Our Jiangxi girls: Bryn, Roshandra, Ava, Claire, Caia and Elizabeth. The girls are all 4 years old with Bryn the oldest and Caia the youngest, 2-1/2 months apart.
We only had 2 1/2 days together so we had a lot of visiting and catching up to do in a short time. It really is hard to explain how amazing it was to see the girls together again and how, despite the fact we spent less than two weeks together in China, we were all able to pick up where we left off -- it was like visiting with old and dear friends we've known forever. It's a bond we'll have for a lifetime and we're so very blessed to have such an amazing group of people in our lives. To see how much all the girls have grown and watch all the little personalities interact was pretty awesome.
The kids are at the age where they don't need a lot of planned activities to keep them busy, they had a blast just playing and being together. They got along famously with each other and all their siblings. Our hosts went above and beyond to make our reunion special. The kids did crafts, had an indoor picnic and a party at Build-A-Bear. We had the best smoked brisket ever -- Paul would come out on top at any Texas barbecue challenge -- and the pizza baked in a clay oven in Beth and James' backyard was the best I've ever had.
I took hundreds of photos and still didn't manage to get all the shots I wanted. Between visiting and just watching the kids interact it was impossible to capture all the special moments but here are some (I did steal some photos from the other shutterbug moms, thanks ladies!)
Catching up on the past 3 years.
Bryn and Roshandra checking out Claire and Ren's loot.
Claire, Caia and Roshandra having a tea party with Roshandra's sister Kaio.
Since our hotel was only about six blocks from West Ed we made a side trip to show Bryn the big mall. She was most impressed with the Disney Store and thrilled to find her favorite guy, Nemo.
The kids watching their Canada Day shrinky dinks melt before they
turned them into necklaces.
Craft time!
Ava and Claire discuss the finer points of jewellery design.
Our proud little Canadians.
Claire's brother Ren is a brave little man hanging out with all these girls!
Canada Day picnic.
The beautiful (and delicious) reunion cake.
Build-A-Bear was a huge hit with all the kids.
Bryn concentrating very hard on making sure her new stuffy
has a happy heart full of love.
That was fun!
Bryn and Kate, Elizabeth's sister.
Roshandra's brother Luca had a very important job.
Ava's sister Helena and Kate, two of the three Jie Jies.
No reunion is complete without the kids being weighed and measured.
Dress up time!
Bryn and Elizabeth.
"Mom, this is so good I can hardly stop tasting it."
Bryn and Eli have a special bond -- they lived together in the same foster home in China and I'm sure, on some level, they remember each other. It tugged at my heartstrings when Bryn grabbed her foster sister for a huge bear hug and happily posed for photos.
I'll help you, girlfriend!
One big happy family.
Our last day together.
The days flew by much too fast and saying goodbye again was hard to say the least. Thanks to Monica, Paul, Beth and James and their kiddies for all the planning and the delicious meals and letting us invade your homes, and to Kevin and Catherine and Rob and Aggie and their families for travelling so far. And also to Shea, Caia and Grandma Dar for being our Jiangxi family-in-residence, we'd be very lonely without you here. We had tons of fun and we miss everyone!
We especially miss the families who weren't able to make it to this reunion but look forward to our next one and seeing everyone there. Vancouver 2012 anyone? Maybe Nanchang 2013?
Friends forever!!
