Urumqi reunion at the river

Two other families who also adopted and traveled to/ from Urumqi, China joined us for the weekend at my parents' house at Current River in Doniphan,MO. The Prescotts, John,Karen, Lily and Luke are from Springfield,MO and we visited them earlier this summer. The other family were the Morales,- Tonio, Becky, Vivi, Maya, and Tonito from the Chicago area. The Prescotts arrived early around dinner time and the Morales got there around 10 p.m. due to unexpected news and several stops along the way. Drew was getting so tired waiting for Tonito, that he told Scott to wake him up when he got there, however, he never did take a nap. So needless to say, the kids were running around trying to keep awake til they got there. At first meeting, Drew was a little quiet and stand off -ish, only b/c he was so tired and not sure how to react to them all being together. This changed quickly as all the kids jumped in their sleeping bags in the floor lying beside each other to go to sleep. This was such a cute sight to see. The only two left there in the morning were Drew and Tonito. Drew got up around 7 and came in our room to wake me up. The weather had been dreary and rainy that night they got there, and we weren't sure how it would play out the rest of the day for Sat. but it ended up not raining just being really cloudy. The kids played in the hot tub a bunch of times and we got to go on a boat ride, though the wind was a little chilly. They thoroughly enjoyed being together and playing the entire weekend. They all got along really well, with no fighting, no crying, and hardly any whining! Karen brought a pinata and the kids helped fill it with tons of candy which they later got to bust open. Man did they love doing this! The kids also got to roast marshmallows over the fire pit and make s'mores. As Karen said, it was pitch black and we only had some flashlights to see the fire, the kids, the food, and the river beside us. Thank goodness no accidents!
Sunday morning came too fast for us all. The Prescotts left early that morning around 7:00 but the Morales fixed breakfast for us and ended up following us to our home in Malden, an hour away. They were driving to St Louis to go to the zoo the next day, so they decided to visit for a little while. Drew was so excited to show Tonito his room, toys, and all the animals. Vivi, Tonito's sister loved the two kittens we have and held them the entire time making sure our puppy Copper didn't harm them. He also took him for a ride on his "vroom vroom" (his battery powered 4wheeler), which they both loved. They also got to hitch a ride with Scott on his new 4 wheeler, which they both wanted to go fast! We all ate leftovers for a late lunch, then they headed toward St. Louie. It's a good thing Drew didn't understand or realize that it might be a long time before he gets to see his little buddy again. Hopefully we will get to Springfield for the Chinese New Year celebrations, this would be a first for us & Drew. We all said that we will have to plan future "reunions" esp so that the family in Florida can join in. Well enjoy the pics!