Birthday Touchdown!

What a GORGEOUS day! Couldn't ask for better weather - it's just beautiful outside!

In addition to celebrating the 25th anniversary of my 21st birthday (but who's counting? LOL), today was also the opening game for the Cougars (Nick's team) football season. I asked Nick before the game if he thought MAYBE he could score a touchdown for me........being that it is my birthday and all. Well, HE DID IT! He ran for a touchdown early in the game, giving the Cougars their first touchdown of the season! Woo Hoo! A great birthday present! I'm gonna have to get used to seeing Nick at the bottom of the pile-ups ... he's playing running back and linebacker, so he will definitely get some "ball carrying" time this season ... GULP. So far, so good ... no injuries today, thank goodness! The season is off to a great start!

The Reunion!

*GUIPING GIRLS FOREVER*

What a wonderful weekend we've had!!! The 5th "Guiping Girls" reunion was held Saturday / Sunday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This is the group of 10 families we traveled to China with -- we affectionately call it the "Guiping Girls" reunion because all 10 of our precious daughters are from Guiping City, in the Guangxi province of China. The girls had a blast - it was awesome to see them all interacting and re-connecting, and it is quite evident that our girls in fact DO share a very special bond. Some of the girls live closer to one another and get to see each other more often than others, but I have to say that as a group of 10, they didn't miss a beat AT ALL. Once everyone arrived on Saturday evening, the partying began and they didn't slow down until we departed for home on Sunday afternoon. :o) Carly was just beaming from all the excitement. She literally counted down the days to this long awaited event -- she was floating on Cloud 9 the entire weekend. Very heartwarming to say the least. Can't wait till the next one!