Tar Hollow-- June 22, 2013

Elena and Chelsea on their porch (above) and with Emma on the Junior Hill (below)

Elena and Chelsea "in their corner" (above) and with Britti (below)

Ava, Paisley, Lauren, and Emmy, getting ready for "Fruit Basket" in the lodge

Britti poses outside of the lodge... She began as a camper, nineteen years ago, and she's now director of the camp, as the 4-H Extension Educator. As I drove away, I realized that this year is likely the last time that we'll have three girls at camp... Britti as director, Chelsea as a last year counselor, and Emmy as a camper. Meanwhile, Ellie-Kate enjoyed her time as the only kid in the house back home!

Moving in to Tar Hollow-- June 22, 2013

Elena and Chelsea

Emmy on her bed in her cabin

Emmy, Lauren, and Ava

Emmy outside of her cabin

Elena and Chelsea Meagan

Elena and Chelsea Meagan

Chelsea's last bunk at Tar Hollow as a counselor...

Elena and Chelsea with their campers (above) and on their porch (below)

Good-bye to ND Basketball Camp!

June 20, 2013: More adventures in South Bend

On Thursday, June 20, Grandma B. drove up from Warsaw to meet Christie and Ellie-Kate. We all headed for the Potawatami Zoo, and Ellie-Kate got to play in the very cool playground before the zoo opened at 10 a.m. We just love this zoo! Christie visited it on school trips as a young girl, and Emmy and Chelsea loved it when we came to visit Britti during her time at Saint Mary's College. Now, Ellie-Kate has her turn to enjoy this special little zoo. We saw the tigers, and Ellie-Kate got to ride on a pony. We all rode the train, and we saw the kangaroos in their neat habitat. Around 11:30 a.m., we left and headed for Burger King for a quick lunch. Ellie-Kate had fun on the playground with four little boys and ate a bit of lunch. We spent some time in University Mall, and Ellie-Kate found a new friend at the Disney Store-- Little Brother from Mulan. (Apparently, Mulan had a dog in the first minute of the move-- who knew?!?) Afterward, we drove over to ND and watched Emmy's defense practice and scrimmage and then went to Meijer's and then Logan's to eat. Grandma B. left about 6 p.m., and Ellie-Kate played some soccer at SMC before we drove back over to ND and watched Emmy as she played another scrimmage game. Overall, a great day in "the Bend"!!

Adventures in South Bend... July 19-20, 2013

June 19... Ellie-Kate and I had the best time at this mini-golf course. She had been lobbying for swimming back at the hotel, but we didn't pack her swimsuit, and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting in the pool so I was glad that we were able to substitute this cool distraction. Overall, we had such a relaxing time after dropping Emmy at camp-- dinner at the hotel (free cook-out), a bit of shopping, mini-golf, and then soccer on a field near the apartments at Saint Mary's. Our only downside was that we learned that Aflak, one of Chelsea's ducks, died at the vet today. His legs never fully formed, and the vet told us that we couldn't do anything more for him. He had been so frustrated as he grew larger, and he was struggling to get to food and water. It all turned out for the best, I supposed, but poor Ellie-Kate was just distraught about poor Aflak...

 

 

Grandma B. came up to visit on Thursday, June 20. We went to the Potawatami Zoo (and nearby playground), and Ellie-Kate made a new friend on the indoor Burger King playground during lunch. We did a bit of shopping in the mall and then went over and watched Emmy at camp. A few other parents came to visit and watch the scrimmage games too. I snapped the above photo during one of the defense drills. She really did get much better during those few days!

ND basketball camp!

 

Emmy in Lewis Hall 137, ready for basketball camp. Ellie-Kate was more than a little bored and bouncing off of the walls (literally) as we were trying to get Emmy settled, but she really liked being in her stroller and walking around campus. I met a woman (Lori) whose daughter (Parker) was also adopted from China, and we had a nice time as we walked to and from the Joyce Center, comparing notes about our respective adoption experiences. Very cool to share that almost instant connection with others who have gone through that same journey...

 

June 19-- Happy half birthday, Emmy!

We celebrated Emmy's half birthday in South Bend. We arrived on Tuesday, June 18, and spent the night at the Inn at Saint Mary's on the Saint Mary's College campus-- just where we always used to stay when we drove over to visit Britti. That morning, we visited some favorite places-- The Avenue, the Grotto, the Basilica, and the duck pond. The campuses of SMC and Notre Dame are just beautiful, and we had a great day for walking over to ND.

First t-ball game of the season-- June 17, 2013

Jack and Ellie-Kate

Copperhead game-- June 15, 2013

After the Washboard Festival parade, the little girls and I met Roger at the Copperheads baseball game. Even though the Copperheads had a rough night, we all had a wonderful time-- beautiful weather, fun environment, good food-- an overall very relaxing summer evening :)

Happy Summer!

Christie