Reunion Of Families With Armenian Adoptees

About ten days ago, our family made the trek to beautiful Lancaster County, PA for the annual reunion of families with Armenian adoptees.  We had such a wonderful time there in the lovely setting among new and old friends, with scrumptious food, fun activities, and many memories made.

On Friday night, we experienced local culture by riding in buggies with some very sweet Amish women.  Emilia just about had the time of her life in that buggy and while she is newly afraid of pets, she loved the horse and had no qualms about standing right by it and touching it.  She was grinning from ear to ear when we sped along the road.

The young man in the photo is our nephew
who came along as a paid babysitter

For me the buggy right was a real dream come true,
something crossed off my bucket list

Friday night dinner was a delicious meal prepared by an Amish family.  Apparently the Amish barbecue chicken made my husband's heart go pitter-patter and he is not usually a chicken guy, unless it's fried and then preferably by his dad.  I, on the other hand, would have kept eating mashed potatoes if reason had not prevailed.

Saturday morning started with a seriously dangerous breakfast buffet that was included in the price of our room.  Let's just say that Rex had enough bacon to last him a month except that he ate more bacon on Sunday.

After breakfast we headed to Cherry Crest Farm for a fun-filled, if drizzly day of activities.  Both of my kids had a blast.

The giant bounce pillow was a big hit with our group

Rex in utter delight while bouncing

Catching raindrops during a short downpour

Giant slide

After Cherry Crest Farm I attended a small and wonderful discussion with other moms parenting special needs children while the rest of my gang took a dip in the hotel pool.  By the time dinner rolled around, we were all good and hungry.  Dinner was a yummy traditional Armenian meal.

(photo credit Beth Shepherd)
Emilia and I couldn't get enough of these kufteh,
made from lentils, bulghur and spices

On Sunday, we started our journey home with a planned stop at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.  Rex and Emilia loved it there.

Rex's favorite thing in the whole museum

Every time we set it off,
we got this exuberant reaction

Emilia was a big fan of the bubble seesaw

And even happier when her brother decided to do it with her

In the water play area

Finally, after a total of 100 hours of travel and action, we made it home, exhausted, happy and thankful to be part of this group of families, all connected by the miracle of having children born in Armenia.