Stop One - Just Me and My China Friends

Okay, so I am sure you all missed me sooo much and can't wait to hear where I have been. Well, even if you haven't and weren't, I am back from 11 glorious days of vacation with my amazing super family. Really, they are pretty great, and it is pretty cool that after 11 days with just us - we still like each other, we really do. :-)

While we were on the road, we were unable to get a good wireless connection. I kept thinking that we would have it at Disney - but they filed me for free Wi-Fi. They wanted me to pay $10 for 24 hours of service. Are you kidding? They had Wi-Fi in our resort . . . by the pool . . . which I didn't really want to go to at midnight which was the only time I really had to connect. So with all that said, I am bringing you my post that should have been posted last Saturday, July 26th after we had spent 3 awesome days with Sophia's China Friends. Here is the post that would have been posted . . .and then tomorrow we will begin the recap of our meeting with the mouse (or lack of meeting . .. we really should call it the Its a Small Power Ranger World vacation . . . but that is for another time) . . .

Stop One on Stahly Tour 08 was Destin, FL where we met up with 4 other families that we traveled to China with in 2005. We are trying to get our girls together at least every other year so that they can have that special connection that we all feel. There really is not a way to describe the connection you feel with the people that are there with you when you receive your sweet baby girl. It is like having all these families in the delivery room with you experiencing every emotion that you are having. We have all traveled the same journey to come to that same place where we are blessed with a new family member forever.
The last three days have been filled with catching up, laughing, eating, swimming, and playing. The girls seem to feel the same connection we as adults feel as they all just act like sisters and just love on each other from the minute they meet up. It was amazing to watch and a blessing to experience as they all just seemed to know each other. Sophia really enjoyed the time she got to spend with her “China Friends”, as well as their brothers.
The beach was beautiful and the kids loved it. We could have named the experience “Jelly Fishing Fun”. Everyday the purple flag was out to indicate marine life present. We could stand at the edge of the water and just watch the jelly fish come up to shore. Most of the boys that were on the trip got stung at least once. Dawson, Brandon, and I all got to experience the sting of the jelly fish for the Stahly clan. It was painful at first, and then just annoying later.
Gracie loved the ocean. She seemed to love the feeling of the sand between the toes and the water splashing up on her. She would just stand there and laugh, and then try to run out further into the ocean.