Hosting International Students

This summer, we had the privilege of hosting some pretty fun students from Spain, Japan and Korea. The kids loved having another family member and we all had fun getting to know these fun girls and the countries they come from. Our last student, China, made us some fabulous Japanese food and quickly learned the ways of "liar's dice...Perudo" and "Yahtzee". She also beat Brian in his first ever Uno loss, or, as they say in Japan "Ich".


China with our family at the zoo

China and Addie at the zoo

China and Tallinn at the Angel's Game

At breakfast with our first student, Almudena, from Spain

Navigating the Truckee

Here is just a taste of the "Roaring Rapids" along the Truckee River, from Tallinn and Addie's perspective. The ducks might just have been the most exciting part for them. We're still new to this blogging thing and hope this doesn't turn out sideways.
During our trip in Tahoe, we did two days of rafting along the Truckee. The first time, we hit a branch or something and had a major hole. Alison had to stop alongside with the kids while Brian ran back to get something to patch the hole. In the meantime, the kids were waiting in the raft, that continued to fill with water and Alison tried to keep it on the side of the river, avoiding the pinches of crawdads along the way. Finally, Brian came back and we'll just say "Thank you Lord" for duct tape as it proved to be the glue that kept our little boat together.

During our second trip down, our little raft, pre-patched with duct tape, got yet another hole and we were taping and re-inflating all along the trip. At the very end, the rapids were even faster due to an upcoming storm and we got out just in time for the first drips to arrive (turns out the storm really didn't come, only sprinkles, but it was exciting). Nonetheless, we all had a great time and learned some lessons on how to patch a raft.

Last Trip with Just the Four of Us

Okay,

So it's about time we set up a family blog, but life gets crazy and time passes and kids' albums get neglected and pictures hang out on computers more than in albums and in the hands of family members.

In an effort to not allow too much time to pass before people see our children, we are going to try to post current pictures, stories and events. But please, keep your expectations to a minimum :).
The Dears have recently seen some changes. For one, our family of four was about to become a family of 6, but, we have just found out that we will really be a family of 5 and that is okay. Being in the process of adopting a 12-year-old, we were all geared up for Roxy clothes and Jr. High, but it looks like our family is going to be significantly younger, with Tallinn leading the pack at the prime age of 4.

In preparation for the chaos that comes with another baby, we took one last trip with just the four of us to Lake Tahoe. We had a great time hiking, biking, river rafting and swimming. On our biking trip, Addie found comfort singing "Jesus Loves Me" during the long ride next to her brother. Riding alongside, I tried to capture her sweet singing. However, I can't figure out how to edit the video, so I'll have to post it later.

Here are some fun pics of our trip:

Our first night we got to visit with our longtime friends, Aaron and Jen Linthicum. Addie LOVES her uncle Aaron (with son Austin).

Staying in Rocklin with Auntie Connie and Uncle Chuck has become a tradition for us whenever we venture up north. The kids always love staying at their house and often think we're heading there when we're driving anywhere that looks similar. Poor Tallinn is always disappointed when I tell him it's very far away

Our sweet daughter, getting so big and so full of personality. We are so thankful to God for his special gift of Addie.

Silly Boys

and then, the silly side of Adelaide.

On our last night we stayed with our good friends, the Palmquists. Tallinn had fun playing with their two boys, Peter and Isaac, and their daughter Abi. Those three boys together definitely spelled T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

North Lake Tahoe, along the CA/Nevada Border. This was another hike we did that had an amazing view at the top.

Male Bonding in the Truckee River.

The view from our room.
Besides the fact that we had two rather large holes in our boat and the water level was pretty low, and we avoided a potentially dangerous thunderstorm, we all made it down the Truckee River Alive!!