Happy Holidays! It's been another busy year for us. Cris is still flying for the Air Force Reserves and was on the road quite a bit this year. Heather is busy juggling work and Ava. Ava turned 3 in August. She is just plain BUSY. She attends Chinese preschool three mornings a week and is learning (and using) a lot of Mandarin. She also started taking ballet lessons (kids running around wildly in pink tutus) despite mommy being not so keen on it, but she LOVES it!
The year started out with Cris being gone all the time as he was trying to build up his flight hours. By April he had all the hours he needs, so we got back into the swing of having some family time together.
In May we took a trip to Nashville, TN, for a reunion with the families we traveled with in China. It was great to see all the beautiful girls who are growing so quickly. We visited the Nashville Zoo which has a really cool China/Panda exhibit. And, we celebrated Ava's adoption day - May 31st!
The year started out with Cris being gone all the time as he was trying to build up his flight hours. By April he had all the hours he needs, so we got back into the swing of having some family time together.
In May we took a trip to Nashville, TN, for a reunion with the families we traveled with in China. It was great to see all the beautiful girls who are growing so quickly. We visited the Nashville Zoo which has a really cool China/Panda exhibit. And, we celebrated Ava's adoption day - May 31st!
In June we took a much needed family vacation to the Big Island, Hawaii. We had a great time hiking, snorkeling, and exploring the volcanoes! Ava had fun (well maybe not) falling down on the volcanoes. In Ava's words---"Lava hurts"
In July our friends Michele, Jill, Kate, and Cheyanne came for a visit and we had a great time just hanging out and lounging by the pool.
In August we spent a fun weekend with our friends, Michele and Andy and their kids, at the beach in NC. It's not Pensacola Beach, but we're trying hard not to be beach snobs.
In September Heather and some of our neighbors held a community yard sale for charity and raised over $700 for Heather's favorite charity. All the money is being used to improve living conditions for the childrens residing at Bengbu Social Welfare Institute -- Ava's former home!
In October we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and headed out west to Sedona, AZ, and the Grand Canyon for a few days. We met up with our friends, Ralph and Donna, and had a great time hiking the gorgeous red rocks!
Well, that's the highlights. All in all we had a great year. We love living in North Carolina and have gotten settled in to the point that we're open for visitors. That's a hint that we hope to see more of you in the new year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cris, Heather and Ava
