Rachel's Birthday Celebration

 Friday night, our friend surprised us by ringing the doorbell and delivering pizza.  Rachel has been wanting to try "Happy Cat" pizza ever since she saw Jean wearing her "Happy Cat Pizza" hat.  Rachel was thrilled.  Thanks, Jean!

 Saturday we began our day of celebration with Brunch at the Space Needle.

 The girls enjoyed their very expensive "space noodles" that were shaped like the space needle.

 Santa came to visit us while we were eating.

 Rachel had very fun steaming ice cream.

 The girls frosted and decorated rocket cookies.

 We found Santa in his rocket ship.  He was a great Santa...real beard and very friendly and kind with the girls.

 The model train was fun to watch...

 And even more fun to drive!

 We enjoyed the Christmas music and lights at the fountain.

 The girls changed from their lovely dresses into play clothes for ice skating.  Then back into their lovely dresses for our final fun activity of the evening.....

 ....the Pacific Northwest Ballet version of The Nutcracker!!  My favorite!! I love the sets, costumes, and scenery designed by Maurice Sendak (author/illustrator of "The Wild Things.")  I learned that I share the same birthday at Mr. Sendak  (he was born exactly 40 years earlier than me on June 10th!) No wonder I like him so much!!

Anyway, here are the girls posing like ballerinas....

 And picking the Nutcracker's nose...

 What a great day/night!  Happy birthday, Rachel!!  I love you!

Here is a movie with narration by Rachel (a little narration at the end by Erin Joy and I...)

Erin Joy's Box and Concert

 Erin Joy made a house for the cat.  The cat doesn't seem to like her new house.  I think it's pretty cute, however.  After several failed attempts of forcing the cat into the box, she decided it was for her stuffed animals.  She chose my bed because it was the only one made (as usual....)

 Erin Joy and her friends did a great job in their third grade concert.  Erin really is tall.  No wonder her older sister who isn't so tall gets frustrated by their height difference.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Rachel!

Rachel began her birthday celebration at Lake Quinault where our good friend Jean gave her some earrings, a headband, and a card listing 11 reasons why she loves Rachel.

 I can't believe my baby is 11 years old today!  She has grown up to be such a fine young lady.  I love her so much.  Part of our new birthday tradition includes writing one thing I love about the birthday girl for every year she has been alive (thanks Jean for the good idea).  I hide the notes along with a little treat.  Erin Joy had 9 candy bars hidden around the house with special notes attached to each one.  Rachel made it very clear that she didn't want candy or food of any kind.  I ended up hiding 11 pop-up monsters around the house and in her backpack with 11 reasons why I love her.  It was  a lot of fun.

Here are 11 reasons I love Rachel (the reasons might not be the same as the reason I gave her, I'm not sure where she put the papers)...

1.  I love you, Rachel because you are so responsible.  You always do your own homework and stay caught up in your class.

2.  I love you, Rachel because you are usually so kind to your sister, Erin Joy.

3.  I love you Rachel because you are so organized and help me stay organized too!

4.  I love you, Rachel because you set goals for yourself and work hard to achieve them.

5.  I love you, Rachel because you are a great ice skater and gymnast and I enjoy watching you.

6.  I love you, Rachel because you practice the piano (even though you don't like it) and practice the flute. I love hearing you play music.  I love music!

7.  I love you, Rachel because you are fun to be with. I enjoy traveling with you and having adventures.

8.  I love you, Rachel because you love to read and I love to talk about good books with you.

9.  I love you, Rachel because you know the difference between right and wrong and you strive hard to choose the right.

10.  I love you, Rachel because you are inquisitive and always want to know about the world around you.

11.  I love you, Rachel because you are sweet, kind, and a wonderful daughter! I am so blessed to be your mom!

Thank-you grandma for the great books and craft projects and the money.  Thank-you Erin Joy for the umbrella.   Rachel has wanted an umbrella because she is a member of the safety patrol team and must stand in the rain holding a flag to help students cross the street.

 Her gift from me is coming next weekend so I am so thankful that her sister and Grandma always give her gifts too.

 We put up the tree every year on Rachel's birthday. Fun!!!

 This is the first year I have let the girls do the lights.  It was a bit of a tangled mess.

 Evidence of tangled lights...

 Our tree will never be fancy, but it will always be full of good memories.  Each girl gets an ornament with their picture every year.  They also have a lot of ornaments that they have made.  We enjoy talking about the ornaments and other Christmas memories as we decorate the tree.

 It is a bit over-decorated, but we like it!

 I sure love these girls!

Lake Quinault

We spent a wonderful weekend at Lake Quinault.  We saw a lot of big trees, moss, and rain.  We were glad that our friend Jean was able to come with us, but sad that her college-aged son had too much homework to come.  We went on a few hikes in the rain, then enjoyed swimming in a very warm swimming pool that felt very much like a hot tub.  NICE!!

My favorite place on the trip was Ruby Beach.  The rain stopped long enough for us to play on the beach and then started again when we were finished playing.  We saw an amazing double rainbow.

I really love the Olympic Peninsula. I feel so blessed to live in such a gorgeous area. I never get tired of the Northwest.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures followed by a little video with more pictures and narration...

I had a hard time keeping the lens of my camera dry because the rain was so heavy.  Many of my pictures look like they were taken underwater because they were!

 Thought about using this as a Christmas card picture, but I'm lounging in my sweats and T-shirt and Rachel was grumpy. Shucks.

10 Years With Rachel!!

December 1, 2002, I held my first child for the first time. I loved her then and I love her now.  Happy Forever Family Day, sweet Rachel Bug!!  I love you!!!

 We celebrated a little early because we are going to Lake Quinault for the weekend.  My girls always get an ornament to hang on their Adoption Tree each year.  I bought several "ornaments" in China when I adopted them.  Rachel also got a comb from the White Swan Hotel which is where we stayed while in Guangzhou.

 Look how tall she is now....

 Look how little she was when she placed her first ornament on the tree...

I love you so much, Rachel!!  Thanks for being my daughter!

Here is a little movie with pictures of Rachel...