Summer Fun:)

Todd left yesterday so it is just the girls again for a week:) We went to the mall, of course, and then to a few parks. The girls were in heaven. Isabella made friends right away....I am so worried about her quiet, withdrawn personality:)

Happy Father's Day....

•To my incredible father who has been a dad for 40 years to 5 children!!! He worked 3 jobs to keep us all happy and cared for. There were times that he was up and at work before we even got out of bed AND would still be at work when we went to bed at night. I never once heard him complain in all those years. Each and every one of us knew we were loved and that he would do absolutely anything to meet our needs. If it wasn't for his unbelievable generosity, we would not have Isabella in our lives today. He is as devoted a grandfather as he is a father and those kids have him completely wrapped around their little fingers:) Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

•To my sweet husband who has been a dad for 12 years now....and has gotten better at it each and every year. Not having had too much experience with babies, he was a little unsure of what to do with Elisabeth when she was a newborn. Fast forward to Isabella as a baby...he was a pro! Not only has he been amazing with her, his relationship with Elisabeth has only gotten stronger. I can't say he is a super help at night-given the silent world he sleeps in-but he wouldn't dream of not taking Bella with him to get his morning coffee or coach Elisabeth's soccer game in the pouring rain. The man is so sweet and loving I am pretty sure I could convince to adopt a few more IF we had the money:) Happy Father's Day, Babe!!!

Happy Birthday TO ME!!!!

Elisabeth and her attempt at pig tails:) We tell her she looks like Shrek!

Watching Thumbelina on the way to Syracuse.

What happens when Vietnamese speaking people attempt to write in English...

Bella's new gift from Nanny...she was trying it out in the hot tub...

Today I turned 40. Thank God I still feel 30 :) I spent it getting a pedicure and having lunch (thanks Mom), going to see The Proposal (so funny!!) with Mom and Elisabeth, and having dinner with everyone.

Last day tears...

It was a very 'tearful' day for the 3 Connors-Kos women on Wednesday....what should have been a VERY happy day for us (my last day of work before summer, Bella's last day with Bonnie, and Elisabeth's last day of 6th grade) turned into a nightmare. Isabella started it all off by getting up in a horrendous mood. Awful and demanding. By the time she got to the car, she was sobbing her head off and I was hot, sweaty, and pissed. It was the one and only time I dropped her off at the sitter's house and did not kiss her good bye. Of course, she stopped her bawling as soon as she was in Bonnie's arms. I, on the other hand, got in the car and cried all the way to school. Talk about frustrated. Luckily, the rest of the day went just fine and she was in a much better mood by the time I picked her up at 3. Elisabeth, though, was not okay when I picked her up. She started crying the minute she got in the car and could barely talk for 2 hours. Why?? She didn't want to leave 6th grade and all of her teachers!!! This is the same girl that I had WALK into class on her first day of 6th grade and who broke down in tears the minute she hit the doorway to her classroom. At least her tears were tears of happiness and wonderful memories:)

Private-Part Cupcakes

Elisabeth: Wanna make cupcakes with me tonight, Bella??
Isabella: Yeah!!!
Elisabeth: What kind do you want to make??
Isabella: Vagina cupcakes!!!

I think she meant VANILLA. Close enough.

Hot air balloons

Yesterday, while I was feeling 'under the weather', the kids and Todd washed both cars:) While they were outside, they spotted this beautiful hot air balloon and noticed it was landing in a nearby parking lot. We all got in the car and raced over. Very cool!

My oh-so athletic main squeeze....

My man...yum.



No, he did not fall once during THIS game...I can't say that is true for all the others, though.

Strutting his 'gut'.

This is called the "one footed ball throw". Amazing, huh??

Is he playing volleyball in the middle of the soccer game??

Skipping on the soccer field makes for a happy soccer player.

If skipping and one footed throws don't work, try ice skating across the grass!


Okay...I'll stop making fun of my darling husband. And I also won't share how he can barely walk the morning after a game....he is sure he has stress fractures in his feet from the extra 'weight' he is carrying around that he didn't have in high school. One thing he IS good at is making me laugh!!

Last soccer game of the season.....

Elisabeth, Megan, and Annmarie-all friends since they were 2 :)








and WE WON!! First time in 8 weeks. Megan, one of Elisabeth's best friends since they were toddlers, joined the team just for today. She was a huge help and even scored 1 of the 2 goals we had!!! Luckily, she is very athletic and caught on to the rules of the game very quickly (she had never played before).

A birthday gift

Jacqueline bought me a beautiful necklace for my birthday...it is a very small portion of a map of Hanoi and Lang Son. Isabella loves it:) Thank you, Jacqueline!!!

Birthday Party

Joie Porter-adopted from Lang Son 1 year ago!



Lola, the birthday girl:) Bella was DYING to steal her crown and wand.

Claire (adopted from Thai Nguyen), Elisabeth, Molly (Joyce's other granddaughter), and Corrie (Claire's twin sister).
Went to Lola's 2nd birthday party last night....Lola is the grand-daughter of Joyce and Dave Porter, who have adopted 5 kids from Vietnam and China. They were also the ones to convince us to go with Vietnam when we first thought about adopting:)

OH so proud:)

Elisabeth's final project in 6th grade was to research a country and write about it. She also had to use a tri-fold to show off her work and include artifacts, clothing, food, and music for extra credit. She surprised us all and picked Vietnam AND did it all by herself!!! The writing, design, everything was 100% done by her and it took hours and hours. Today we had the opportunity to go in and see what she, and the rest of her classmates, had done. I took Bella as she was one of the artifacts:)