We knew pretty much from the start (or at least by the end of her visit last year) that we wanted Arianna to come back again! So when the emails started, we nailed down the dates and made sure she had a passport (which thankfully she already did!) and then waited. It is interesting, because I ask questions like, "What if those dates don't work for her family?" and the rep says, "Denise, if you ask, they come." I don't know if that is always true, but she came! There was lots of excitement and a flurry of phone calls leading up to the visit.
Passing time as we waited for the bus to get closer. Thankfully we were kept posted all day as to the progress of the bus so we knew when to leave. We did leave a bit too early, b/c the bus took longer at the border than expected, but since they let us know, we had time to go for a walk instead of waiting REALLY long (for our anxious and super exited children) in a church parking lot.
Then she was here!!!
We asked her who had changed the most, thinking she would say Konnor, but she said Kylie!!
One thing that didn't change is that Arianna LOVES the water! We weren't home for more than 10 minutes (after 10pm) and she had her bathing suit out and on and ready for a night swim. She was back out there first thing in the morning and it was a favorite all week. I am very thankful for the pool at moments like this because it provides such easy entertainment!
The puddle jumper didn't last long either. We did swimming lessons again for two of the weeks she was here and she was swimming on her own very quickly.
Rainbow
Things went well this year again and these two really loved eachother, but they also "disputed" a lot! They were friends and enemies over and over. I think this is part of the girl drama that seems to surround Kylie, but Arianna was good at it too. It took a while, but at some point we got everyone in the family to understand that they did not need to hang around each other every minute of the three weeks. Karter and Arianna also hung out a bit and they both realized their need for alone time too which is okay!
Fourth of July outfits!
They both have great imaginations so they didn't often run out of ideas of things to do. We also did VBS the third week Arianna was here, so every morning was filled with things to do! I think that worked out well.
Konnor, Kade, and Arianna
Arianna loves Konnor and he seemed to enjoy her too.
Dab
Arianna loves Jonathan and it is neat to see their relationship. She was always so excited when he would come home from work and hoped he would swim or jump on the trampoline with them.
Cita never gets as much attention as she does when Arianna comes!
At the park while waiting for the others to finish their swimming lessons.
This girl loves the high diving board! No hesitation. No fear. She's a pro!
Despite the busy weeks, we fit in a visit to the pig barn since that was Arianna's favorite last year, and since it is easy for me to just walk right in:)
We had a shower to go to for my cousin while she was here. Arianna wanted to get all dressed up and here she is looking like a beautiful young lady!
Trampoline fun. Trampoline, pool, trampoline, pool, trampoline pool was how a lot of the afternoons looked.
Water fun with dad.
A little ride on the four wheeler.
Arianna and Meika
Brooke and Arianna at the park.
We went to friends house who also had a Fresh Air child visiting them. Bonus was that they live on a dairy farm and had kittens!
Three weeks passed by in a blur and then it was time to go home. It was a very early morning again and you can tell by these tired faces. They have to get an early start because it is a LONG day for these kids til they get back to NY.
We feel very blessed by this program and we feel very blessed to have Arianna who fits our family just so well. Obviously it is not always perfect and there is bickering and fighting and it looks like real sister fights, but I think that contributes to the comfortableness of it all. She feels very at home here which I am just so thankful for! She doesn't ever seem to get homesick and if she felt a little sad, she would call home and chat with her sister or her mom or dad and then she'd be ready to go again. We are thankful for the opportunity to open our home to her and we pray that our less than perfect family and the less than perfect way we live, will still be an example to her - that she will learn about Jesus and how important He is to us and that she will love Him too.
We are looking forward to having her back again next year. As she got ready to board the bus, I thought I better ask her about the length of the stay for next year. Because of how this year had gone, I wondered if three weeks was maybe too long . . so I asked her, "Next year . . two weeks or three weeks?" Her answer made me laugh so hard. "Four!" We'll see!!
