Jetlag

Finally back in the States, Val and Lia give their best effort ... but jetlag soon wins out.

I love that Val - even as she snoozes - is still holding her book up.

Good-byes to our Local Friends

First, some of the apartment complex friends.  It was so fun to get to know them and watch them grow over the years.

The corner store - this family was always super kind to us.  The girls especially liked them since they often gave them free candy.

Our favorite restaurant ... which includes a random bystander staring at Lia - very common occurrence.

Vegetable lady.

Fruit lady.

Spice lady.

Egg lady.

I'm sure there's more to the above ladies than their market items, but that's the best description I can come up with.

Shipment

25 items - boxes, suitcases and cases - ready for shipment via slow boat to the U.S.!  So glad to get those out the door; it was A LOT of work getting those packed.

These guys had been so helpful that they get a picture in this post.

Elephant Park

The girls had to have one last time to Elephant Park.  It's clear why we call it by this name.

A Final Visit

This is the orphanage (actually just a part of it) that we volunteered at for about two and a half years.  We had a final visit there that was incredibly memorable.  We were able to hang out with some of the kids and teachers and even see some of the kids living quarters.  We got some pictures with the kids, but we can't post these pictures due to security reasons.

A couple of the teachers we worked with.

And it was neat to catch them at lunch just having some fun.

Celebrating 9

To celebrate their birthday, Val and Meg asked to go to People's Park with their good friends, Rosemary and Emily.

The biggest draw for the girls was the inflatable, floating hamster wheels.  The five girls were in these for almost 30 minutes.  The owner of this activity allowed the girls to go WAY past the five minutes we   paid for ... which served as good advertising for him to have some very loud, squealing expat kids.

The girls also drew a crowd at the caramel lollipop maker.  Business was slow until they showed up.  Happy to help!

Always a hit ... the swings.

Tulips in bloom ... photo op!

Puttin' the tulips to shame.

Val and Meg are 9

Hard to believe our sweet twins are nine!

Even though the photos that were in those frames are already packed, the balloons still look good.

Chattin' with their grandparents.