Massachusetts, New England, Maine

This is the stuff that life is made of.  For Corbin, it's seeing and doing things for the first time and for me, it's watching him with a smile and renewed excitement.  I remember back to the days that a vacation was enough to keep me counting down days or an airplane ride would put butterflies in my stomach.  Interestingly, as my life gathers sunsets, stamps in my passport, and sand from various beaches, the butterflies wings barely make a flutter that hits my Richter scale but this... this is the new stuff that wiggles my world .  As I walked over a bridge in Kennebunk Maine with Corbin I looked across the bay to a fancy restaurant where the patio was covered in elegant looking navy and white umbrellas where people were having beautiful dinners where a jacket might have been required.  I began to think of the things I've traded in life: Fancy dinners for hotdogs with extra ketchup... with the best date ever - no jacket and not even shoes are required.  I no longer just walk through the shops on the sides of the street, partly because I don't want to have to say, "look with your eyes NOT your fingers" over and over and partly because I've allocated that $5 for an icecream at the end of the block.  I don't miss the kitschy trinket but these memories won't gather dust and end up in the junk drawer.  These are days one through three of our East Coast adventures... my memories are piling up on the pages of my life.  Hanging with Steph, Misha and his little twin friends has played him out and kept him sleeping late.   My water baby loves the ocean and after being introduced to "boogie boarding" now thinks he needs to surf.  I suspect given the opportunity... he just might.  Next stop, Cape Cod... stay tuned - there may be surfing.

Corbin, Misha and the twins. Khabarovsk & Vladimir - Canada & Massachusetts: home 

He just picked up his board and headed out like a surfer whose done this for years

After this he thought he would teach me how... his coaching was 

hilarious

Watching for good waves

My lil' surfer boy

Summer continued

In terms of weather, this summer has been SOOOO much better than last.  Granted, there was a lot going on last summer with Corbin just having come home and my having fallen off the wagon er I mean deck and spraining my ankle (being in Russia and completely stressed to the max for 5 weeks doesn't mix well with a great BBQ'd rib eye and 2 grande glasses of good red wine - but I digress) We are making the most of this summer!  We spent the long weekend in Saskatchewan at the lake with friends and toasted a year for both as families.  It's rare to become friends with people who have adopted internationally but it's even more rare to already BE friends with people who coincidentally are adopting at the same time.  Our boys came home from different sides of the globe within 2 weeks of each other and we marvel at just how far they have come.  From there we traveled on down the road to say a quick hello at our family reunion.  Admittedly, we were there for a very short time which is Mama's fault.  I missed many of the reunions over the past 12 years because I hated going to a FAMILY reunion without the family I had lost.  Now, I don't know many of the people there as geography has dispersed us far and wide but we went so that Corbin could hang out with "Baba GG" for awhile and get his fill of "noses" in.  Touring on homeward, we did a pit stop at Great Grandmas where he visited and met more family for the first time.  The highlights were swimming in the lake, hanging with "Mushi", seeing his favorite boy cousin Connor who is also adopted, noses with GG, the bouncy house of course and counting pump jacks all the way home.  Next stop: Boston.  Corbin is coming out of his skin waiting to ride the, "big rocket airplane to Steph's house!" where he will meet another Russian comrade Misha who has been loving home for 3 months now.

Batten down the hatches Steph... we're on our way!!!