Something old, something new...

For those of you who were along for the ride last year, bear with me...our trip to China, well, it was THE greatest adventure of our lives, to date. I took a bazillion photos, many of them "pretty ones", but I most love pictures that tell a story. So here are a few of my favorite photos that I thought you might find amusing...humor me, and I promise I'll give you some new photos, too!

"Wouldn't it be fun to get a photo of all four kids at the zoo?"

This was taken at the entrance to the Guangzhou Zoo.

Among all the zoo shots I've ever taken,

THIS, by far, is my absolute favorite!

"Sooooooo....how many pictures has YOUR mommy taken today?"

"Whatsamattawhichu?!"

Poor Marisa did not appreciate the scenery at Yuntai Gardens!

Shortly after this picture was taken, we boarded the bus with our China doll's face smeared with chocolate. Our guide, Amy, could barely choke back her grin as she chided us about Chinese babies not liking anything cold.

Not the most flattering picture of me, but the hilarity of my rebel child grabbing for my quesadilla is worth it...and, yes, she ate it!

"So about those inalienable rights..."

"Thanks a lot, Mom..."

Abby had the unenviable job of holding Caroline down for her medical exam.

"Yeah, didn't hurt a bit..."

Nothin' like a little comfort food...I love the look of disgust on Mickey's face as he watches Caroline chow down on an onion ring...he wouldn't touch one if we paid him!

You might think by the looks of this shot that the Red Couch photo session was a wash...you would be wrong...we not only managed to get a great shot of the seven girls that were there, we got lots of funny out-takes...this is is one of many.

My only regret is that we were missing four of our girls.

Aren't they beautiful?

Did I mention she loved to have her clothes changed?

"Go, team, go."

I'm not sure which one of Caroline and Lottie I find most funny...this one or the next one...

This one made our agency's calendar this year...

The ultimate multi-tasker...

you should see the sweet photo of him kissing her moments before...

Apparently, not all princesses like to wear crowns...

We had a rockin' birthday party for all our girls!

"You do realize this paper belongs to MY mommy, right?"

"What's mine is NOT yours!"

She will KILL me if she knows I posted these photos again, so don't tell her! I took these after Mindy came stomping out of a shop in Hong Kong, proclaiming there was no good chocolate to be found...of course, the camera mangaged to get a smile out of her before it was over...

Yep, she's ready for her citizenship exam...

Okay, this one isn't funny, but I love it...I took this on Victoria Peak...

on the eve of Chinese New Year...our last night in Hong Kong...

You've been good...thanks for not peeking...now here are a few pictures we took this week...

But before you get the photos, here's a little background. Caroline, as you might have noticed, is quite the character. She surprises me daily with her tastes and opinions. She's a decent eater...some days are better than others...some days she doesn't eat much at all. She would prefer to drink milk, chocolate "bhak", at that. She loves fruit, but she doesn't really care for too many vegetables. She is a bona fide junk food junkie, and she LOVES "tannee" (candy)...Twizzlers, Smarties, suckers, chocolate...she found a chocolate Easter egg in the pantry the other day, and when she peeled back the foil to reveal her find, she literally sucked in air! And you know she loves Mexican food...the spicier the better. The other day she climbed on my lap and took over my crunchy taco supreme, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream and all! Lately, she's been surprising me with her taste in cereal. Oh, she likes Froot Loops, but she LOVES Honey Bunches of Oats and, gag, Frosted Mini Wheats. There's a story there...too long to tell, but it involved a stand-off between me and my parents, which is why I abhor Frosted Mini Wheats and most cereals. So get a load of these pictures of my TWO-YEAR-OLD daughter inhaling chocolate hazelnut biscotti dipped in COFFEE!

And how 'bout that bedhead?