Trumpet Time

Juan's school had a Patriot's Day where a small band played, poems that the scholars had written were read, those in our Armed Forces were recognized, and there was a moment of silence for all of those who died on 9/11.  Juan was one of the trumpet players chosen to be a part of the band.  He is doing great learning his instrument and practicing every night!

Back To School!

The kids are all attending Odyssey Preparatory Academy charter school again this year and love it!  It is hard to believe it is their third year there.

Juan is at the elementary school again this year and in the 5th grade.  This is his last year there, and he will move up to junior high next year.  So, this is a big year for him.  He really likes all of his teachers and got his favorite teacher as his home room teacher.  In 5th grade, the kids change classes for every subject this year. They stay together with their home room class except for Language arts and Math.  They break out to different teachers for Language Arts and Math based on their skill level.  Juan loves school!

Ingrid moved up to the junior high school this year.  Her campus is about 10 minutes from Juan's.  I take the kids to Juan's school every morning and the girls ride a shuttle bus from Juan's school to their school and then back to Juan's in the afternoon.  I then pick everyone at Juan's school in the afternoon.  Juan's school is only about 10 minutes away from our new house, which I love.  Although Ingrid was a little nervous at first, she really likes the school and her teachers.  She changes class just like she did last year in 5th grade.

Angie is in 8th grade this year and is now on the same junior high campus this year with Ingrid.  This is a big year for Angie as it is the last year before high school.  Angie doesn't love having her little sister at her same campus but they don't see each other much.  Angie changes classes but it is with a different group of kids each class based on her skills in each class.  She really likes all of her teachers.  Up until 8th grade, the kids have PE.  In 8th grade, the kids can chose between PE or Fitness Training.  Angie chose Fitness Training, and it is a lot more strength training.  Surprisingly, she loves it, which we are very happy about.

The one thing we are trying to do this year is really take a step back and leave the school work and communication with teachers up to the kids.  Their school is very big on having their students, called scholars, be responsible for their own work and accountable to their teachers.  We are excited for a good year for all three kids!

Special Times This Summer!

Our kids have an older brother and sister that were adopted by a family at the same time as we adopted our kids.  They live in WI.  It breaks our heart that they have been separated, but we try and do all we can to keep them in touch with each other.  We strongly encourage regular phone calls and try and arrange for the kids to be together in person every six months.  We planned a family vacation to WI in July.  The kids were surprised by the special gift of being allowed to stay for the whole month of July.  It was a chance of a lifetime experience, and we are so glad they had that time together.  There month together concluded in a road trip from WI to AZ.  The highlight of the trip was Yellowstone!  We know they made lasting memories together.

Juan and Ingrid's Family Birthday Celebration

The kids asked if they could have their own friend birthday party this year since last year we did a combined friend party celebration at our pool at our old house.  So we had two separate friend parties but one big joint family party with Grandma and Grandpa.  Because there birthdays are so close, this seemed like the best way to celebrate both kids.  Although they liked all of their gifts, we think their favorite ones were new skateboards from Grandma and Grandpa!  As soon as it cools down a little, they will have a great time riding at the park.  Although we celebrated both kids at the same time, they each got to choose their desert.  Juan wanted a birthday pie and Ingrid wanted an ice cream cake, which Grandma made for her.  As part of our normal family tradition, the kids got to pick out there own special sugar cereal.  Ingrid chose Lucky Charms and Juan chose Cookie Crisp this year.  I think this family party was a big hit!

Juan's 11th Birthday

Juan really wanted to have a pool party with a few friends this year, and we finished the pool just in time! The boys enjoyed swimming, a pinata, pizza, cake, and ice cream.  We found that having an unstructured swim time for the boys to just have fun together worked great.  We think Juan really enjoyed his friend birthday celebration.

Ingrid's 13th Birthday

It is hard to believe how fast the kids grow-up, and it has been four years since Ingrid came home to America to celebrate her 9th birthday.  She celebrated her real birthday in Colombia that year, but we had her birthday celebration at home ready to go when we finally made it home.  She has changed so much, and we can't believe we now have two teenage daughters.  Ingrid wanted to have a "Frozen" themed party with friends this year.  The girls did an Olaf art project, watched the "Frozen" movie, had fun with a pinata, and enjoyed pizza, cake, and ice cream.  I think Ingrid really enjoyed her special celebration!

Ingrid got to choose her new glasses,and she is growing up so fast.  Juan got glasses for the first time.  He looks so much older.  They were both so excited!

Family Pictures

We try and take family pictures once or twice a year.  When we look back, the kids have changed so much and are growing up so fast!  We are so thankful to have taken these professional pictures that we can look back at now

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Our 4th Gotcha Day!

We were united with our kids in Colombia, South America on April 12, 2011.  This day is called Presentation Day or Gotcha Day.  So every year on April 12th, we celebrate our special day.  On our first Gotcha Days, we would buy Colombian food and make arepas and empanadas.  Although our kids still like those foods, they are completely Americanized now.  This year, we went to a make-your-own yogurt place and then came home to presents, pizza, cake, and a movie night with Annie.

Easter Sunday

One of the biggest things we can be thankful for is that our kids know who God is, understand what God did for us when He sent Jesus to the cross to die for our sins, and believes it with all of their hearts.  It is so heart warming that they love church, like to listen to Christian music, and have a good understanding of what God says is right and wrong.  Although they like the candy and Easter egg hunts, the true meaning of Easter, like Christmas, should all focused on Jesus.