What a great vacation!

We are back from vacation and finally settled back in at home. As a little bonus Lauren and I picked up a cold on the trip.

The first part of the trip was in Orlando, FL for a reunion. There were nine families and ten kids in all. We have been all been friends via a Yahoo group since the beginning of our long wait and get together annually. We hope to stay connected for the duration and that our girls will be a support system for each other as they grow up.

Here’s our cuties after a swim in the beach towel cover-ups I made (Lauren is 2nd from the right in the 1st row)…

Here's a video of how we tried to keep their attention...

After a visit to the ice cream truck, they are all enjoying their Dora pops (Lauren is on the far left)…

Most of us stayed in one huge rental home in Lake Davenport, FL about 20 minutes west of the Disney resort. I LOVED that we all stayed together and hope we can do this for future reunions. It maximizes the amount of time we can all be together and it’s so much fun watching the girls play in their PJ’s before bed. They all got along so well together and had a ball.

We were doing one day at Disney while there, so we decided on Epcot Center since it’s the least like any thing we have in CA. Lauren just made the 40” height requirement for Test Track and Soarin and loved both rides.

Here she is joining in for the Pledge of Allegiance. Never mind that she’s using the wrong hand…she was so proud of herself nonetheless.

Here’s the girls for our infamous tutu picture (Lauren is 3rd on the left)…

and here’s our pic from last year. It will be fun to have a collection of these from over the years…

One night the girls had a little party and did themselves up with make-up and jewelry and matching princess nightgowns. Aren’t we the bomb? Check out Lauren’s blue eye shadow on her eyebrows!

Here's a little video of the girls playing Ring Around the Rosie...

I love this pic of Lauren with Mary Alice. It just seems to show how much fun the girls were having. Lauren seemed to really click with her and I think that’s cool since the girls are from the same orphanage.

This is the morning we were leaving the house to head to Jacksonville for the second part of our trip. The pic is missing two of us who were headed out already for the day.

In Jacksonville, we stayed with my Aunt and Uncle and visited with them and my three cousins and their 9 kids. Lauren had an absolute blast running around with her cousins and they were SO great with her. This pic was taken in the historic downtown in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the country founded by Ponce de Leon in 1513 when he landed in Florida. It was a beautiful day.

As you might have noticed from a few of the pics I posted, Lauren’s beloved Perry the platypus made the trip with us. You wouldn’t believe the strange looks we got at the airports and around town from non-parents who have no idea who Perry is. We were walking off the plane back home in Phx and the pilot asked…is that a platypus?? Why, yes it is. ;)