Our last trip of 2006...our finest traveling year.

This was our last trip of 2006. We ended the year with family and revisited favorite places. By far, our best trip was to China. We received our second daughter there and fulfilled a 2 yr dream of bringing our second child home. She has been a wonderful fit and we couldn't be happier.

We went to the zoo, again Claire was less than impressed with the animals. I, on the other hand, was truly taken with this large gorilla. We have been to this zoo several times. Everytime we go, this gorilla does something amazing and wonderful. As you can see from the picture, he was lookin AT US...I guess he was tired of being on display and wanted to turn the tables. He simply stood there and looked at all of us. Hannah kept saying, "he is looking at me in my eyes mom" That is something we say to our girls to make sure they are paying attention, so him looking her in her eyes was somewhat uncomfortable.

The next pics are of our trip. Both girls got to ride scooters. Claire with help from Uncle Rod and Hannah on an electric one of her cousins. Claire loved her 12 yr old boy cousin (TYLER) just like she loved FORREST when he was here...she loves 12 yr old boys. Everyone had such a good time. I really love the pic of TYLER and Claire watching the cat between the plants. He had so much patience with her, and she loved him right back. Claire opened up with trust and love to her family this week. Even though they were strangers, she let them in and showed them her funny side.

The last two pics are funny to us....Hannah went around the corner and thought this dragon was real...really made us laugh. She was about to ask how they can let that run loose..

Then...Claire, afraid of dogs, but will be fascinated with a 12 foot bronze aligator?? I still don't understand how the mind of a 2 yr old works.

Health and happiness to everyone in the coming yr. Please consider adopting a child if you have enjoyed our journey.