Hope Has An Announcement

Hey Everyone! I took these pictures back on August 20 and made a Shutterfly announcement for our family sharing this news, but I thought it was about time I shared it here and gave this blog thing another try. It was such a wonderful outlet for us during Hope's adoption and first couple of years home.

It's true! Our family has some exciting news to share. Doesn't it look like Hope can hardly keep our secret?


What do you think it is?


This picture makes it a little more clear.


We are LOVING the idea of Hope becoming a big sister.


Hope is such a precious girl. She is going to be an awesome big sister. Just look into those beautiful eyes. They travel deep. She has a lot of wisdom to share with her new little sibling. We can't wait!

Hope has been practicing her coloring skills.


We are getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year soon.

Fall Escape - Sunday

"Is this a park with a playground?"
"The best kind, honey."

We spent Sunday morning at Eau Claire Dells Park. This is such a beautiful place and appears to be as underused as many county parks often are. We saw only a handful of other hikers. We were here 10 years ago on our way to our Door County honeymoon (yes, we waited a year to honeymoon). It brought back some fun memories and it was special to hike the loop with Hope. You should see her go! No tree roots, slippery rocks, or branches across the path will slow her down. Roots make great balance beams. Rocks, acorns, leaves, moss, fungus, etc., are all just curious distractions. And those branches, you ask? Well, she's a climber.





When did those legs get so long?

I said she was a climber. :)


Gymnastics Pays Off

Nature-Made Tunnel...Toddler Size!





"I Love You"

Bowling Videos - Take 2

Here are a few more of the bowling videos. This was great! We'll be going again soon.

Bowling Videos - Take 1

Hope's Dance Moves - We were waiting for dinner in the bar. Such a WI thing to do. :)


Hope picks up her first 10 pin!!! She's available for lessons.


Hope's First Spare - We were a little more excited than she was. You should see her face when she watches the video now though. All smiles!

Fall Escape - Saturday

Ron surprised us with a long weekend away. We've had a great time and will head home later today. I thought I'd take a quick moment to post some photos while we're in the "wireless" lobby for breakfast this morning.

First geocache of the afternoon. Can you spot the tiny hiding place?


There was another cache here though it isn't in this photo. I just thought this was pretty cute.


There were a couple more down this path, but it was raining so we just quickly grabbed one of them.
\

Hope tried bowling for the first time!!! What a great family activity!!! (Hope bowled a 77)




Day two pics and a video update to come. For now though, we're headed out for day three excitement.

Big Strides in Bike Riding

Hope has really been practicing riding her bike. It is a Strider bike which is used to learn balance with out the use of pedals. Just recently she has become comfortable enough to put both feet up and coast. Lately she has also taken it to the trails in the woods. Here are a couple of short video clips.