Thursday, September 20, 2007

Guatoberfest Preview

Yesterday morning the kids and I loaded into the car and headed west to visit Julia McKenzie and her family. I first met Julia a year and a half ago at the Marriott while I was picking Garrett up and she was visiting her son, John-Bryan, for the first time. She has told me that her first video of JB is actually of my son head-butting her son repeatedly while both giggle. Yeah, that's my son, the bully, but in a loving way. Any how, we have lived in close proximity of each other and yet have never taken the time to get our kids together for a playdate. With my moving across the country in a couple of weeks we decided to rectify that while we could.

The result was a preview of the entertainment we will experience at Guatoberfest. Julia invited her friends Karen, Abbie Faith's momma (Abbie's been home about 5weeks!), and Megan, Mackenzie's momma, to join us for lunch and play time fun. It was great to actually get together in person with Julia, instead of just chatting on our blogs, and I really enjoyed meeting Megan and Karen (I've lurked at their blogs several times. Now I'm going to be a regular. Thank God for NetVibes!)
I think the photos do the best job of showing what just five Guatemalan cuties can do when they get together. Of course, I didn't get a photo of Julia's living room floor littered with all of JB's toys.
All I can say is:


WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT TIME IN TWO WEEKS!


ATLANTA -- ARE YOU READY FOR US????



JB showing off his baby sister, Abby Grace. What a cutie that little man is!

Sleeping Beauty.

All the kids were fascinated by this beautiful baby girl. She is such a sweet heart! I am so glad that I finally got to meet her!

This beauty is Abbie Faith. She reminds me of Elena in some ways -- serious while scoping out the situation, then all smiles and giggles. What a doll!


First photo we were able to get of the boys together. The only way we could get them to stop long enough for a picture was to distract them with the dog outside.


As I said, Elena was fascinated by Abby Grace. From her tiny hands,

to her little nose, that she couldn't quite pick,


to her little, ticklish feet.

The only photo I captured of the McKenzie-Merrill Crew

A short video of Garrett and JB playing. Yes, that is Elena in the background crying because Julia left the house for one minute. My daughter is in love with Julia. Loves her. Too cute (even if I'm a little jealous)



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Elena helping Julia feed Abby Grace lunch.


Two peas in a pod.


Our attempt at a group shot. If we couldn't make it work with 5 babies, how in the world will we ever do it with 50?????

(Check out Mackenzie [on the far left] -- she just couldn't understand why my two and JB were so upset)



Happy again and off to the races

Snack happy.

These photos are from today, but I promise they are connected to our adventures yesterday.

Garrett is totally enthralled by busses right now. Wherever we go, he points out busses, talks about busses, plays with bus toys, etc. So, yesterday afternoon Garrett would not let go of JB's Little People Bus. Turns out that Julia is not a fan of that particular toy, while Garrett is a HUGE fan. Guess what we got to bring home with us?

Don't be fooled by the photo. While Elena might be sitting next to her brother while he is holding the bus, he is still the one holding and playing with the bus. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up this morning. Garrett says, "Thank you Julia and JB for my new toy!"

Also, emptying out my car last night there were two bags of goodies in the back seat. Julia was sneaky and got them in there without my even having a clue. The kids have already read both books several times this morning, and Elena has her new phone attached to her ear.

Thank you Julia for wonderful day and for the wonderful gifts. You are an example to me of how to live life with grace, faith, and hospitality. I look forward to the day that our paths cross again!

7 comments:

JuJu - said...

Holy Moly - did we have a wound up crowd or what???
I know I am a "NON bloggin Momma" now - but i HAD to come get an Elena and Garrett fix this morning!
The video is priceless!!!

It was so good to see you Becky. You look like a million bucks and you are doing an amzing job with your babies!!! You have walked a tought road weathering adoptions, homecomings and TWO babies solo most of the time. I am so proud to know you and know your family. I respet and appreciate the sacrifices your family has made for our country more than you will ever know!!!You my friend are doing a wonderful job raising those babies!

Your children are brilliant and have the best manners by far!!! I have to admit that I have fallen for a dark eyed beautfy that lives at your house;) She stole my heart - that is for sure!
I wish we would have had a little quiet time to chat just the two of us (like our four would EVER give us a break by napping at the same time!)
You are a wonderful Momma and a terrific person! Thanks for giving your day up and doing all of that driving to hang out with us! Erin has given me a list of things to do today. Buy three folders and go to B&N and get the "Golden Compass". She wants to start reading it this weekend!!!

Thanks for being you and for sharing your family with us yesterday!

Love from the Crwe!

Julia:)

Kim & Dave said...

The kids are so cute!

Anonymous said...

A house FULL of beautiful children!!!!!!! Makes me even MORE excited (how is that possible) for Guatoberfest!!! :)

Anonymous said...

I am so happy I got to meet you guys in Atlanta!!! You are such a sweet family and have the most beautiful children! I cannot wait to see all the pictures you took. I'm going to add your blog to my favorites if that's ok. :) I want to make sure I'm keeping up with your little beauties every day!

Nan and Dan said...

It was so great to meet you guys this weekend, we had such a great time! Danny misses his boy!!
good luck on your move :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Mrs. Becky!

I just wanted to say that it was a plessure meeting you and your family at Guatoberfest. Your babies are adorable and so much fun! :-)

Juliana (Mckenzie Crew Oldest daughter)

Anonymous said...

where oh where can those merrills be....oh where oh where can they be....
UPDATES travelers!
Meghan---still in Japan, waiting for paper orders