McKenna Family

It's crazy to realize that it's already fall. With the kids going back to school and summer winding down, I just can't believe how fast they grow. Sometimes I wish I was the homeschooling mother. They spend way too much time in school. I feel a little deprived....but I won't flatter myself into actually thinking they would want to spend all day with me anyway. They have been in school two days and of course the little ones love it! J.D. and Nick think it's great and they love their teachers. J.D. also really thinks eating lunch at school is cool. It was hard to send him to first grade but he's loving it and he even got an extra snack at school because he was the only one who said Thank You! Way to go bud! I can't believe Nick is in 3rd grade. Every time I filled out paperwork, I would have to say to myself "what grade is Nick in? is it really 3rd?" He's way too little to be learning cursive and times tables right???? Crazy. Abi started a new s...

Today we spent some of the day at Bear Lake. We wanted to have one more fun day with Meili before the kids disappear during the day (school). We all had a blast, even little miss Meili. Abi brought along Hannah, one of her friends. We had some awesome raspberry shakes from Merlin's, add in some greasy french fries, and we were set to chill (in) and at Bear Lake. For anyone not familiar with Bear Lake, it is known for its chilly water temperature and unpredictable weather. However, today was perfect. Nobody sunburned or got food poisoned (yet). The kids sure are getting along well and definitely are loving mei mei! Just so it is clear and I am not accused of forcing Meili to plunge into the depths of the lake, she truly enjoyed most of the activities today, especially going under water. She did have a problem not wanting to leave when it was time. She loves to enjoy the moment. We sure are enjoying many special ones with her and the rest of the crew. We continue to rece...

Need we say more?

Here's our first official family photo! :)

We are finally home and it feel so amazing to be here and back together as a family. We had an incredible journey in China and feel so blessed to be able to start another chapter in our lives. The flight home was long (over 20 hours) and Meili slept maybe 3 hours of the flight....if even that....and I got zilch sleep. Russel probably got about 3 hours. We then had about 8 hours before going to bed that night. We couldn't believe Meili and how well she handled everything on such little sleep. We arrived at the airport in SLC and were just so grateful to be done with the airplanes. We told Meili as we got on the last flight in Seattle that we just had 1 more airplane. She did amazingly well. She had her moments where she cried....one time she cried for about 25 minutes until we figured out she just needed a drink. But for the most part, we thought she did great! As we came down the escalator into the baggage claim area, we caught a glimpse of the kids holding up signs and ...

As long as this trip has felt, it finally is coming to a close really fast.  Julie is currently finishing up last little packing details, Meili is snoring (not really, but she sure sleeps cute), and I am being lazy at the computer (I guess....Julie just knows what needs to go where!).  Today was so much fun with Meili and Julie.  We started out the day at Hong Kong Disney.  Yes, we did do what we were told not to.....we went to Disney.  Meili loved it.  She has no boundaries so total strangers are not a problem to her.  She seemed to be quite comfortable with the few kiddy rides we took her on.  It was well worth it to spend time that way on our last day in China We then took a taxi to a mall near the Hong Kong Temple.  We did a little last minute shopping and then wandered in the general direction of the Temple.  It was cool to see Angel Moroni from the mall food court windows just like Lou Litchfield (sorry, now with a married name) sa...