Audra's 8th Birthday

My pretty little princess turned EIGHT years old today!

She's been home for 2.5 years and this was her third birthday with us.

I think she is finally getting the hang of this birthday thing...

There was definitely less prompting needed for her to blow out her candles and open her presents :)

This weekend also happens to be the Chinese holiday Mid-Autumn Moon Festival so yesterday we had a double celebration!

Pretty little girl with her beautiful BIG cake

Daddy had cake serving duty...

Audra wore one of her traditional qi pao dresses and a sweet little friend came dressed for the occasion too :)

Last year we released sky lanterns the traditional way...

by lighting a flame and watching them float away at dusk.

There may or may not have been a bit of a close call involving a lantern on fire...

So this year we opted for lanterns filled with helium balloons!

It worked just a well and was almost {but not quite} as pretty.

Today I got some precious photos of my birthday girl...

I love this one...it shows her true self!

She has been loving mooncakes this year.  She ate one last year, but this year she can't get enough of them.  She had one at the party last night, then had one for breakfast today, and at dinner time she wanted another!

This evening we celebrated with a tradition birthday cake:

She needed a little help to blow her candles out

But presents??...She's got that one on her own!

A little bit of beach

My brother got married last weekend...

in North Carolina...on the beach :)

And since we didn't do our annual trip to Outer Banks this year, we were really looking forward to going to the wedding and getting a little beach time in...even if it was only for a few days.

Just the girls and I went, we drove down on Friday with my parents.

Here we are about 3 hours into the trip and everyone was still smiling!

My dad and I traded off driving and navigating, 

while my mom had entertainment duty in the back seat.

8 hours and many snacks, games and naps later...

we arrived!!

First thing we did after unloading the car was head to the beach!

Lucky for us, the hotel we stayed at was on the beach so it was just a few steps to the sand and water.

Saturday was the rehearsal luncheon.

I loved dressing the girls all "beachy". 

Family selfie at the luncheon:

Tyler (nephew), Steve (brother), Brandie (sis-in-law), Mom, Dad, Me, (Audra hiding somewhere), Maura, Moriah (niece), Mike (brother)

Oh, there she is...

little sleeping beauty!

After the luncheon we went straight back to the beach...

...to collect seashells,

...and splash in the waves.

After some fun in the sun, we put on proper local attire and found a great little restaurant for dinner.

Sunday morning (Wedding Day) we squeezed in a little bit more beach time before the big event.

We built sand castles...

and Maura made her own puddles for jumping in.

We also spent time at the hotel's pool complex.  There was an outdoor pool, a kiddie pool, a lazy river and an indoor pool with a hot tub!  We made the rounds and visited each one :)

By early afternoon it was time to get ready for the main event.

My sweet girls looking all fancy and so excited to be going to a wedding.

The wedding was outdoor, on the beach, and it was quite windy!  We had to stand in just the right direction for pictures so the wind didn't blow our hair into our faces.

Maura and Moriah collected shells before the ceremony...

(and they had matching mint green attire...totally not planned!)

It's official!

The new Mr. & Mrs.

My parents with some of their grandkids...

(someday we have to get a picture of them with the whole gang!)

My and my pretty girls:

Maura and Aunt Brownie taking a selfie:

Here's the end result:

Maura and Moriah owing the dance floor:

The Mrs. Riley's

They had the cutest wine glasses that you could write on with chalk,

My mom..."the original Mrs. Riley"

My sister-in-law Brandie..."the other Mrs. Riley"

and my newest sister in law...the bride,Valerie..."the new Mrs. Riley"

(wish I got a picture of that one!)

Walk of Love 2015

Today we participated in the Walk of Love for Brittany's Hope Foundation.  This is the third year that we have done the walk as we seem to love it more every year!

It was such a busy weekend for our families so just Dawn and I drove out yesterday with the girls.  Last night we stayed at the same hotel as we did last year.  They give Brittany's Hope recipient families a great price!  The walk is located near Hershey, about 2 hours from our home, so I'd rather drive out the night before than have to get up early and rush to get there.  And that way we can sleep in a bit and enjoy the hotel breakfast before taking a quick drive over the the walk.

I know I've said it before...

Brittany's Hope has been such a blessing for our family, not only because of their mission to assist family's with the financial obligations of completing an international adoption, but also because of the support, kindness and encouragement they have offered to us so frequently in the 2.5 years that Audra has been home.

Audra and I ready to start the walk

(or ride in her case...she still loves the stroller)

Charlotte with the Chinese flag

Two pretty girls, our blessings!

The walk is held at a beautiful farm, Ironstone Ranch.  

We stopped walking a few times just to admire the animals:

Audra and Charlotte bringing up the rear...

We aren't the fastest walkers, but then again it isn't a race.

Charlotte did the entire walk on her own two feet for the first time this year,

which is a big accomplishment for her!

After the walk lunch was provided for free.  At this point it was starting to rain so luckily we found a few seats at a table inside the huge, gorgeous barn.

There were so many give-a-ways, goodies bags and treats.  We left with our hands full!

Each of the children who have been adopted with the benefit of a Brittany's Hope grant were able to pick a special prize...Audra and Charlotte picked huge stuffed dolls.

Audra's was literally bigger than her!

After the walk we strapped the girls and their dolls in and headed for some more fun.

At last year's walk Audra won the Chuck-E-Cheese raffle basket.  It was only good at the local Chuck-E-Cheese near the site of the walk, so I saved the gift certificates and we went there after this year's walk.