We had a super busy Memorial weekend. Friday night we enjoyed a delcious meal with our neighbors, topped of by s'mores around the fire-pit. Kerry adores our neighbors and the feeling seems to be mutual, as you can see below.

Getting spun around by her buddy, DJ.

Using a narrow bench as a balance beam.

No s'mores for her, she only wanted the graham crackers.

Kerry and Amanda clicked from the moment they met

We spent all day Saturday at the lake with Doug's family. We went for a ride on their pontoon, and she loved swimming in the lake, as long as Mama was with her. She enjoyed it much more than she did last summer, having only been home from China a month or so. Unfortunately I forgot the camera so I have no pictures from the lake. However, I did get some from our cookout with my family yesterday at Bernheim.

These butterflies hung around us all day. She had no idea they were on her head in this photo. She loved watching the "fuh-byes" as she calls them, until one landed on her cheek, she got a little freaked out.

Enjoying the art wall with Aunt "Stessie".

She was out within minutes of leaving Bernheim =)

My mom has a couple of cherry trees that were ready to pick from, so that's just what we did that evening. Then we pitted them and put them straight into a DELICIOUS cobbler.

And, of course, we took time to remember all of those who have served our country and those who've paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy. Including my brother, Dale, who's served in Iraq, and in a few weeks leaves for Afghanistan. This time he's going as a photojournalist for the National Guard, but we'll still worry until he's home safe.

Day 4: Our last full day.

We started off the day with a guided trolley ride into and around Asheville. Doug snapped this picture as we were waiting to start the tour. She looks unimpressed. However afterward, for the rest of the day, Kerry Lu couldn't stop talking about it...as much as her vocabulary currently allows, at least. I'd say we had at least two dozen conversations that went something like this:

" da BUSS!"

"Yes, baby, we rode the bus" (didn't have the heart to correct her)

"RED busss!"

"Yes, honey, the bus was red"

"(unintelligible) FUN!"

"I'm glad you had fun, sweetie."

Getting ready to dig in to a banana split. We've eaten a lot of ice cream on this trip. We've also had some pretty amazing meals, as well. We had out-of-this-world-delicious barbeque at the Little Switzerland Cafe along the Blue Ridge Parkway, great Mexican food at the Neo Cantina (ate there twice), and scrumptious Chicken Pot Pie at the Corner Kitchen.

Getting acquainted with a local statue.

Pretty in yellow, having fun just walking/running/hopping around Asheville.

In the lobby of the Grand Bohemian Hotel (not the best phot0). This is not where we stayed, but we were told we had to check out the lobby. It's the kind of place where even the restroom off of the lobby reeks of luxury

She does this new thing now, where she stops, squats down, and says "CHEEEESE", then waits for me to snap a picture. You may notice the remnants of nose bleed that she had earlier. NOT fun. We were out walking around town, and out of nowhere it hit. I had to scramble for the handful of napkins that I remember tossing into her diaper bag and I had to physically restrain her to keep her still while I held the napkins to her nose, which she hated. I'm talking screaming and flailing and slinging blood everywhere. This lasted about 10 or 15 minutes, seemed like much longer. A nearby shop owner ( who has two kids of her own) was nice enough to offer some tissues. I'm pretty sure that the dress can be saved with a little peroxide pre-treatment. After the drama was over, we were off to enjoy a late lunch/early dinner.

Another thing we've enjoyed is the indoor pool at our hotel. Kerry LOVES the water and has not let us forget to take her for a evening swim for the last 4 nights in a row. She gets so excited when we get in to our swimsuits, or "simp-soops" as she calls them.

We made it to North Carolina. Kerry traveled well, aside from her newfound ability to pull the seat belt straps off of her upper body, and a bit of fussing and restlessness the last half hour of our drive. The mountains are georgeous and the weather has been beautiful, as well. We're really having a nice, relaxing time.

Inside of the most unique McDonalds I've ever been in. It's complete with a large fireplace, a grand piano, and the exterior and interior are all done in colors to complement the rest of Biltmore Village (where it's located).

