China Town isn't gonna cut it...

Sometimes I am able to capture something in a photo that is just hard to describe...

Those two pictures above are a few of those moments.

This is my favorite photo ever of my Mother-in-law, Lynne.

I just love it because you see her real smile and her happy eyes and it makes it even better that Brother is the reason for both of those!

Our kids are tough.

Really tough.

But, they also bring so much joy to us and to others and it is so fun when I can witness those moments.

We gathered with Marc's family at a park close by because Lynne and Gary had had some Chinese students staying with them for two weeks and we wanted to get pictures with them and of them for them to take home with them and remember their experience.

Sister, of course, was enamored by the two boys because they are from China. She loves China! She talks about China a lot! She wants to go to China. It was so fun to watch her intrigue as she would listen to them speak in their native tongue and she squealed with delight when they showed her their writing.

Marc and I wanted to get pictures with them too so I let Gary use my camera.

I'm telling you though, these Chinese boys were not ready for me...

I kind of shocked them sometimes. I'm probably the reason they will go home and tell their parents how loud and obnoxious Americans are... oh, well, you can't win them all!

It was fun to have the opportunity to sneak a few pictures of grandma swing Baby.

It's interesting because this night looks very blissful and happy, when in actuality, just as we were entering the park and had lost my patience with Sister. I try really hard to stay calm when she is freaking out, but sometimes it goes on so loudly for so long in a cramped space like the van, that I finally snap. I felt bad when I yelled at her and told her to just stay in the car and stop freaking out.

I feel bad when I have those moments.

It doesn't help her and it doesn't help me.

I'm just thankful that eventually she is able to start to cope with what is happening and can move forward. Sometimes it takes hours to calm down and sometimes minutes. This day is was about an hour before she could gather her faculties and join in on the picture taking.

This is Our Life, though... rolling with the punches.

The funny thing that Sister did say to me this week though as we were talking about the Chinese students who had gone home this week, "Mom, I want to go to China... the real one."

We tell her we'll take her to China Town in San Francisco since we probably won't make it to China any time soon... I guess this was her way of telling me that China Town wasn't going to cut it.

I know that is all from this last weekend, but that was an UP day with a little bump in the middle, but we made it UP the rest of the day.

My UP for today was unexpectedly running into some great friends from the cast of "Mary Poppins" at a reception tonight.

Day 219 of 365 Days of Up