China Camp!

Dillon International, our agency for the three girls' adoptions, hosts an annual heritage camp for children from China (and siblings). I think they hosted 238 campers this year - WOW! This year Ashlie and Allie were both old enough to attend and they were beyond excited!! They got to spend priceless time with their friends and experience a little Chinese at the same time. When I asked what they liked best their answer was always "EVERYTHING!" They learned some Chinese songs and language, cooked dumplings, danced with umbrellas, fans and ribbons, learned a little Kung Fu and more. Annie got to hang out with her friend Alayna while big sissies were at camp.

For us parents, the best things about China Camp include spending time with many old friends, meeting friends that we've only talked with via the internet before, and then making new friends. & perhaps the very best thing of all is letting our children be surrounded by families that look just like ours, rather than being the conspicuous family that we usually are.

All five of the Guangchang girls in Ashlie's group were at camp and four of the five Zhangzhou girls in Allie's group were there, so we took advantage of the photo op. It's so special to see all the girls as they grow and change.

Many of the families stayed together at the Radisson hotel where they have an outdoor pool and an indoor water park. The girls LOVED it. In addition to camp, they swam or played at the splash park every day, plus we ate out with friends a lot. They wrapped up camp with a Chinese meal for the campers and their families and then the classes each performed for the parents. We came home, exhausted, Saturday evening.

Allie loved the camp experience so much that she woke up Saturday morning, the last day of camp, just sobbing. She cried and cried because it was the last day of camp and the last day at the hotel. It was hard for all the fun to come to an end, but we'll be back again next year!