Whirlwind of Fun

We had such a fun couple of days with the China sisters last weekend. Our girls were busy, busy!
It was neat to see the girls all relating to one another so quickly. I know kids of this age generally do feel comfortable with age mates easily, but I have to believe that these girls have a special bond.
We played at the beach... building a dam, swimming, hunting for shells and lake glass, and sculpting mermaid tails in the sand.
Kate escapes from the bonds of her mermaid tail!
Alia models her tail.

Kimberly and Gwen conversing on the break wall.

Jumping on the bed in the hotel where our friends were staying was a popular activity!

Kate's mom had these initial shirts made for all the girls, including the big sisters. Here are Alia and Gwen with their big sisters, Kela and Madelyn.
Alia and Gwen both have March birthdays, and had the same Chinese surname when they joined our familes. Being the same age, they would have been in the same play and sleeping rooms at their orphanage. They clearly knew each other and enjoyed interacting together in the days we spent together while their adoptions were processing. Alia is a good 3-4 inches taller than Gwen, but Gwen can proudly claim being older by a couple of weeks. :-)
Dinner was a casual one, at Five Guys for yummy burgers. We also had some coloring time so the moms and Dean could chat. :-) Here is our whole crew, minus my girls. I guess they were still coloring!

Last stop on our full day of playing was a visit to a playground that squeezed out the last bit of energy our girls had. At one point they ran around together in a little pack, saying it was time for a "China sisters' meeting". Apparently that meant the other three girls would run after the one in the lead to the leader's chosen destination.

Madelyn and Kate take a ride together.
Kimberly on the zip line.
Gwen gets a big push from Dean, Alia's dad.
It was a wonderful reunion. People have related the bond of families that adopted together as being like all being in the delivery room together for the birth of your children. A group birth experience sounds a little funky, but our four families were all in the same room at a civil affairs office in the Sichuan province when we met our daughters for the first time four and a half years ago, and that did create a special tie for all of us. The girls all knew each other before we had even seen their faces!

Thanks, everyone, for making the effort to gather the Sichuan girls, China sisters, this summer. Let's do it again. :-)