On day one of our vacation, Ker-Bear enjoyed a hot fudge sundae here. And wore half of it on her face.

Day 2: Driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views were absolutely breathtaking.



The view out of the sunroof.

The view into the back seat. She was playing "this little piggy" with her own toes =).

She loves bouncing in the little crib the hotel provided. It reminds me of our time in China, 11 months ago.

Day 3: Biltmore Estate. So beautiful and impressive....and large.

Happy girl

Checking out the chickens at the farm on the Estate

We're off to North Carolina to enjoy our first vacation as a family. Back soon with photos =)

My sweetpea participated in her first gymnastics class today. This is one of those things that I've been wanting for so long with my own daughter and it was so cool to finally be able to. It's just a little, non-competitive, parent guided (along with the coach) class. She looked so cute and tiny out there and the coach noted that she seemed to be quite strong and has good musculature ( I can say these things because I can claim no responsibility for them ). She really seemed to enjoy it aside from a few "I only want Mommy to talk to me" moments. She and her little friend Makenna are the only ones in the 18 month-2 1/2 year old class so far. We went out for lunch with Makenna and her Mama, Dana, after class and had a nice time just chatting while the girls played in the play-place at the biggest Ch*ck-fi-la I've ever been in.

Striking a pose.

A little hoop work.

With cutie-pie and fellow Jiangxi girl, Makenna.

Our laptop finally succumbed to a combination of old age and a virus this week and we had to get a new one, which is why I've been MIA in blog-land lately. But I'm back, and as usual, armed with photos. We visited my parents over the weekend and Kerry had a great time getting an introduction to gardening.

Watching as "Paw-Paw" snips some fresh lettuce.

Enjoying an ice cream cone courtesy of "Maw-Maw"

She also got to taste wild honey-suckle nectar for the first time. It grows wild around my parents house. In a few weeks we'll be able to pick the wild blackberries that also grow there, as well as fresh cherries for cobbler...YUMMY!

Dedicated.

This is actually a re-visit of Mothers Day. Our church had a "baby dedication" service that we took part in. It's basically a way of vowing that we will do our best to raise Kerry in such a way that will point her toward her a relationship with Christ. Several little ones were dedicated on Mother's Day, two of which are also adopted. We actually have as many adopted babies as there are non-adopted babies in the nursury on most Sundays.

Another tid-bit I forgot to mention is that all day Kerry kept saying "Happy Mama!" I guess it was either her way of saying "Happy Mother's Day", or she has simply noticed how happy I am. Yes, baby, you make Mama very happy.

I couldn't ask for more this Mother's Day.

My heart, and my arms, are full.





With my wonderful mom, known also these days as "Mawmaw".





The two Loves of my life.

After several days of rain, we got to enjoy an absolutely georgeous, sunny day today. I took Kerry to a playground near my parent's house. This park also happens to be near the Salt River, which was way up after the recent rains. It was nearly up to the play area, as you can see behind her in some of the photos. She had a great time despite the fact that I was right on her heels the whole time making sure she didn't get near the water. There are lots of photos , as usual...I just can't help myself.

The not-really-that-much-of-a-Princess and the Frog =)

She makes me smile =).

Of course she had to feed her fish again tonight. I found a new effect that I like on P*cnik, it's called "cross-process". I like the look that it gave this one. You can also see a glimpse of my Azalea in full bloom.

This is DJ, our neighbor. I've known him since he was Kerry's age and his Mama, Amanda, is one of my best friends. Kerry just adores him and thinks everything he does is hilarious. He came over this evening and helped her break in her birthday gift from Doug's parents, which they hope to have finished tomorrow. Doug and both Grandpa's have been working around their schedules and the weather to get this thing put together. It has sooo many pieces.


She decided to have some fun with the pots and pans the other night and I didn't have the heart to discourage her from using the lids as very loud cymbals. She was having too much fun, and she'll grow out of this kind of play all too soon...so I just did what I normally do, take pictures so we don't forget.