Manhattan Beach was the location for this year’s reunion (August 2008), and quite a few families made it to the get-together! Polliwog Park. Ironically, a previous post is titled “From Toddlers to Tadpoles to…” Anyway, the park is very nice, and the pond is a central part of it; but, many of us were amused at how the play areas are fenced but the pond is not! “The Polliwogs win! The kids drown?” No, that didn’t happen: ever-watchful eyes. Some of us have girls from earlier adoption trips to China, and still others have American-born children that are a bit older: it was a good mix. They seemed to get along well with each other, having fun individually, and in a group, as a group. The kids seemed fascinated by the turtles in the pond, and some of the girls tried to jump rope. Playgroung “swings” are always a big hit. There was plenty to do, and plenty to eat!
Some of us have older children, but these 3-year olds we all traveled together to China to adopt are finally walking and talking and playing with each other without parents needing to coax them to do so too much. It’s great! Hopefully they will be able to develop lasting frendships with each other, right? Isabella has always been a somewhat socially well-adjusted child, confident in who she is, able to keep herself amused but equally enjoying playing with others… Victoria, on the other hand, is unhappy playing by herself; so, this was great for her to be able to spend time with so many other girls she calls “my friends.” But Isabella claimed this reunion for herself, exclusively. For her this wasn’t “a” reunion but “my” reunion (it was for all of our 3-year olds). As you can see by the picture below, it was a bit cold when we first arrived; but it got hot & humid in a hurry, didn’t it? Thank God for the breeze created by the Gazebo… Notify Us Via eMail If You Request a CD of Photos
Isabella was able to pal around with Olivia & Sarah Marie hung out with Victoria quite a bit, so it was fun for both of them. It was great to see so many people there: Peaking at Mary’s e-mail this morning, it’s obvious this was a group effort, something the wives/mom’s worked on for weeks. Great work, everybody! What did I do? I took pictures. Here’s a good one of Kris & Ebba-Marie. But taking pictures generally gives me the bulk of being responsible for watching the kids, by default – so, I had fun! Mary had fun talking with lots of you. It’s all good: win, win, win… for everybody! When will we be doing this again?
Polliwog Park, Manhattan Beach
Thanks, Bill & Kelly, for hosting this event!
Nice location: Polliwog Park on Manhattan Beach Blvd. west of Aviation Blvd. Kris came with Sophie & Olivia (without Bill – 
– this time) . Adam & Allison were there with Addicus & Esmay (I forgot that they had moved to the beach from Pasadena awhile ago); Andrew & Annette were apparently the catalysts for Paul & Jean coming down from The Bay Area – winners of The Long Distance Award this year.
Regular winners of The Long Distance Award would be Robert & Diane (sorry, guys!). We not only spent time with them at the reunion but also at Redondo Beach afterwards! That was a lot of fun: Victoria enjoyed playing with Sarah Marie, who taught her how to dog crawl into the surf (caught on video, and it’s hilarious!); and they also worked together with Isabella & Grace building a sand castle… I mostly talked “politics” with Robert, while Mary & Diane got to know each other better. We had a great time!
Just getting started uploading pictures, so check back! Thanks, Ron
