw this precious little face for the first time a year ago. We can't imagine life without her.
Summer reading
Snorkeling and boogie boarding
Using our imaginations (homemade light sabers and jet packs)
Sunset picnic dinners on the beach
Getting ALMOST all your teeth in
Tubing of any kind
EARLY morning cartoons
Outdoor naps
Family time
Eating 'smores
Hanging out on the dock (and jumping off of it)
Visiting with family (Grammy and cousin Jasper)
Learning to walk!!
And these are only the things I have pictures of. We can't forget playing wiffle ball, tennis and golf, boat rides, sunset cocktails, and outdoor showers. And the list could go on......
