When Shane looked outside and saw our playset in the backyard, he asked his mom if he could please go to the park! The difference between big city living and suburbia!
Shane LOVED driving the mustang.
We took Shane and Maribeth to our favorite restaurant in Fort Collins, Bann Thai, and walked around Old Town afterwards. It was the perfect night for it.
Splashing in the fountains.
Hayden sat and played a piece on one of the "Pianos Around Town". We loved all the butterflies this one had painted on it.
Little did Hayden know she had more to fear than just the bear she was sitting on.
The next day before Ava and Jen arrived, we headed to the Splash park in Loveland for some more water fun.
Shane and Maribeth stayed at our house while I went to go pick up Ava, Jen and her neice, Regan at the airport. Ava was very excited to play with all of Jessie's "girl" toys when we got home.
Two cutie pies.
Three cutie pies.
J. and Maribeth.
Ava loves Snow White, so she was very excited to play dress up with Jessie.
Shane even found something of his liking to wear!
After lots of dancing and playing, it was time to go to bed and get ready to head up to The YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park the next day for camp. It was so heartwarming to see the kids all get along and have so much fun together. Their lives were linked in Vietnam and I hope their friendships grow strong over the years.
VIETNAMESE HERITAGE CAMP
The excitement was high and Ava and Jessie RAN to the first day of camp.
Waiting for Opening Ceremony.
A not-so-great shot of the Dragon.
The mornings were nice at the YMCA. It was sunny and warm and everyone was excited for what the day would bring. We usually had a little time to walk and run around before camp started. The girls liked playing tag in the field with 360 degree mountain views all around them.
"It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!"
Jen enjoying some fresh mountain air between adult classes.
Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the mountains!!! (and Heritage Camp!!!)
Each day at noon we would pick up our kids from their counselors and meet at the park for lunch
with all the other VHC families.
Jen was a little surprised that some of the "wildlife" didn't seem so wild.
Busy doing some Asian stamping. I wasn't able to get pictures of most of the camp activities, as I was in my own classes or volunteering at the time. But Jessie and Rian both learned about Vietnamese culture, music, art, cooking (they made spring rolls with fish sauce), and martial arts. They also did some short hiking and spent some time with good ole Mother Nature.
Sweet, sweet sisters.
Sarah, one of Rian's counselors.
The counselors are very invested in all of the kids and are great role models for them. Their dedication is truly impressive. The kids all loved their counselors and look forward to seeing them again next year.
Jessie's favorite counselor, Emily.
Heading back to camp after lunch.
Hard to believe it was FOUR years ago that we all met in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Monkey bar girl.
My camera was on it's way out, so many of these pictures are blurry and leave a lot to be desired! Even so, Rian had a lot of fun painting a dragon to be displayed at the Saturday Night Festival and Silent Auction.
My favorite picture of the three kids together.
Everyone wore their traditional clothing to the Festival. There were games and prizes, face painting, food, and music. Towards the end of the evening, the kids all got together in their groups with their counselors and performed dances and demonstrated some martial art skills they had been working on. It was a fun, though late, night for everyone. Poor Jess got a really bad bloody nose after her performance so we had to scoot out of there a bit early.
Rian used her tickets to get some "hair bling".
I was so happy Regan came along with Jen and Ava, as she was the sweetest and most polite teenager I have ever met. Hayden had so much fun hanging out with her at our house before and after camp, and I was thrilled to have such a positive role model around my 11 year old!
Face tattoo!!!
(Rian's picture)
A big part of camp is Heart Talks, where the kids talk about what it means to be adopted in an age appropriate way. All sorts of issues and discussions come up as a result, and the kids drew pictures to show how they felt about their adoption. Some of the pictures (even the ones the younger kids drew) were heavy with emotion- one that sticks out in my mind was a picture that showed two smiling women standing over a crib with a baby in it (the adoptive mom and the nanny from the orphanage) and a woman standing in the doorway crying (the birthmom). Heritage camp is such a wonderful, healing place for these kiddos to talk about their feelings in a safe environment where everyone understands exactly what they are going through.
(Jessie's picture- her with her two sisters)
Rian with one of her counselors- Sun.
Closing Ceremony is always bittersweet. The kids become close over the four day weekend and it is wonderful to make connections with families from all over the nation. It is also tearful because we watch a slideshow of beautiful pictures of all the children taken throughout the weekend. Jared Rehberg was there to sing songs about adoption and the whole feel of the camp is just so emotional in and of itself. This was our first year at Vietnamese Heritage Camp but I guarantee it won't be the last. A huge thank you and lots of love to Jen, Ava, Maribeth and Shane for making the long journey out here, it was such a blessing seeing all of you and spending time together!
