Kicking off this incredible year!

Yesterday we pulled away from Vegas, sad to be leaving friends, but nervously excited about the year before us.

Our first stop was of course Chick-FIl-A. in St. George. UT, then we raced to Moab to drop the dogs at the kennel by 5

Our first stop at a Welcone sign. So many more to look forward to!

 Finally, the whole reason we headed here first.. We got to meet up with the amazing Paxman family. You can't meet nicer people. They have 4 kids, 3 of whom were adopted from Taiwan, and 1 of them is K's biological brother. We had no idea we'd live 6,5 hrs from them when we brought Katelyn home 3 years ago.

We have seen each other periodically both here and in Las Vegas. The kids remember each other from their early foster homes in Taiwan.  We love seeing them spend this time together and enabling them be just be kids and hang out. They play and annoy like any other siblings and it's awesome to witness. 

The Paxmans definitely have the gift of hospitality. I'm certain they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. They run river boat cruises down the Colorafo River and own a Marriot property at their Canyonlands By Night resort. http://canyonlandsbynight.com/ it's a must see!! It's a familt owned business (started over 50 yrs ago). They have the river boat tours several times a day, and can arrange other adventure tours such as Arches National Park tours, air tours, 4wheeling tours, and much more. I highly recommend visiting Moab. Beautiful country and tons of stuff to do!! You can't go wrong with a stay at the resort!

We all got to take their dinner cruise, stay in the hotel, and let the kids swim in the heated pool. Seriously....we are leaving here why?

Today the fun continues with lunch, then caravaning up to Salt Lake City where we will all meet up with the adoption coordinator who arranged all of our collective adoptions. I spent 21 months hounding her via phone, texts, emails, and snail mail. Today we finally get to hug her in person!

Headed into some beautiful country. 

Enjoying the boat ride down the canyon.

Our selfie with Jug Handle Arch

Rory doing the River Boat Captain thing. His dry sense of humor is delightful...the kind where you have to pay attention or it  goes right over your head. 

Pictures don't do it justice!

Katelyn and her brother Rayce. Practically twins!

Matt was hamming it up the whole time. Until I arrived with my camera. Punk. 

Love making these memories together! We are all noticing how much more comfortable they are every time we are together. 

Aren't these two camera thieves just precious?

It's off to a great start. Salt Lake City here we come!