Kitchen helpers

The girls do a great job of prepping the green beans.

Showing Olan her big eye guys

It was great to have a Pizza made for dinner

We fit all this in with the Chinese New Years celebrations, union meeting at our house, plus sold a cruise and mexico package...and big daddy got the bathroom into working order. I think it took a week to recover!

Happy Gotcha, CNY and Birthday

Can you even believe this was Jade at 6 months of age! We know the Chinese matched her to her daddy's hair! :-) 7 years ago we were handed little Dance!

Anna wants a big brother! Jade and Asia can't imagine Why?!


Practicing with their chop sticks

Anna Really wants a big brother!

Give me a brother now!

The boys were out numbered...a bunch of girls!

Things were rumbling as they ran through the house.

Ray Ray is happy that there is no Lion dance here!

A Chinese food potluck, it was yummy

My parents were very gracious to let us invade the house with all these kids. Anna was the hit of the night with all her love notes. At the beginning, we used to go to a restaurant..and if there was a lion dance all the girls would freak and cry! Not that it is calmer, but at least they don't have to sit still!

Happy Chinese New Year

The consensus was that we all hated their non Chinese outfits for the Chinese Dance!

The quietest Lion dance, no drums or firecrackers

Ali and Jade cheesing it up. Their Gotcha day was Thursday...7 years ago

Can you see Asia singing 2nd from left

The ducks run amuck!



It was a normal Chinese school performance. Total bedlum and chaos. The bonus was that are girls performed 1st and 5th so we left! How rude! That gave us all a couple of hours of down time. Then onto the party.

Remember Gunne Sax?

Asia still loves her big eye guy "Mr Boinkers"

Asia is bathing her baby in the tub(ottoman upside down) Jade is ironing.

We were very glad to get a huge box of hand me downs from Quinn. I know some of them originate from Lynnette M, in which she had gotten some from Tava...Somehow a dress like I used to wear showed up! But, it works better in the dress up clothes as a pioneer outfit.

Happy New Year

It was All about the crab!

Tami also made razorback clam chowder

Special Wash state white cheddar, smoked salmon and white raspberries

The girls with their big eye guys


Have to have a little drama for the evening. This was presented by Drew...again-remember how he got pinched at christmas eve. This time we couldn't find missy Z, it was because Drew had scared her and she was found crying under her bed. Then, the sympathizer Asia burst into tears to add to the drama.


Couldn't stay up until the stoke of midnight!

We feasted on crab flown in from the Pike street market in Seattle. The girls are love seafood, it must be in their genes! Drew had to settle with the Williams and sonoma tenderloin. A great way to end the year!

Keystone skating and chocolate

The gang of kids, Big daddy's sister Sharon's girls Melynda, Jessica and Annette.

Henc with Asia and Drew

Jessica, Melynda, Tisha, Dianne(another big daddy sister) and Annette

The Keystone chocolate made me look for these pictures from 2 years ago. Our usual tradition for Christmas is to go iceskating in Keystone and then back down to my parents for dinner. Last year it was a blizzard and this year we wanted to take the Veldkamps to the mountains on Friday.

Our special adopting buddies come for a visit

Our best picture of the gang at our last stop. Beau Jo's for lunch.

Just try and get a good picture of the gang!

Jade's first night in her bed that her dad made her

Asia and Keisha sleep on the floor. Asia is 3 days older. They got her in Russia in Feb and we got Asia in April of 2004.

Way back when we were supposed to adopt from Latvia, we met these folks. They ended up going to Russia and you know our story! I made their flight plans to San Antonia and made sure they came and visited us as a layover. So, Christmas night the girls and I picked them up at the airport. The next day I subjected poor Denise to go to Crate and Barrell with me to stand in line for some really cute bowls that match my kitchen! We then loaded the vehicle with all 10 (boys rode in the trunk) and went for a mountain drive. The kids were maxing out at about Georgetown, so that is where we stopped! I really wanted to take them to Keystone lodge and show them the chocolate display...but hey you can only fit so much in a day! We then went to Beau Jos and waited for an extremely long time (6 hungry cranky kids amplified this!) for our Pizza. Then had them at the airport by 5pm for their flight. It was great to see them again after 6 years!