Time With Friends Over The Summer

Summer break this year was really nice because Bri was able to spend a lot of one on one time with some of her closest friends. Some of her friends live quite close to us, but a few do not, and summer break provides the opportunity to get to see all of them.

Bri was able to see her friend Chani several times over the summer. First, Bri slept over at Chani's house...

Then the girls had a mall date (and the moms too!)...

Then Chani came over and spent the night at our house...

These girls always have the best time together!

Bri also got to see her good friend Maisie several times over the summer. We went to Maisie's house first...

Then she came our way...

Then we went to visit her again...

M and B love hanging out together playing Minecraft and going swimming.

Our first official friend get together of the summer was with friend Meredith. I took the girls rock climbing and video gaming...

Busy schedules kept the girls from seeing each other a second time over the summer, but since they go to the same school, I hope they can schedule some time together in the fall.

Bri spent time with friend Mary over the summer too. The girls really enjoy attending camps together. This year they attended another cooking camp...

Mary came to our house one afternoon that week...

The girls also saw "The Incredibles 2" together...

And the girls (and moms!) had a nice lunch together one afternoon...

Two peas in a pod I tell ya!

Our first swim date of the summer was at Amy's house and Bri got to spend time with both Mary and friend Imerie...

Again, busy schedules kept Bri from seeing Imerie a second time over the summer. Bri and Imerie have always taken an art class together over the summer, but this year life got a bit too busy. Hopefully next year!

Bri's friend Katie turned 12 at the end of May and in June, she had an escape room birthday party. Bri absolutely loved it! Katie lives a distance from us, so anytime Bri can see her, she is very happy about it...

And last but certainly not least, Bri had a couple of swim dates with her friend Caitlin. These girls can swim for hours together...

Bri only has 9 weeks of summer break, so we try to make the most of it. Aside from spending time with friends, we were able to spend a lot of quality time with family, we went on a week long vacation and Bri and I had some great mom/daughter time together. We also made sure we had some down time. Sometimes just staying at home and not getting out of your jammies all day is much needed!

I feel so blessed that Briana has been able to make so many wonderful memories with her sweet friends over the years.

4th of July get togethers...

Summer camps with Mary...

Art camp with Imerie (except for this year - sniff)...

Parties and special occasions with Katie and Chani...

Summertime fun with Maisie...

Special moments with Meredith...

Sleepovers with Chani...

I do wish our summer was a bit longer, but with all the breaks the kids get during the school year (which is nice), summer break gets cut short. Sadly, it is just the way it is.

And big thank you to Bri friends (and their parents) who helped make her summer so fun!

Happy 12th Birthday Briana

Happy 12th birthday to my sweet, sensitive, loving, smart, caring, artistic, funny, strong and beautiful Briana. I am beyond blessed to have this amazing girl as my daughter. Watching her grow and blossom is one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I love her more than words can express...

Here is a look back at Briana at age 11...



Happy, Happy Birthday sweet girl. I hope your birthday is magical!!!

11th Briana Day Anniversary

Eleven years ago today, we met our beautiful, spicy Chongqing girl (Jiang Ai Juan) in person for the very first time. She was hot, tired, hungry, confused, sweaty, terrified and covered in bug bites. Her dress was so big that it had a huge knot tied in the back to keep it on. She cried and cried and cried at that administration office - it was so chaotic and loud in there. A mixture of emotions were felt by both Doug and me in those first few moments - we were ecstatic, disoriented, relieved and overwhelmed all at the very same time...

Once we got Briana away from the hustle and bustle of the administration office and got on the bus to head back to the hotel, she ate, calmed down and took a little nap...

Once she awoke, her personality starting coming through and we got to see some of her first smiles...

There aren't enough words to express how much Briana changed our lives for the better. She is growing up so fast and is transforming into an amazing young lady. She has our hearts now and forever. 

Our daughter, our beauty, our princess, our dream come true...

Happy 11th Briana/Family/Gotcha Day Anniversary to us!

For anyone who has not seen our travel video or for those who would like to see it again, here it is (our gotcha moment starts at 9:10)...

Cooking Camp 2018

The second week of June, Briana attended a cooking camp with her friend Mary. Bri decided that she wanted to only attend one camp this summer - and she chose cooking camp.

She and Mary were excited to go on their first day...

The instructor sent a ton of photos after the camp ended so we could see all the fun the kids had that week. They learned so much...

I love seeing how closely Briana was paying attention in each picture...

The kids even got to pick fresh herbs out of the school garden for their recipes...

Briana brought home a few of her finished products from camp one day (all from scratch - baguette, butter, jam and croutons) and everything was seriously delicious...

The kids also made ravioli, pie pastry, ricotta cheese, chocolate chip cookies and pickles.

Bri's jam ~ blueberry and peach (so yummy)...

Bri's pickles...

Bri had such a great week. She was sad it ended, but now we can make the recipes at home on our own!