Spring Break Report - Part II

A Double Dose of Happiness

Michele, Josie, Donna, Maddy and Gwen

The true highlight of our trip to California was meeting up with friends Donna & Andrew, who are fellow adoptive parents. Donna and I "met" on-line in the summer of 2005. We belong to a MSN website for adoptive parents, which Donna helped establish and still manages. I could go on for pages about her talents as a mother, wife, writer, scrapbooker, (the list truly does go on...). Suffice to say, she is simply a lovely person and we all had a great time together.

Donna and I met up on Tuesday at a park in San Jose that was perfect for the girls to get acquainted. Huge playsets, lots of grass to run around on, a small petting zoo and a huge barn that was home to cows, pigs, lambs and goats!!

I have watched Gwen & Maddy grow through Donna's website "Double Happiness" since 2005 - when Gwen joined the family, through 2006 - when Maddy joined her jei-jei (big sister) - to the present. Although the girls arrived a year apart, they are only 2 months apart in age. Both are exactly as I have envisioned them through the years. Their personalities are distinct and totally lovable. Looking at the photos of them days later still brings a big smile to my face. They are funny, sassy, active, sweet and kissable!

We spent an enjoyable few hours and the park with the agreement that we would share dinner with our husbands and all our kids (Our Maddie was suffering from a stomach flu and Donna & Andrew's son Michael was taking finals at college) on Wednesday evening. More about that in my next post. In the meantime, here is a series of photos taken while both Donna and I were issuing posing orders to our daughters at the park... I like to call this series:

Exercise in Futility

Until next time....