Greetings my friends!
Well, I must apologize -- it has been too long since my last update! Sorry about that! It's just that with summer here, life has been quite hectic. The last update I sent was at Kimmee's birthday party. Shortly thereafter my hard drive crashed -- big time! Not only did I lose all my information, but also all the pictures of Kim! I hadn't backed up my picture folder since December, so all of my photos have been lost. But at least I still have the ones uploaded here on our blogspot. But another disappointment is that I lost everyone's email! So if you have not heard from me in a while, it's because I do not have your email address -- please send it my way! Otherwise, life is pretty good for us. Here's our family update:
May 1st. Kaleb turned 6! He decided that he wanted a Chuck E. Cheese party so that he could invite all of his friends from school. In the bottom left-hand corner of this picture is Maia (pronounced M-eye-Ah). The are best friends and have already discussed marriage. It's pretty cute. We all had a blast at the party!
You can see from Kaleb's face that he was having a great time there with his friends!
Our not-so-little six year old man!
Here's a funny story I have to tell you. We went shopping this weekend and I found some awesome carpenter jeans for Kaleb. I brought them into the changing room and asked him if he liked them. He LOVED them! So I told him to try them on to make sure they fit okay. "That's okay, Dad. I'll just try them on at home." I told him, no -- that he needed to try them on here before we buy them. He leaned into me and whispered, "I forgot to wear underwear today!" I laughed and looked at him and said, "You didn't 'forget' you dork!" We bought the pants and trust that they will fit fine! That's my little boy!
My two little girls: Gwen and Kim. They are best of friends!
Here's the older kids lounging around. Gwen does get special privileges now and then to be allowed up on the couch. This was one of those days. It's a lovely picture -- one of my favorites!
For those who know me, my dog is a very important member of the family. Before adding Kim to our family, my biggest fear was that she was going to be 1.) afraid of the dog; or 2.) allergic to the dog. As you can tell in this photo, Kim is neither! In fact she loves Gwen (our dog) and Gwen loves her. It's a beautiful thing.
Kathy and I were able to sneak away for a Rockies game. Great game! And we go the hats for free :-) The Rockies won (surprise!). I think it was their last win before the current losing streak. It was a beautiful night -- great time for a summer game. We're going back this Friday night for the July 4th fireworks.
Um, okay. Kind of a bad picture -- but whatever. We had fun!
Friday, June 20th. Fort Collins Municipal Court. We finalized Kimmee's adoption. It involved us going to court and signing the adoption decree. Then Kim's previous documents were officially void -- the 14 months of her life wiped clean. A new birth certificate listing Kat and I as the birth parents is issued and Kim is now a U.S. citizen. Her place of birth is still listed as Korea. Pretty cool! 6 months of being a foster parent is over, we are now her mother and father!
She was happy and playful in the judge's office!
The judge was really cool! You can tell that he loves this part of his job. We went into the court chambers just to make it look 'official'. The kids had fun playing with the microphone system. It was a beautiful day!
The Zimmer family and the judge who made it official!
Three generations of Korean orphans. It's interesting. Kathy went through a very similar process, but had to become naturilized as a citizen instead of changing the birth certificate. Not sure why/how this was different. But she and Young became US citizens in the late '80's after taking the classes and test. Not necessary for Kim, though. She is 100% American now.
Since I had taken the entire day off, we went to Elitches afterwards to celebrate. Here's the new (and improved) Zimmer Clan. We had a blast!
The two Zimmer sisters. They truly love each other. It's a beautiful thing!
Sunday, June 29th. Jade turned 9 years old. We had a party at our home with her friends. It was a great time, and she made an incredible carrot cake that was well received! She's just happy to be 3-years older than her brother again!
The Coloradan Zimmer Clan.
Here's a great shot of the boy (taken just last night). He is definitely growing quickly and sprouting up!
Our three children: Jade (9), Kim (14mos), and Kaleb (6).
Hope this gives you a decent enough update into our life!
This weekend is my birthday. We're going to the Rockies game and then chillin' at home for the 4th of July weekend. Then next weekend we're traveling to New Orlean's for a convention for Kathy. I'll try to get some updated pics posted in a few weeks. TRY is the key word here!
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We spent the day at Elitch Gardens which is a local amusement park. We had a blast! Yes, Kimmee did go, but she was hiding in this picture. She's behind Jade in the wagon!
I joined the older kids with riding a few rides before we hit the water park. We rode 3 rides that require you to be 48" or taller, but here's the thing. Kaleb is only 47" tall. So we stuff his shoes with socks so he can make the cutoff. He went 3 for 3 in the extreme rides. Yea! Here were are on the swings -- very extreme :-)
We did get to do the Tower of Doom, which is an exiting free fall drop ride. Of course we had a blast!
Mom and Kim went to the water park. We joined up with them after riding our 3 rides and had a blast in the sun! Kim's enjoying one of many Slurpee drinks that we bought on that hot summer day.
A rare shot of Kim and Kaleb. How sweet!
We all had fun that day, but boy did it get hot! Nearly 100-degrees. Good times!
We were barely out of the park when the kids crashed hard. It was all good!
I used the delay shutter speed option to capture his sparkler in motion. Very cool!
Oh yeah! Jade, Kaleb, and I did the death drop swing ride at Elitches. It cost $40, but was well worth the scream!
We joined up with some friends for the Rockies game that night. Awesome game! The Rocks won 18-17. Unbeleiveable! We got to see a grand slam -- an the Rockies never led the game until the bottom of the 9th inning.
