4 yrs ago......We Officially Became a Family

4 yrs ago today, we were on day 20 of living in a hotel in HCMC. I had custody of Keree for 13 days at that point. We spent the morning wandering through the amazing Muncipal Park and then 5 minutes before 4pm, we got a phone call to be down in the lobby at 415p for our G&R. Needless to say, we never got cleaned up so quickly and we even had time to spare. So right around 5pm, after all the paperwork was signed and notarized, Keree and I were officially a family. We were so exhausted but excited when we got back to the hotel room. It was pouring down rain, so we ordered in pizza that night from Al Fresco's.

This morning, after we got up, we told Keree why today was so important. We looked at a few pictures and then we got ready for the baseball game. The news and internet said the game started at 1230p but the game really wasn't until 130p, so that meant instead of the gate opening at 1030a, it instead opened at 1130a. Since we were early, that meant we stood in line from 930a until the gates opened at 1130a. We enjoyed our time by playing with a string we found on my shirt. We did magic tricks with it, we made it into a ring and hide it. When the gates finally opened, we headed over to the Plaza. Since it was Sunday that meant it was Ice Cream Sunday. Before we found a table, we ran into Norton, the mascot for Ice Cream Sunday. Keree was so excited to see the penguin. Once we were at our table, we enjoyed our Cardinal Popsicle. They also announced that it was Norton's birthday, so they were also giving away cupcakes and ice cream cups to celebrate. When it was time, everyone sang Happy Birthday to Norton and then they started passing out cupcakes. I had a lime cupcake and it didn't taste very good (and I love lime). Keree choose a lemon poppyseed cupcake and it was really good. After finishing her popsicle, cupcake and ice cream cup, she headed over to the kids craft area. She made a penguin hat and she drew a picture on it's bill. It was of Norton, his birthday cake and a candle. She also made a cardinal bird. Since it was getting close to the start of the game, we took our seats. I have to say these are some of the best seats we have had in a long time. The only downside to them are they were in the direct afternoon sun, it was super hot. Keree did well but did have some sound issues, there was a Giant's fan who was making a huge scene and so there was alot of bantering back and forth with our neighbors. It was all in good fun but it did get really loud and she didn't like that at all. Since we knew Fredbird is only there for a short time, we left our seats at the top of the 2nd to go see him. We were luck that the guy who was Fredbird's guard, offered to take a picture of us, so we were excited to have a family picture of all of us together. We returned to our seats and made it through most of the game (bottom of the 7th) before Keree started getting over heated. As we were leaving, Got Milk was tearing down their stands. They had a special exhibit going on before the game but since we were already inside the stadium we missed it. But they were nice enough to give us each a Got Milk football.

Since every year we celebrate with the same dinner we enjoyed in Vietnam that evening, we always have pizza. The last two years, we have let Keree decide where we were going. Her 1st choice was the Pizza Company but we were too far away to go there. So her next choice was Chuck e Cheese. My Mom and I weren't thrilled with the choice but she was super excited and that's all that mattered. After we ordered the cheapest meal package up there (it came with 35 tokens), we claimed our table. Keree and I went to play some games, while we waited for the pizza. I can't believe how good Keree is getting at ski-ball. We also had to play Spongebob just so she could tell my Mom that she played it (my Mom doesn't like Spongebob). When the few coins we had taken ran out, we went back to the table. Since the pizza still wasn't there, it was my Mom's turn to go play games with Keree. We continued taking turns playing games until the pizza finally came. Keree ate her entire slice, which is good considering she couldn't wait to get back to playing games. When she finished her pizza, she played the Alien game. Since she loves astronauts and aliens, of course it's one of her favorite games. When all was said and done, we cashed in our tickets at the Ticket Muncher and went to see what prize Keree could pick out. She choose a cute little mini metal lunch box with the Chuck-e characters all over it. When we got home, we spent the rest of the evening taking it easy and enjoying what today means to our family.