Beijing - July 2014

We visited Beijing, China for a unique experience as 'surprise' guests on the CCTV show 'Waiting for Me'. We stayed at the Millennium Hotel Beijing which was beautiful and taped the show one afternoon after our arrival. The next few days we visited many sites including; Mutianyu Wall, Tian'anmen Square & Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Pearl Market. We had wonderful hosts and ate at the most amazing restaurants. Thank you CCTV, Jun Luo (teacher), and Ms. Zhou.

Lena turns FIVE!!!

We had two celebrations for Lena's 5th birthday. She chose to have an "Under the Sea" theme with mermaids and pirates. She had a great time at her home party with her family and neighborhood friends. We had a jumpy house, a treasure hunt, and a wonderful cake! Her school party at CMS was fantastic with her classmates and teachers. Thank you to everyone who helped make it so special!

GOTCHA!

It has been 3 years since the day we were blessed with our Lena, that wonderful day in China. Our adoption day or "Gotcha Day" is November 29th. We celebrated our "Gotcha Day" with gifts, looking at photos, and Chinese food - of course! Here are a few photos of Lena with her referral photos. These are the photos we were given of Lena before we traveled.

Thanksgiving - Manhattan Beach style...

Uncle Dan hosted Thanksgiving for the Gilk family this year. It was a great time and we were able to get a few family photos at the beach.

Holiday Disneyland

We visited Disneyland on November 15th with all the holiday fun!

Fall Festivities 2013

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Lena dressed up as a mermaid for Halloween (another great costume by Grandma). She had a great time with all the fall activities including a pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, and trick or treating - of course. The last photos are from school picture day. Enjoy!

Spring Concert 2013

Central Montessori had a Spring Concert in May. Here are some photos from the fun event. Lena did a great job with her classroom performance.

Hawaii 2013

We had a great week in Hawaii with Nana and Papa (Andy's parents). Lena enjoyed the sand, water, and visiting Mickey and Minnie too.

Here are a few photos from our wonderful time: