Our Journey to Carson

Wrapping Up a Nice Vacation...

Despite the fact that I caught a bug on vacation (that I can't seem to shake yet!), Carson's first trip to the beach was a great time! He LOVED being on vacation and having Daddy as a playmate all day, every day! In fact, yesterday morning when he woke and called for Daddy, he refused to get out of bed when I told him Daddy went to work. That's OK...he went back to sleep for two more hours and so did I!

Meggie and the girls on her dance team weren't thrilled with the end results of this National competition (two High Golds and one Gold) but some of the other teams from her studio did quite well. Meggie agreed, though, that dancing was a small part of what made this vacation fun...she got a tan and got to hang out with her friends. What more does a teenager want in life??

Before heading back home, we had arranged to meet up with Trish, Buck, Izzy and Austin who live in Florida. Those who have followed our blog from way back know that we met Trish, Buck and Izzy in China (Austin didn't travel with them) -- and we figured it was time for a reunion!

We arranged to meet at a hotel midway between Destin and where Trish and her family live. Getting good pics of four kids (when two of them are preschool aged) was challenging, but here is the best of the bunch:
To get a full appreciation of how much Carson and Izzy have changed since November, take a peek at pictures taken of them in China...
...and a picture of them now (with Meggie, of course).
Trish told me that another China adoptive family lives nearby the hotel, so she called them and we arranged to meet for dinner. Before dinner, we headed to the pool before a storm hit. For those who think I never have any fun 'cause I don't go out in the sun, how about this for fun?
After an hour or so of swimming, we eventually dragged the kids out of the pool and headed to dinner to meet Carrie, Aaron, and their four kids for dinner. A few pics:

Andrew stealing MJ's cookies while she was away from the table for a minute:
The Mommies (Trish, Carrie, and Teresa)...e-mail buddies finally together in person! By the way, Trish and I were seated and Carrie was kneeling on the floor, but if we were standing this height difference would still exist -- Carrie is TINY!!
While Meggie was taking the "Mommies" picture, Carson (seated to my left) kept saying, "Take MY picture!" He kept leaning on my arm, trying to get into that shot. To make him happy, Meggie took a picture of me and my Little Man:
The Daddies (Kevin, Aaron, and Buck):
And all the kids! (Hope I get all the names right...) Mya, JT, Andrew, Meggie holding Izzy, MJ, Carson, and Austin. What a crew!!
The next morning, we got up bright and early to have breakfast with Trish's crew before they headed on to their vacation and we headed home. Neither of the kids was very happy about the "bright and early" part. Carson cried and cried when we awakened him. He was only calmed when Daddy wrapped him in the comforter since he was "freezy cold" as Carson puts it. He kept laughing and saying, "I a hot dog!" since the comforter looked like a bun. What a nut!
The teenager, however, was not willing to cooperate.
One last picture of the Mommies. We met as complete strangers in China and have forged a bond (through uniquely shared experiences) that I expect will last forever! (At least I hope so!) All we needed was Billie and Joe, Eric and Sheila, and all their kids and it would have been a REAL reunion!!
Carson and Austin, best buddies!
And Izzy and Carson. Don't worry kids, we'll be getting together again. It'll be fun to see how much you two change over the years!
After breakfast, we went back to the room to finish packing. Carson was keeping himself busy so I admit I was ignoring him. He stood by the door and said, "I ready to go now!" I looked and...
...he had taken the Bible from the nightstand and tucked it under his arm! Guess all those months of Sunday School are working, huh?!

Carson is completely and utterly obsessed with watches. He notices them on everybody...so Meggie and I bought him a Power Rangers watch before we left for vacation. He kept studying it, like this...
...as we headed home, telling us we were late! He actually didn't mind the long drive 'cause we let him be barefoot (a rare treat since he has to wear his AFOs 23 hrs a day).

This is how Meggie spent most of her time on the road:
With occasional bouts of this:
And much sleeping! (Yes, folks, she's an odd one but we love her!!)

After 10 hours on the road (which counts stopping for lunch, potty breaks, and filling up the gas tank a couple of times), we arrived in Knoxville and met the Shoemaker clan for dinner at Sonic. Here PunkyPie is helping Moonface place their order:
Carson, ever the big boy, wanted to push the button all by himself:
At first the kids were shy and wouldn't cooperate much with pictures. This is the best picture I got of all of 'em...and they weren't even all looking at me!
After dinner, though, they loosened up and ran around like maniacs for a little bit. That was actually one of the goals of meeting at an outdoor eating area, so we could let Carson blow off some energy before getting back in the van for the remaining five hour drive home.

Many thanks to Trish, Carrie, Sara and their families for taking the time to visit with us as we headed back from vacation. (I'll be e-mailing you the pictures today, by the way.)

Wonder where we'll vacation next year...anybody want visitors??